As one of the 1,300 who saw U2 in October of 1982 at First Avenue in Minneapolis - they have been the band that I have grown with, moved by and passionately loved for over 40 years. They are simply my number one.
i saw them in Dallas back around that time too ! I still have the $3.00 ticket stub.....there were 'maybe' 60 people at the club that night ! what a show !!
Every New Year’s Day since 1984 the first song of the year I listen to is New Years Day. I haven’t missed a year yet. This year was the 40th. How appropriate. Arguably one of the best albums ever.
@@MikaDeVadder that’s awesome. You’re the first person I’ve come across that does it. Just a tradition that has become something to reminisce and reflect upon. 🫡
I've been doing the same-ish. Not 40 consecutive years worth, but several times since at least 1985-ish. I find it keeps me in touch with my roots with these guys. They and the Psych Furs brought me into my love of anything post-punk back in the 80s and I've been locked in since. lol
MY LETTER TO U2-1987 I saw you guys on the Joshua Tree tour in 1987 at MTSU-Middle Tennessee State University Saturday November 28th 1987. The Bodeans opened up for you. I remember at the time Larry had a crush on Wynonna Judd and she came out and sang a duo with Bono! I didn't have tickets to the show. A friend of mine drove us 3 hours from East Tennessee to see the show. We bought tickets at the box office for $18.50. We ended up 8th row center stage! I remember back then the band held back tickets for fans who were willing to make the drive and couldn't get tickets via phone or record store locations. Thanks again to Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr for making a special album and tour! I was 18 and had just graduated High School that year! All the Best! Gary Lagstrom
U2 is a very divisive band, some love, some hate. I have cleared 2 dance floors in Alberta asking for U2. If people really understood the hard work that they have put into their craft maybe they would understand. U2 is the soundtrack of my life. I have seen these guys six times from the Joshua Tree to Sphere. I am extremely blessed to have known this music. Thanks to all of the band members and road crews, management who have made this dream possible for these humble Irish lads.
@@backbay2242 Have they changed or did the audience change? Is it the speeches Bono goes off on? I don't really know. I stopped caring about them after Achtung Baby, my favorite album of theirs.
@@Pulse2AM I believe the feeling is Bono became too preachy at some point. Frankly some of it is just opposition to some of the views he's had although I don't consider him to be particularly political. U2 could do no wrong for most of their career. Still can't - in Boston.
@@backbay2242 Okay thanks. I don't really view them differently I just didn't care for the newer albums that much, a couple songs here and there but I think their best work is behind them not in front of them.
It's their best album in my opinion. I remember when I was 16 they let school out because it was too cold and I walked around town listening to that album on my walkman for the 1st time .
I was 11 yrs young when WAR arrived. All of us local Hacienda Heights teenagers were big fans of u2 thru local radio KROQ. My first concert in downtown LA in ‘84. I’ll never forget the alliances as an Irish American. I’ve grown up with them and have many great memories in time w U2 playing on my cassette, CD and recently Spotify playlists. WAR being the catalyst for a start to a long career of U2 fandom
Same story for me fellow friend! 11yrs old when I got this album and listened to it endlessly. First show in LA as well but it was in '87. Traveled to Ireland to see them in 1992. Many shows from then to now including the Sphere show in Oct 2023! My favorite band since I was 11 and I feel so lucky that they are still going strong.
The first three albums are all I need from U2. Saw the War tour and there were only about a thousand people in the audience. Very intimate and U2 brought the house together in a way big arenas cannot be brought together. Pre-superstar Bono climbing up to the balcony seats during Electric Co. . . The band pushing themselves and not just filling their own shoes. U2 got big, but I never saw them top that feeling. It was a special era.
Drowning man is an amazing tune, really touched me deep when I was a kid and used to listen to War extensively. I really couldn't understand what the lyrics were referring to but it didn't matter. It was just pure emotion.
One of my favorite albums from U2 was “Under a Blood Red Sky.” I got the cassette tape with a Sony Walkman for my birthday and, in my lifetime, I had to buy a second cassette because the first one was so worn out… when CDs came out, I got one too!!!
We (the entire stadium) continued to sing 40 at the venue outside Boston - long after the concert, as the parking cleared. Tears, I tell you. It was a rock Moment. 🥲💖✌️
@@radikalibre I would see them years later in Toronto for Zooropa. It was a spectacular show, with cars as spotlights and screens that required airplane warning lights - but no one sang on the way out. 😔✌️
WAR is a masterpiece. I may ruffle some feathers but to me it is Pop-Rock in the best sense of the word. It ha mass appeal without compromising its integrity as a piece of art, imo. A blockbuster.
Drowning Man is really a love letter to Adam Clayton from the band. He was not religious and was using drugs and drinking sporadically that became a problem when he missed a U2 show because he was drunk and couldn’t be found. In every U2 interview when each band member asks what’s their favorite U2 song without fail Adam always says: Drowning Man. Bono, Edge, and Larry were Christians and wanted to help Adam see there was a better way to live life and the power of a higher being! Boy, October, and War definitely show the band as a whole minus Clayton as believers in God and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So at its heart it’s about three guys wanting to see their band mate and friend stop drowning and this song is their life preserver to Adam.
Boy, this video makes me remember how absolutely U2 crazy I was. Saw 'em in Chicago in '83. That old Clash slogan, " the only band that matters", that's what I and everybody else felt about U2. Vindicated. Music that rocked and lifted you up spiritually. Hey great video Shoreline!
I love this album. Unforgettable Fire is my favorite and the last one i bought was Joshua Tree. I have a theory that every grrst band has ten years max...but sometimes they are able to reinvent themselves into an all new band, with the same name and (often) the same members. I really liked their fordt decade or so and respect those who have connected with later incarnations. Joshua Tree was a culmination of that era and it resonated with me as a young man, driving by bus to Mexico to build homes for the poor and playing it on a boom box and going thru way too many D barteries along the way. This album, and the video's on MTV were my introduction to the band and i loved them immediately. My "classic rock" friends were unimpressed but their loss. They were never able to see a great band at their peak intensity. All their favorite bands were done and gone by the time they were old enough to buy records or go to shows. There is something special in recognizing and participating in the ascent of a unique and groundbreaking new band.
I saw them in for the first time in December 1982 at Maysfield Leisure Centre in Belfast. Extraordinary night. They played Sunday Bloody Sunday for the first time. It was very powerful. I did not miss a U2 tour after that night.
I lived in a music desert so I piped in CHEZ 106 from Ottawa (1983) and heard this band - grabbed this record - I love playing out Two Hearts - fun and good for dancing eh. Great guitar too. Une Record Massive. Much respect for listing the band in the header - just to say Larry Mullen Jr. - what a great drummer.
'War' has always been my very favourite U2 album, from the day I bought it in 1983 - it is an absolute masterpiece and cemented their progress into rock legends at a time when that outcome was less than assured. This is a very informative overview - I especially like the analysis of 'New Year's Day' as an undeniably guaranteed hit, which of course it was!
This is a great video. I first got into U2 with Gloria and A Celebration - but Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day really opened my eyes. I was so disappointed that - at 14 years old - my parents wouldn't let me go to the US Festival to see them. Been a fan ever since, though I have been mostly disappointed in their albums since Aching Baby.
Bit wordy doc with all these critics doing pretty much all the talking. The Bono biographer, however, celebrates the album without qualification, with his interpretations of "Surrender" and "40" being really something special. Thanks for posting this.
U2 Unforgettable Fire and what they did with the album live on stage is their most important pivotal point in u2s career . Tight innovative, groundbreaking ❤ 5:21
I’m 100% with you (and I’m a guitar player who claims Edge as a primary influence) - but I also think they had more than a few other key defining aspects. Everything about their guitars: yes. But also everything about their vocals. Everything about the songwriting, melodic selection, delivery. Nearly every single song (for me at least) since 1998-ish has some kind of X-factor where the sum of the relatively simple parts is orders of magnitude more than it should be.
x2 it's a ghost song, like it never existed.... the song just appear in the album and then nothing... they never played it live as far as I understand.
My favorite U2 song off my favorite album. Really wish they’d do it live. When U2 leans on some of their Irish roots, they nail it. Drowning Man and Tomorrow are great examples.
Back in those days of recording contracts the third album was the make or break of a bands, and WAR was the make of U2. The Live at Red Rocks album backed that up for U2. I saw U2 twice for the War tour one of the times was at the US Festival in 1983.
I somehow always forget that 40 has the Edge playing bass with Adam very much imitating what the Edge would have played. Surprises me every time again and again.
Like a Song is one of my favorite U2 songs period. It doesn’t get enough attention. The energy, power of the song still holds. War was first true introduce to U2 and it remains my favorite U2 album. Second greatest band in the world after the Beatles!
It beats me how he climbed scaffolding, ladders, to the top of the roof of stadiums with a microphone around his shoulder. Work place and safety, would sue him today if he did it.
I was an 80’s kid in Michigan. War and October were great. War was played at school dances. The king of record collecting at that time, broke The Unforgettable Fire out at a party, and we were mightily impressed and maybe saddened too because the Baby Boomers caught on.
I think it was their last great studio album until "How to dismantle..." They were more "hungry" and passionate on the first three, and "Live Under a Blood Red Sky" is a masterpiece. I stand in the minority that didn't really like 'The Joshua Tree"....
The first three songs are about as strong of a start as you can get. Where the Streets Have No Name will always be my favorite, and it's a religious experience in concert. With that said, I'm with you about the rest of the album. I rank Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby above Joshua Tree on my favorite list, though ironically it took me a few years to really appreciate Achtung Baby.
U2: 40 HOW LONG TO SING THIS SONG…HOW LONG TO SING THIS SONG…HOW LONG TO SING THIS SONG…HOW LONG…HOW LONG…HOW LONG…HOW LONG…TILL JESUS COMES AGAIN TO TAKE US HOME! 😇😇😇🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻✝️✝️✝️
When these critics try to talk about the actual music they're truly clueless. Thinking Surrender was a precursor to Bullet the Blue Sky??!! Why, just because the pedal steel sounds like the slide guitar?
There are 2 U2 Bands the original band from Boy to Rattle & Hum. The band split and started again as U2 AB to now. I prefered the original, . Bono was stung by The Fly and they were never the same.
The Chameleons wrote Prettier songs & darker personal songs than early U2 . Chameleons sound was more diverse than the 1st 3 U2 albums . i haven’t a grudge against them it’s just because they were both in the same places at the same time but obviously in many respects were very different. I wasn’t aware of Chameleons in 1983 but very much appreciated ( as the man says ) U2s exciting guitar vibe which was refreshing plus The Clash etc weren’t rocking out anymore whereas U2 at Redrock was a mainstream rock revelation after 4 years of novelty new wave acts , hair & make up bands , synths or cock rock bands repeating the same album ( except Gillan) 😁👍
I'm sorry to say, but the only NMA I'm interested in is from their really era with bassist Stuart Morrow... but they'd probably vanish, admittedly, if they kept the style
I find that hard to believe they thought of quiting after October came out. Both Boy and October were HUGE successes and October went Platinum in UK and US. Not sure what these journalists are trying to say but I find it very hard to believe they would talk about quiting at that point. "first great record"? WTF. I hate these journalist generated videos. Boy and October were massive with the birth of MTV and their videos were big part too. These people are not fans, but story makers. Meh. Love early U2, but this video sucks and i want my 49 mins back.
the Church they all attended (except Adam), was trying to convince them they could not pursue their career and "please God" at the same time. I'm glad they proved that church wrong!
All of them except Adam, were really religious at this time and in a Christian group called Shalom and were torn between their Christian belief/faith and being in a rock band. Edge decided to quit the band around the time the October album was finished. And Bono joined him They actually went to Paul McGuinness (their manager) and told him U2 was history. McGuinness, who had signed contracts for a tour, just asked: “Am I to gather from this that you’ve been talking to God?” “We think it’s Gods will” they said. “So you can just call God up?” “Yes” “Well, maybe next time you may ask God if it’s ok for your representative on earth to break a legal contract. A legal contract I have a signed on your behalf, a legal contract for you to go on tour? How could it be possible for this God of yours to want you to break the law and not fulfill your responsibilities to do this tour?”
This was arguably the greatest most popular band in the world at one time. That time is gone and they couldn't transcend into anything remotely appetizing in recent decades. And Bono turned into something horrible that friended Bill Gates.
It's impressive how they can articulate Exactly what U2 were about back then and to a certain extent still are- "I don't know how to say what's got to be said" … They certainly aren't "dancing about architecture" & for once I'm impressed by music journalism😂
U2 of old is still better than U2 from 2007 & up. When you've reached the ceiling and broken through into outer space, there's nowhere else to go...... 😊
I was a great fan of U2 in my youth, untill 1987. The first LP Boy is a slap, every song seems so simple and spontaneous, it's my best (Another Time Another Place best of the best). October sounds like a continuation with less energy but some great moments. War is not a complete great album. Of course there is 2 big hits, but lots of waste here... In this report, they kept the best ones (you can find the same later in the live video: Under a blood red sky). Then it's another color with Unforgettable Fire, with Eno, stillinteresting. After, the band starts a trip to other lands (American folk style, then trying a sort of german pop, then America testimony.... But all that sounds so poor and empty...)
@@davidlynds9483 no, I said 2 great hits + songs mentioned in this report. I can remember Two hearts, Surrender, Seconds, 40... Like a song, maybe. For the Drowning man, I prefer the Cure same title :)
@acb Duran took their music serious . The Taylor’s and Le Bon all took music lessons after becoming popular . Le Bon went to voice coaching lessons in London from an old lady who taught the likes of F Mercury and others to sing . And the Taylor’s went to a few professional teachers . They took a technical interests in recording techniques and production . Can’t say I was a fan of them , but their hard work paid off. Couldn’t stand U2 . To me they struck it lucky with protest songs becoming anthems - kinda sign of the times . In my opinion Mullens is a talented drummer - inasmuch he played for the minimalism and sparsity of the guitar work . Clayton’s bass lines are not very challenging to any 16+year old who practices . The Edge got away with murder - skill wise , but , they ‘ struck a groove ‘ and largely stayed with it and wrote ‘ Nu Pop ‘ music - in short playing to the gallery. They did what was expected of them except that Zooropa lark , which was a dark glam rock show . The Anthems kept them afloat as did the publicity machine ( hype ) . I saw a vid with Edge, Jimmy page and Jack white - to be honest I would rate any of them . Both Edge and white were completely out of their depth whilst page was not even trying and just going along with the intention of making the vid. Take Satriani , a good player , absolutely, but songwriting prowess - not so much , he admits this himself . He specialised in guitar modes ,largely Egyptian . Take Clapton , an amazing player , songwriting again not so much . His best effort at witting songs was ‘ old love ‘ which he co -wrote with Robert cray . Oops ! Side tracked there . Keep on rocking .🍺
@@BigBoaby-sg1yo I've been playing/writing/recording music for 40 years and I find there's nothing more boring than people who approach music on the technical level only. I give no f if Edge couldn't shred his way out of a paper bag, his guitar lines have made a lot of people feel a lot of things throughout the years, me included. The criticism of Clayton is also boring. If his lines were five times busier, would it necessarily add something to the songs? They are fine as is. See that's pretty much the difference between the people who came into music from punk and those who didn't. None of my favorites bands or musicians are technically skilled, all of them if you've been playing for anything between 2 months to a year (depending on the musician) you should be able to play what they play. Doesn't matter to me one single bit. The fact is i'm still trying to write songs as good as they do and i'm probably more technically advanced then most of them The vid you're talking about is a film called It Might Get Loud. Jack White and Page are evidently more technically skilled players, but their influences are rooted in blues which makes all their music boring to me. Personal tastes (and also where you takes your music roots from) obviously, not saying they should not be respected, but I think they are intelligent enough and have played long enough anyway to know that it doesn't matter if Edge is not as technically gifted as them, he's written songs that will go down in history (a lot more than White's except for that one song), he's proven he belongs. He's got his own approach and it could be argued that to a generation he's nearly as influential as Page anyway (though i will say, a lot of edge imitators but noen that have equaled it, at least in his peak years, because for this you'd have to understand how his brain works, every single time what his imitators miss are his rhythmic subtleties) As for the U2 hype, i mean, i'll grant that for the past 25 yerars at least, it's been the hype machine that' keeps doing its work, their music hasnt been relevant since the 90s, but early on the main thing is that critics loved them. And critics can shape a lot of the culture. They did though have fantastic management and it's no coincidence the big Iphone blunder happened right after Mcguiness stopped being their manager.. But hey, it's not like The Beatles weren't a product of immense hype either. In any case it's a bit funny considering one of the early names of U2 was The Hype.
@@milkcarton6654 “ a lot of Edge imitators, but none have equaled it “ Are you sure ? I’m afraid I disagree with you . Are you of the opinion the edge was the first to used ‘ open string drone techniques’? John Cale was doing it in the 1960’s or · Mason Jones · Meanderings · RAUM feat. Liz Harris & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma · Chvad SB · Paul Oednom · Fathmount · Faaip De Oiad or the composer La Monte Young or Ravi Shankar on the Sitar or on the tambura- Gowrishankar Gurusawmy, Soman Pillai, Prasanna Athele, Nellai Krishnan, Indira Sheshadri and Helen Francis are legendary Tanbura players .or Andrey Stanislavovich Vinogradov · Nigel Eaton · Hurdy-Gurdy · Matthias Loibner · Symbio · Valentin Clastrier - All legendary Hurdy Gurdy players or ‘ gurdiests’ if you will . What edge was doing was nothing new - you should know this as a recording artist? Edge favours the perfect fifth interval . His use of two rack mounted 2290 delays opened up the sound into a strong layer from minimalist input . He also uses modulation + 2 long delays in parallel set to different tempos . With the amount of pedals he has , at the end of the gig his feet were sorer than his fingers 😂 Keep on rocking mate 🍺
@@BigBoaby-sg1yo I'll have to respectfully disagree that they got "lucky". They had a sound no one else had, and that's because of the Edge. There are different guitar talents. You don't have to shred like Eddie Van Halen to be a great guitarist. That's what many people don't understand. What you're not realizing is that the sum of the parts is greater than the parts. That's what makes U2 a great band.
I always thought the production on War sounded thin and lack lustre compared with Boy and October. I saw them on a number of occasions during this period and chatted with Bono for around 20 minutes after a gig at the Manchester Apollo. I was disappointed when War was released primarily because of the production and it hailed the decline in my interest in the band. Just my opinion and reaction, not expecting anyone else to agree.
U2 was best between 1983-1991. Zooropa, Discotec etc records was pure crap. In year 2000-2004 back again with a couple of good songs. After that pure crap again. 🙏
Well I love both bands, but if you ask me at that point in time (1982-1983) DD were better players than U2...U2 were great songwriters since 'Boy', maybe better that DD, and yes 'War' is full of great songs...but Andy Taylor was already an acomplished guitar player even before he joined DD and the rhythm section of Roger and John was tighter than Adam and Larry...it was until U2 worked with Eno and Lanois that they got tight as a whole band of players...again, U2 wrote killer songs since day one...in the end both bands are hall of famers and the narrative is just a cheap shot, reproducing the press perceptions of DD circa 1982-1983...and when you put in the same group of bands Bananarama and Duran Duran just for 'hair and make up', you're either trying to 'stir up the pot' or you don't know what you're talking about🤷🏻♂️
As one of the 1,300 who saw U2 in October of 1982 at First Avenue in Minneapolis - they have been the band that I have grown with, moved by and passionately loved for over 40 years. They are simply my number one.
i saw them in Dallas back around that time too ! I still have the $3.00 ticket stub.....there were 'maybe' 60 people at the club that night ! what a show !!
3rd album syndrome. everything falls into place yet there's still hunger and rawness, no fat and no bloated production. Will always be my favorite.
Every New Year’s Day since 1984 the first song of the year I listen to is New Years Day. I haven’t missed a year yet. This year was the 40th. How appropriate. Arguably one of the best albums ever.
"Sing this with me, this is 40!"
Haha, I'll never catch up then... I've been doing it since 2002
@@MikaDeVadder that’s awesome. You’re the first person I’ve come across that does it. Just a tradition that has become something to reminisce and reflect upon. 🫡
I've been doing the same-ish. Not 40 consecutive years worth, but several times since at least 1985-ish. I find it keeps me in touch with my roots with these guys. They and the Psych Furs brought me into my love of anything post-punk back in the 80s and I've been locked in since. lol
☝️
Surrender, Drowning Man, New Years Day, Seconds, Two Hearts Beat as One. My top five from a brilliant album.
Like a song and New year's day, best songs on the album!!
IMHO The greatest album of all time
@@duncanwcraig9668 Great, great album
My favorite quote from Bono was about Edge"He's a guitarist who has spent years trying to convince his guitar that it's not a guitar."
Damn, that is spot on
kinda like autotune tries to convince a voice...
MY LETTER TO U2-1987
I saw you guys on the Joshua Tree tour in 1987 at MTSU-Middle Tennessee State University Saturday November 28th 1987. The Bodeans opened up for you. I remember at the time Larry had a crush on Wynonna Judd and she came out and sang a duo with Bono!
I didn't have tickets to the show. A friend of mine drove us 3 hours from East Tennessee to see the show. We bought tickets at the box office for $18.50. We ended up 8th row center stage!
I remember back then the band held back tickets for fans who were willing to make the drive and couldn't get tickets via phone or record store locations.
Thanks again to Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr for making a special album and tour! I was 18 and had just graduated High School that year!
All the Best!
Gary Lagstrom
U2 is a very divisive band, some love, some hate. I have cleared 2 dance floors in Alberta asking for U2. If people really understood the hard work that they have put into their craft maybe they would understand. U2 is the soundtrack of my life. I have seen these guys six times from the Joshua Tree to Sphere. I am extremely blessed to have known this music. Thanks to all of the band members and road crews, management who have made this dream possible for these humble Irish lads.
“U2 is the soundtrack of my life.” Yep. I’ve said this same phrase about them. My favorite band. Especially performing live.
They have only become devisive in recent years. They were pretty much universally loved in their heyday.
@@backbay2242 Have they changed or did the audience change? Is it the speeches Bono goes off on? I don't really know. I stopped caring about them after Achtung Baby, my favorite album of theirs.
@@Pulse2AM I believe the feeling is Bono became too preachy at some point. Frankly some of it is just opposition to some of the views he's had although I don't consider him to be particularly political.
U2 could do no wrong for most of their career. Still can't - in Boston.
@@backbay2242 Okay thanks. I don't really view them differently I just didn't care for the newer albums that much, a couple songs here and there but I think their best work is behind them not in front of them.
the unforgetable fire 1984 was awesome!
It's their best album in my opinion. I remember when I was 16 they let school out because it was too cold and I walked around town listening to that album on my walkman for the 1st time .
I was 11 yrs young when WAR arrived. All of us local Hacienda Heights teenagers were big fans of u2 thru local radio KROQ. My first concert in downtown LA in ‘84. I’ll never forget the alliances as an Irish American. I’ve grown up with them and have many great memories in time w U2 playing on my cassette, CD and recently Spotify playlists. WAR being the catalyst for a start to a long career of U2 fandom
Same story for me fellow friend! 11yrs old when I got this album and listened to it endlessly. First show in LA as well but it was in '87. Traveled to Ireland to see them in 1992. Many shows from then to now including the Sphere show in Oct 2023! My favorite band since I was 11 and I feel so lucky that they are still going strong.
The first three albums are all I need from U2. Saw the War tour and there were only about a thousand people in the audience. Very intimate and U2 brought the house together in a way big arenas cannot be brought together. Pre-superstar Bono climbing up to the balcony seats during Electric Co. . . The band pushing themselves and not just filling their own shoes. U2 got big, but I never saw them top that feeling. It was a special era.
I'm at the first 5 albums. I can't connect with anything after that.
For me it's Boy October War & Live under a blood red sky . After that😢. But those first album's, amazing
I wish they spoke about "Like A Song" and "Drowning Man". Two great and overlooked songs.
💯
Absolutely love Drowning Man
@@js.3490 Drowning Man is my favorite song of theirs and pretty high on my list of songs all time
@@davidlynds9483 Amen!
Drowning man is an amazing tune, really touched me deep when I was a kid and used to listen to War extensively. I really couldn't understand what the lyrics were referring to but it didn't matter. It was just pure emotion.
One of my favorite albums from U2 was “Under a Blood Red Sky.” I got the cassette tape with a Sony Walkman for my birthday and, in my lifetime, I had to buy a second cassette because the first one was so worn out… when CDs came out, I got one too!!!
We (the entire stadium) continued to sing 40 at the venue outside Boston - long after the concert, as the parking cleared. Tears, I tell you. It was a rock Moment. 🥲💖✌️
wow
@@radikalibre I would see them years later in Toronto for Zooropa. It was a spectacular show, with cars as spotlights and screens that required airplane warning lights - but no one sang on the way out. 😔✌️
Yup Boston
WAR is a masterpiece. I may ruffle some feathers but to me it is Pop-Rock in the best sense of the word. It ha mass appeal without compromising its integrity as a piece of art, imo. A blockbuster.
Drowning Man is really a love letter to Adam Clayton from the band. He was not religious and was using drugs and drinking sporadically that became a problem when he missed a U2 show because he was drunk and couldn’t be found. In every U2 interview when each band member asks what’s their favorite U2 song without fail Adam always says: Drowning Man. Bono, Edge, and Larry were Christians and wanted to help Adam see there was a better way to live life and the power of a higher being! Boy, October, and War definitely show the band as a whole minus Clayton as believers in God and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So at its heart it’s about three guys wanting to see their band mate and friend stop drowning and this song is their life preserver to Adam.
The Edge (especially back then) literally created his own guitar vocabulary. Truly innovative and unheralded. A unique guitar viewpoint ❤❤
Boy, this video makes me remember how absolutely U2 crazy I was. Saw 'em in Chicago in '83. That old Clash slogan, " the only band that matters", that's what I and everybody else felt about U2. Vindicated. Music that rocked and lifted you up spiritually. Hey great video Shoreline!
I love this album. Unforgettable Fire is my favorite and the last one i bought was Joshua Tree. I have a theory that every grrst band has ten years max...but sometimes they are able to reinvent themselves into an all new band, with the same name and (often) the same members.
I really liked their fordt decade or so and respect those who have connected with later incarnations. Joshua Tree was a culmination of that era and it resonated with me as a young man, driving by bus to Mexico to build homes for the poor and playing it on a boom box and going thru way too many D barteries along the way.
This album, and the video's on MTV were my introduction to the band and i loved them immediately. My "classic rock" friends were unimpressed but their loss. They were never able to see a great band at their peak intensity. All their favorite bands were done and gone by the time they were old enough to buy records or go to shows.
There is something special in recognizing and participating in the ascent of a unique and groundbreaking new band.
Very well said and spot on.
Joshua tree was the last album of theirs I bought.
Right on....after Joshua Tree Bono transformed into Donald Trump as fast as he could
WAR album is a work of art. It still resonates powerfully. U2 is my favorite band. Best *live act* still performing today.
I saw them in for the first time in December 1982 at Maysfield Leisure Centre in Belfast. Extraordinary night. They played Sunday Bloody Sunday for the first time. It was very powerful. I did not miss a U2 tour after that night.
Its always been my favourite U2 album. 😊
Reading Bono's autobiography Surrender is amazing
We can't forget.. Like a song. That's my favorite song in the album
This brings me back to the 80's every time
Mr Hewson, Evans, Mullen jnr & last , but not least Clayton, who imo is the coolest member of of the band….the great U2… keep rocking guys🫡
You’re spot on regarding Adam - aka His majesty the King of cool. (King of coolness).
Early u2 had such a great raw and edgy sound. Very early 80s was such a good time for music.
Has proved it's timeless worth, epic record.
I lived in a music desert so I piped in CHEZ 106 from Ottawa (1983) and heard this band - grabbed this record - I love playing out Two Hearts - fun and good for dancing eh. Great guitar too. Une Record Massive. Much respect for listing the band in the header - just to say Larry Mullen Jr. - what a great drummer.
31:20 this is the moment U2 became incredible… the solo by Edge here is transcendent
one of my most memorable shows and they were young. Toads Place, New Haven, Ct (1981)
Best U2 album. So much energy in every track
The Edge is so underrated
Thanks for sharing your music u2🎶🎵🎶thank you😎🎶🎵
Still a great band from then until today! Still my fave band! Surrender to U2!
War is still their hardest rocking album. Two Hearts Beat As One is still their best song.
My favorite U2 album soooo good!
Edges most brilliant raw guitar work just awesome.
'War' has always been my very favourite U2 album, from the day I bought it in 1983 - it is an absolute masterpiece and cemented their progress into rock legends at a time when that outcome was less than assured. This is a very informative overview - I especially like the analysis of 'New Year's Day' as an undeniably guaranteed hit, which of course it was!
This is a great video. I first got into U2 with Gloria and A Celebration - but Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day really opened my eyes. I was so disappointed that - at 14 years old - my parents wouldn't let me go to the US Festival to see them. Been a fan ever since, though I have been mostly disappointed in their albums since Aching Baby.
Great album also the video under a blood red sky live in red rocks Denver Colorado very iconic!! 👍
Real masterpiece
Bono is WEF member - this band has finished themselves
October is a brilliant album
1000% agree and it did go Platinum in UK and US!
Seen them in the royal court Liverpool march 1983 amazing band seen them 20 plus times since great band
Wall you forgot to mention Simple Minds ,They were neck and neck with U2 at the time ,innovative and very good live
U2 acknowledges the simple minds influence
@@MorganKnox-ld3ujAlthough I love SM they didn't have the staying power of u2.
Bit wordy doc with all these critics doing pretty much all the talking. The Bono biographer, however, celebrates the album without qualification, with his interpretations of "Surrender" and "40" being really something special. Thanks for posting this.
U2 Unforgettable Fire and what they did with the album live on stage is their most important pivotal point in u2s career . Tight innovative, groundbreaking ❤ 5:21
The Very Best Band. Peace.
30:59 Let's be honest, the guitar work is the unmistakable cutting edge of U2 and defines the band.
oh but according to the journalist Chas in this video, they were a ordinary band but Bono blew his mind....meh. they were never ordinary.
@@MrSneaksful :)
I’m 100% with you (and I’m a guitar player who claims Edge as a primary influence) - but I also think they had more than a few other key defining aspects. Everything about their guitars: yes. But also everything about their vocals. Everything about the songwriting, melodic selection, delivery. Nearly every single song (for me at least) since 1998-ish has some kind of X-factor where the sum of the relatively simple parts is orders of magnitude more than it should be.
hermoso material gracias por compartir saludos desde argentina
How in the hell do you do an almost 1 hour documentary on the War album and not mention “Drowning Man”?
x2 it's a ghost song, like it never existed.... the song just appear in the album and then nothing... they never played it live as far as I understand.
My favorite U2 song off my favorite album. Really wish they’d do it live. When U2 leans on some of their Irish roots, they nail it. Drowning Man and Tomorrow are great examples.
@@radikalibrethey did do a snippet of DM in a show but I cannot recall which one.
After discovering the Unforgettable Fire they melted
Back in those days of recording contracts the third album was the make or break of a bands, and WAR was the make of U2. The Live at Red Rocks album backed that up for U2. I saw U2 twice for the War tour one of the times was at the US Festival in 1983.
I somehow always forget that 40 has the Edge playing bass with Adam very much imitating what the Edge would have played. Surprises me every time again and again.
Excellent.
Yup. Agreed. For me Drowning Man was the best song on the album. Too bad they didn't mention it in this video.
Like a Song is one of my favorite U2 songs period. It doesn’t get enough attention. The energy, power of the song still holds. War was first true introduce to U2 and it remains my favorite U2 album. Second greatest band in the world after the Beatles!
It beats me how he climbed scaffolding, ladders, to the top of the roof of stadiums with a microphone around his shoulder. Work place and safety, would sue him today if he did it.
A documentary of the War album, but they show concert footage from The Unforgettable Fire tour.
I was an 80’s kid in Michigan. War and October were great. War was played at school dances. The king of record collecting at that time, broke The Unforgettable Fire out at a party, and we were mightily impressed and maybe saddened too because the Baby Boomers caught on.
I think it was their last great studio album until "How to dismantle..." They were more "hungry" and passionate on the first three, and "Live Under a Blood Red Sky" is a masterpiece. I stand in the minority that didn't really like 'The Joshua Tree"....
The first three songs are about as strong of a start as you can get. Where the Streets Have No Name will always be my favorite, and it's a religious experience in concert. With that said, I'm with you about the rest of the album. I rank Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby above Joshua Tree on my favorite list, though ironically it took me a few years to really appreciate Achtung Baby.
I miss Drowning, a great song.
U2: 40
HOW LONG TO SING THIS SONG…HOW LONG TO SING THIS SONG…HOW LONG TO SING THIS SONG…HOW LONG…HOW LONG…HOW LONG…HOW LONG…TILL JESUS COMES AGAIN TO TAKE US HOME! 😇😇😇🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻✝️✝️✝️
Why not talk about like a song? such a great number.
Actually
Great doc, but how can you do an extensive piece on War and not include what might be the band’s best song, ‘Like A Song’??
one would think a music journalist would pronounce Bowie right
Seen them on the war tour at the Apollo Manchester
C'mon! I waited all the docu for the Drowning Man info... it's the most misterius song...
When these critics try to talk about the actual music they're truly clueless. Thinking Surrender was a precursor to Bullet the Blue Sky??!! Why, just because the pedal steel sounds like the slide guitar?
A full documentary about WAR ? If so , why you skipped Like a song and Drowning Man. One of the most important songs of U2
x2
I think they still close their shows with 40 even now in 2024.
I can tell you with certainty that this band was all the rage with college girls in the early 80s. A mini version on the Beatles.
40 did it for me, its personal, to me and bono
If only all rock docos were this good. ❤
There is no line in "seconds" that says "where we dance the bomb away"(24:30)
i remember buying this album after watching the live at red rocks gig on the tube - hooked upto the joshua tree - then naaaaaaa,
There are 2 U2 Bands the original band from Boy to Rattle & Hum. The band split and started again as U2 AB to now. I prefered the original, . Bono was stung by The Fly and they were never the same.
War was the pinnacle imo It was all downhill from there. Nothing comes close to that tour.
New Years Day was the one that converted me
Is there the same documentary on Joshua Tree?
The Chameleons wrote Prettier songs & darker personal songs than early U2 . Chameleons sound was more diverse than the 1st 3 U2 albums . i haven’t a grudge against them it’s just because they were both in the same places at the same time but obviously in many respects were very different. I wasn’t aware of Chameleons in 1983 but very much appreciated ( as the man says ) U2s exciting guitar vibe which was refreshing plus The Clash etc weren’t rocking out anymore whereas U2 at Redrock was a mainstream rock revelation after 4 years of novelty new wave acts , hair & make up bands , synths or cock rock bands repeating the same album ( except Gillan) 😁👍
I'm sorry to say, but the only NMA I'm interested in is from their really era with bassist Stuart Morrow... but they'd probably vanish, admittedly, if they kept the style
I find that hard to believe they thought of quiting after October came out. Both Boy and October were HUGE successes and October went Platinum in UK and US. Not sure what these journalists are trying to say but I find it very hard to believe they would talk about quiting at that point. "first great record"? WTF. I hate these journalist generated videos. Boy and October were massive with the birth of MTV and their videos were big part too. These people are not fans, but story makers. Meh. Love early U2, but this video sucks and i want my 49 mins back.
They were thinking of quitting because of religious reasons, nothing to do with the music. Do a bit of research. 😅
the Church they all attended (except Adam), was trying to convince them they could not pursue their career and "please God" at the same time. I'm glad they proved that church wrong!
All of them except Adam, were really religious at this time and in a Christian group called Shalom and were torn between their Christian belief/faith and being in a rock band. Edge decided to quit the band around the time the October album was finished. And Bono joined him
They actually went to Paul McGuinness (their manager) and told him U2 was history. McGuinness, who had signed contracts for a tour, just asked:
“Am I to gather from this that you’ve been talking to God?”
“We think it’s Gods will” they said.
“So you can just call God up?”
“Yes”
“Well, maybe next time you may ask God if it’s ok for your representative on earth to break a legal contract. A legal contract I have a signed on your behalf, a legal contract for you to go on tour? How could it be possible for this God of yours to want you to break the law and not fulfill your responsibilities to do this tour?”
This was arguably the greatest most popular band in the world at one time. That time is gone and they couldn't transcend into anything remotely appetizing in recent decades. And Bono turned into something horrible that friended Bill Gates.
It's impressive how they can articulate Exactly what U2 were about back then and to a certain extent still are-
"I don't know how to say what's got to be said"
… They certainly aren't "dancing about architecture" & for once I'm impressed by music journalism😂
He almost came through the roof back down onto the stage, that tarpulin began to tear under his weight.
Great album. But Achtung Baby was our music awakening. We wouldn’t be a band if not for that album and Radiohead. Achtung Baby stands up.
U2 of old is still better than U2 from 2007 & up. When you've reached the ceiling and broken through into outer space, there's nowhere else to go...... 😊
❤
I was a great fan of U2 in my youth, untill 1987. The first LP Boy is a slap, every song seems so simple and spontaneous, it's my best (Another Time Another Place best of the best).
October sounds like a continuation with less energy but some great moments.
War is not a complete great album. Of course there is 2 big hits, but lots of waste here... In this report, they kept the best ones (you can find the same later in the live video: Under a blood red sky).
Then it's another color with Unforgettable Fire, with Eno, stillinteresting.
After, the band starts a trip to other lands (American folk style, then trying a sort of german pop, then America testimony.... But all that sounds so poor and empty...)
you reduce War to "Two great songs"? 😅 You have no soul if you weren't moved by Seconds or Drowning Man
@@davidlynds9483 no, I said 2 great hits + songs mentioned in this report. I can remember Two hearts, Surrender, Seconds, 40... Like a song, maybe.
For the Drowning man, I prefer the Cure same title :)
MTV Played New Years Day round the clock. So lets not change history.
Wef eat bugs. No more no more more bug burgers. Kids luv it. Crunchy exoskeleton Gooey bugs . no offence to Larry Mullin jr.
Red Rocks brought them to the US full force. No one I knew had heard much of them till Red Rocks aired on Mtv. Then the flood gates opened.
Duran wasnt a good live band....are you mental?
Bloody melt.
@acb Duran took their music serious . The Taylor’s and Le Bon all took music lessons after becoming popular . Le Bon went to voice coaching lessons in London from an old lady who taught the likes of F Mercury and others to sing . And the Taylor’s went to a few professional teachers .
They took a technical interests in recording techniques and production . Can’t say I was a fan of them , but their hard work paid off.
Couldn’t stand U2 . To me they struck it lucky with protest songs becoming anthems - kinda sign of the times .
In my opinion Mullens is a talented drummer - inasmuch he played for the minimalism and sparsity of the guitar work . Clayton’s bass lines are not very challenging to any 16+year old who practices .
The Edge got away with murder - skill wise , but , they ‘ struck a groove ‘ and largely stayed with it and wrote ‘ Nu Pop ‘ music - in short playing to the gallery. They did what was expected of them except that Zooropa lark , which was a dark glam rock show .
The Anthems kept them afloat as did the publicity machine ( hype ) .
I saw a vid with Edge, Jimmy page and Jack white - to be honest I would rate any of them . Both Edge and white were completely out of their depth whilst page was not even trying and just going along with the intention of making the vid.
Take Satriani , a good player , absolutely, but songwriting prowess - not so much , he admits this himself . He specialised in guitar modes ,largely Egyptian .
Take Clapton , an amazing player , songwriting again not so much . His best effort at witting songs was ‘ old love ‘ which he co -wrote with Robert cray .
Oops ! Side tracked there .
Keep on rocking .🍺
@@BigBoaby-sg1yo I've been playing/writing/recording music for 40 years and I find there's nothing more boring than people who approach music on the technical level only. I give no f if Edge couldn't shred his way out of a paper bag, his guitar lines have made a lot of people feel a lot of things throughout the years, me included. The criticism of Clayton is also boring. If his lines were five times busier, would it necessarily add something to the songs? They are fine as is. See that's pretty much the difference between the people who came into music from punk and those who didn't. None of my favorites bands or musicians are technically skilled, all of them if you've been playing for anything between 2 months to a year (depending on the musician) you should be able to play what they play. Doesn't matter to me one single bit. The fact is i'm still trying to write songs as good as they do and i'm probably more technically advanced then most of them
The vid you're talking about is a film called It Might Get Loud. Jack White and Page are evidently more technically skilled players, but their influences are rooted in blues which makes all their music boring to me. Personal tastes (and also where you takes your music roots from) obviously, not saying they should not be respected, but I think they are intelligent enough and have played long enough anyway to know that it doesn't matter if Edge is not as technically gifted as them, he's written songs that will go down in history (a lot more than White's except for that one song), he's proven he belongs. He's got his own approach and it could be argued that to a generation he's nearly as influential as Page anyway (though i will say, a lot of edge imitators but noen that have equaled it, at least in his peak years, because for this you'd have to understand how his brain works, every single time what his imitators miss are his rhythmic subtleties)
As for the U2 hype, i mean, i'll grant that for the past 25 yerars at least, it's been the hype machine that' keeps doing its work, their music hasnt been relevant since the 90s, but early on the main thing is that critics loved them. And critics can shape a lot of the culture. They did though have fantastic management and it's no coincidence the big Iphone blunder happened right after Mcguiness stopped being their manager.. But hey, it's not like The Beatles weren't a product of immense hype either. In any case it's a bit funny considering one of the early names of U2 was The Hype.
@@milkcarton6654 “ a lot of Edge imitators, but none have equaled it “ Are you sure ? I’m afraid I disagree with you . Are you of the opinion the edge was the first to used ‘ open string drone techniques’?
John Cale was doing it in the 1960’s or · Mason Jones · Meanderings · RAUM feat. Liz Harris & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma · Chvad SB · Paul Oednom · Fathmount · Faaip De Oiad or the composer La Monte Young or Ravi Shankar on the Sitar or on the tambura- Gowrishankar Gurusawmy, Soman Pillai, Prasanna Athele, Nellai Krishnan, Indira Sheshadri and Helen Francis are legendary Tanbura players .or Andrey Stanislavovich Vinogradov · Nigel Eaton · Hurdy-Gurdy · Matthias Loibner · Symbio · Valentin Clastrier - All legendary Hurdy Gurdy players or ‘ gurdiests’ if you will .
What edge was doing was nothing new - you should know this as a recording artist?
Edge favours the perfect fifth interval . His use of two rack mounted 2290 delays opened up the sound into a strong layer from minimalist input . He also uses modulation + 2 long delays in parallel set to different tempos .
With the amount of pedals he has , at the end of the gig his feet were sorer than his fingers 😂
Keep on rocking mate 🍺
@@milkcarton6654 why don’t ye put some of your music up on your channel ?
@@BigBoaby-sg1yo I'll have to respectfully disagree that they got "lucky". They had a sound no one else had, and that's because of the Edge. There are different guitar talents. You don't have to shred like Eddie Van Halen to be a great guitarist. That's what many people don't understand. What you're not realizing is that the sum of the parts is greater than the parts. That's what makes U2 a great band.
sad to see how their music dissolved into lovey dovey soul inspired mush and lost it's post punk edge by the very late 80s and onward.
Bono goin first class like stingaling doin deals wit da dumfucs.
This and Joshua Tree are there best works. Boy and October are slipped in.
I always thought the production on War sounded thin and lack lustre compared with Boy and October. I saw them on a number of occasions during this period and chatted with Bono for around 20 minutes after a gig at the Manchester Apollo. I was disappointed when War was released primarily because of the production and it hailed the decline in my interest in the band. Just my opinion and reaction, not expecting anyone else to agree.
Agree 100% on the crappy production of War.
By far their best album.
U2 was best between 1983-1991. Zooropa, Discotec etc records was pure crap. In year 2000-2004 back again with a couple of good songs. After that pure crap again. 🙏
False narrative that Duran Duran weren’t good musicians.
That "author" is talking shite. Duran Duran was a rocking band in the 80s.
Yep, not a big fan of them but they can certainly play.
I caught that too...DD was pretty polished live and still is
Well I love both bands, but if you ask me at that point in time (1982-1983) DD were better players than U2...U2 were great songwriters since 'Boy', maybe better that DD, and yes 'War' is full of great songs...but Andy Taylor was already an acomplished guitar player even before he joined DD and the rhythm section of Roger and John was tighter than Adam and Larry...it was until U2 worked with Eno and Lanois that they got tight as a whole band of players...again, U2 wrote killer songs since day one...in the end both bands are hall of famers and the narrative is just a cheap shot, reproducing the press perceptions of DD circa 1982-1983...and when you put in the same group of bands Bananarama and Duran Duran just for 'hair and make up', you're either trying to 'stir up the pot' or you don't know what you're talking about🤷🏻♂️
@@benglez 100%
Best U2 album. Everything after 'Under a blood red sky' is bulls**t