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The original U2 is back

The band U2 has gone back to the basics with its new album "All That You Can Leave Behind." For the last 10 years, the members have focused on techno/pop instead of rock 'n' roll. The band's message has been hard-er and harder to distinguish throughout the years. This new album is straightforward in its intent. The band hasn't thrown away all of the things it has learned throughout the last 10 years; the band has merely integrated its knowledge into a new style that brings back the essence of what it was when the band first started in 1977.

"As a band, we thrive on a sense of discovery--whether it's some kind of new technology to explore or a new sound," the Edge, the guitarist, said in an interview with CNN. "We've never been a band to use ideas over and over again."

Toning down the musical effects and turning from overproduction of its albums has brought the simplicity of four individuals working together to communicate ideas in music. The new CD displays the band's amazing melodies, deep lyrics, and incredible musical ability. This new album sounds similar to U2's best-selling album "The Joshua Tree." The use of tambourines and other earthy instruments produce a pleasing sound. The old sound is mixed with newer electronic sounds that make this album the band's best yet.

U2 is known as a band with a message. Its songs are socially conscious, politically charged, and the lyrics are motivated by a sense of God. On the surface, the songs may be interpreted as shallow, but if their irony and humor are understood, the depth of the songs' meanings come out.

Bono, singer and songwriter, based "Peace On Earth" on the bombing in Omagn, Northern Ireland, that killed 29 people during the Christmas holidays of 1998. He saw irony in the children in Ireland singing Christmas songs of peace on earth while people had lost their faith in peace, in life and in God.

The song "Kite" reflects where the band has been the past 10 years. "Did I waste it? / Not so much I couldn't taste it/ Life should be fragrant/ Rooftop to the basement/ The last of the rock stars/ When hip hop drove the big cars/ In time when new media was the big idea/ That was the big idea."

As a band, U2 isn't trying to fill the silence; the members want to connect with people, drummer Larry Mullen said in an interview with Michael Dwyer of "The Age." "I think what U2 has done on this record is we've gone right back and reminded ourselves that what we wanna do is communicate," Adam Clayton, bass guitarist, said in the same interview.

If you have liked U2 in the past, this new album will impress you. It is a compilation of everything the band has done in the past. U2 once again brings words of hope to its listeners.