All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2
  • Band Name: U2
  • Record Label: PolyGram
  • Release Date: Oct 31, 2000
All That You Can't Leave Behind Image
Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 88 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    As hopelessly antiquated as it may sound in the year 2000, it's as if they decided it was time to write and record an album of very good, extremely substantial traditional rock songs with an underlying inspirational bent.... the new work focuses on songs, not sonic gimmicks, and the difference is palpable.
  2. All Music Guide
    80
    All That You Can't Leave Behind is a rock record from a band that absorbed all the elastic experimentation, studio trickery, dance flirtations, and genre bending of Achtung, Zooropa, and Pop -- all they've shed is the irony. U2 also chooses not to delve as darkly personal as they did on Achtung or Zooropa, yet they also avoid the alienating archness of Pop, choosing to return to the generous spirit that flowed through their best '80s records.
  3. Sonicnet
    80
    U2 albums are generally slow growers, so it's much too early to label All That You Can't Leave Behind a classic. One can say with reasonable certainty that it's their most vibrant offering since Achtung Baby, their hardest-rocking one since The Joshua Tree, and their first true soul recording.
  4. Dot Music
    60
    Despite the almost universal hyperbole that has greeted 'All That You Can't Leave Behind', this is no masterpiece. Certainly not by U2's stratospheric standards.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 45
  3. Negative: 12 out of 45
  1. House0fWolves_
    10
    I grew up listening to this album. I cannot remember life before listening to any of these songs, and wish not to either. To those whom rate this with a zero, you have lost all respect from me.… Expand
  2. JohnB
    8
    A good album, if not anywhere near as good as their best. Beautiful Day is one of their best songs, and there are many strong tracks here. it's just.... not as cohesive or strong as a full album as Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree, or The Unforgettable Fire. Anyway, anyone else find it a bit weird that there was a slew of 0 grades (0, really?) all proclaiming U2 to be sellouts? Whether they're sellouts is debatable, I just find it suspect that so many 0 grades were handed out in a row, all using the same predictable complaint, and the typical "what I say is final, period" type of reasoning.… Expand
  3. j30
    7
    All That You Can't Leave Behind is a timely album and important one. However it's hard to look away from the records short comings as a whole. Elevation and Wild Honey keeps the LP grounded from great status.… Expand
  4. Andrew
    4
    This record contributes one classic song to the U2 canon: 'Beautiful Day'. Aside from that, it's a tentative album full of straightforward pop-rock songs with unimaginative arrangements and instrumentation. It's predictable, safe, radio-friendly, and generally uninspiring and uninspired. Still, judging by the sales it generated, this record did its job--winning back all of the traditionalist fans that U2 lost by making daring-if-uneven records like 'Pop', 'Passengers', and 'Zooropa'--quite admirably. Recommended for U2 completists only.… Expand

See all 45 User Reviews

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