For once, U2 did themselves a disservice with their lead single. 8 years later, I still remember the annoying iPod commercials featuring "Vertigo" and cringe. And although probably every song ever is made much worse when edited and chopped into a 30 second product placement, I still think "Vertigo" is pretty terrible and much too reminiscent of their forced postures of the 90s, even if it doesn't have anything to with techno. I'm all for musical diversity, but time has proved that U2 isn't really good at anything besides epic rock songs that aim for nothing less than transcendence.
And yet, the rest of the album much more resembles All That You Can't Leave Behind. If the 'unforgettable fire' they had in the 1980s is gone, and they at times feel like they're re-writing their best songs, they're also savvy veterans and they know they can't go wrong with a big Edge guitar part and a cathartically building Bono vocal. On songs like "Miracle Drug" and "Original of the Species," I feel that U2 magic all over again. This is also one of their more consistent albums, for once closing on a high note with "Original of the Species" and the stirring "Yahweh," plus nearly every song is memorable on some level. Weirdly, I think that "Vertigo" and the follow-up single "All Because of You" are actually the worst songs on the album, as they both attempt to rock out, which the band hasn't done well since 1984. But when they play to their strengths, which they do for most of the album, they prove that they can still do quality U2.
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