Get On Your Boots? I Think We'd Be Better Off Getting Our Coats!

For the first time in my 24 years as a U2 fan, I am disappointed with the first single from their new album. With Or Without You, The Fly, Lemon, Discotheque, Beautiful Day, Vertigo - all killers and set us up with a clear picture of what we were to expect from their respective albums.

'Get On Your Boots' just isn't working for me. It's not the worst thing they have done, far from it. I think what get's me is the bad quality of the recording. Do I need to clear my ears out or have you noticed this too? I know U2's material has always sounded raw and it was one of the aspects of 'The Unforgettable Fire' album that I loved - the fact that it sounded like it was recorded in a garage. The reality is that it was part recorded in one of the ballrooms of Slane Castle, the other in a run down looking Windmill Lane studio complex in 1984. What pisses me off now is that they have the best of equipment available to them and they have managaed to encapsulate that awful 'manufactured raw sound' that everybody seems to be opting for these days.

It's a technique that backfired badly for Metallica upon the release of their last studio album. Within hours of it's release fans were voicing their disdain on various fansites and message boards worldwide with complaints of 'woeful audio quality' etc. Whether this was intentional or not on behalf of the band and their production and engineering team I don't know but it seems to be something that is occuring on a more regular basis.

Guitar bands these days seem to opt for a more 'distorted' sound, probably because it gives a more live feel to the music. I just don't like it. Maybe it's because I grew up with the synth music of the 80's which always looked towards high production values giving way to a much clearer sound to the listener. We always had good sound systems at home and these days not only do I have a Bang & Olufsen hifi at home, I went to the extreme of ordering a car fitted with a Bose sound system. I like good sound quality but I am seldom getting it from my favourite bands and artists!

Anyway, back to my original point - Get On Your Boots. After all the hype that has surrounded the new U2 album release, I just hope it lives up to it all! May I shouldn't be worried, it is U2 after all.

Or should I......???