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I must admit, I am a U2 junkie.  Joshua Tree was the first rock-n-roll album I owned, and to this day it continues to be the best album I own.  Having been hooked on U2 since childhood, I anticipate each new album as if I am getting a new puppy.

No Line on the Horizon has everything you’ve come to expect from U2.  Every track has enough signature U2 sound and feel to ground long-time fans, but the album as a whole is a sonic tapestry.

Fans have come to expect poignant lyrics from Bono, the part time activist for grace and peace and debt forgiveness.  Check.  We’ve come to expect Edge’s simple triads that continue to sound new and brilliant.  Check.  As for the rhythm section: we know that Adam Clayton will provide an interesting heartbeat and the steady drums of Larry Mullins Jr. will fade into the background and then WHAM! wake you up as if from a dream about falling off a cliff.  Check and Check.

The wonder of No Line on the Horizon is in the production.  Moving from track to track reminds me of reading a collection of Flannery O’Connor stories in the hands of Brian Eno, Steve Lillywhite, a little help from Will.i.am, but most notably Daniel Lanois.  In addition to production, Lanois collaborated with the band on both lyrics and music.  If you are unfamiliar with the work of Daniel Lanois, let me bring you up to speed.  If the Pope listened to rock-n-roll, he would issue an edict demanding that the world listen to his work before arriving at mass.  He is a deep spiritual fount of music.  Lanois’ fingerprints are all over this record.

As with How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb‘s first single – Vertigo, the most avoidable song on No Line happens to be it’s first single.  Get On Your Boots is, well, a bit awkward, while being radio-friendly.  If you don’t enjoy thinking about lyrics please download that new Brittney Spear’s single, something about seeking Amy.  However if you are a person who depends upon music to bring moments of transcendence, buy this album now.

The refrain in the final track, Cedars of Lebanon, implores, “Return the call from home.”  While I doubt the band’s goal was to stimulate blog responses on the websites of self-indulgent reviewers like myself, please take a second to let me know what you think of the album.  Return the call from ReamofPaper…