Best of the 00's: All That You Can't Leave Behind

The last of the rock stars, when hip-hop drove the big cars; In the time when new media was the big idea, That was the big idea... (U2 - Kite)

After the disappointing Pop in 1997, U2 went back in the studios with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The result was U2's great comeback album 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind (and the first of a great trio of cds by U2).
The cd opens with the perfect single (which U2 seems to have a knack for) Beautiful Day, a positive affirmation of life... "It's a beautiful day, Sky falls, you feel like it's a beautiful day, Don't let it get away".


One of the highlights of the cd is the song Kite. The lyrics for me are about a parent having to let a child go independently on their own..."I want you to know that you don't need me anymore; I want you to know you don't need anyone, or anything at all" and "Who's to say where the wind will take you, who's to say what it is will break you, I don't know, which way the wind will blow"; an awesome song

Another great song, the rocking New York; "In New York freedom looks like too many choices, In New York I found a friend to drown out the other voices, Voices on the cell phone, Voices from home, Voices of the hard sell, Voices down the stairwell" and "In New York summers get hot well into the hundreds, You can walk around the block without a change of clothing, Hot as a hair dryer in your face, Hot as handbag and a can of mace".

Another great rocker, the uplifting Elevation; "High, higher than the sun, You shoot me from a gun, I need you to elevate me here, At the corner of your lips, As the orbit of your hips, Eclipse, you elevate my soul".


Other great songs on ATYCLB include Walk On, In a Little While and Stuck in a Moment. U2 continued with quality output througout the 00's.