U2 - Get on Your Boots

Cafe Society
1

I just found a rip of this on youtube, and as fan of U2 for almost 25 years, I have to say that this is at least the most disappointing single since the Pop album. I know that almost every other pop/rock band has had a critical creative life much, much shorter than U2’s, but I continually hold out hope that they are not only the exception, but the gloriously grand exception. Even HTDAAB wasn’t too bad.

Get on Your Boots is so ordinary that I can’t figure what was happening in that group of musicians and producers. Who thought that I would be walking around singing that song in my head? It seems like one of those “tunes” you convince yourself is good because you’ve heard it so many times writing and recording it that you’ve convinced yourself that it’s good.

Full disclosure: I’ve come to decide (over many years) that Elvis Presley and America is one of the most interesting songs they ever did, even though for years I skipped that song. It’s more unconventional and less bold-faced than much of their stuff.

Yep, I just listened again, while typing this sentence, and it’s like some cover band from Pittsburgh trying to write their own U2 song. When I think, “I could have written that,” it’s a very bad sign. Where’s that soaring moment that carries the listener up and out of his car? I predict this will do about as well as “Discotheque”, which you’ll notice they don’t bother playing any more, along with the rest of that album.

2

It seems like they got together and said “Let’s write a song that’s reminiscent of our stuff from the early 80’s.”

Other than that, there’s really nothing to recommend here. It sounds like an album track.

3

One of the worst singles they’ve ever issued. I hide my shame in being their fan.

4

Jeez - I gotta find time to give this a real listen…

5

I’m glad that people who consider themselves fans hate it. It tells me the band has moved away from they did on ATYCLB and HTDAAB–both have some good songs but they were ultimately very “safe” albums.

ETA: I think it’s really only in the U.S. that Pop is seen as a “bad” album. And that’s what I think caused them to retreat on their last two albums.

6

They were. I love ATYCLB and felt it was a good time for U2 to play it safe. HTDAAB was somewhat disappointing that they continued to do so.

I like Pop a lot. Always felt it was underrated.

7

As someone who was a big fan in the 80s and has been spectacularly unimpressed with everything they’ve done since, I don’t think it’s a bad song. I mean, it is U2 - they’re not really going to push the envelope much (even Pop was far more conventional than people seem to think). But I think it’s decent, and I like the electronic drum break in there.

Then again, I liked “The Fly”, which was the teaser single for Achtung Baby, and didn’t much care for the rest of the album, so what do I know?

8

You take that back. AB is a work of melody, poetry, emotion, and soundscaping that still doesn’t sound like anything else.

“Achtung Baby isn’t a good album”, grumble grumble grumble.