Reviewed by Tony Cummings

As we all know, this, the mainstream megastars' 12th studio album, was two years in the making and clearly the time spent with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois (not to mention Steve Lillywhite who produces one of the album's defining moments here, the catchy "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight") has resulted in an exceptional album. As our review of the "standard" version of the album indicates, this is mature, deftly arranged music, full of a sense of space where The Edge's delayed guitar figures and Bono's keening vocals have seldom been more effective while the powerful spiritual metaphors in songs like "Unknown Caller", "Moment Of Surrender" and several others will keep believers musing on the imagery for many a month. To help you in the musing process comes this handsome limited edition. With the sleeve's memorable minimalist seascape photo by Hiroshi Sugimoto even the bog standard version is aesthetically pleasing but here one has something best described as a triple gatefold sleeve with lots of black and white photos - of the band in various locations plus evocative urban and seascape shots which could easily grace a gallery - to reflect the moody wistfulness of the music. The package also features access to an exclusive downloadable Anton Corbijn film, Linear. If you've the cash to splash out, it's a handsome package indeed.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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