U2 Album: “Unforgettable Fire”

This is a review of the 2009 Deluxe Edition (2CDs) of U2's The Unforgettable Fire.

As a college DJ, I was one of the first Americans exposed to, and to play, the music of U2 when their debut album Boy was released in 1980. That album, together with their third album, War, cemented U2's status as a major rock band. But it was their next studio album, The Unforgettable Fire, that catapulted U2 to superstar status. The experimental nature of U2's first of many collaborations with producer Brian Eno and engineer Daniel Lanois and the strong songwriting on the album, together with a growing awareness that U2 was a unique, politically conscious band, gave U2 a special cache and took them to another level. The following year, U2 was one of the most highly anticipated acts at the 1985 Live Aid concert, and their follow-up studio album, The Joshua Tree, was probably the best album of the 1980s. The groundwork for that masterpiece, however, can be found on The Unforgettable Fire.

Unlike U2's prior, more straightforward, work, The Unforgettable Fire had an atmospheric feel to it, undoubtedly as a result of Brian Eno's involvement. I always felt, however, that the album sounded somewhat muddy, and the initial CD release of the album certainly was. This new re-mastering cleans up the sound without compromising the atmospheric feeling that pervades the album. The album has probably never sounded better than it does here. Larry Mullin's drums, Adam Clayton's bass, the Edge's guitar and Bono's voice just leap from the speakers. The albums closing song, MLK, is just phenomenal.

The second bonus disc is not too shabby either. It includes various B sides and outtakes, including all of the Wide Awake in America EP. That EP's "live" versions of Bad and A Sort Of Homecoming are actually superior to the studio versions, and they sound terrific on this new re-mastering. The second disk also includes a cameo appearance by Peter Gabriel on another version of A Sort Of Homecoming.

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The Deluxe version is very nicely packaged in the same manner as U2's prior "deluxe" releases (The Joshua Tree, Boy, October, War and Under A Blood Red Sky). The CDs are housed in a booklet that contains the lyrics to the songs on the original album as well as some nice pictures and essays by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Bert van de Kamp (commenting on the album) and the Edge (commenting on the bonus material).

So is the deluxe version worth ponying up the dough if you already own copies of the music? That depends on how big a U2 fan you are. There is no doubting that this is a nicely packaged much better sounding version of a classic album with some excellent and some interesting bonus material.

U2 in a rare pantheon of artists, being together for over 30 years, fans get the rare gift of seeing the band evolve musically before their collective eyes. The Unforgettable Fire was the first album produced with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and represents a huge leap forward both musically and lyrically. This album represents the sound of the band that would become the mega-selling act for decades to come.

The remastering reveals who new layers to the music, a crispness and clarity that only enhances epic tracks like THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE, BAD and PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE). The bonus disc confirms the power of the bands live performances, and growing strength of the bands songwriting, with tracks like DISAPPEARING ACT and YOSHINO BLOSSOM so strong, its surprising they didn't make the final cut.

Well worth revisiting THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE!

This pristine remaster, supervised by The Edge himself, is a must for all fans of U2's 1984 breakout album. A number of great bass lines and synth parts are much more audible now, while the more familiar guitar and vocal parts are clearer and brighter sounding.

As with any great remastered record, there will be parts you'll feel you're hearing for the first time, even though you've listened to them countless times before. Remember how it first felt to upgrade from cassette tapes to CD? (dating myself, aren't I?) Well, that's how it felt when I first listened to this remaster.

For those who are not yet familiar, UF contains some of the band's all-time greatest efforts, including the soaring "A Sort of Homecoming," the all-time classic "Pride (In the Name of Love)," and the stirring title track. The album is a heady hybrid of dreamy and abstract alt-rock experimentation, side by side with propulsive and impassioned rock anthems. UF was easily the band's best record to date, and clearly paved the way for their '86 masterpiece, THE JOSHUA TREE.

But I think most buyers are already familiar with this classic record, so I'll get to the bonus disc.

PROS:

The brilliant new song, "Disappearing Act," recorded this year between concerts in France, is a track that keeps getting better after even a dozen or more listens. Complex, melodic, and featuring a distinctive metallic drum beat, this was originally an unfinished track from the '84 Slane sessions.

The WIDE AWAKE IN AMERICA EP is included in full here, with the songs reshuffled to flow better. The live version of "Bad" is far better than the original LP version, and "Three Sunrises" should not only have been included on THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE, but it should have been the first or second single!

The previously unreleased instrumental track is fantastic, a sort of sonic bridge between "New Year's Day" and "The Unforgettable Fire," with Edge once again doing double-duty on guitars and piano. Curtains of howling electro-feedback and a great performace from the rythym section make "Blossom" a total winner.

The B-side "Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come" has always been a favorite of mine, although it is often regarded as a throw-away. See what you think....

But Danny Lanois' stupendous remix of "A Sort of Homecoming" is what makes this disc an absolute must for all U2 fans. Lanois essentially replaced Edge's ethereal guitars with driving acoustic rythyms and a brilliant recontextualizing of the "Oh- come-away" chant. It's hard to believe, but this version is even better than the real thing.

CONS:

"4th of July" and "11 O'Clock Tick-Tock" seem like filler material, as they are virtually identical to the original versions. The single version of "Pride" is also almost identical, although its extra repetitions of the chorus is pretty cool.

The rare old-school remixes of "Wire" are good, but not great. One is pretty similar to the album version, while the "Celtic Dub" mix shakes things up more.

The b-side tracks are all interesting, if not spectacular. The ambient "Bass Trap" is almost unrecognizable as a U2 song, and the "Boomerangs" never seem to go anywhere...kind of like actual boomerangs, really....

SO...

All in all, this is probably the best of the bonus discs from the recent series of Edge-supervised remasters (BOY through JOSHUA TREE, so far). The unreleased material is sweet, WIDE AWAKE IN AMERICA sounds better than ever, and the "Homecoming" remix is beyond the beyond.

In short, an absolute must for all hard-core U2 fans. Now let's hope they hurry up and get working on that super-duper-deluxe ACHTUNG BABY remaster...

The 1985 release of "Unforgettable Fire" vaulted U2 into heavy video rotation and arena rock. With the production team of Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois at the helm, the group's sound shaped with new keyboard textures and lots of layering of The Edge's guitars. Some might say the disk was over-produced. We also get Bono's trademark emotive breathing on several tracks.

I wavered between giving this 4 or 5 stars, so 4.5 might be the best assessment. The primary reason most people got this album was for the mega-popular anthem "Pride (In the Name of Love)" with its Christ imagery ("one man betrayed with a kiss...") and Martin Luther King, Jr. theme ("early morning, April 4, shot rings out...") and memorable guitar melody. Great vocal performance by Bono and backing by The Edge (oh-oh-oh-oh). An instant classic.

"Pride" aside, this disk has a number of excellent tracks. One of my all-time favorites is "A Sort of Homecoming" and I especially like the lyric "faces ploughed like fields that once gave no resistance." There's a strong Ireland theme here, and this is a great leadoff song. One drawback is that I think the mix is a little muddy.

"Wire" is a high energy piece with a chunky bassline, great drums, and very cool guitars.

"The Unforgettable Fire" really brings out the guitar atmospherics, along with a string section, and another powerful vocal from Bono.

"Promenade" is not a bad song, but it's really a sound-alike to many of the other songs, and not a particularly memorable memory.

"4th of July" is a sonic instrumental introduction to "Bad", which is one of the best songs on the disk. Great simple guitar melody and vocal performance with the "I'm wide awake...and I'm sleeping" rise and fall dynamics. Perhaps some of Adam Clayton's best bass work to this point. Check this song out on the "Wide Awake in America" live EP. It's a beautiful tune.

"Indian Summer Sky" is like "Promenade" in that it's not a bad song, but not as good as its sound-alike, "Wire."

"Elvis Presley and America" shows U2's growing love affair with Americana. It's a nice ballad.

"MLK" is the true Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute, a gospel-like vocal over some light keyboard textures. It's a great under-stated performance by Bono and nice closer for the disk.

The strengths by far lift up the few weaker tunes, and this disk is very listenable in its entirety.

I am absolutely amazed by the reviewers who state: "Promenade", "4th of July", "Indian Summer Sky" and, in particular, "Elvis Presley and America" are somehow weak or sub-par. These are some of the best moments U2 has EVER created. This is clearly a band in the begining stages of musical and emotional maturation and unabashedly unafarid to put it out there as such.

His 1st person observation in "Promenade" is nothing short of breath-taking, and the way "4th of July" creeps into my skin is almost frightening.

The only thing that "Indian..." and "Wire" share in common is tempo, and even that's not quite the same.

A little known fact: Bono made up the lyrics on the spot to "Elvis...", that's why it's so ethereal. it still makes me cry when he and the band crescendo together towards the end, begging to be forgiven.

listen to these songs again and TRY TRY TRY to remove yourselves from the constraints of pop music and what is only heard on the radio. allow yourself to feel and be moved by these gems, they are brilliant.