| All That You Can't Leave Behind | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 30 October 2000 (2000-10-30) | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:25 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| U2 chronology | ||||
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| Singles from All That You Can't Leave Behind | ||||
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| 20th anniversary edition | ||||
 Icons used in the album imagery were repurposed for the 20th-anniversary box set | ||||
All That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by Irishrock bandU2. It was produced byBrian Eno andDaniel Lanois, and was released on 30 October 2000 throughIsland Records worldwide and throughInterscope Records in the United States.[2] After the band's experimentation withalternative rock anddance music in the 1990s, and driven by the mixed reception to their 1997 albumPop, U2 returned to a sound more akin to their earlier records forAll That You Can't Leave Behind. The group reunited with Eno and Lanois, who had produced three prior U2 albums together. The record was originally namedU2000, which had been a working title for theirPopMart Tour.
The album received positive reviews from most critics, reached number one in 32 countries, and sold over 12 million copies. The songs "Beautiful Day", "Walk On", "Elevation", and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" were all successful singles. The record and its songs won sevenGrammy Awards; it is the only album in history to have multiple tracks win theGrammy Award for Record of the Year: "Beautiful Day" at the2001 ceremony and "Walk On" at the2002 ceremony. In 2003, the album was ranked 139th onRolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", but it was re-ranked at number 280 in 2012. The supportingElevation Tour, on which the band returned to playing arenas with a more intimate stage design, was also a critical and commercial success.All That You Can't Leave Behind wasreissued in 2020 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its original release.
Throughout the 1990s, U2 experimented withalternative rock andelectronic dance music, culminating with their 1997 albumPop and the accompanyingPopMart Tour. Guitaristthe Edge said that withPop, the band had "taken the deconstruction of the rock 'n' roll band format to its absolute 'nth degree."[3] However, following the poor reception to the album and tour, the band wished to return to songarrangements that consisted almost entirely of guitar, bass, and drums, and to quickly regroup in the studio after the tour.[3]
ForAll That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 reunited withproducersBrian Eno andDaniel Lanois, who also produced their albumsThe Unforgettable Fire (1984),The Joshua Tree (1987), andAchtung Baby (1991).[3] Although the band wanted to write new material before beginning recording sessions, Eno convinced them to quickly write songs in the studio.[3] For three weeks in late 1998, U2, Eno, and Lanois recorded demos in Hanover Quay Studios.[3] One of the few quality ideas that stemmed from these brief sessions was the song "Kite".[3] Lead singerBono's vocals inspired everyone in the studio, particularly after he had been suffering from vocal problems for the previous few years.[3] U2 thought they would have a new record completed in time for 1999.[3] After the band's brief demo sessions, The Edge worked alone on song ideas before the band reunited at Hanover Quays.[3] They recorded with the mentality of a "band in a room playing together", an approach that led to the album's more stripped-down sound.[3] After mixing "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" in 2000,Tim Palmer was brought onto the team to mix some key songs for the record. Palmer mixed "Elevation" and "New York" in Dublin, and in Los Angeles he mixed "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of".
Bono's involvement in theJubilee 2000 campaign prevented him from dedicating all of his time to the album's recording, something Eno thought was a distraction.[4] There was also a two-month break in the sessions when Bono collaborated with Lanois andHal Wilner onThe Million Dollar Hotel film soundtrack.[4] The band had thought they could complete the album for 1999, but the sessions ran long,[3] with band members' conflicting schedules playing a large part in the delay. U2 did not want to put a deadline on completing the album after their experience withPop, which had to be rushed to completion in order to meet the deadline set by their pre-booked PopMart Tour.[3]
In mid-1999, bassistAdam Clayton and drummerLarry Mullen, Jr. bought houses in the South of France, in order to be near Bono and the Edge's homes so they could have a place to both "work and play".[4] That year, a bag holding personal papers and alaptop computer containing lyrics for the album was taken from Bono's car, which was parked outside Dublin'sClarence Hotel, which is owned by Bono and The Edge. Bono offered a reward of £2,000 for the return of the computer. An Irish man returned the laptop after having bought it for £300 thinking it was from a reputable source. He realised it was Bono's when he saw a picture of the singer's sonElijah Hewson on the screen, prompting him to contact U2's management.[5]
The band have said thatAll That You Can't Leave Behind was an album that acknowledged the band's past.[6] For example, there was a big debate amongst the band members during the writing and recording of "Beautiful Day"; The Edge was playing with a guitar tone that he had not used much since their 1983 albumWar and the band wanted something more forward-looking.[6] The Edge won out and the tone made it into the final version of the song. Additionally, although the record was described as "a return to the traditional U2 sound", many songs were complex and retained elements of the band's 1990s experimentation;[6] The introduction of "Beautiful Day" features an "electronification of the [chorus] chords with a beat box and a string part";[6] "New York" came together when the band members were away at a meeting and Lanois and Eno were playing around with a drum loop that Mullen had recorded.[6]
The album was seen as a return to the band's traditional sound after their more experimental records of the 1990s. In many ways, however, this is an oversimplification, as the album breaks new ground by retaining the sonic nuances of their 1990s work and reconciling it with the melodic, hook-filled rock of their 1980s work. The first song (and lead single), "Beautiful Day", for instance, is an optimistic anthem that opens with a drum machine and a rhythm sequencer. The album also includes "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", a song written by Bono for his friendMichael Hutchence, the lead singer ofINXS, whocommitted suicide in 1997. Clayton said the album was written "about the journey we'd been through as a band, as men in relationships, as sons of mothers and fathers. It was about the baggage that you have to live with, the sense of loss, like the fact that Bono's father was terminally ill through that whole period."[7]
Musicologist Susan Fast says both this album and the follow-upHow to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) find U2 returning to "more 'stripped down'rock andpop sounds".[8]Orlando Sentinel writer Matt Gilmour has called it a "pop-rock" and "classicist rock album – equal partsrhythm and blues,soul, rock and pop."[9]
The photograph on the album cover was taken by long-time U2 photographerAnton Corbijn in the Roissy Hall 2F of theCharles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France,[10] which was also where the music video for "Beautiful Day" was shot.[11] Contrasting with the colourful sleeves of the band's 1990s records, the cover ofAll That You Can't Leave Behind is a single monochrome image of the band. The designers describe the look they created as "grown up". In the original photograph, an airport sign reads "F21-36", indicating the direction of check-in desks. Per the band's request, the sleeve designers changed this to J33-3, a hidden reference to the Bible verseJeremiah 33:3 ("Call unto me and I will answer thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.").[10] Bono referred to it as "God's phone number".[11]
Following the comparatively poor reception of their previous albumPop, U2 declared on a number of occasions that they were "re-applying for the job ... of best band in the world."[12] Promotional activities for the album included a number of U2 firsts such as appearances onMTV'sTotal Request Live,USA Network'sFarmclub.com, andSaturday Night Live. The band kicked off the release of the album by performing a short concert for about 600 people at theManRay club inParis, France, on 19 October 2000, as part of the promotion for the 30 October release of the album.[13] The album wasbanned inBurma bySPDC because "Walk On" was dedicated to Burmesehuman rights activistAung San Suu Kyi.[14]
The album was preceded by the lead single "Beautiful Day", released on 9 October 2000.[15] It was U2's fourth number-one single on theUK Singles Chart, their first number one in the Netherlands, and was also number one for a week in Australia. The song peaked at number 21 on the USBillboard Hot 100. The album's second single, "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", was originally released on 29 January 2001.[16] It was also a success, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart. In Canada and the United States, the song was released as the album's final single later in the year.[17][18]
A third single, "Elevation", was first released in Australia on 25 June 2001 and received a UK release on 16 July 2001.[19][20] The version of the song released as the single was the "Tomb Raider Mix", which appeared in television commercials for theLara Croft: Tomb Raider movie. It features a much morehard rock arrangement than the album version, and it is this arrangement that the band plays live. The album's fourth and final single, "Walk On", was released in the UK on 19 November 2001.[21] This song served as the album's second single in North America; in Canada, it was released in February 2001, while in the US, it was serviced to radio the following month.[22][23] The song took on new meaning with listeners following the11 September attacks.[24]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[25] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [26] |
| Chicago Sun-Times | [27] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[28] |
| The Guardian | [29] |
| NME | 7/10[30] |
| Pitchfork | 5.0/10[31] |
| Q | [32] |
| Rolling Stone | [33] |
| USA Today | [34] |
| The Village Voice | A−[35] |
All That You Can't Leave Behind is easy to relate to, full of solid songs that appeal to a wide audience with its clear notions of family, friendship, love, death, and rebirth. ...the sounds on this album come from a band that has digested the music it started to consume while makingRattle and Hum. This time they are neither imitating or paying tribute. This time it's soul music, not music about soul.
— Caroline van Oosten de Boer[36]
All That You Can't Leave Behind received generally positive reviews from critics. OnMetacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 79, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[25] James Hunter ofRolling Stone magazine declared it "U2's third masterpiece", alongsideThe Joshua Tree andAchtung Baby.[33]David Browne ofEntertainment Weekly called the record "as unwaveringly assured asPop was tentative" and said that it "focuses on songs, not sonic gimmicks, and the difference is palpable". He concluded his review thusly: "at a time when rock feels so earthbound, anddance-steeped albums likeMoby'sPlay provide the musical exaltation guitar bands once did, U2 simply want to reclaim some of that old stomping ground. In their hands, falling back on old habits isn't cowardice, but a virtue."[28] Steve Morse ofThe Boston Globe said the record "has great songs that tie together beautifully—a welcome change from the disjointed nature of U2 discs such as 1993'sZooropa and 1997'sPop". He believed that Bono took extra care in crafting the lyrics, resulting in the "most thoughtful, personal, and tender U2 songs in memory".[37] In his review forThe Village Voice,Robert Christgau felt that the album eschewed the artsier tendencies of U2's previous work in favor of hooky pop songs and stated, "The feat's offhandedness is its most salient charm and nagging limitation. If I know anything, which with this band I never have, their best."[35]
AllMusic editorStephen Thomas Erlewine noted U2's return to "the generous spirit that flowed through their best '80s records" and calledAll That You Can't Leave Behind "a clever and craftsmanlike record, filled with nifty twists in the arrangements, small sonic details, and colors".[26]USA Today'sEdna Gundersen wrote that the band had distilled their previous experimentation "into smart accents and muted afterthoughts", resulting in a more organic record driven by "simplicity and soul".[34]The Guardian's Adam Sweeting felt that they had "grasped the value of simplicity" and created their most accessible and emotional recording sinceAchtung Baby.[29] While remarking that the record's streamlined nature rendered it "a teensy bit dull", April Long ofNME nevertheless calledAll That You Can't Leave Behind "a laudable achievement".[30]Stephen Thompson was less enthusiastic in his review forThe A.V. Club and found it inconsistent: "In terms of execution, it splits about 50–50 between soaring hits and dispiriting misses."[38]
Reviewing the 20th anniversary re-release,Stephen Deusner ofUncut gave the album a seven out of 10, noting that the material falters in the last third; he gave the new material a six out of 10, calling the B-sides "dull" but praising the live tracks.[39] The updated review from AllMusic notes that the remasters are the "centrepiece" of the re-release and that hardcore fans will appreciate the weirder collected B-sides; additionally, the packaging and photography from Corbijn are selling points.[26]
The album debuted at number three on theBillboard 200 chart in the US, selling 427,826 copies in its first week.[40] The album debuted at number one in 32 countries,[41][42] including Canada where first-week sales totaled 71,470 copies.[40] According toNielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 4.4 million copies in the US through March 2014.[43]All That You Can't Leave Behind is the fourth-highest-selling U2 album, with total sales of over 12 million.[44]
At the end of 2000,All That You Can't Leave Behind was voted the seventh-best album of the year in thePazz & Jop annual critics poll published byThe Village Voice. "Beautiful Day" finished fourth in the singles voting.[45]Spin ranked it the 20th-best album of the year.[46] The album and its singles earned U2 sevenGrammy Awards over the course of two years. At the43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001, "Beautiful Day" wonSong of the Year,Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, andRecord of the Year. In the44th Annual Grammy Awards in 2002, "Walk On" won Record of the Year, "Elevation" won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" wonBest Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The album also wonBest Rock Album and was nominated forAlbum of the Year.All That You Can't Leave Behind is the only album ever to have two singles win Record of the Year in two consecutive years.[47]
The accompanying Elevation Tour officially began on 24 March 2001 with a two-night stay at theNational Car Rental Center nearFort Lauderdale, Florida,[48] and ended back inMiami, Florida, on 2 December 2001 at theAmerican Airlines Arena.[49] The tour featured three legs and a total of 113 shows.[50] The Elevation Tour saw U2 return to playing indoor arenas after they spent the 1990s in outdoor stadiums. The stage design of the Elevation Tour was more stripped-down and intimate for the fans. Many shows on tour sold out immediately.[51] The band performed multiple concerts in certain cities, including four consecutive shows inChicago,Boston, andLondon each. Globally, the Elevation Tour grossed US$143.5 million,[52] making it the year's highest-grossing tour.[53]
In 2003,All That You Can't Leave Behind was ranked 139th onRolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"; the magazine wrote that U2 "brought things back to essentials" with songs that "grapple with mortality – particularly thegospel-soul ballad 'Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of' – and take on new resonance after September 11th".[54] In 2012, the album was re-ranked at number 280 on an updated version of the list.[55] In 2009, it was ranked byRolling Stone as the 13th-best album of the decade, while "Beautiful Day" was rated the ninth-best song.[56][57] The album was also included in the book1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[58] In 2006,Mojo rankedAll That You Can't Leave Behind 84th on its list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime".[59] In 2009,Consequence of Sound ranked the record 62nd on its list of the top 100 albums of the previous decade.[60] In 2014,PopMatters ranked the album 75th on its list of the best albums of the 2000s.[61]
On 30 October 2020,All That You Can't Leave Behind wasreissued on CD, vinyl, and digitally in commemoration of its 20th anniversary.[62] The album wasremastered and released in Standard, Deluxe, and Super Deluxe editions, all of which include the song "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", previously a bonus track, in the track listing. The Super Deluxe box set, containing 51 tracks, features: a 32-page book of photography by Anton Corbijn; B-sides and outtakes previously released on 2004'sUnreleased & Rare andThe Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack; complete audio from June 2001 performances in Boston (taken from the concert videoElevation 2001: Live from Boston); and 11 remixes, four of which were previously unreleased.[62][63]
All lyrics are written byBono except where noted; all music is composed by U2.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beautiful Day" | 4:06 | ||
| 2. | "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" |
|
| 4:32 |
| 3. | "Elevation" |
| 3:45 | |
| 4. | "Walk On" |
| 4:55 | |
| 5. | "Kite" |
|
| 4:23 |
| 6. | "In a Little While" | 3:39 | ||
| 7. | "Wild Honey" |
| 3:47 | |
| 8. | "Peace on Earth" |
| 4:46 | |
| 9. | "When I Look at the World" |
|
| 4:15 |
| 10. | "New York" |
| 5:28 | |
| 11. | "Grace" |
| 5:31 | |
| Total length: | 49:05 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" | Salman Rushdie |
| 3:44 |
| Total length: | 52:49 | |||
• (add.) Additional production
Notes
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Levitate" | 5:10 |
| 2. | "Summer Rain" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Stateless" | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Always" | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Love You Like Mad" | 4:19 |
| 6. | "Big Girls Are Best" | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" | 4:14 |
| 8. | "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (Acoustic Version) | 3:44 |
| 9. | "Flower Child" | 4:55 |
| Total length: | 38:02 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Elevation" | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Beautiful Day" | 4:43 |
| 3. | "Until the End of the World" | 5:15 |
| 4. | "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" | 5:41 |
| 5. | "Kite" | 5:25 |
| 6. | "Gone" | 4:55 |
| 7. | "New York" | 5:51 |
| 8. | "I Will Follow" | 5:10 |
| 9. | "Sunday Bloody Sunday" | 7:24 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In a Little While" | 6:54 |
| 2. | "Desire" | 3:06 |
| 3. | "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" | 4:50 |
| 4. | "Bad /40" | 6:23 |
| 5. | "Where the Streets Have No Name" | 6:31 |
| 6. | "Bullet the Blue Sky" | 6:19 |
| 7. | "With or Without You" | 5:31 |
| 8. | "The Fly" | 7:51 |
| 9. | "Wake Up Dead Man" | 1:25 |
| 10. | "Walk On" | 6:38 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Elevation" (Paul Van Dyk Remix) | 7:57 |
| 2. | "Elevation" (Influx Remix) | 4:03 |
| 3. | "New York" (Carnegie's Deli Remix) | 7:05 |
| 4. | "New York" (Superman Kicks Ativan Remix) | 7:31 |
| 5. | "Beautiful Day" (Quincey & Sonance Remix) | 7:57 |
| 6. | "Beautiful Day" (ThePerfecto Mix) | 7:51 |
| 7. | "In a Little While" (Nightmares on Wax Remix) | 5:15 |
| 8. | "Walk On" (Wyclef Jean Remix) | 4:44 |
| 9. | "When I Look at the World" (Picante Remix) | 5:14 |
| 10. | "Elevation" (Escalation Mix) | 7:05 |
| 11. | "Elevation" (Quincey & Sonance Remix) | 6:55 |
| Total length: | 71:37 | |
Adapted from the liner notes.[64]
U2
Additional musicians
| Production
|
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[130] | Platinum | 60,000^ |
| Australia (ARIA)[131] | 5× Platinum | 350,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[132] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[133] | 2× Platinum | 100,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[134] | Platinum | 250,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[135] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[136] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[137] | Gold | 27,312[137] |
| France (SNEP)[139] | Platinum | 550,000[138] |
| Germany (BVMI)[140] | 3× Gold | 450,000^ |
| Hungary (MAHASZ)[141] | Gold | |
| Italy (FIMI)[142] sales since 2009 | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[143] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[144] | Platinum | 150,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[145] | 2× Platinum | 160,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[146] | 3× Platinum | 45,000^ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[147] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Poland (ZPAV)[148] | Gold | 50,000* |
| South Africa (RISA)[149] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[150] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[151] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[152] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[153] | 4× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[154] | 4× Platinum | 4,400,000[43] |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[155] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000* |
| Worldwide | — | 12,000,000[44][138] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
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