On November 22, 2004 U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was released. I was not in love with this album no matter how many times I listened to it. But there were a few songs on it that I did love: “Original of the Species,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own,” and “Love and Peach or Else” after hearing it in concert on the Vertigo Tour with Larry screaming “Release! Release! Release!” standing up at the tip of the catwalk beating that drum. It wasn’t until much later I began to appreciate How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, as it is quite a good album.

I was as disinterested in the Vertigo Tour as I was interested in the Elevation Tour. Originally, I had tickets to 15 shows on Vertigo (because I had went to 27 shows on the Elevation Tour), but as the tour went on I sold some of my tickets and ended up only going to eight concerts on Vertigo. Of those, only three shows were GA. I am not sure if I was so disinterested in the Vertigo Tour because of my lack of enthusiasm for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, or because I was very into Lisa Marie Presley who was headlining her own tour for the first time, or because I had just bought a house, adopted a puppy and had a real 9-5 job for the first time in my life. Whatever the case, I did make it to the Vertigo shows in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City, Washington DC and Las Vegas. I don’t remember much about those shows except for Larry beating that drum in front of me shouting “Release!” repeatedly.

I do like the album cover of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. It ranks 6th on my list because it features all four band members. But sadly even with my new appreciation for it, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb will never be one of my favorite albums because it wasn’t my favorite back then. It does not evoke any amazing memories for me and as unintellectual as it sounds, the nostalgia factor (as much as songs or more) has a lot to do with how much I love an album.

This is how I rank the songs of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb on a scale from 1 to 10:

HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB

Vertigo………………………………= 8/10
Miracle Drug………………………= 7/10
Sometimes You Can’t Make…. = 8/10
Love And Peace Or Else………= 10/10
City Of Blinding Lights…………= 8/10
All Because Of You…………….= 7/10
A Man And A Woman………….= 7/10
Crumbs From Your Table……..= 7/10
One Step Closer…………………= 6/10
Original Of The Species………..= 10/10
Yahweh…………………………….= 8/10

Average…………………………… = 7.8