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  1. While taking a break from preparing for final exams for the classes I teach, I thought I'd have a go at the endless discussion over how NLOTH could have been the band's third (fourth, if you actually include ATYCLB ) masterpiece, with a revised tracklist and some songs swapped out/swapped in.

    Bear in mind, this order attempts to take the narrative of spiritual pilgrimage that Bono has talked about surrounding the album and map it more discernibly song by song beginning to end than what the band actually gave us in 2009. Whether that's the traffic cop in NLOTH and/or some other character you envision is up to the listener.

    1. Soon - an ambient overture to the album as a whole, musically and thematically.
    2. Breathe - sort of "Pulp Fiction"-y, having the first major song be a celebration of what chronologically happens by the end. Plus, it just kicks ass at the beginning of the album like it did on 360.

    3. NLOTH
    4. Magnificent
    **Both NLOTH and Magnificent here reflect a desire to move beyond present circumstances and "magnify" the magnificent, transcending things spiritually.

    5. Unknown Caller - the encounter with the divine that shakes the protagonist up.
    6. Get On Your Boots - though I wanted to take Boots out completely, I'll leave it as a concession to it being the first single in real life and to its being a narrative follow-up to Unknown Caller: it's time to put on the boots and head out, even into threatening circumstances potentially. I like Bono's description of sensing danger on the periphery despite the "fun" of the song.
    7. Fez-Being Born - heading out, leaving home, setting sail, a rebirth...all with the "let me in the sound" callback.

    8. Winter
    9. White As Snow
    **Both Winter and White As Snow musically and lyrically reflect the darkness and uncertainty of winter, of pain and loss that the protagonist has now encountered on her/his journey.

    10. Moment Of Surrender
    11. Mercy
    **These two songs back to back would have been glorious. A surrendering to grace, to mercy, to new life now found as a result of laying everything down.

    12. Cedars Of Lebanon - What is this song doing at the end yet? I don't know and I kind of like that. When does it appear chronologically in the story? Sometime earlier with Winter/White As Snow? Or does this ambiguous ending suggest that not all spiritual journeys end with perfect clarity?
  2. My preferred running order is:
    SOON
    BREATHE
    GET ON YOUR BOOTS
    MAGNIFICENT
    NLOTH
    UNKNOWN CALLER
    STAND UP COMEDY
    FEZ - BEING BORN
    WINTER
    WHITE AS SNOW
    MOMENT OF SURRENDER
    CEDARS OF LEBANON

    However I never had issue with the album's original running order. I love SOON into BREATHE to pay homage to the 360 Tour. As I have said in other threads, NLOTH is a mini- masterpiece. The album is avante garde, arty, transcendent, spiritual, and even a tiny bit prog rock. Either people love NLOTH or they despise it and I love it! If people love NLOTH its usually because they understand and "get it." And for those fortunate enough to "get it" they are blessed with an ethereal listening experience everytime they play NLOTH straight through. Not musing high -brow snobbery here, it's just the innate reality of the divine record that is NLOTH.
  3. I still find it amazing and really sad that NLOTH is the album that has got the most songs not played live ever by the band (Stand Up Comedy, Fez - Being Born, White As Snow and Cedars Of Lebanon).

    It's one more song than the runner-up of this awful award, which is TUF (Promenade, 4th Of July and Elvis Presley and America).

  4. Originally posted by LikeASong:I still find it amazing and really sad that NLOTH is the album that has got the most songs not played live ever by the band (Stand Up Comedy, Fez - Being Born, White As Snow and Cedars Of Lebanon).

    It's one more song than the runner-up of this awful award, which is TUF (Promenade, 4th Of July and Elvis Presley and America).

    I was really surprised they didn’t try stand up comedy and fez-being born live. Even white as snow was given a mention I think in the tour programme when discussing potential Setlist songs so I’m quite surprised that didn’t get given a go either. Cedars of Lebanon makes more sense. Promenade is the only one from TUF list I would have liked to hear live, Elvis presley and america really would be the first beer break ever at a U2 gig for me and 4th of July is barely a song.
  5. Willie's Dairy mentioned considering White As Snow for Dublin3 2009, but nothing more than just talk of it.
  6. Originally posted by marik:Willie's Dairy mentioned considering White As Snow for Dublin3 2009, but nothing more than just talk of it.
    I thought it was Adam maybe in the programme that was talking about Setlist choices. Obviously the words would have been from an interview pre touring but I’m sure it was in there.
    Edit: I just checked and it was in fact a sentence from Bono that stood out in the tour programme
    ‘It’ll be interesting to see how he develops on the road! Quieter tracks too, white as snow or moment of surrender, could become luminous moments in the set’.
  7. I love SUC and did when the album was released,wouldve loved the instrumental Stingray Guitar as well as Soon on there.
  8. I think my appresh of Boots and defense of it as still the logical single choice, is probably my biggest u2fan "outlier" opinion.
    I just cant comprehend how much people dislike it, if you liked Vertigo as a single. And to me, the lyrics don't seem any more cringe than many other of their songs at that time period.

    That said, I also can't fathom how people say they "love" SUC.
  9. I think SUC, though perhaps not a fav on this site based on some other threads - I happen to like it - could actually have been a decent lead Single, and could have entertained the casuals. I also love how polarizing this album is. The ones that people love (White as Snow, Cedars, Fez etc.) are my least favourite, whereas the ones that I love (Crazy album version, SUC, NLOTH) aren't maybe as loved by others. I think we can all agree that GOYB was a terrible single
  10. Originally posted by marik:I think my appresh of Boots and defense of it as still the logical single choice, is probably my biggest u2fan "outlier" opinion.
    I just cant comprehend how much people dislike it, if you liked Vertigo as a single. And to me, the lyrics don't seem any more cringe than many other of their songs at that time period.

    That said, I also can't fathom how people say they "love" SUC.
    I’m not vertigo’s biggest fan but it has a lot more going for it than boots. The quality of the music vertigo is a clear winner and the quality of lyrics

    ‘Hello, hello, I’m at a place called Vertigo, it’s everything I wish I didn’t know..’

    That’s so much better

    ‘Get on your boots, sexy boots yeah….’
    ‘You don’t know how beautiful…. You don’t know, you don’t get it do you’

    Vertigo is much better, not saying the lyrics are world class but they’re much more appealing than boots. Even the title is much stronger.
  11. U2s last masterpiece
  12. The backlash of this record which cause U2 to have the relevant mindset that cause them to go the mainstream pop sound with modern producers. Even though I love SOI and like SoE, I always wondered what SoA would've been with complete versions of North Star, EBW (360 Version), Mercy, Boy Falls From The Sky (pre spiderman)