Search - In the Name of Love :: In the Name of Love

U2 original re-makes (no 'covers' here)

David Setzer | Greenville, sc United States | 06/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First let me say that I am a HUGE U2 fan. Still have the BRS LP in the attic and was ecstatic when the U2 iTunes box set came out. I cannot stand to hear covers of U2 songs because I've never heard any that come near the emotion and talent of the original. Until now.



I first head Sanctus Real's "Beautiful Day" on the radio and the bass line was amazing. I actually like their version better than the original. It has a little more 'power' to it than even the Slane Castle live version.



The other GREAT songs on here are a hauntingly beautiful "Grace." Not much variation from original but it's the voice that carrys this song and Nicole Nordeman is amazing.



Pillar is awesome with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" taking a classic and giving it a edgy modern grit without sacrificing any of the original depth of this song.



I picked up the Mysterious Ways CD while in Europe years back and loved the five different versions of this song. tobyMac just added another to my collection. It's almost like a conglomeration of the Apollo 440, Solar Plexus and Perfecto remixes with a little tobyMac thrown in. The only problem with this one is that it should be at least 10-12 minutes long. It's a little too short.



I pretty much hate all things rap/hip hop and have never heard of Grits feat or Jadyn Maria but I can't stop listening to this version of "With or Without You".



There are a few slight duds on here. "Pride" - Too many wannabes keep trying this one. "Where the Streets Have No Names" - Sounds like a copy not an original."

It's a great one !

Matt | Florida | 03/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is masterful work in my opinion, regardless of whether one considers it a "tribute" album or a charity album (I guess I consider it a little bit of both - they're supporting a cause BY paying tribute to U2). Even a tribute album can pay homage to the work of an artist without making mere duplicates of the recordings.



And that is precisely what I like about this CD - that the artists don't try to sound exactly like U2. I'm a huge U2 fan, but I think the best thing for artists to do - even when covering others' songs, is to be themselves. The musicians here bring their own flavor to U2's compositions and it makes it richer and more authentic.



At the same time, they don't (for the most part) show an inclination to rework songs so much that their resemblance to the original becomes negligible enough to effectively kill the spirit of the original.



The two tracks that stray the most are "All I Want Is You" (Jars of Clay) and "With Or Without You" (Grits & Jadyn Maria). These two don't meet the standards of other 11, yet they are still both pretty good -- the latter mostly because Jadyn contributes a beautiful voice and offers up a great vocal performance. The R&B/Hip Hop bits by Grits actually work ok at times, but in the end could stand a bit less frequency. Jars of Clay turns up the blues dial a bit too much on "All I Want Is You" - which adds a ton of levity to what was is originally a very profound, almost haunting sound.



In trying to pick standouts I could easily just list 8 or 9, which would defeat the purpose, so I'll just say that I think Gloria and One are real big standouts.



They did a great job on this CD! And that's coming from a big U2 fan!

"

Its very good!

Gerald | Chicago, IL | 05/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lets face it, most tribute albums stink. The good news is that this one doesnt stink!.. Its not perfect, and im sure that this cd's version of "with or without you" will offend 99% of loyal U2 fans, but the rest of the cd is good, some songs are even great.



There are 3 or 4 songs here that manage to be different from the original in some way, but still good.

One of them is the first track in the album which is "Sunday Bloody sunday" by a band called Pillar... The song has a P.O.D sound to it.. Overall, its pretty darn good, not the best in the album, but very enjoyable.



Another good one is "Beautiful Day" .. This song is very balanced.... manages to sound very different from the original while still doign justice to U2's masterpiece.



The song that definately takes the cake is "40" ... The version this guys managed to put together is absolutely awsome. The album is almost worth buying for this song alone... without a doubt the best track on the entire album.



Other tracks worth mentioning are "Pride (in the name of love)", and "mysterious ways"... The only problem with pride is that they didnt change it much.. It pretty much sounds like the exact same song played by another band... WHICH doesnt make it a bad song obviously, the original is awsome, but compared to the other guys, this song sounds too much like the original....



And about "mysterious ways", when i read that Toby Mac re-made "mysterious ways" i was convinced it would be very interesting... And it is, but some parts of the song fall abit short, specially toby mac's vocals , which arent bad but they do sound flat once in a while.



Another one worth mentioning is "one" by Michael Tait... His voice fits this song perfectly... Sometimes it seems that hes trying too hard to make it different from the original, but its still darn good.



Other than that, there are other decent tracks here like "love is blindness" (the original is an awsome song, but this version falls a bit short), and "gloria". The rest of the songs okay, nothing spectacular...



The only true failure here is "with or without you"... the problem with this song is that it sounds too pop, and completely loses the feeling that the original had... This song almost sounds as if it was re-made by Britney Spears (except this girl in this song can actually sing), which will piss off alot of loyal fans... But if you have a 12 year old girl at home, she'll love it.



In short, its a good cd, and its a good cause. If you can afford it, i say go for it!"