Search - U2 :: The Unforgettable Fire

Kathleen L. (katlupe) from OXFORD, NY
Reviewed on 11/10/2006...

Good music.

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Could've been 5 star with better song selection

Khyber900 | Los Angeles, CA | 03/08/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Unforgettable Fire was perhaps U2's most important record, as it marked the band's first transition towards megastardom. After providing the world with 3 impressive records, and arguably 2 masterpieces in Boy and War, U2 did not rest on its laurels but embarked on an ambitious journey with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois to create their first experimental record that opened the way to the Joshua Tree and everything else.



Eno and Lanois found The Edge to be the perfect outlet for their love of ambient experimentation. Edge developed an amazing wall of sound with the guitar, using lush texturing of guitar overdubs, drones, chorus effects, echo, suspended chords, added 7ths and 9ths, and fine tuning his melodic sense while Adam Clayton provided the critical backing (and chord changes, since Edge doesn't often play full chords). Bono found an outlet for his inner soul singer and Larry Mullen Jr. found that he could also play along with synthesizers, keyboards and electronic drum effects.



However, while Eno and Lanois stimulated U2's creativity, the downside is that the record sometimes frustrates the raw anthemic power of U2. In addition, though Eno/Lanois have helped U2 produce their best records, they always seem to leave great songs on the cutting room floor. The most egregious example was the band's decision to leave 'Sweetest Thing' off The Joshua Tree (which the band admits was a big mistake). On The Unforgettable Fire, the omissions were even more egregious.



The first 6 songs on this record rank with any 6 that U2 has ever done. Pride in the Name of Love is probably the best song U2 has ever written. A Sort of Homecoming, Wire, The Unforgettable Fire, Promenade, 4th of July, Bad, and MLK are also compelling tracks that have stood the test of time. However, the record falls apart somewhat on tracks like Indian Summer Sky and Elvis Presley and America. Furthermore, the true value of the songs was not realized until U2's amazing concert tour, in which they re-worked many of the layered tracks for the live stage, and came up with some incredible arrangements. The live versions of A Sort of Homecoming and Bad, in particular, trounce the versions on the original record. Those tracks were so good that the Wide Awake in America EP became a hot seller and helped people appreciate The Unforgettable Fire and widen the fan base.



There were also several great tracks that were left off the original record - The Three Sunrises, Love Comes Tumbling (both of which are on the Wide Awake in America EP), Boomerang, and Sixty Seconds to Kingdom Come. Each of these tracks is far superior to either Indian Summer Sky or Elvis Presley in America, and if they had been added to the original release, this record would have been regarded as a near masterpiece.



So if you are downloading a version of the record to your ipod, this is what it should look like (in my opinion):



A Sort of Homecoming (Live Version)

Pride (In the Name of Love)

Wire

The Unforgettable Fire

Promenade

4th of July

Bad (Live Version)

Love Comes Tumbling

The Three Sunrises

Boomerang

Sixty Seconds to Kingdom Come

MLK

A Sort of Homecoming (recorded version)

Bad (recorded version)"

The Great Fire of 1984

w.irving | 01/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"U2 had a lot going for them in the early 1980's. With three solid albums under their belts including their U.S. breakthrough, `War', the lads of Dublin decided it was time to play with fire. In other words they were poised to release something uniquely out of tune with the garbage piling up on the empty-headed pop scene. As it is said, where there is smoke there's fire and where there is U2 you have an album here so good it laid waste to everything else on the charts in the Autumn of `84, while refreshingly misrepresenting the band as Ireland's response to the last call of new wave. Okay, TUF didn't soar to the top of the charts, but its methodic ascent gave us plenty of time to relish a selection of songs that would brand the band as true architects of their craft. So where does one begin to train the water on a conflagration that burned off the long grass of a field under an `Indian Summer Sky' during that certain Fall? Well, the phenomenal success of `Pride'{in The Name of Love}, one of their biggest singles ever, is a testament to the group's rallying cry for freedom and a blast heard `round the world, thanks to its radio- friendly composition. If this is their anthem song, then `Bad' is the LP's signature cut. All of the factors for a melodic equation merge here for a perfect U2 number; those powerful, unmistakable vocals, forceful, precision guitar playing, nimble drumming and a throbbing bass during the refrain. `Promenade' is a peaceful ride through the English countryside, but when the Edge plugs into `Wire' things really heat up. His tight and intense guitar work here, puts him in an elite class few other players occupy. `A Sort of Homecoming' is a lyrical gem forged not from a cauldron of gloom and doom, but rather from a warm safe seat by the fireplace. On this one, Bono and his mates wax positive singing of hope and salvation, as if an endearing phoenix has just risen from the ashes to bring its message of revelation. However, in naked contrast to most of TUF's content is the absorbing title track. Its suggestive story aside, this song is simply outstanding, with a fluctuating score, vital orchestration and adventurous vocals that puts the band's front man in a class also, few others deserve to be. There is, at the very tail end of the piece, a barely audible 4 or 5 note fade out. Brief, yet stirring, it is a conclusion that would give a cinematographer the closing shot of his dreams. This is the record that really brought U2 to the shores of America, where they would, only 4 albums into their recording career, blaze a trail through the musical wilderness of the 80's with nothing shy of the scope of the country in their sites. The Fire is still burning just as bright today, like a pilot light that's never had to be re-ignited...an eternal flame of a masterpiece.

"