Leonard Cohen. Daniel Lanois. The Smashing Pumpkins. Bloodhound Gang. U2. Several artists whose output I normally enjoy a great deal have released new music in 2014, and all of them except for U2 disappointed me. Of course, an argument could be made that since my passion for U2 exceeds that which I feel for those others by such a wide margin that Songs of Innocence was the only one that really mattered. I admit that despite so many let downs, I still count 2014 as a successful year for music not only because we finally got a new U2 record, but also because it kicked ass. Even better, it got the band back in the public’s thoughts, and once the furor over the method of release died down the album even deservedly received a good bit of acclaim (You did see that Rolling Stone Magazine named it album of the year, didn’t you?). It should come as no surprise that U2 delivered. Much was made of the band’s continued search for relevance following the perceived failure of No Line on the Horizon, so they knew that they had to put out something that was not just good, but great. Of course, they met and exceeded most everyone’s expectations proving once again that as much as other artists, even great ones, might fail to impress, U2 never will. Just another reason why I love them so much.