Disco de U2: “Under a Blood Red Sky”

This is a five star album for a variety of reasons:

A. The song selection. This is a release from a supremely confident band, trusting that their audience will enjoy the songs they enjoy playing and not just the obvious favorites. Party Girl? 11 O'clock Tick Tock? Rock on!

B. If you are of a certain age, UABRS is inextricably linked to the Red Rocks concert video that was incessantly played on MTV for months and months (and months) back when MTV was not only concerned with music but on a mission to break high quality, envelope-pushing new music in America

C. It is a snapshot of one of Rock's great bands peaking for the first time

All that said, Under A Blood Red Sky cries out for the Deluxe Edition treatment. This short (under 40 minutes) album was sold as an EP upon it's 1983 release and if memory serves was priced accordingly. It seems like this sold for under $6.00 on vinyl. In my humble opinion, Island should blow the dust off the masters re-release it:

A. Remastered in SACD format

B. Fleshed out with all or most of the songs played on the dates originally recorded for the album (I saw this tour at the old Paramount Theater in Portland, OR in 1983 and I remember they were still playing some of the great tunes from Boy, An Cat Dubh particularly sticks in my memory)

C. With a second-disc DVD containing the whole Red Rocks concert

D. Why not add some MTV interview footage from the time?

E. A liner note essay from Paul McGuinness telling the story of the first American transformation: From obscure Irish New Wave up and comers to America's Alterna-Rock heroes with the release of War and the Red Rocks video

UABRS compares favorably to the Who's Live At Leeds. The Who release was an explosive live document also, marred only by it's brevity. The Deluxe Edition remedied that and proved a revelation. Come on Island, get on the stick!

I bought this album on vinyl back 'in the day'. Subsequently, I bought it on cassette, and finally on CD, so you might say that I like it a lot. The energy in these live versions really make the more careful studio versions seem less vital. The version of `Party Girl' here totally wipes out the B-Side studio version (which can be found on the two disc edition of `Best of 1980-1990').

As some reviewers have noted, part of the track 'Electric Co' is missing a bit during an interlude in the song where Bono starts singing part of 'America' from West Side Story and 'Send in the Clowns' from A Little Night Music. Of course, our Draconian copyright laws being what they are, these brief references had to be cut to avoid a lawsuit, I suppose. The cut is reflected on the tape and the CD. What I don't understand is why U2 can't just go ahead and clear the rights for the use of these snippets, so future CD editions can include what was taken out.

(Copyright-related Note: Years later, U2's label, Island Records sued the group Negativland after it incorporated 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' into a joke sound collage that they released as a single that they called `U2'. That's now available, though, as a bootleg entitled 'These Guys Are From England...' which is quite hilarious, though some may find it offensive.)

For those who think that it's a rip-off that this album is so short, keep in mind that it's a lower-priced E.P., not a full-length album. Also, remember that Rattle & Hum, U2's other foray into the live genre, was a double album, making this seem all the more lacking in material. Moreover, U2 wasn't quite what they are now (a huge supergroup) back then, so this E.P. was more of a marketing taster to give people an idea of how great U2 is live. A big live album wouldn't have been justified at the time. Some still don't think Rattle & Hum was such a good idea.

By the way, this E.P. was recorded using material from their concerts in Boston and West Germany as well as Denver, so these songs are not quite the same live versions that exist on the longer 'Live from Red Rocks' video.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I will follow," an animated Bono cries out at the start of the amazingly energetic "I Will Follow" on "Under a Blood Red Sky." Judging by the cheers of the crowd that follow this proclamation, it sounds like the sentiment is mutual. The liveliness of audience and band on "Under a Blood Red Sky" is hard to resist. From the opening moments heard on the rollicking "Gloria," when Bono yells "Two, three four!" you get the sense that U2 was truly hitting its early 1980s stride -- and that bigger things would be coming down the horizon.

Bono and U2 are an excellent live band. When I saw them back in 1992 on the

tour, I was amazed how closely the band's live sound so evenly matched what was on its studio albums. And like any great live band, U2's stage act probably exceeds its studio records. "Under a Blood Red Sky" flows along nicely at a brisk pace, and though it's only eight songs long, the band chose a nice blend of sing-along stadium rockers mixed with mid-tempo and obscure tracks that would likely please any U2 fan. Musically, U2 is on fire at Red Rocks: Bono's booming wail is heartfelt and resonates beautifully among the canyons and crowd; The Edge's guitar pierces the night air like a sword; Larry Mullen Jr.'s drums are, as usual, dependable and buoyant; and Adam Clayton's bass gives the whole thing a semblance of gravity.

The album seems to hit a climax halfway through on the blistering and well-known "Sunday Bloody Sunday," but really it's the lesser-known tunes like "11 O'Clock Tick Tock," the quirky "Party Girl" and the rocker "The Electric Co." that give this album further musical depth and personality. Thankfully, the CD is not a steady stream of U2's best-known radio hits.

The sublime closing song, "40," is almost hymnal, and the enthusiastic way the crowd replaces Bono as lead singer at the tail end of the record aptly displays how music can, at times, transform into a communal and spiritual experience.

First, oh well, it's not the unedited show: "Two Hearts Beats as One" is sans "Let's Twist Again" and the "Send in the Clowns" snip has been cut from "The Electric Co." That said, I really don't care. The show rocks. Not sure the CD has any real value, beyond being a remaster, but the DVD of the full concert is astonishingly crisp, given the production value. This was U2 making it big before they made it big, and an important moment for fans who've been following U2 since the early days. The director's commentary is strangely quaint -- it appears he hasn't seen the full-length video since he edited it many years ago, but that makes his commentary fresh and lively.

What should be said is that the show transcends U2 in many ways. Here's a small act with a big sound trying to persuade the world. On that level alone it has merit.

U2 is one of the few rock bands that can make a great studio recording and turn it into a memorable stage performance. And nowhere is that ability more fully realized than on this CD.

"Under a Blood Red Sky" captures some of the group's better moments during their 1983 concert tour in the States and in Germany. The album starts off with a rousing good version of "Gloria" and ends with the powerful "40."

In addition to all the great songs on this CD, one that is definitely worth any U2 fan's attention is "11 o'clock Tick Tock." I don't believe there ever was a studio version of this song and I'm not sure why it wasn't included on any of U2's previous albums. In any case, this is one of U2's finer concert performances and that, in of itself, would justify adding this CD to your collection.

If you want to fully appreciate the energy and excitement of this concert tour then you will definitely want to buy a copy of this video. Believe me, you won't be disappointed.