Once again U2 have shown that they are alive and well in the rock and roll scene. Teaming up again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois who were with U2 on their hit albums Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, U2 have shown that they are a band of the 80s, 90s and the new millenium.

Beautiful Day is a brilliant poppy song that hides its deep overtones of meaning and lack of value in material things. Personally it inspires me as I consider, as the person does in the song, what it would be like to lose everything and still be able to realize that the day is wonderful, that there is still life, the earth and creation(in green and blue!) is valuable in and of itself. The biblical overtones of Noah and the ark are quirky and effective.

The Edge is still a shining star in songs like When I Look at The World. His screaming guitar solo, reminiscent of Unforgettable Fire days gives me goosebumps. You can hear Eno's influence in this song. Lanois' skill at giving a great beat to the music is as inspiring as ever.

Bono can still write, there is no doubt about that. From the spiritual beauty of Kite to the frolicking romp of New York he weaves stories and thoughts that are as captivating as ever.

Some claim that this album is a return to their roots. Its hard to say. I think they are still trying new things but just are not in the mood for the dance loops, and electronic sounds of their previous 3 albums - which, by the way, gave them great success. This is about how they want to continue to be a band with feeling and emotion.

I regret that Bono's voice just is not what it used to be in the album. The strain is detectable - and yet this strain somehow brings out a differnt kind of yearning and emotion to his voice that still makes me stand transfixed as I listen to the best rock band around.

What a great new album by U2. The boys from Dublin, who spent most of the mid to late 90's working with electronica culminating in the solid "Pop", return to their roots with a simple yet effective album. The Edge's signature guitar style, Bono's touching vocals, and the steadiness of Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton have all returned. This album is reminiscent of "The Unforgettable Fire" and dare I say "The Joshua Tree", albums in which U2 focused harder on the message and emotion. Nothing can match the emotion captured on those two albums, but "All that you can't leave behind" comes close, with beautiful tracks such as "Walk On", "Kite", "Peace on Earth", and the first single "Beautiful Day".

This limited edition also contains a bonus cd with one track, titled "Summer Rain". I was really surprised with the song, another solid U2 effort. And because the limited edition is the same price as the regular edition, I figure more U2 is better. I think most U2 fans will be very satisfied with this new album; and if you aren't at first, give it a couple of more listens. This cd will definitely grow on you, it grew on me.

Twenty odd years ago the world was first introduced to U2, four youthful Dubliners, whose debut album, `Boy', burst at the seams with chiming guitars, raw, emotive vocals and a tingling sense of twilight adolescent wonder. U2 were a welcome antidote to punks stark nihilism.`Boy' was followed by the `October' and `War' albums and a relentless commitment to touring that saw them make serious inroads into the hearts and minds of America. But it was 1984's `Unforgettable Fire' album, with its panoramic soundscapes and lush melancholy that set them on their "spiral stairway to the higher ground", emphatically confirmed at their dramatic Live Aid appearance the following year. U2 reached their peak in `87 with the `Joshua Tree', monumental in both scale and success. The rest, they say, is history.

The 90's brought us their last great album, the angst ridden and ironic, `Achtung Baby' but what followed was patchy as U2, tired of being earnest rock messiahs, played around with Post Modernism and the new media.

Now, at 40, without the surging electric energy of their youth and done with experimenting and subverting both their music and their image, U2 seem to want to play it open, honest and straight. Not exactly back to basics, mind, more a case of letting the songs speak for themselves and by and large they pull it off with dignity and aplomb. The opening two songs from 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' encapsulate this approach. `Beautiful Day' is a four minute ecstatic rush, filtered through a dazzling pop kaleidoscope and by way of contrast `Trapped in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of' is an uplifting, aching soul ballad. A large part of `ATYCLB' echoes the widescreen approach of their heyday. `Walk On' comes on like an Oasis anthem without the ....

Equally anthemic but more rugged and arguably the most emotionally charged song on the album is 'Kite' where Bono, addressing his wife and kids, projects himself far into the future, looking back on what's been and wondering about what's still to come. `New York,' is particularly reminiscent of early U2, the Edge letting rip with a dark and shuddering sonic assault. Only Bono's personal lyrics remind you that this is U2000: "In New York I lost it all to you and your vices / Still I'm staying on to figure out my mid-life crisis"

There are flaws in the grand design, Bono's irritating little Smokey Robinson fixation flares up on the otherwise passable 'In a Little While' and 'Wild Honey'. And being brutal, 'Peace on Earth' and 'Grace' are damp squibs. Neither fowl nor fish. The latter, for all it's well meaning sentiments and ironic little asides, meanders away to no great effect, whilst the former, which some might regard as a welcome respite from the grand scaled intensity, is little more than an anemic chill out hymn.

U2 might no longer be considered the World's most important band - that dubious crown currently sits uneasily on Radiohead's frail heads - but unlike Thom Yorke and co., U2 are still able, or at least willing, to place their faith in the traditional virtues of a good tune. Maturing well, no mid life crisis here.

There are U2 listeners under the mistaken impression that U2 is The Joshua Tree, and that everything after that was untrue to their image. Then there are those that realize that The Joshua Tree was just one of the many images the band has employed throughout their career, and was never meant to be permanent. They have continually evolved their sound through the years. To listeners of Boy and October, the U2 of The Joshua Tree was commercial and a divergence from their true self. To listeners of The Joshua Tree, the U2 of Pop was commercial and divergent from their true self. Then there are those that realize that the songs are always the same: it's how the band plays them that changes.

How does U2 play those songs on All That You Can't Leave Behind? Very well.

"Beautiful Day": When you lose everything, you can still stop, look around, and realize, Yeah, I'm broke and destitute, but isn't it beautiful out today? The first single, though that honor likely should have gone to "Elevation", which will likely find greater chart success.

"Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of": A Motown-flavored ballad. A song about suicide; or, rather, suicide prevention. About realizing that wherever you are at right now, you won't be there forever. Every moment ends. This feeling you're feeling now won't always be there. Also a likely single, because the lyrics are dichotomous enough that it sounds like a straightforward love song. Should find the same audience that doesn't realize that "Every Breath You Take" is about stalking.

"Elevation": A sort of "Even Better Than the Real Thing," in that "Take me higher" could have been lifted from that song and dropped in here without missing a beat. Following the pattern set by the previous two songs on the album, it's about finding inspiration and learning to leap up out of the blues. A great rocker, with some of the dance rhythms the band experimented with on Pop held over for subtle use here. Would make a great show opener. Favorite lyric: "At the corner of your lips / As the orbit of your hips / Eclipse / You elevate my soul"

"Kite": Probably my favorite song on the album. Flying away, floating on a leisurely breeze like a kite in the wind, is the metaphor. Just go with the wind. You can't control it, so just learn to enjoy it.

"In a Little While": An unusual little number for the band, with a great guitar lick by Edge kicking off a sweet song about missing someone; about being able to stop and enjoy missing someone.

"Wild Honey": U2 idealizes The White Album, the album that gave us "Honey Pie" and "Wild Honey Pie". Now, U2 gives us the completely unrelated "Wild Honey". One of the few straightforward songs on the album. After Jimmy Buffet wrote a song about the misadventure he shared with Bono in Jamaica, it seems only fitting that the boys write something with Jimmy's flavor.

"Peace on Earth": Another straightforward song. With a title like this, it's hard to mistake what it's about, but it does contain some of the most meaningful lyrics Bono's ever written. A reminder to those who make the mistake that U2 left behind their care for the world with Zooropa and Pop. It's always been there; they just stopped beating people over the head about it.

"New York": After doing Miami last time and New York this time, I guess the only thing left is Los Angeles. Denver, maybe? Poughkeepsie?

Though more mellow than most of their albums, there is a lot here to listen to. One of the best albums the band has produced in their career, and certainly one of the best albums of the year.

ATYCLB is an instant U2 classic. There is not a weak track on the album. It is perhaps their most melodic and consistent work, introducing several tracks that will forever rank up there with the likes of With Or With You, One, and Pride. Walk on and Kite are two favorites, and absolute U2 classics.

Since the entire album was leaked all over the Web over a week ago, hundreds of U2 fans have already heard most or all of the album, and the general consensus has been extremely passionate and positive, which is far above and beyond when their prior album, Pop, was released in 1997.

ATYCLB has the potential to be a huge hit, with most tracks being candidates for singles and radio play.

While it incorporates every style of U2's career, from Boy to Pop, it's also nothing like anything they've ever released.

It's truly a breath of fresh air.