I try to return all reads. Merry Christmas everyone!
I try to return all reads. Merry Christmas everyone!
Member since:23.04.2008
Reviews:102
Members who trust:71
U2 are a band I have liked for many years since New Years Day first appeared in the singles chart in the early 80's, although the band actually formed back in 1976!
The Band :-
Bono - vocals Larry Mullen Jnr - Drums Adam Clayton - Bass The Edge - Guitar & vocals
Over 30 years later, and while many people dislike Bono these days, there is no denying that U2 are still one of the top bands in the world today, currently on tour playing to sell-out stadiums worldwide.
The Unforgettable Fire is my favourite album by U2, and was released in 1984. Over the following years I moved away a little from U2, returning again in recent years, but 'The Unforgettable Fire' stayed with me throughout. Moving away from Steve Lillywhite, the album was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.
The album saw a slight change in direction for the band, though it was still unmistakenly U2, with the familiar guitar sound courtesy of The Edge, the tracks had more of what I would describe as a 'haunting' feel about them. 'Ambient' is a word often used to describe this album, which was largely down to the Eno influence.
The band were looking to create a more serious album, but their record company boss at the time tried to dissuade the band
from involving Brian Eno, believing that he would 'bury them under a layer of avant-garde nonsense'. The band were undeterred, recording went ahead, and The Unforgettable Fire was released in October 1984.
The cover I feel is quite fitting to the whole mood of the album, and this is one of the things I miss about vinyl albums these days - the covers! Yes you get a small, scaled down version on CD's, but they will never replace or have quite the same effect as an album cover could have on you!
The front cover features Moydrum Castle, under a dark and grey sky. The back of the vinyl album cover featured another shot of the castle, the track listing and the lyrics to 'A Sort of Homecoming' in the centre. The album was named after an art exhibition at the Peace Museum in Chicago, by survivors of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
The tracks :-
1. A Sort Of Homecoming 2. Pride (In The Name Of Love) 3. Wire 4. The Unforgettable Fire 5. Promendade 6. 4th of July 7. Bad 8. Indian Summer Sky 9. Elvis Presley and America 10. MLK
I remember the first time I listened to this album, the first four tracks really drew me in. Each one a 'big' track and I remember thinking this was the best album I had heard for quite a while.
My favourite track on the album, and also my favourite all-time U2 song, is the title track 'The Unforgettable Fire' . It was released as the second single from the album, reaching a top 10 position in the UK charts. From its intro - a haunting twang of guitar, and ambient strings, the drums come in and the song slowly builds. Described as having a heartfelt sense of yearning, this is a brilliant track which I fell in love with upon first listen, for its moving music and lyrics :- "So sad to besiege your love so head on Stay in this time, stay in this lie I'm only asking but I think you know Come on take me home again..."
My second favourite track is 'A Sort Of Homecoming' the opening track on the album. If you like 'With Or Without You' then you surely will like A Sort Of Homecoming, as its up there with the best of U2 in my opinion. Featuring an emotive vocal delivery from Bono and a steady rhythm throughout, the song also has stirring, strong lyrics:- "The wind will crack in winter time This bomb blast lightning waltz No spoken words, just a scream..." From the first line of this song, the lyrics build until the last, when Bono raises his vocals to a passionate cry " For tonight at last I am coming home"
Pride (In The Name Of Love) is probably the track everyone will recognise on this album. It was the first single release from the album and reached the top 5, at that point it was the band's biggest hit. Another strong, stirring anthem, which Noel Gallagher has said was one of the best songs of the 80's. The song was written as a tribute to Martin Luther King Jnr.
'Bad ' is another strong track on this album and a favourite of many fans. It is a song about Heroin addiction and described as an 'unfinished sketch' by Bono, as he tries to describe the rush and then the come down of heroin addiction.
'MLK' is another stand out track for me on this album . An elegy also to Martin Luther King Jnr, it is an almost dreamlike track, whist 4th of July is an instrumental which started out with Eno recording Adam Clayton playing bass, and Clayton unaware he was being recorded. The Edge had joined in, also unaware of the recording. Eno worked his magic, and played it back to the band, and that was the song finished.
'Promenade' is also worthy of being cited as a great track on this album, whilst 'Wire' and 'Indian Summer Sky' see the band back to their post punk- type songs, which balance the album out nicely. If there is a weak track on this album then it has to be 'Elvis Presley and America' in my opinion. A track which I would describe as more of a b-side than an album track, although I have friends who disagree with me on this!
Overall, 'The Unforgettable Fire' for me, is U2 at their best. If you like U2 but have not heard this album, then I would highly recommend you get your hands on a copy and catch up with all that you have missed!
The Unforgettable Fire is available from Amazon priced at £3.98 new and from £2.45 used.
Label : Island Records ASIN : B000001FA4
*Review also appears on Dooyoo under same username.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
An appreciable leap forward in almost every fashion from the group's first trio of albums, ... more
The Unforgettable Fire is its first with the production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. And while they take a strong hand in wrestling U2's music out of the...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Beautiful 'soundscapes', lyrics tackle serious issues such as war atrocities and heroin abuse Disadvantages: Overly reflective, not much FUN.
Aug 17th, 2009
exceptional by (4%):
very helpful by (96%):
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