After one listen

No Line on the Horizon, the complete album, is now streaming on u2.com. Rolling Stone gave it 5 stars. Neil McCormick at the Observer liked it a lot. And the guy at the Irish Times says it makes up for their 'lost decade' and is clearly the album they should have made after Achtung Baby!

Any u2 fans knows you absolutely cannot judge a u2 album after one listen. A commenter on the Rolling Stone site said it best:

I remember the first time I listened to Achtung Baby, I thought and said out loud: "What the f--- is this?!!?"

Achtung is one of the greatest albums ever created.

So, this is not a review in any way, shape, or form (stay tuned for that).

But I can say this:

• it's more of an album than anything since Achtung
• they take more chances here than they have since PoP
• GOYB makes a LOT more sense in the context of the album (like the Fly)
• there's a lot of War in this album
• I have high expectations; that is, I already have a feeling that's it's not only in the top 3 u2 album category, but that it might even have a shot at competing in that league [I liked the last 2 albums - hell, I loved Pop - but I haven't said something like this about those albums]