Customer Reviews

We Will Follow: Tribute to U2

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Let me start off by stating that I have nearly 2 dozen U2 CDs (albums and singles). Needless to say, I'm a fan. Here's the skinny.... Pop in this CD and you'll be greeted by jarring vocals, abrasive instrumentals, and complete reworkings of U2 classics. You'll despise this album.....at first. Once you realize the unique nature of this set of covers, you can appreciate it. Forget the reviews that trash this album. This is a keeper. It's true to the brash rock monster nature that U2 debuted with. It's fast, furious, and honest. A true highlight to this album is the "New Years Day" cover. Tiffany (yes the 80's bubblegum queen) provides vocals that pay tribute to Bono's masterful voice. She's that inspirational. Perhaps one of the better treats is the reinvention of "October". I always felt that the original version somehow lacked a certain....attractiveness. What was once mere filler now stands on it's own. In many ways, it is superior to the original. There are many gems in this CD, too many to count. Ann Louise's rendition of "Where the Streets Have No Name" only proves that no MAN can do Bono's voice justice. In my eyes, the most appropriate performer selection is actually Electric Hellfire Club for "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The track and is meant to haunt you. The lyrics are deadly serious. I guarantee, if you don't have nightmares after that rendition then you don't understand the lyrics or the subject matter on which its based. Many people mock the bang-clang sound to this album. I can't see why. Just purchase their first CDs "Boy" and "War". Then you'll see why the insane choices for this album seem all too sane. All in all, WE WILL FOLLOW is the best U2 set of covers. (Better than the Royal Philharmonic and much better than Strung Out on U2) GET IT NOW!

Being a big fan of U2's lush rock sound of the 80's more so than their more electronic forays in the 90's, I was definitely skeptical about this tribute after finding these remakes were in the industrial/techno/goth vain.

I didn't know the artists at first seeing as how the disc was just handed to me in my friends discman as I was simply told to just "Listen". After listening I honestly didn't want to know the names of most of them afterward. For the most part the vocals are horrendous, almost an abomination when you recall the emotional strains of Bono's voice. Granted, nearly every track could be made better by a strong remix.

The few cuts I didn't immediately forward through were the more 'dance' versions like Dead or Alive as well as Bang Tango's "EBTTRT", Silverbeam's "WTSHNN" and Intra-Venus' "Discotheque". Again though, moreso for the uplifting beats than the vocals or real artisic accomplishment.

The more electronic/techno cuts like Heaven 17's "WOWY", Information Society's "One", Rosetta Stone's "October" or Spahn Ranch's "IWF" have rare inspired moments of instrumentation, but seriously lack the originals passion.

The more industrial leanings such as Razed in Black's "Pride" and Electric Hellfire Club's "SBS" are just plain obnoxious and irritating.

The one strong standout ironically comes from former teen idol Tiffany's collaboration with Frontline Assembly on "NYD". The music is an energetic mix of techno break-beats that manages to keep the foundation of the original(though a bit hidden). Tiffany's vocal are outstanding. She sounds strong and sultry. Having been a fan in my youth but like most of the world, kind of forgotten about her as she faded from the spotlight, I was amazed to find that it was indeed her on vocals. Though she always had a very powerful, versatile voice, getting stuck with the teen idol label prevented many from realizing that. Hopefully this will open a new audience, because if anything this tribute makes me anxious for new Tiffany material.

What most U2 fans don't seem to understand is that this album is not THE definitive U2 tribute album. Cleopatra Records puts out an odd tribute album every so often featuring the industrial and gothic bands on the label paying tribute to some band that may (or may not) have influenced their own musical styles. This is NOT intended for U2 fans, but more for the fans of Industrial and Gothic music. Such an oddity has been done by Cleopatra Records more than once. For reference, see: Covered in Black: A Tribute to AC/DC; and Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna. Being an Industrial Music fan, I found them quite interesting, but think how Madonna fans felt when they heard her songs being covered by Industrial bands! Also, hearing the redheaded teen idol/80's pop artist/one-hit-wonder Tiffany surfacing after more than a decade of obscurity to play with the Industrial gods Front Line Assembly is absolutely priceless!!

being a huge U2 fan, i had to go out and buy it when i first heard of it. i knew i might be disappointed. some songs, of course, are slaughtered. like Bang tango's EBTTRT, and especially Intra-venus's Discotheque, i think these are the worst tracks on the album, just boring and dumb. almost all the songs are done in a more Techno/Industrial style. the best tracks are Heaven 17/with or without you, information society/one. front line assembly with tiffany/new years day. and Rosetta Stone/ October. it's pretty cool to hear October with a beat. New years day is good in a female voice along with WTSHNN. and Dead or alive's EBTTRT is pretty cool. Sunday bloody sunday by Electric Hellfire club starts off very intriguing until you hear his voice, if you can get past his horrible "evil monster villain" type singing then it's very creative and pretty cool. Pride is Done good, i'll just tell you that the chorus takes you by surprise. numb is the same almost, not near as good as the original though. Polecat's Desire is kind of swingy-country, interesting. well anyways, i think this album was worth it, just to see what these groups came up with. although it's probably not for every U2 fan.

Tiffany with Front Line Assembly on 'new years day'. That track is worth the purchase.

I bought this because U2 is the best band on the planet ever. Period. And I enjoy hearing how other musicians interpret U2's songs. I gave it a 3 stars simply because they are great songs, but there are some on here that are [not so good]. The band that covers "With or Without You" should be taken... but only after being tortured with their song for a couple of days. Everything else is pretty good. I really enjoy "Numb" -- very [nice]. This is a great addition to the collection of any big U2 fan. If you enjoy tribute albums the same label that put out this album has Bauhaus and New Order tributes too. Both excellent and really live up to being called tributes.

This CD would have been worse if the cover bands did nothing with the songs. Most of the songs would have sounded better, but then there would be no reason for this album to exist. It is worth listening to for the new takes on each song. But they are very difficult to listen to, especially for big U2 fans. After a while, though, they become tolerable, and you might even like a couple of the tracks as much or more than U2's versions. For me these are "Numb" and "October." In conclusion, U2 is better at playing their songs than these groups are, but if you are a big U2 fan, you might appreciate the originality of their covers.

As a huge U2 fan I had to buy this album and although this is not normally my type of music I like it for its fresh look at U2s great songs the Best song is New years Day by Tiffany and Front Line Assembly. Tiffany who was huge in the late eighties and early nineties sounds FANTASTIC and I can only hope she records again, her voice is amazing, she has grown up !!!!!. I think any U2 fan should buy this as they will like the different outlook on the best band in the world

If you can't stand U2's songs, hate the band, or hate tribute albums, buy this album just for Tiffany. Listening to her voice is worth the 12 bucks - Tiffany's voice is priceless. Her 4 minutes make the whole album worth it.

Cover songs as a rule are never as good as the originals, and an album of cover songs are usually annoying (at best) or aggravating (at worst) to true fans of the artist being covered. But, that's what tribute albums are supposed to be about: a bunch of bands paying homage to a group by doing inferior cover versions of the original songs, as if to say, "You are so great, here are our screwed-up versions of your songs to highlight just _how_ good you are in comparison."

If you take this attitude going in, "We Will Follow" probably won't be as aggravating as you'd expect to die-hard U2 fans. Listening to these covers of U2 songs--all of which I know inside out from hours of listening, studying, mulling over and general adoration--I'm reminded of how great U2 really is. The originals, obviously and by far, outshine these versions, but the songs are so well written and strong to begin with that most of these covers didn't turn out half-bad. It helps that most of these covers stayed fairly true to the originals (no major chopping, no truly bizarre reinterpretations, and very few changed lyrics; some of them just sound like remixes of the originals).

The strongest track, the one that comes closest to actually adding something to the original, is "October," a truly great song (the hidden track on the Best of 1980-1990, if you don't have the albumof the same name) in its original version that I always thought was missing...something. (Though not enough to ruin the song.) This reinterpretation adds ambience and beats that were never there before, enriching the piano and vocal and taking the song in an entirely different direction than the minimalist original. It's worth listening to the album just to hear this song.

The overall product, though, really isn't all that bad. If you are a devoted-to-the-core U2 fan like myself, you may want to hurt somebody after listening to a few of the versions, but if you take the right attitude going it, you actually may be pleasantly surprised. (Try listening to it late at night with the lights out and a few candles going; this seems to be the best atmosphere for most of these versions.)

Finally, remember that this IS NOT a "U2 album." It's a _tribute_ album to a band worthy of all the tribute we can offer. And, before you go dismissing all cover songs as pure trash, remember that U2 has referred to themselves as the "world's worst cover band." (Ever hear their chop job on the Stones' "Paint it Black"?) I love those guys, but they are at their best giving their view of the world, not reinterpreting the views of others. That most of the bands on "We Will Follow" will never create songs half as good as the ones they are covering here is testament to the power of U2.