There's been a lot of hubbub about the marketing gimmick used to launch this album, much of that has distracted from what the album is itself. This is by no means the band's finest work but that makes it no less interesting. U2 albums are often cases where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts but, usually, at least a few of those parts rise to the top. I'm not sure there are really any stand-out tracks here which might be why they decided to just release the album all at once. In truth, this is an album they have tried to make before but I'm not referring to the abandoned Songs of Ascent from which most of these songs were ultimately culled. In truth, this album's spiritual predecessor is, in fact, the band's sophomore effort October. Not only is there a sonic similarity in terms of the actual music but it revisits many of the themes of that album (and, to an extent, its predecessor Boy): youth on the cusp of adulthood, the 'Troubles', faith, and the loss of Bono's mother.
October itself is probably U2's weakest album; Bono famously lost his notebook containing his lyrics and had to start over from scratch. As a result, that album has always felt somewhat undercooked and more than a little naive. It was an album made by a group that was little more than teenagers and perhaps its one redeeming charm is its naivete.
Even to the casual listener, Songs of Innocence is clearly about the band's genesis. The opening track "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" is not so much a straight up tribute or homage to the titular New York punk icon as it is about that first musical epiphany that anyone has, that first exposure to that artist that would, ultimately, change and influence their life. A generation before, it was the Beatles. A generation later, it was Nirvana. The effect, however, is always the same: pure joy. That is what Bono & Co. attempted to capture here and, in their own U2 way (meaning lacking all subtlety), I think they accomplished that.
Another transformative event that would contribute of the evolution of Paul Hewson into Bono Vox, is the death of his mother (at the funeral of her father no less). This has been addressed many times by Bono over the years: "I Will Follow", "Lemon", "MoFo" and, perhaps most directly, "Tomorrow" from the aforementioned October. However, in those songs, the experience was always obscured; Bono opted to insulate the experience in abstracts and universal ideas of mother and son. Songs of Innocence contains his most direct statement on the matter with "Iris (Hold Me Close)".
In fact, Songs of Innocence is perhaps Bono's most autobiographical set of lyrics. "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland/Ireland have long been a subject of U2's music. Their first attempt was, once again, on the flawed October. "I Threw A Brick Through a Window" features some of Bono's most cringe-worthy lyrics--- and that's saying a lot--- ("He was my Brother!) but it served as a sort of rough draft to the far more successful "Sunday Bloody Sunday". It was a theme the band would revisit many times over the years, including the underrated "Please" from the underrated Pop. However, once again, it was always thematically abstract. In "Raised By Wolves", perhaps the album's strongest track, Bono for the first time addresses the effect that a bombing in his own neighborhood had on his formative years and the sense of security he felt in his youth. The lyrics are still a bit on the naive side, but the rage and trauma are still palpable in Bono's voice and Edge's guitar explosions.
Songs of Innocence may not be the band's best work. In fact, I would categorize it among their weakest. However, that doesn't mean it is bad by any means. It is the sound of a band looking to the past, to its origins, in order to, hopefully, find inspiration for the future. In any case, it's definitely worth the price I paid for it. And, to paraphrase one of my favorite reviews, I give it 2 1/2 stars out of five: if you're a U2 fan, add a star; if you're not a U2 fan, subtract a star... and if you absolutely hate U2... why are you even worried about this?
Key Tracks: "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)", "Iris (Hold Me Close)", "Volcano", "Raised By Wolves", "Cedarwood Road"
