Day 17: U2, Abba, Adam & the Ants and Doves

Maire here. I got officially bored of having to chose albums to listen to so have decided to break the rules and am now asking colleagues and friends to chose a number between 1 and 1,032 (obviously we have all of them in a spreadsheet in alphabetical order). If the album has already been listened to then we move to the next line and so on.

So far it's been interesting that even with the large number range to chose from, most people have gone for numbers very close together - hence Abba and Adam & The Ants both appearing today.

Album 58/1031

U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)

All lyrics written by Bono except where noted; all music composed by U2.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Beautiful Day"		Daniel Lanois Brian Eno Steve Lillywhite (add.)	4:06
2.	"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"	Bono The Edge	Lanois Eno	4:32
3.	"Elevation"		Lanois Eno	3:45
4.	"Walk On"		Lanois Eno Lillywhite (add.)	4:55
5.	"Kite"	Bono The Edge	Lanois Eno	4:23
6.	"In a Little While"		Eno Lanois Richard Stannard and Julian Gallagher (add.)	3:39
7.	"Wild Honey"		Eno Lanois	3:47
8.	"Peace on Earth"		Lanois Eno Mike Hedges (add.)	4:46
9.	"When I Look at the World"	Bono The Edge	Eno Lanois	4:15
10.	"New York"		Eno Lanois	5:28
11.	"Grace"		Lanois Eno	5:31

12.

"The Ground Beneath Her Feet"

Salman Rushdie

Lanois Eno

3:44

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_That_You_Can't_Leave_Behind

Golf's verdict: Was this the last time a U2 album was a real event? I think it probably was. It starts incredibly strongly, but struggles to maintain the high quality through to its close, with the Salman Rushdie lyric Ground Beneath Her Feet being tacked on at the end.

Maire's verdict: I love early U2 but haven't really listened to much since The Joshua Tree. Some good tunes but a lot of filler. Wouldn't listen to as an entire album again.


Album 59/1031

Abba - The Visitors (1981)

Side One
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Visitors"	5:49
2.	"Head over Heels"	3:45
3.	"When All Is Said and Done"	3:20
4.	"Soldiers"	4:38

Side Two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Let the Music Speak"	5:20
2.	"One of Us"	3:55
3.	"Two for the Price of One"	3:36
4.	"Slipping Through My Fingers"	3:51
5.	"Like an Angel Passing Through My Room"	3:25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visitors_(ABBA_album)

Golf's verdict: A more serious affair than Arrival, which we kicked off the challenge with. But it still has its fun moments, such as the shaggy dog story of 'Two for the Price of One'. One of Us is an absolute classic and the version we listened to on Spotify had the added bonus of 'The Day Before You Came' as an added bonus. A great band and a great album.

Maire's verdict: I was expecting my review to be "I still prefer Abba Gold". Shouldn't pre-judge: didn't know most of the tracks but loved it.

Album 60/1031

Adam & the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier (1980)

All tracks written by Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni.

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dog Eat Dog"	3:11
2.	"'Antmusic'"	3:37
3.	"Feed Me to the Lions"	3:03
4.	"Los Rancheros"	3:30
5.	"Ants Invasion"	3:19
6.	"Killer in the Home"	4:22

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kings of the Wild Frontier"	3:56
2.	"The Magnificent Five"	3:07
3.	"Don't Be Square (Be There)"	3:32
4.	"Jolly Roger"	2:11
5.	"Making History"	2:59
6.	"The Human Beings"	4:32

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_the_Wild_Frontier

Golf's verdict: Arguably the origination of the 'Burundi' drumming sound in rock music, although Bow Wow Wow could also lay claim to that one. It's a bit patchy to be honest, but the singles are amongst the greatest ever to grace the Top 10, so there's a lot of goodwill for this. An genuine iconic performer too, prompting a million kids and teenagers to plait rats tails into their hair and apply pancake white lines across their faces.

Maire's verdict: God, he was gorgeous. Fun but not something I'd listen to often.

Album 61/1031

Doves - The Last Broadcast (2002)

All tracks written by Jez Williams, Jimi Goodwin, and Andy Williams, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"		1:18
2.	"Words"		5:42
3.	"There Goes the Fear"		6:54
4.	"M62 Song"	Williams, Goodwin, Williams, Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield	3:48
5.	"Where We're Calling From"		1:24
6.	"N.Y."		5:46
7.	"Satellites"		6:50
8.	"Friday's Dust"		3:35
9.	"Pounding"		4:45
10.	"Last Broadcast"		3:22
11.	"The Sulphur Man"		4:37
12.	"Caught by the River"		5:55

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Broadcast_(album)


Golf's verdict: I was lucky to see Doves perform most of this live at Somerset House some years back and it was an absolutely extraordinary performance. Maybe it's my faulty memory, but the studio versions seem a little muted in comparison. Still an album worth owning though.

Maire's verdict: Golf has raved about this band for years. I thought it was good but not worth all the raving.