U2 : Get On Your Boots :: Single Review
January 19, 2009 by greg
Filed under Featured Tunes, Tunes
“Get On Your Boots” is the first single from U2’s 12th album ‘No Line On The Horizon’ and marks a change in direction for the influential rock band. The track opens with a serpentine down tuned guitar riff while polyrhythmic percussion plays off Bono rattling lyrics like a post rock Dylan attempting a new version of “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
A sample of the lyric:
“The future needs a big kiss
Winds blow with a twist
Never seen a moon like this
Can you see it to?
Night is falling everywhere
Rockets hit the fun fair
Satan loves the bombscare but he won’t scare you.”
Bono manages to sum up the current zeitgeist as he also mentions gasoline, submarines, war and death into a song that somewhat apes Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up.” Lyrically this song is a little more developed and mature than the previous album’s 1st single, “Vertigo.” “Get On Your Boots” is an interesting change of pace for U2, which seemed content not to ruffle the feathers of their fans with their previous two releases. Hopefully this single is a harbinger of things to expect from the new album.
This post was submitted by greg.
U2 - Get On Your Boots - Single Review @ Unreality Music on Mon, 19th Jan 2009 7:45 am
[...] over at Ventvox has a great description of a single that: marks a change in direction for the influential rock band. The track opens with a [...]
dennis on Mon, 19th Jan 2009 9:07 am
oh man! i bought the new single from itunes. ROCKS! and yet it’s sexy enough for the ladies true to what’s been said – lot’s of layered electronic percussion or processed percussion perhaps. I think, for me, the thing that really strikes me is the production. Everything is upfront and present, and yet they’ve achieved space and clarity around each sound. It’s somehow full and yet lean at the same time. I think by going with the fuzzed-out guitar and traditional drums as one drum layer, they keep the Rock edge. And, yet the vocals and the other percussion/sounds seem to utilize modern/R&B production…compression techniques? For sure this rocks but it also sounds so modern! I guess Edge wasn’t bluffing – It really is Rock 2009!
I’ve got to admit, I didn’t get what they were going for on 1st listen. But, that’s when you know you’ve generally got U2 at their best. Glad they’ve decided to innovate & evolve this time around!
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fran on Mon, 19th Jan 2009 10:22 am
One of the reasons why I love U2 so much is simply…they evolve and you never know what you are gonna get. Of course, U2 live isn’t too bad either…Get on your boots mixes a spice of flamenco music, Queen, ELO and Elvis Costello. BRILLIANT
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Flamenco Dancing Guitar and Cajon Spanish Music » Blog Archive » U2 : Get On Your Boots :: Single Review | Ventvox on Mon, 19th Jan 2009 11:07 am
[...] : Get On Your Boots :: Single Review | Ventvox unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptOne of the reasons why I love U2 so [...]
Micanushi on Tue, 20th Jan 2009 4:03 pm
Worst U2 song ever!!!!!
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Niko on Thu, 22nd Jan 2009 6:08 am
combine “vertigo” and “dscoteque” and you get “boots”. Not exactly what I expected from my favorite band after 5 years of work! Hope there is more to it that I just don’t get but I doubt it. Waiting to hear the rest of the album. I’m still exited about it since they have never let me down so far.
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Shakib on Fri, 23rd Jan 2009 3:30 am
This song stinks. I don’t like it.
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Greg Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:53 am
wow.
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Dandelion Market on Fri, 23rd Jan 2009 2:04 pm
This new U2 single soars in the chorus. The chorus careens around the world and lands back on the fuzzy riff. What makes this a good song and not a great song, however, is that the verses and bridge do almost nothing to deserve such a fantastic chorus. The bridge sounds like it was cut out of a different song and is overly repetitive and almost headache inducing in its mechanical sound; it doesn’t take the song to a new place and elevate the chorus or riff to new heights like all great bridges do. I like it but the lack of continuity gets a B minus from me.
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Virgin Music » Rose’s Re-Reviews: U2, Prodigy, Miley Cyrus, Attic Lights on Wed, 18th Feb 2009 3:22 am
[...] whiff of anxiety or paranoia or even sexual tension” it claims. So what’s to like then? Vent Vox enjoys “a serpentine down tuned guitar riff while polyrhythmic percussion plays off Bono [...]