Sale Alert: U2's No Line On The Horizon

For just today, U2's new album, "No Line On The Horizon," is on sale at Amazon MP3 for $3.99. (Update: It's March 5, and the sale is still going on...!) I just had to share the good news with you, much like the lepers felt compelled to with the besieged city of Samaria (2 Kings 6-7), because I'm very excited about this album... it ranks up there as one of their best, in my opinion. I know, I know, many people don't like it and a lot of critics have trashed it. U2 has now attained the status of the band that's cool to hate--it's hip to call them "irrelevant" and too old to be in touch with the young listeners. Then there are the old-time fans who demand that their band keep putting out the old familiar sounds that they've grown to love. But I love it when U2 does something different, stretching itself (as they've done on their latest), and not fall back on their tried and true formula for success. The album rewards repeated listens; it gets better and better over time. So head on over and treat yourself (it's practically free!), and let me know what you think. And... for those of you who check in everyday, you see how you get rewarded for it? The Q Chronicles: always sharing the best with you.

Update: WXPN (our favorite local radio station) has picked NLOTH as the Featured Album of the Week, and here's the glowing review:

It's sometimes difficult to critique a band as accomplished and as influential as U2. And it must be equally as challenging to be a band of that stature and continue to create music as stimulating as your earliest works. On their 12th studio album, No Line On The Horizon, U2 has yet again crafted an album that is expansive, and at the same time attentive to that familiar U2 spirit.

No Line On The Horizon is immediate. It doesn't take very long to realize that U2 has done it yet again. Backed with the dream team of producers that includes Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite, No Line On The Horizon exceeds expectations and turns out soon to be classics. Songs like "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" and "Magnificent" will certainly find their place in the epic U2 catalogue of hits. And for a band that knows the formula so well, they continue to be on the innovative front.

Influence for No Line On The Horizon certainly was impacted by travels around the globe. The band recorded in New York, London and even Morocco which becomes evident after listening to the atmospheric "Fez – Being Born". And while his work around the globe often takes headlines, credit Bono with drawing a line between the activist and the rock star. As he states boldly on "Get On Your Boots", the albums first single "...I don't want to talk about wars between nations, not right now...".

Whether it's opening the Grammys or five nights in a row on "Letterman", there are few bands that can match the promotional blitz with an album as engaging; U2 is one of the few.

Written by Mike Vasilikos