With Bono singing "with wings like eagle, you run and not grow weary", the "take my hand" backing vocals, and that violin melody always gives me the chills.
There’s no other way to cut it. This guy is a talented presenter and a great advocate for music. I hope kids are watching this and getting into music. The three attributes of a great teacher are to enthuse, inform and inspire. This guy does all that. Respect.
I met Adam Clayton with a friend of mine in 1984 not far from where I live. I was a young teenage fan, he said he just finished recording the unforgettable fire. A real gentleman and very kind with his time,love his bass lines. Most down to earth guys you will meet... ☘️
This whole album spoke to me when I was a young teen in the 80’s. When I lost my firstborn son to brain cancer in 1996,it had been a few years since I had listened to War. When I got to Drowning Man,I just lost it and wept like never before .It was truly at that time I understood the loss Bono had with his mom at a young age.
Another aspect of their music is their Irish background and the things that were taking place in N Ireland at the time. Sunday Bloody Sunday" so sad! Just like The Cranberrys and Zombie" so very sad and historic.
I can't believe Rick is talking about "Drowning man" to me that is one of those songs that really separate casual listeners from people that (whether they like U2 or not) REALLY know the band... if they know this song. To me it has forever been a masterpiece... Cheers from Costa Rica!
Absolutely. It's like Heartland, Dirty Day, Fez/Being Born or Book Of Your Heart. You know you're in the presence of a real fan if they react to those songs in a more passionate way than to WOWY, Vertigo, One or Pride.
@@fishtailfred8686 Into The Heart (and An cat Dubh ) have always been my least favorites from Boy, but ATAP is an absolute gem, just like Shadows And Tall Trees, Stories For Boys, Twilight and the more known ones (IWF, OOC, Electric Co). Boy is one of the best debuts album in rock history if you ask me.
For me, it's the layering that makes this song so awesome. Their taking simple parts and piecing them together to make something sound immense. It really does sound like a hymn, and Bono's voice cuts through that so well that you just get lost in the music.
Agreed. There is something haunting and other worldly about early U2 stuff. War has always been one of my favourite albums. I know it sounds silly to say that a band as successful as U2 are underrated as songwriters but sometimes I think it’s easy to overlook their abilities.
@@DoctorDave5 Absolutely. They also have been one of my favourite bands of all time since I came across Boy way back in early 81. I went off them when they released The Joshua Tree as it felt like a sell out to what made them great. Even Bono seriously considered calling the record pressing plant to pull production. It's grown on me over the years but for me Boy and War were where I felt the most connected.
@@jakefallon2335 I still love the Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby but I definitely lean towards the earlier stuff. Boy, October, War and the magnificent Unforgettable Fire. I wore them all out on my turntable!
An alternate title could be “why you should listen to full albums and not just songs / playlists”. Beato talks about War as a great album and he’s spot on. At the time, it stood out as one of the few perfect albums - every song great and a perfect listen as each song transitioned to the next. I feel that’s a topic on its own, and one that I discuss often with a few friends. Very rare these days, but maybe coming back with the trend toward vinyl. Great video, Rick!
@@ctbadger I was a U2 fan early on. I never heard any "I hate U2" from anyone until around Achtung Baby when Bono started acting like an overprivledged ass.
@@massivereader You obviously know nothing about Bono. If he heard you say that he would likely make a joke about it because anyone who has spent any time with him knows that he is anything but. I've spent enough time with him over the years to know first hand. Now, if you want to talk about an "overprivileged ass" then look no further than Chris Martin. He's a piece of work.
Man, U2 IMO, is a top 5 R&R band of all time. No particular order but them along Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are on another level. All members are just amazing players and Edge’s sound is so original and alongside Bono’s voice and lyrics make them a perfect band.
Dear Rick, you just fulfilled one of my life-long music bucket list accomplishments: I’ve loved ‘Drowning Man’ since the day I first heard it but I’ve never understood why. I can’t sing, hum or tap to it. The tuning (of that guitar) always confused me so when I tried to explain it to friends, I failed. In the summer of 1983 I lived on a sailboat. The fog buoy that sat outside our harbor signaled with a warning tone that was the same pitch, resonance and duration as the haunting background sound you hear start around the 0:24 mark. I always liked to imagine that U2 sampled that buoy for this song. Thank you so much for finally bringing the attention to this song that it so much deserves. I couldn’t be happier. Stay Strong, Boston
I dig your story! I grew up boating on the south shore of LI, so I can really relate. We would take summer family cruises, making our way around Montauk Point and then stay at various ports of call on the LI Sound. Many were along the CT coastline, and we were fogged in many times.
@@mysticedge4 Whenever U2 were recording in the studio for an album, Bono used effects to tweak his vocals to where the sounded to the producer’s liking, since Bono notoriously (and imo rightfully) hates his voice.
Nailed it, Rick - this is a U2 ”deep track” for sure, and it’s pure genius. It’s one of those rare songs that still grabs me by the heart and gives me chills after all these years. In my mind, it is the soundtrack from US Army Ranger school 1990, then straight into Desert Storm. Every step was a ‘gut check’ for three months in Ranger school. Waiting to see my girl again. Waiting to go home. Just trying to survive. Then Sadaam invaded Kuwait just as we finished. Get on the plane, LT. You’re not going home any time soon. Then a year in the desert. “Hold on - don’t let go of my love. The storm will pass. It won’t be long now. Rise up, rise up - with wings like eagles - you run, you run, you run and not grow weary.” Powerful stuff.
Great story Sir, my Ranger school album was Joshua Tree but about 25 years after you! When I was in mountain phase I had Country Roads by John Denver stuck in my head every single day. Probably the longing and desire for home and the beautiful Mountains that surrounded us. For SFAS I had a lot of Foreigner stuck in my head for some unknown reason, not even that big of a fan of them. It’s funny what your mind does when you are deprived of the music you love and what gets stuck in your head. Thank you for your Service and God Bless!
Bono pours his soul into every note...emotion, theatrics and technique always on display. And then there are the lyrics. Such a gifted artist. Thx for helping folks to see how great U2 is.
Agreed. First heard this when I was a student. The album didn’t leave the turntable for a week. Nothing else got a look in. Still stands up as a great album in my mind. Don’t care what a tit Bono is, U2 smashes it out of the park here
This is FANTASTIC! I'm a music teacher, music theory nerd, and huge U2 fan and LOVE how you broke this down with the meter, modes and everything! Well done!
I always try to extract influences or at least previous songs out of the mix. So far, the best I can do with this one is to imagine this as similar to Nights in White Satin and Welcome to the Machine with an unusual more up tempo beat that's a combination of "Two Hearts Beat as One mixed with an almost Latin feel not unlike a song in a Clint Eastwood era western.
I have a music teacher who I won’t name but who is in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame as a drummer that was in a popular 90s group, has won a Grammy and has worked over the past 35 years as producer, mixer, sound engineer for many, many groups. He sometimes shares stories about artists. For example, he doesn’t like the lead singer of the RHCP (or Flea). Said you had to get permission to speak to them. That they never spoke to you or acknowledged you when you walked past them in the hallway. Basically jerks. On the other hand, he said U2 were the nicest of all the artists he’s ever worked with and especially Bono. Said he was at the console and you get a little nervous when Bono comes over and puts his hand on your should and asks, “Do you mind playing measures x and x again?” Said he goes out his way to make you feel comfortable. Before he said this, I’d never been a fan of U2 but admit this made me see them in a new light.
@@jkyles1000 Well that's very admirable of him. But just because a person treats others with respect, follows the golden rule, doesn't make me like their music, sorry.
I've been a U2 fanatic almost my entire life. Not just my favorite band, they're a big part of my cultural development as a person. I LOVE them. To you: thank you so much for this lovely tribute to an underappreciated deep-cut. Seeing you break down the melody was a treat. Thank you!
I find interesting how Bono and Eddie Vedder approach singing. They make melodies sort of jumping between notes making intervales wider than others. Usually picking notes from an octave above to emphatize and make you feel more intensity. Love it!
"Drowning Man" is my favourite U2 song (and I am a big fan of theirs), and straight up one of my favourite songs of all time. The way that hypnotic bassline and beat rock back and forth, the perfectly placed guitar harmonics and strings, soul-searching lyrics and arguably Bono's finest vocal performance on record. I've just never heard anything else like it. So glad to see there are others that feel the same way about this hidden gem that I do.
This is what I listened to with some of the Joshua tree in my depressive moments of my life, in the wilderness living off the land. Unfortunately, those times I feel are upon me again, time to take my dog, music a little food and dislocate to the wild
This is the record that introduced me to U2. I was 16 back then (now I am 54) The first song I heard was Sunday Bloody Sunday and it just floored me! I could not believe what I was hearing; it was like a flood of fresh water, I was listening to new music that had a purpose.
Same. I’m 53. I remember hearing the boy album and my life Changed forever. I heard wide awake in America. Love comes tumbling and it just ripped out my soul. Been hooked ever since. Soundtrack of my life. Even paid $5 to see them 12/19/87 @ sun devil stadium. Not knowing tracks from that stadium show would end up in a movie. Unreal
Same. 61. New Years Day. Lived in England during the beginning of Polish transition to democracy when Lech Walesa (Labor Leader and Union Electrician) was jailed by communist government.
I walked into a record store where the New Year’s Day video was playing. I was immediately in awe. Where all the other videos were “fun”, U2 sang with conviction.
Never understood the hostility towards U2, I get that Bono can be a little like marmite, but they have consistently released excellent (sometimes astonishing) music for over 40 years, with the same 4 members. One of the most important and relevant bands in the history of rock.
Marmite is also you either hate or love, (your comment made me laugh) ,still give him props for his talent, but something about that guy makes me cringe..
Maybe it has something to do with Bono being a billionaire and pretending to be one hell of a samaritan by raising funds and development aid whilst avoiding taxes by having his company domicile on Cayman Islands. Apart from his music he is just a f****** hypocrite!
I think part of it is that U2 is undeniably powerful and effective, so if you don’t like what they are doing or (as has often been the case for me) just aren’t in the mood for it, when U2 comes on, you are going to hear a version of whatever you weren’t in the mood for that’s impossible to ignore.
He's an absolute ass, but their early stuff was really good. Not a fan of their more recent works personally, generally think the more recent stuff sounds like hollow imitations of their first three albums
Man, I remember my 12 year-old self listening over and over and over to this track off vinyl on my parents' turntable. What an absolutely beautiful and powerful song. Great choice.
I was 13 then and know that connection that we will always feel when we hear these songs. Not the hits off the album (that you can’t avoid) but the ones you only hear by choice when you hit play. I am transported back to my 13 year old self.
@@elle.w.p Yes! War and October are is such great records, remember when they came out and buying then... the great thing with October/War (and Boy, Unforgettable Fire) is that you really feel Ireland. October and War really sound like Dublin in those moments.... for me these records have so much meaning.
Some years ago I rediscovered "Promenade" from "The Unforgattable Fire" album, another of those underrated magic songs. I agree this magic is rare (and even Drowning Man reappeared to me as a divine message in a dream after decades that I didn't listen to it and wouldn't even remember it existed), but then Promenade is a song that I always liked but it seems like I never REALLY listened to it. Then all of a sudden, 35 years later, fusshh!, it blew my mind away and had me kinda uplifted to another realm for two days. I'm not kidding.
‘’War is one of the finest rock records ever’’. Absolutely. The writing, of course, was top. The recording and mixing was even better. And what about the sound? Those drums on Like a song or tWo Hearts…those riffs and licks, those bass lines… A monumental record. After that, it had to be something else, less… This was rock climax.
War is one of those records that I can still remember exactly how it made my 15 year old self feel when I heard it for the first time in 1983. They didn’t play U2 on the radio where I lived, and I bought the album because the cover was so compelling, as I did with lots of other records back then. It still hits hard and this was a great dissection and celebration , as usual from Rick.
I feel the exact same way. Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby get all the attention and praise, but for me nothing they made ever topped War. It is the first album I recommend to people who dislike U2 because it has such a unique, powerful, but still delicate sound and includes the best Bono vocal performances ever. Plus, most of the songs aren't ballads like their later albums, which is always great.
Thank you for your comments.. I completely forgot about that album and it came out when I was in the 8th grade it's great. You are correct. Absolutely epic album.. Unlike anything going on at that time, and for a long time after
I discovered U2 in August 1984. First time I heard them was live, in Perth WA, at the Entertainment Center. I still remember everything of that night, especially New Year’s Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and the magnificent 40 at the end of the concert. That was the only time I bought the LP after hearing the live performance, instead of the other way around.
People tend to hate on anyone who makes it big. Also, the band, or at least Bono, transcends rock n roll with his politics and charity... some people think singers should just shut up and sing, especially if they don't agree with their politics. I love U2, but we live in a world where some people hate what some people love. "Haters gonna hate".
They are an amazing band, but there is a clear line between their earlier stuff up to Joshua Tree and everything afterwards. I think some U2 diehards draw the line at Joshua Tree.
I think the other thing is that only a Celt could come up w that type of melody. To me it sounds like an old Irish hymn that no one outside of Ireland or Scotland would ever understand. Amazing! One of my fav records and songs
This song sounds like they were just straight up jamming. Like everyone started playing together and Bono started singing lines he had written down. It all sounds so natural together.
I agree that it kind of sounds like that. I find a lot of U2 songs sound like that. As if they are just repeatedly playing the same short chord progression the whole time and and Bono just sings the first thing that comes to mind on top as in order to find an interesting melody, without the song really melodically progressing anywhere.
@@PowerRedBullTypology (( it's in the production as in 'Not too effective on just guitar and vocal or just piano and vocal' -unless Bono is singing it like an anthemn. Then, the song has a shine to it, especially with that guitarist (slash?). Digressing for a minute, the world seemed a better place when the beast system was using superstar musicians to fraudulently 'save the world' than what has been both blatantly and confusingly been happening after that era. Like SURPRISE! But Bono was one of them that was not fooled by the beast, whether morally right or not.
Oh hell no. This is VERY well rehearsed. The bass in is 6, the drums are in 4, and the melody is a 24 beat phrase so it all comes around like a Swiss watch. That doesn't happen by accident.
This is one of the greatest albums of all time. The energy and drive is just incredible. Steve Lillywhite OMG. I'm not a crying man, but when I went to see U2 live in the 80's and they played this song, "40" and "Into the Heart" (off of the Boy album), I found myself wiping some tears from my eyes...amidst a crowd of 18,000 at MSG. Talk about connecting with your audience! No other rock band ever made me cry. But U2 did. And I'm not even Irish.
A little more helpful response here- although they have never played the full song live, they have thrown in a snippet of drowning man on occasion, mostly in the 80s. I looked up every MsG U2 show in the 80s and in none of them did they play Into The Heart. However, digging deeper… on 5/11/83 they played the Palladium in NYC and performed Into The Heart, 40, and (wait for it) 11 o clock tick tick with a drowning man snippet. Success! So I think you are misremembering that it was at MSG, but everything else was spot on!
The lyric references to Isaiah 40:31 are another example of how U2 can fold their faith into their earlier music (see also “40” - Psalm 40:2, and countless others). Drowning Man is a U2 masterpiece.
The song on Joshua tree called red Hill town gives me the same feeling. The Melody sends chills up my spine in the same powerful way. And I don’t hate U2!!
My husband and I drove near Arches National Park recently and of course had to plan our Joshua Tree listen to hear Red Hill Mining Town as we wound our way through the literal red mining towns. Still my favorite song from Joshua Tree. Sometimes I think it’s too bad they never figured out how to translate it to concerts, but on the other hand, the vocal performance is just about perfect and couldn’t be equaled or better than what was captured in studio.
U2 rules. Bono is an amazing singer. That whole band is incredible. I can’t wait until people stop hating on them so much. Sadly, I have a feeling it’s going to be after a member of the band passes away, or after they split up. It will be one of those scenarios where people don’t realize what they had in front of them until it’s gone,
Scott Masson They've been together as a band since 1978, and the two times they came close to parting ways was after Live Aid. Bono decided to go off on his own into the crowd without telling the other band members. Larry and the Edge were pissed and were going to fire Bono over the incident. They believed that Bono blew the performance, and the band's opportunity to make a breakthrough. The next day, reviews of their performance came out. Instead of ruining the opportunity for the band to make a breakthrough, the performance propelled them to superstardom. A lot of people felt that U2's performance at Live Aid was second only to the immortal Freddie Mercury and Queen. The second time the band came close to breaking up was after the somewhat disastrous 'Rattle and Hum' Tour across America. The band came to the point of feeling that they had lost their way. While working on 'Achtung Baby' in Berlin, the band came closer than they ever have to calling it quits. The song, 'One', was born out of that tension. U2 continued on and 'Achtung Baby' was the reinvention of the band. I say all that to say that I don't think they will break up. They have remained together, not only as a band, but good friends all these years. I have no idea how many more albums they have in them, and, let's face it, their most iconic work is behind them, I believe. All of the band member, except Larry are either 60 or 61. Larry is 59. Hopefully they have a couple of more albums in them. Hopefully a few more tours. I think the band will end on their own terms. It may come at the end of some future tour where Bono announces, 'Thank you. This is it. We are done This time we are not coming back.' It will be a sad day indeed.
I saw U2 with The Alarm opening at Pier 84 in Manhattan on Jun 29, 1983. They were promoting War, which had been released earlier that year. What a concert! For anyone who remembers the Pier 84 concerts in the 80s, it was an outdoor venue with room for about 4,000 next to the aircraft carrier Intrepid on the Hudson River. (at 44th Street) U2 was a very young, up-and-coming band and you just knew they were going to be huge. Bono was about 23 years old and already had such a mature and captivating stage presence. What a time to be alive and young!
The Alarm… another great band no one ever talks about. Met Mike Peters and Eddie in Boston the night they recorded “Electric Folklore Live”. Great guys.
I remember Pier 84 - I saw The Smiths there back in the mid 80s. Also saw The Alarm and U2 (Nassau Coliseum in '85) on separate occasions. The Alarm concert was at small college venue, and they were fantastic.
I saw U2 at the Red Rocks on the War tour. Amazing, on absolute fire 🔥 show! Not a single audience member didn't know that U2 was going to be gargantuan? The after show local buzz ran for Months...no joke.. One (if not #1...) of my favorite concerts....
Man, you can’t imagine how lucky you were to be at THAT show! Back in those days, we lived for Under a Blood Red Sky! It was the soundtrack of our sweet teenage revolution.
Rick is amazing, he doesn’t stop to surprise me! I’m a huge U2 fan and for me Drowning man was always an absolute masterpiece, for me it’s the best song in War and the second best being Surrender. I was looking for the war album on RUclips and came across Rick’s video. It’s really great hearing him talk about this song so passionately. This song is so unique and mystical, it’s U2 at their best!
I agree with Rick this being one of the best rock albums ever made. I go a step further and say it is one of my favorite albums. I agree with both you and Rick about Drowning Man and Surrender. These songs are killer and they sound amazing. Certain albums just do it for me, this album, the Cure’s Disintegration album, REM’s Murmur, PE’s Nation of Millions, Floyd’s Dark Side, and Miles’ Kind of Blue. Personally, I think they are just great sounding and written albums.
I am so immensely happy to see this love and recognition for one of my absolute favourite songs of all time! I've never seen or heard anyone acknowledge this song before, and now Rick acknowledges this song with the same enthusiasm that I feel for it. I can listen to this song forever, and never grow tired of it. The combination of what all the instruments and the vocals are doing in this song just creates this absolutely magical, hypnotic soundscape that sounds otherworldly to me. A pure masterpiece. Thank you Rick, for this wonderful video. It truly made me so immensely happy!
We NEED more of this series. I don't see how any lover of music can "hate" anyone who is putting this much emotion into their music. Maybe U2 aren't fashionable anymore, but they are certainly not lacking in soul - or ambition. Kudos for digging deep!
I don't think the U2 haters hate the band because of the music or the vocals.....their prejudice is mainly because of Bono and his message.....preachy.....Christian preachy.....not there's anything wrong with that message or belief but I think it is a reflection of the nature and essence of the haters rather than on U2 or Bono.
Agreed. The song pick being one of the bands' deep cuts is refreshing and shows why this series has so much potential. Interestingly, U2 seems to be growing in popularity again...at least with a certain age group: Just as Millennials tended to reject them in backlash to Gen Xers & Boomers love for them---Gen Zers that hear them tend to like their music.
War, Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby are U2 at their best. If you haven’t listened to much of them, those 4 albums are works of genius, and I can’t recommend them enough!
You left out Boy. That will always be my favorite of theirs, probably because it was so different from everything else out at the time. It made a huge impact on me, though, I guess most people weren’t ready for it yet. It has a tonal quality War approaches but doesn’t quite repeat.
One of my favorite U2 songs. Their music is so emotional to me. I feel everything through my body. Chills. I saw Steve Lilywhite in a restaurant once. Walked right up to him and told him he produced sone of my favorite music of all time. He was shocked I knew who he was.
Hey Rick, your videos have got me to love music again. Some depression stopped me from listening to my favourite bands, and the fact that you constantly have them on your channel has brought me back to music. Hope you are well!
@@40g33k Not Slipknot actually, but it Says When all hope is gone, don't let silence fall on my In Mourning shirt, Swedish melo death band. :) (stealing shirt quotes)
I used to listen to U2's War album in 1990 repeatedly, when I was 16 on my way to my after school activity on my Sony Walkman. As you know, there were no streaming services back then and I could only listen to very few albums on cassette tapes, so I used to carry about three to four cassettes with me. War was definitely one of the gems I'd listen to constantly and repeatedly, all of the other used to rotate, I think they included Jethro tull, Zeppelin and perhaps the Police and Rush...can't remember... Drowning Man was just a piece in the collage of the album, so I'd consider this song and back then it sounded like laid back stoner ballad. kind of nice-to-have track in this War album repertoire. Around 1992 or 1993 I played drums with my back then band. We were inspired by emerging rock and grunge bands and went rehearsing late at nights and end up at my guitarists house, getting stoned and inspired by songs. At some point, he put War into his CD player and played this track as all of the band members were out of service...let's put it this way... "You gotta listen to this," he said "...this song is phenomenal!" Then I thought to myself I know this song, but never deep dived into it, and indeed marvelous song but never understood why... Damn you Rick! It is a pity I just got to better understand this song, 32 year later!! Wish I had the chance to know you back then to explain this to me what makes this song so ingenious. Well, never too late to learn new things. Thank you so much for driving this channel!! Keep it up!!
We have quasi-similar stories. I was introduced to WAR in 1989 when in graduate school, and it was the album that made me a U2 fan (for life since then). And "Drowning Man" was the song that cemented that fandom. I borrowed that cassette for so long from my housemate that he eventually demanded its return and said, "You have to get your own copy." But before he took it back, it was the soundtrack to my student teaching experience in a town on the edge of Appalachia.
The way the musical parts swirl around each other is much like water or mist, the singer and lyrics very much a drowning man, brilliant. Kudos to Rick for showing 'how' it works.
Yes, The song evokes imagery of a mist that impairs sight, or a metaphorical mist of confusion or despair. And Bono's voice is like an anchor of steadiness perplexingly, but decisively, reaching out to and speaking to the listener out of that mist.
Early U2 was soulful, spiritual, panoramic, mystical, earthy and sonically a masterpiece up to and including The Joshua Tree. Absolutely tapping into desolation of the spirit, searching, wanderlust and finding an individuals soul.
I feel this mostly, yes. BUT, I feel also passionately about certain songs from Achtung Baby. In particular "Until the End of The World." It's the beautiful, dreamy place where U2 and Lanois meet and give us music that turns our insides out. Just my opinion...
also I consider Bono one of the greatest lyricist EVER. On almost every song I find lines that touch me deeply or lines that make me shout "THIS IS SO TRUE". He is a master of allegory
So true. His singing ability & tone are so exceptional that at times that has overshadowed his lyrical genius. He’s actually underrated in this regard. Bono is one of the best lyricists ever.
It is very pleasant to see in Rick’s videos how he can’t keep emotions when his loved song is playing . When he admires every note of Bono’s phrase without any theoretical comments I am really with him at that moment ! because I’m dying about this u2 song too, it is just unspeakably amazing and touching …..
Bono is without a doubt one of the greatest melodic singers of all time. Love the song. By the way, a snippet of Drowning Man (Hold on. Hold on tightly) was used in 11’o Clock Tick Tock live version during the War Tour.
bono's always been so good at putting that sense of desperation, calling out to god sort of feeling into his voice "drowning man" is so enthralling and emotional to me - one of u2's absolute best.
Rick - Love the episode. This album was their breakthrough album that moved them from "wannabe" to "star". I remember many a late night (when I should have been sleeping) listening to the tape through headphones. This song and New Year's Day are songs that STILL move me. I hear them and I am transported to that time and place.
I've been waiting at least thousand years for anyone to break down this amazing song, and every bit of it, 'cause I think is magnificent and I know almost every note, technique voicing and instrument. I've meticulously scrutinized this tune myself too and I believe it is one of the band's best studio efforts. It is a hidden gem, that's unfortunately being forgotten by the radio stations. Rick, thank you very much for breaking my all time U2 favourite, appriciating every aspect of this masterpiece. I am constantly watching your channel and you've been doing fantastic job:D
Their Best Tune and Bono's Best Vocal Performance (still gives me goosebumps after 100s of listens). A reminder that very few could touch them back then. Credit to Steve Lillywhite, has a very Eno vibe to it. Steve Wickham from The Waterboys does a great job on Violin filling out the sound. Finally Cheers Rick for being a true fan of music, before being a great scholar in noticing this song in the first place.
3 года назад+1
Ha! I just listened to the "This is the Sea" album this morning.
Thank you for this, Rick. I’ve always wondered why this song was so under appreciated. It’s nice to see there are a bunch of people who hear what I hear.
I can't remember every hearing this track and I did listen to U2 back in those days. The Edge guitar textures are off the charts- I mean some of the most striking ambient playing unlike his very syncopated delay style which always keeps you on the beat, these guitar chords and drones are really beautiful, I would say very Orchestral in his electronic world of playing. A perfect song in every way. I can't believe there are U2 haters out there. True masters of music- Genius
Being the record's A-side's last song, it's a filler song of sorts; you'd have to have the album and to listen to it thoroughly to really notice it. Nevertheless it is a very good song.
@@sergiosaunier Yeah, you had to listen to the whole album - but that's what you did then. You (or, at least I did, and everyone I knew) put the needle down and listened till the end of the side, then flipped it over and spun the black circle again. Only rarely did you lift the needle early. Selections were what mixtapes were for... Aah. Those days.
Yeah, he really elevated their game on this record. The production on New Year's Day is unbelievable. Many of the records he worked on are classics. I think he did some of XTC's best work, English Beat? I need to look more into everything he worked on. Great, great production.
I've also always loved the production on this album...so industrial and raw. On songs like "Seconds" and "Refugee," it sounds like Larry is playing a garbage can for a bass drum, and it was all with intent from Lillywhite.
@@foto21 That key tone on NYD is so unbelievably iconic, I remembered that as a kid before even remembering it was a U2 song. So many dance remixes, the melody itself and its' phrasing is so ridiculously perfect for trance. And then with that amazing guitar tone and Bono's voice being the cleanest and purest thing in the mix... stupidly underrated U2 track at this point. Better than Sunday imo, and as an Irish fan that song means a hell of a lot.
@@sp0ngeb00b7 One of the reasons NYD is so unique is that the piano is so broadly recorded and given lots of lead time (never happen today). You almost forget it's a piano even though it's so obvious and none of the band members are ever shown as pianists. But the incredible driving drums, fat bass and piano are what makes that song stand out. Of course, the guitar and vox are also brilliant, but the piano sets the mood.
@@foto21 Oh I agree, not to ignore the efforts of the band as a whole, or forget the bassist haha! People really don't listen out for bass unless it's the focal point of the song, that bugs me too. But yeah, that intro key line is just, the most ear-wormy part of the song and it has such a distinct melancholy voice. Also I could not name one off the top of my head, but I can guarantee you there is still good piano work out there! Keys are just a way more adaptable and genre-blending instrument of course, so despite the lack of traditional pianos there are still iconic keys/synth lines popping up by the year, Blinding Lights by The Weeknd being the first to come to mind :)
Right on Rick. This one jumped out at me when I first heard it as well. Just an incredible song in so many ways. The lyrics are something else as well. The violin at the outro,. the mastering..... A freaking masterpiece of music and taste of things to come from an incredible band. One of my all time favourite songs - thank you for your breakdown. It confirms what I already knew and felt about this song. Cheers from Canada!!
I bought War after seeing the New Years Day video on a local cable channel. Drowning Man and Like a Song quickly became my favourite cuts, but this is one of those albums that is a whole, not just a group of songs. It’s amazing to me that they’re still going, still producing great music, but this will always be THE album of theirs for me.
Rick, I'm 60 years old. I've listened to debut albums by The Cars, Boston, Kansas, and so on. You sir, are similar to these amazing debut albums. I can listen for hours, over and over again. Thank you for your insights, instruction, and passion.
Drowning man is one of my favourate, songs... It hits almost every emotion musically possible at some point and his vocals fit to perfection, especially when he dives back in for the second verse...the 'take my hand' echoes toeards the end are just the iceing on the cake ,nfantastic upload here again!! Sonique
Have always been a big fan of U2's opening "trilogy" in Boy, October and War...the latter being the culmination of the three and the band's first real classic. The Joshua Tree is great, of course, but there is something about the first three - and then Under A Blood Red Sky - that displays the bands true uniqueness and rawness.
@@sergiosaunier U2 was unassailably great from 1980 to 1991. After that their albums still have some good songs on them but are no longer masterpieces in their entirety.
So true. U2 today is a tribute band of this original U2 but from Boy -> Achtung Baby they were brilliant. All You Can tLeave Behind had a few great moments as well. Since then has been trash sadly.
@SmashedB Totally agree with you. The first three albums are what U2 are all about for me, and then likewise, Live Under a Blood Red Sky. First live album I bought and I played that to death until every note, nuance and even crowd noise on that album became second nature. And of course, the video is classic U2.
Early U2 is underrated and this song is a great example of their music prowess when they were young and still had that hunger to prove themselves and fire for their music. Great stuff. Please do more of these.
I think their first four albums are their best. Maybe it's because I was experiencing them through my mid-teens to my early young adult years. In any case, they left a strong impression.
I'm amazed that this came so soon, especially considering they very nearly disbanded around the time of October when they were conflicted over whether they should continue down the musical path or go in the direction of their church, which would have deprived us of some incredible music, and probably a few bands that took early inspiration from them. I think their period of raw innovation and risk taking came to an end with Zooropam which I refer to as a Brian Eno album (feat U2). Their albums now don't have the same impact or overall greatness, but then again in the era of the ipod I don't know if albums have the power to move people like they once did. Or maybe I'm just getting old.
Well done Rick. Extremely underrated deep cut from U2. They almost played this on the 360 tour. Sound checked a few times but never made it into the setlist
@@rjblaskiewicz Bono lost big-time his amazing, powerful voice during the 97 Pop tour, just before the famous Sarajevo concert.... His voice never recovered fully ever since. I'm so sad still about it.
Rick is right in saying the this song is almost like a hymn. In fact it is one. Read the lyrics in light of the the following two passages and you will understand where the song is coming from. He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" and Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.
That’s why U2’s music is christian rock music, whether they want to admit or not, and only christians should really be enjoying it. I say this as an atheist.
@tango_blue , nahhh, anyone can enjoy it, I understand their meaning and being a follower since I hear this album, I'm not a Christian, I just love great tunes and lyrics.
Wow, seriously?! This is a deep cut on that album and I love it! Can't believe Rick's depth of recall on these albums, and then to take the time to analyze it too. Is there any artist, song or album this guy hasn't heard of? I'm blown away that he found this little gem. :)
This was me and my late, great love and girlfriend at the time, Mia Zapata's(RIP) favorite album when it came out. Hard for me to listen to this song without thinking of her and how much I love and miss her..
Thank you for breaking down this song Rick. Back in 1985, It brings back memories of when I was in the Navy and my friend Brian and I would listen to this song. We would talk about the emotion and feeling of the song and how powerful it was. The last time we listened to it together he went out with some friends and was killed in a car accident that evening. Now when I hear this song it takes me back to the day's on the ship with Brian listening to this song. Again thank you Rick I really needed this tonight and I know Brian is listening as well.
I'm so glad that you're pointing out how good U2 are. Not just Bono's vocal/melody's but the clever understanding that the band had on the earlier records.
Rick is so talented and skilled, but is doing well on you tube partly because he is so likeable. He’s so passionate about what he likes and never disparages anyone. He always makes me smile. And by the way, he’s preaching to the choir about Bono’s singing:)
"War" is the best U2 album that's played with real instruments. All songs of it are masterpieces. Violin plays in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" too and as it's noted on wiki: "A local violinist Steve Wickham approached The Edge one morning at a bus stop and asked if U2 had any need for a voilin on their next album"
Yes I agree about the violin on Sunday Bloody Sunday, all I hear is a violin, a brum and a Irish dancer. It's a pity U2 didn't get a home town violin player, as the Who did.
@@michaelayliffe7238 What do you mean? Steve Wickham was from Dublin. Also well known for his work in the Waterboys, where he is by far the longest-serving member. I had the pleasure of hearing Wickham singing "Wonderful Copenhagen" at a Waterboys show there a few years ago. He apparently lived there for a while. It's good he mostly stuck to fiddle.
That was such an excellent analysis - I also love The Edge's "Take my hand" on the outro as well. I would love you to analyse From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea by The Cure. It has similar feel and there's a single piano note that goes all the way through the song anchoring it.
@@bettinajoseph3758 it's not the people who don't like them. I get that. It's the people who hate them so much that they think that no one should like them at all and so any time someone mentions U2 off they go with trashing them or whining about a free album on their iPhone from 9 years ago.
"War" was the first cassette tape i bought of U2 in 1984. It was such a fresh sound at the time. I immediately went out & got "Boy" and "October" and was hooked. Went to my first show on the "Unforgettable Fire" tour in '85.
My first concert ever was The Unforgettable Fire Tour on April 18, 1985 at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts. One of the best times of my life!! Easily!!
Amen! This _is_ a great song! As a kid it was my favourite one off the record to play on my Walkman lying on my bed in the dark: it has so much atmosphere! I believe Edge is strumming those harmonics on a 12 string acoustic. Thank you for shining a light on it. BTW the album version of Sunday Bloody Sunday also features the electric violin. I think the story goes that Edge met the violin player at the bus stop on his way to the studio; they got talking and he ended up on the record.
I've been to many, many concerts with great bands and artists over the past 35 years. NOTHING has beat seeing U2 live at Giants Stadium in NJ for the Joshua Tree Tour on 9/14/87 with 50,000 other people. It was like a religious experience and Bono was unbelievable live, I agree with Rick that Bono's live performances are incredible!
Similar experience here. Saw them on the Achtung Baby tour at the Vet in Philly. 30 years later, it’s still one of the best music experiences of my life.
I saw them on the same tour. I loved that band. I had their poster on my wall and I wore the shirt from that concert every other day for a year. Then they betrayed me. They started to really suck. I tried to get into them again, but just couldn't. I even bought one of their albums in the 90s. I just couldn't get past one listen. Pure suck.
I can’t get over how brutal and haunting the song is. The lyrics and vocals have so much desperation in them. Those guitar strums are like knife slashes. Wow
The lyrics reference Isiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Many of U2’s songs contain biblical references
Love the Edge!!! His sound is so unique that he garners high praise from his counterparts. Even Metallica gave U2 their props with their unique sound, via the Edge.
Wow that brings back some good memories. I remember buying this album on cassette tape and playing the heck out of it at Uni in our dorms. Loved U2 then - still love them now. My ex-husband spent the entire morning of our wedding day (and during the wedding reception) trying to get us tickets for the Achtung Baby tour! Our first dance was to ‘One’. Sadly we missed out on the tickets but went to see the next tour when I was pregnant with our daughter. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favourite song and I know people have written them off since then but I love, love, love ‘Sometimes you can’t make it on your own’ from ‘How to dismantle an Atomic Bomb’. Thank you Rick - I really enjoy your channel.
That's another great song. Bono's commentary on the song being about his dad make it surprisingly intimate coming from the biggest band on the planet at the time.
I love U2. Listen to the guitar on "A sort of homecoming" not the live version but the album version. WTF is he doing? It sounds incredible !!! U2 is a super band.
I always go back to those opening moments on The Unforgettable Fire. The whole album and that first tune but those first 4 songs are so strong and The Edge really pushed the boundaries as a guitar (and keyboard) player.
It was recorded in a castle, so it has that beautiful natural reverb. Pair that with the Korg rack delay, AC30 cranked and the genius of Lanois and Eno...it's stunning
I love Steve Lillywhite’s production on that record. He was one of the best back in those days, and I bet he had a lot to do with the sound of this track.
I love that song. It was my wife's choice for our solo dance at our wedding reception. Hearing it just brought tears to my eyes. Bono is very Biblically literate, and the lyrics are reminiscent of the Song of Songs and the Book of Isaiah.
Me too. Sometimes I feel like Achtung Baby is my fave of theirs but I find myself listening to War more often. It’s one of those albums (for me at least) where I can listen to every song and not skip any of them.
U2 - War was my introduction to U2 in 1985ish and love this album! U2 was favorite band for the longest time! I love all of there styles with some being better than others. I recently rediscovered Red Light from War and love the trumpet is amazing!
I am old enough to remember the times when U2 was the biggest band in the world and not hated by most people at all, and it surprises me a lot the hate they receive nowadays, to the point that even their work from the 80s and 90s is invalidated. I mean, even if what they do now is not so good, even if Bono is not likeable to a lot of people or whatever, their music until that period is immense, it was there all the time and was massively influential, and that needs to be acknowledged.
I just ignore all that criticism. It's not based on anything real. It's just generational. I see people hating on some of the greatest bands ever: Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, U2... Mostly younger people shitting on the music of older generations in order to make a statement about themselves and plant a flag in the ground, saying how they reject boomer icons, etc.. When I was young and immature, I always said that I hated Elvis, jazz and classical music. (Basically anything my parents liked.) Eventually we all grow up and recognise the quality in things we once hated.
@@bobjones2041 What did Bono do? Try to get nation's to forgive the debts of poor African nations. What the hell is wrong with that? U2 got flak because they tried to force one of their albums through the iphone.
At a track meet in Norcross, Georgia we had a lot of down time between events. I laid in the infield grass and listened to this album on cassette on my little Sony Walkman. I agree War is a classic record. I so appreciate the respect he shares for U2. It’s funny how music can remind you of when and where you were in your life. I love these guys. So talented and my favorite rock band period.
The combination of your technical, musical prowess combined with a nearly unhinged passion in your delivery makes your videos an absolute delight. Thank you so much for sharing the joy. 😁❤️
Rick that was one of the best breakdowns I have seen you do. I have been a subbie from when ya had about 8000 people. You just demonstrated what good old rock and roll is.
I loved U2 in their early days. This song was so ethereal and 'out there'! The Edge may not be the greatest guitarist on the planet, but the guy has a fantastic 'feel' for melody and he is a real 'band' man. He puts the band first and ego second! Plus the guy has managed to develop his own unique sound and 'style' which not many guitarists ever do!
YES he has his own EDGE......LOL But that is what makes any artist an artist and unforgettable/memorable when they do their thing and not everyone else's thing. Jethro Tull for instance a guy who is a self taught flautist who breaks every rule of instrument use/hand placement etc.. In the end it really doesn't matter to quote Linkin Park. When it works it works even if your making the sound with your ear lobes.
He’s one of the most influential guitarists around. He doesn’t shred, gets dissed for that, but Edge is completely original. No one was doing what he was doing with a guitar in the 1980s. He’s an artist. Nice voice, too.
Yeah, because he uses 5 million effects pedals to compensate for the fact he can’t actually learn how to play a lot of notes on his guitar. The reason he gives for why he doesn’t is even more stupid. He says doesn’t want to learn how to play a lot of notes because they’re “expensive” and they “spends emotional currency”. WTF does that even mean??
@@lmac6635 It’s not even because he doesn’t shred, it’s because he literally only plays two notes in different places on his guitar and cheats his way out of playing by using hundreds of effects to play all those other notes for him, so it sounds the exact same way as if he actually learned how to play his fucking guitar.
Love this era of music not because I was 15 but because the bands like U2, REM, Smiths, Cure, Replacements sold out stadiums not because of the power of record labels but the power of passionate fans who shared mix tapes. When I saw U2 on cover of Time magazine it was a proud moment as it was simply the result of the power of teenagers buying records.
With Bono singing "with wings like eagle, you run and not grow weary", the "take my hand" backing vocals, and that violin melody always gives me the chills.
It’s scripture from the book of Isaiah chapter 40
And it’s Scripture again in the lyrics; from Isaiah 40, which is one of their songs as well.
@@BilboBegginz Yep, Isaiah 40:31 - it was my mom’s favorite Bible verse, and I thought it was so cool that U2 used it.
There’s no other way to cut it. This guy is a talented presenter and a great advocate for music. I hope kids are watching this and getting into music. The three attributes of a great teacher are to enthuse, inform and inspire. This guy does all that. Respect.
I met Adam Clayton with a friend of mine in 1984 not far from where I live. I was a young teenage fan, he said he just finished recording the unforgettable fire. A real gentleman and very kind with his time,love his bass lines. Most down to earth guys you will meet... ☘️
UF is still my fave record of theirs.
Dundrum?
Good for you mate!
@@ThePeterako black horse Avenue, Navan Road, Dublin.He was at a former DJs house that lived along that road.
Personally I prefer tuf to tjt
This whole album spoke to me when I was a young teen in the 80’s. When I lost my firstborn son to brain cancer in 1996,it had been a few years since I had listened to War. When I got to Drowning Man,I just lost it and wept like never before .It was truly at that time I understood the loss Bono had with his mom at a young age.
Much love ❤
💜
💙
Love this song. 😊
Another aspect of their music is their Irish background and the things that were taking place in N Ireland at the time. Sunday Bloody Sunday" so sad! Just like The Cranberrys and Zombie" so very sad and historic.
I can't believe Rick is talking about "Drowning man" to me that is one of those songs that really separate casual listeners from people that (whether they like U2 or not) REALLY know the band... if they know this song. To me it has forever been a masterpiece... Cheers from Costa Rica!
Absolutely. It's like Heartland, Dirty Day, Fez/Being Born or Book Of Your Heart. You know you're in the presence of a real fan if they react to those songs in a more passionate way than to WOWY, Vertigo, One or Pride.
Easily of my favourites by them, War has some really good songs on it
Boy: Into the Heart, Another Time Another Place
@@fishtailfred8686 Into The Heart (and An cat Dubh ) have always been my least favorites from Boy, but ATAP is an absolute gem, just like Shadows And Tall Trees, Stories For Boys, Twilight and the more known ones (IWF, OOC, Electric Co). Boy is one of the best debuts album in rock history if you ask me.
@J Smith Tremendous story man, cheers from Costa Rica
For me, it's the layering that makes this song so awesome. Their taking simple parts and piecing them together to make something sound immense. It really does sound like a hymn, and Bono's voice cuts through that so well that you just get lost in the music.
Very much agree, and it is great to see you commenting on a Beato video. The comics/culture/music crossover I'm thrilled to see!
Agreed. There is something haunting and other worldly about early U2 stuff. War has always been one of my favourite albums. I know it sounds silly to say that a band as successful as U2 are underrated as songwriters but sometimes I think it’s easy to overlook their abilities.
@@DoctorDave5 Absolutely. They also have been one of my favourite bands of all time since I came across Boy way back in early 81. I went off them when they released The Joshua Tree as it felt like a sell out to what made them great. Even Bono seriously considered calling the record pressing plant to pull production. It's grown on me over the years but for me Boy and War were where I felt the most connected.
@@jakefallon2335 I still love the Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby but I definitely lean towards the earlier stuff. Boy, October, War and the magnificent Unforgettable Fire. I wore them all out on my turntable!
@@DoctorDave5 Its Ireland in the late '70s / early '80s...haunting yes but also cold, hollow, bleak, chaotic...
An alternate title could be “why you should listen to full albums and not just songs / playlists”. Beato talks about War as a great album and he’s spot on. At the time, it stood out as one of the few perfect albums - every song great and a perfect listen as each song transitioned to the next. I feel that’s a topic on its own, and one that I discuss often with a few friends. Very rare these days, but maybe coming back with the trend toward vinyl. Great video, Rick!
Track order is part of the art as well. A buddy of mine likes create playlists to reorder tracks on albums that he didn’t think quite nailed it.
This is one of the better deep cuts you will find.
I’d say the same about Unforgettable Fire. War/UF/Joshua Tree is one of the greatest three album sequences in music history.
@@ctbadger I was a U2 fan early on. I never heard any "I hate U2" from anyone until around Achtung Baby when Bono started acting like an overprivledged ass.
@@massivereader You obviously know nothing about Bono. If he heard you say that he would likely make a joke about it because anyone who has spent any time with him knows that he is anything but. I've spent enough time with him over the years to know first hand. Now, if you want to talk about an "overprivileged ass" then look no further than Chris Martin. He's a piece of work.
Man, U2 IMO, is a top 5 R&R band of all time. No particular order but them along Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are on another level. All members are just amazing players and Edge’s sound is so original and alongside Bono’s voice and lyrics make them a perfect band.
YES! you know it!
Dear Rick, you just fulfilled one of my life-long music bucket list accomplishments: I’ve loved ‘Drowning Man’ since the day I first heard it but I’ve never understood why. I can’t sing, hum or tap to it. The tuning (of that guitar) always confused me so when I tried to explain it to friends, I failed. In the summer of 1983 I lived on a sailboat. The fog buoy that sat outside our harbor signaled with a warning tone that was the same pitch, resonance and duration as the haunting background sound you hear start around the 0:24 mark. I always liked to imagine that U2 sampled that buoy for this song.
Thank you so much for finally bringing the attention to this song that it so much deserves. I couldn’t be happier.
Stay Strong,
Boston
Listening to U2 in their prime on foggy days, living on a boat, yours seems to have been a great experience. Care to elaborate?
I dig your story! I grew up boating on the south shore of LI, so I can really relate. We would take summer family cruises, making our way around Montauk Point and then stay at various ports of call on the LI Sound. Many were along the CT coastline, and we were fogged in many times.
Interesting the buoy foghorn analogy. Have a listen to the intro to The Bounty (the actual film soundtrack) by Van Gelis
“Bono doesn’t need auto-tune. Ever.” You got dat right, Mr. Rick. Bono’s voice still makes my hairs stand up. Still. After SO many years….
This song was part of my young adult reality.
Listened to this cassette over & over.
Gorgeous voice.
Lyrics of love.
For me, born in 1965, the greatest rock band of my generation.
Bono uses vocal effects all the time, dummy.
@@curly_wyn when?
@@mysticedge4 Whenever U2 were recording in the studio for an album, Bono used effects to tweak his vocals to where the sounded to the producer’s liking, since Bono notoriously (and imo rightfully) hates his voice.
Nailed it, Rick - this is a U2 ”deep track” for sure, and it’s pure genius. It’s one of those rare songs that still grabs me by the heart and gives me chills after all these years. In my mind, it is the soundtrack from US Army Ranger school 1990, then straight into Desert Storm. Every step was a ‘gut check’ for three months in Ranger school. Waiting to see my girl again. Waiting to go home. Just trying to survive. Then Sadaam invaded Kuwait just as we finished. Get on the plane, LT. You’re not going home any time soon. Then a year in the desert. “Hold on - don’t let go of my love. The storm will pass. It won’t be long now. Rise up, rise up - with wings like eagles - you run, you run, you run and not grow weary.” Powerful stuff.
Great story Sir, my Ranger school album was Joshua Tree but about 25 years after you! When I was in mountain phase I had Country Roads by John Denver stuck in my head every single day. Probably the longing and desire for home and the beautiful Mountains that surrounded us. For SFAS I had a lot of Foreigner stuck in my head for some unknown reason, not even that big of a fan of them. It’s funny what your mind does when you are deprived of the music you love and what gets stuck in your head. Thank you for your Service and God Bless!
Edge might be the most unique guitarist of his era. No one else plays like him.
Adam Clayton's bass work compliments Edge perfectly.
The man who inspired me to play guitar. I may be a shredder, but without Edge or _I Will Follow,_ I wouldn't be playing at all.
No one else plays like him
No one else plays like
No one
No
Johnny marr is extremely unique
@@vertigo10yearsago25 was
Bono pours his soul into every note...emotion, theatrics and technique always on display. And then there are the lyrics. Such a gifted artist. Thx for helping folks to see how great U2 is.
Bono truly is The Greatest Showman, unlike that exploitative charlatan P.T. Barnum.
I have always felt that "Drowning Man" is pretty much U2's finest moment. So glad this was noticed. Stunning sonic architecture and tremendous vocal
Agreed. First heard this when I was a student. The album didn’t leave the turntable for a week. Nothing else got a look in. Still stands up as a great album in my mind. Don’t care what a tit Bono is, U2 smashes it out of the park here
Interestingly, one of my other favourite tracks at the time, was “The Drowning Man” on “Faith” by The Cure
@@markparris3890 became a tit. As many do. The man singing on this album was no tit.
@@NoName-to5xl agreed
This is FANTASTIC! I'm a music teacher, music theory nerd, and huge U2 fan and LOVE how you broke this down with the meter, modes and everything! Well done!
I always try to extract influences or at least previous songs out of the mix. So far, the best I can do with this one is to imagine this as similar to Nights in White Satin and Welcome to the Machine with an unusual more up tempo beat that's a combination of "Two Hearts Beat as One mixed with an almost Latin feel not unlike a song in a Clint Eastwood era western.
@Chris Kennedy In other words, pretty much totally original. LOL. Cheers, man.
Do you like "Yes" Wakeman? First 3 or 4 LP's by Yes I adored!! Have NEVER liked U2/Bono. I'm allowed an opinion!!
I have a music teacher who I won’t name but who is in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame as a drummer that was in a popular 90s group, has won a Grammy and has worked over the past 35 years as producer, mixer, sound engineer for many, many groups. He sometimes shares stories about artists. For example, he doesn’t like the lead singer of the RHCP (or Flea). Said you had to get permission to speak to them. That they never spoke to you or acknowledged you when you walked past them in the hallway. Basically jerks. On the other hand, he said U2 were the nicest of all the artists he’s ever worked with and especially Bono. Said he was at the console and you get a little nervous when Bono comes over and puts his hand on your should and asks, “Do you mind playing measures x and x again?” Said he goes out his way to make you feel comfortable. Before he said this, I’d never been a fan of U2 but admit this made me see them in a new light.
@@jkyles1000 Well that's very admirable of him. But just because a person treats others with respect, follows the golden rule, doesn't make me like their music, sorry.
I've been a U2 fanatic almost my entire life. Not just my favorite band, they're a big part of my cultural development as a person. I LOVE them. To you: thank you so much for this lovely tribute to an underappreciated deep-cut. Seeing you break down the melody was a treat. Thank you!
I find interesting how Bono and Eddie Vedder approach singing. They make melodies sort of jumping between notes making intervales wider than others. Usually picking notes from an octave above to emphatize and make you feel more intensity. Love it!
"Drowning Man" is my favourite U2 song (and I am a big fan of theirs), and straight up one of my favourite songs of all time. The way that hypnotic bassline and beat rock back and forth, the perfectly placed guitar harmonics and strings, soul-searching lyrics and arguably Bono's finest vocal performance on record. I've just never heard anything else like it. So glad to see there are others that feel the same way about this hidden gem that I do.
This is what I listened to with some of the Joshua tree in my depressive moments of my life, in the wilderness living off the land. Unfortunately, those times I feel are upon me again, time to take my dog, music a little food and dislocate to the wild
@@funkysawmanwright5077 that sounds like a good way to deal with depression. Especially the dog part of it. Hope you're feeling better soon!
Rick, you are a music preservationist national treasure. Keep up the good work keeping these tunes alive for a new generation to discover.
Rick Beato Preservation Society
This is the record that introduced me to U2. I was 16 back then (now I am 54) The first song I heard was Sunday Bloody Sunday and it just floored me! I could not believe what I was hearing; it was like a flood of fresh water, I was listening to new music that had a purpose.
Well said... Sunday Bloody Sunday was like a "flood of fresh water!" UNMATCHED to this very day!!!
Absolutely.. Was also the same for me.
Same. I’m 53. I remember hearing the boy album and my life Changed forever. I heard wide awake in America. Love comes tumbling and it just ripped out my soul. Been hooked ever since. Soundtrack of my life. Even paid $5 to see them 12/19/87 @ sun devil stadium. Not knowing tracks from that stadium show would end up in a movie. Unreal
Same. 61. New Years Day. Lived in England during the beginning of Polish transition to democracy when Lech Walesa (Labor Leader and Union Electrician) was jailed by communist government.
I walked into a record store where the New Year’s Day video was playing. I was immediately in awe. Where all the other videos were “fun”, U2 sang with conviction.
Never understood the hostility towards U2, I get that Bono can be a little like marmite, but they have consistently released excellent (sometimes astonishing) music for over 40 years, with the same 4 members. One of the most important and relevant bands in the history of rock.
I think it comes from the fact that they have released the same 5 songs for those 40 years. No hate from my side tho
Marmite is also you either hate or love, (your comment made me laugh) ,still give him props for his talent, but something about that guy makes me cringe..
Maybe it has something to do with Bono being a billionaire and pretending to be one hell of a samaritan by raising funds and development aid whilst avoiding taxes by having his company domicile on Cayman Islands. Apart from his music he is just a f****** hypocrite!
I think part of it is that U2 is undeniably powerful and effective, so if you don’t like what they are doing or (as has often been the case for me) just aren’t in the mood for it, when U2 comes on, you are going to hear a version of whatever you weren’t in the mood for that’s impossible to ignore.
He's an absolute ass, but their early stuff was really good. Not a fan of their more recent works personally, generally think the more recent stuff sounds like hollow imitations of their first three albums
Man, I remember my 12 year-old self listening over and over and over to this track off vinyl on my parents' turntable. What an absolutely beautiful and powerful song. Great choice.
I was 13 then and know that connection that we will always feel when we hear these songs. Not the hits off the album (that you can’t avoid) but the ones you only hear by choice when you hit play. I am transported back to my 13 year old self.
I love Rick putting his foot down as the musical expert! Music is subjective but talent/skill cannot be denied
drowning man is such an underrated track of theirs. there's not another song like it in their discography; that kind of magic only happens once.
I would say have a listen to Tomorrow from October. Similar haunting quality !
@@elle.w.p Yes! War and October are is such great records, remember when they came out and buying then... the great thing with October/War (and Boy, Unforgettable Fire) is that you really feel Ireland. October and War really sound like Dublin in those moments.... for me these records have so much meaning.
Love Comes Tumbling exists in the same mystical space as this song. It's my favorite U2 song ever.
Some years ago I rediscovered "Promenade" from "The Unforgattable Fire" album, another of those underrated magic songs. I agree this magic is rare (and even Drowning Man reappeared to me as a divine message in a dream after decades that I didn't listen to it and wouldn't even remember it existed), but then Promenade is a song that I always liked but it seems like I never REALLY listened to it. Then all of a sudden, 35 years later, fusshh!, it blew my mind away and had me kinda uplifted to another realm for two days. I'm not kidding.
”Walk to the water” has same magic also I think.
It’s crazy to me that these songs from 1983 are almost 40 years old and still sound relevant and current. Timeless stuff!
Goes to show how little has changed, in many ways, despite our naive, idealistic belief that we could change the world...
well. rap / trap has taken over the past 20 years - so things have changed
Nothing new under the sun
Listen to Joy Division and that is forever relevant! I’m a huge U2 fan by the way!!
it's not crazy ... Great music is always great ... these first 3 albums I think are their strongest, even if not as mature as the subsequent albums.
‘’War is one of the finest rock records ever’’. Absolutely. The writing, of course, was top. The recording and mixing was even better. And what about the sound? Those drums on Like a song or tWo Hearts…those riffs and licks, those bass lines… A monumental record. After that, it had to be something else, less… This was rock climax.
War is one of those records that I can still remember exactly how it made my 15 year old self feel when I heard it for the first time in 1983. They didn’t play U2 on the radio where I lived, and I bought the album because the cover was so compelling, as I did with lots of other records back then. It still hits hard and this was a great dissection and celebration , as usual from Rick.
I feel the exact same way. Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby get all the attention and praise, but for me nothing they made ever topped War. It is the first album I recommend to people who dislike U2 because it has such a unique, powerful, but still delicate sound and includes the best Bono vocal performances ever. Plus, most of the songs aren't ballads like their later albums, which is always great.
Thank you for your comments.. I completely forgot about that album and it came out when I was in the 8th grade it's great. You are correct. Absolutely epic album.. Unlike anything going on at that time, and for a long time after
I discovered U2 in August 1984. First time I heard them was live, in Perth WA, at the Entertainment Center. I still remember everything of that night, especially New Year’s Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and the magnificent 40 at the end of the concert.
That was the only time I bought the LP after hearing the live performance, instead of the other way around.
I first saw U2 on this tour and it was like a religious experience! Then again, so were the next two tours!
U2 is the band of my lifetime. I feel sorry for anyone who "doesn't get" a catalog of amazing music of 40+ years and counting...
These younger people think you're not supposed to like em or something - I don't get it myself - they're a massive influence on Me
People tend to hate on anyone who makes it big. Also, the band, or at least Bono, transcends rock n roll with his politics and charity... some people think singers should just shut up and sing, especially if they don't agree with their politics. I love U2, but we live in a world where some people hate what some people love. "Haters gonna hate".
Something for the uninitiated to look forward to in the future. Like eventually reading a classic novel.
Lo que pasa es que es dificil que alguien pudiera superar la trayectoria y records de U2. Eso es lo que odian aunque no lo digan
They are an amazing band, but there is a clear line between their earlier stuff up to Joshua Tree and everything afterwards. I think some U2 diehards draw the line at Joshua Tree.
I think the other thing is that only a Celt could come up w that type of melody. To me it sounds like an old Irish hymn that no one outside of Ireland or Scotland would ever understand. Amazing! One of my fav records and songs
It must stir my Scottish roots because I adore that song.
I think you really got something there. Really great sound and album.
Yes! that's why I love Irish/Scottish music, that lydian as he calls it (didn't know the name before), love the lydian
This song sounds like they were just straight up jamming. Like everyone started playing together and Bono started singing lines he had written down. It all sounds so natural together.
kinda agree
'Guessinglly AGREE'!
I agree that it kind of sounds like that. I find a lot of U2 songs sound like that. As if they are just repeatedly playing the same short chord progression the whole time and and Bono just sings the first thing that comes to mind on top as in order to find an interesting melody, without the song really melodically progressing anywhere.
@@PowerRedBullTypology (( it's in the production as in 'Not too effective on just guitar and vocal or just piano and vocal' -unless Bono is singing it like an anthemn. Then, the song has a shine to it, especially with that guitarist (slash?).
Digressing for a minute, the world seemed a better place when the beast system was using superstar musicians to fraudulently 'save the world' than what has been both blatantly and confusingly been happening after that era. Like SURPRISE!
But Bono was one of them that was not fooled by the beast, whether morally right or not.
Oh hell no. This is VERY well rehearsed. The bass in is 6, the drums are in 4, and the melody is a 24 beat phrase so it all comes around like a Swiss watch. That doesn't happen by accident.
This is one of the greatest albums of all time. The energy and drive is just incredible. Steve Lillywhite OMG. I'm not a crying man, but when I went to see U2 live in the 80's and they played this song, "40" and "Into the Heart" (off of the Boy album), I found myself wiping some tears from my eyes...amidst a crowd of 18,000 at MSG. Talk about connecting with your audience! No other rock band ever made me cry. But U2 did. And I'm not even Irish.
Don’t want to be “that guy” and I’m not trying to spoil your memory, but drowning man has never been played live.
A little more helpful response here- although they have never played the full song live, they have thrown in a snippet of drowning man on occasion, mostly in the 80s. I looked up every MsG U2 show in the 80s and in none of them did they play Into The Heart. However, digging deeper… on 5/11/83 they played the Palladium in NYC and performed Into The Heart, 40, and (wait for it) 11 o clock tick tick with a drowning man snippet. Success! So I think you are misremembering that it was at MSG, but everything else was spot on!
An Cat Dubh/Into the heart is one of the most beautiful, emotional songs ever put on tape by any solo-musician or band!
The lyric references to Isaiah 40:31 are another example of how U2 can fold their faith into their earlier music (see also “40” - Psalm 40:2, and countless others). Drowning Man is a U2 masterpiece.
Nice
In 1985, as a 12 year old, I checked the War album on vinyl out of the local library and listened to this song over and over for 2 weeks.
The song on Joshua tree called red Hill town gives me the same feeling. The Melody sends chills up my spine in the same powerful way. And I don’t hate U2!!
Yes
The b side of Joshua tree is absolute perfection
My husband and I drove near Arches National Park recently and of course had to plan our Joshua Tree listen to hear Red Hill Mining Town as we wound our way through the literal red mining towns. Still my favorite song from Joshua Tree. Sometimes I think it’s too bad they never figured out how to translate it to concerts, but on the other hand, the vocal performance is just about perfect and couldn’t be equaled or better than what was captured in studio.
Greatest U2 song!
@@jakez5227 My favorite b-side of any album
U2 rules. Bono is an amazing singer. That whole band is incredible. I can’t wait until people stop hating on them so much. Sadly, I have a feeling it’s going to be after a member of the band passes away, or after they split up. It will be one of those scenarios where people don’t realize what they had in front of them until it’s gone,
Well said
Split up? U2? Nevarrrrrrrr
Scott Masson They've been together as a band since 1978, and the two times they came close to parting ways was after Live Aid. Bono decided to go off on his own into the crowd without telling the other band members. Larry and the Edge were pissed and were going to fire Bono over the incident. They believed that Bono blew the performance, and the band's opportunity to make a breakthrough. The next day, reviews of their performance came out. Instead of ruining the opportunity for the band to make a breakthrough, the performance propelled them to superstardom. A lot of people felt that U2's performance at Live Aid was second only to the immortal Freddie Mercury and Queen. The second time the band came close to breaking up was after the somewhat disastrous 'Rattle and Hum' Tour across America. The band came to the point of feeling that they had lost their way. While working on 'Achtung Baby' in Berlin, the band came closer than they ever have to calling it quits. The song, 'One', was born out of that tension. U2 continued on and 'Achtung Baby' was the reinvention of the band. I say all that to say that I don't think they will break up. They have remained together, not only as a band, but good friends all these years. I have no idea how many more albums they have in them, and, let's face it, their most iconic work is behind them, I believe. All of the band member, except Larry are either 60 or 61. Larry is 59. Hopefully they have a couple of more albums in them. Hopefully a few more tours. I think the band will end on their own terms. It may come at the end of some future tour where Bono announces, 'Thank you. This is it. We are done This time we are not coming back.' It will be a sad day indeed.
I think the hating is because of Bono's persona. I am sure he is self aware enough to understand and not care.
I loved that album! And the kid is Peter Rowen, who actually became a photographer and photographed bands, including U2.
I saw U2 with The Alarm opening at Pier 84 in Manhattan on Jun 29, 1983. They were promoting War, which had been released earlier that year. What a concert! For anyone who remembers the Pier 84 concerts in the 80s, it was an outdoor venue with room for about 4,000 next to the aircraft carrier Intrepid on the Hudson River. (at 44th Street) U2 was a very young, up-and-coming band and you just knew they were going to be huge. Bono was about 23 years old and already had such a mature and captivating stage presence. What a time to be alive and young!
The Alarm… another great band no one ever talks about. Met Mike Peters and Eddie in Boston the night they recorded “Electric Folklore Live”. Great guys.
I remember Pier 84 - I saw The Smiths there back in the mid 80s. Also saw The Alarm and U2 (Nassau Coliseum in '85) on separate occasions. The Alarm concert was at small college venue, and they were fantastic.
That had to be amazing, I know the area well, yes, the 80's were magical in almost every area of life.
I saw U2 at the Red Rocks on the War tour. Amazing, on absolute fire 🔥 show! Not a single audience member didn't know that U2 was going to be gargantuan? The after show local buzz ran for Months...no joke..
One (if not #1...) of my favorite concerts....
Man, you can’t imagine how lucky you were to be at THAT show! Back in those days, we lived for Under a Blood Red Sky! It was the soundtrack of our sweet teenage revolution.
Rick is amazing, he doesn’t stop to surprise me! I’m a huge U2 fan and for me Drowning man was always an absolute masterpiece, for me it’s the best song in War and the second best being Surrender. I was looking for the war album on RUclips and came across Rick’s video. It’s really great hearing him talk about this song so passionately. This song is so unique and mystical, it’s U2 at their best!
I agree with Rick this being one of the best rock albums ever made. I go a step further and say it is one of my favorite albums. I agree with both you and Rick about Drowning Man and Surrender. These songs are killer and they sound amazing. Certain albums just do it for me, this album, the Cure’s Disintegration album, REM’s Murmur, PE’s Nation of Millions, Floyd’s Dark Side, and Miles’ Kind of Blue. Personally, I think they are just great sounding and written albums.
I might throw "like a song" slightly ahead of "surrender". Nitpicking though. 😁
@@ScottH. agreed, but I’d say way ahead.
Exactly cheers to you my friend
Surrender is a criminally underrated song.
I am so immensely happy to see this love and recognition for one of my absolute favourite songs of all time! I've never seen or heard anyone acknowledge this song before, and now Rick acknowledges this song with the same enthusiasm that I feel for it. I can listen to this song forever, and never grow tired of it. The combination of what all the instruments and the vocals are doing in this song just creates this absolutely magical, hypnotic soundscape that sounds otherworldly to me. A pure masterpiece. Thank you Rick, for this wonderful video. It truly made me so immensely happy!
We NEED more of this series. I don't see how any lover of music can "hate" anyone who is putting this much emotion into their music. Maybe U2 aren't fashionable anymore, but they are certainly not lacking in soul - or ambition. Kudos for digging deep!
If you don't like a band you just don't listen do it. Simple.
I don't think the U2 haters hate the band because of the music or the vocals.....their prejudice is mainly because of Bono and his message.....preachy.....Christian preachy.....not there's anything wrong with that message or belief but I think it is a reflection of the nature and essence of the haters rather than on U2 or Bono.
I guess a lot of the "haters" are actually old fans, disappointed in what they see and hear today.
Agreed. The song pick being one of the bands' deep cuts is refreshing and shows why this series has so much potential. Interestingly, U2 seems to be growing in popularity again...at least with a certain age group: Just as Millennials tended to reject them in backlash to Gen Xers & Boomers love for them---Gen Zers that hear them tend to like their music.
If they would have gone kaboom in an airplane right after Joshua Tree, they would be sainted.
War, Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby are U2 at their best. If you haven’t listened to much of them, those 4 albums are works of genius, and I can’t recommend them enough!
You left out Boy. That will always be my favorite of theirs, probably because it was so different from everything else out at the time. It made a huge impact on me, though, I guess most people weren’t ready for it yet. It has a tonal quality War approaches but doesn’t quite repeat.
Rattle and Hum, great music also!
100% agree with you @Googerstein
Even with the "fall off" after Achtung Baby, Bono is still one of the best lyricists.
plus the atomic bomb album. number 1 in 27 countries for a reason!!!!
One of my favorite U2 songs. Their music is so emotional to me. I feel everything through my body. Chills. I saw Steve Lilywhite in a restaurant once. Walked right up to him and told him he produced sone of my favorite music of all time. He was shocked I knew who he was.
I love this story.
Hey Rick, your videos have got me to love music again. Some depression stopped me from listening to my favourite bands, and the fact that you constantly have them on your channel has brought me back to music. Hope you are well!
Hey, I consider music the glue that keeps my sanity together, when all hope is gone, don't let silence fall!
Take care!
@@apathtrampledbydeer8446 Thank you, mate. I'm also going to assume you did a Slipknot reference there :-)
@@stokes71 Welcome back, and I hope you can stay for a long long time! (you didn't reply to me personally but still) :)
@@40g33k Not Slipknot actually, but it Says When all hope is gone, don't let silence fall on my In Mourning shirt, Swedish melo death band. :) (stealing shirt quotes)
@@apathtrampledbydeer8446 Thank you, very much appreciated. I too hope I will be around for a long time ;-) Best to you and yours!
I used to listen to U2's War album in 1990 repeatedly, when I was 16 on my way to my after school activity on my Sony Walkman. As you know, there were no streaming services back then and I could only listen to very few albums on cassette tapes, so I used to carry about three to four cassettes with me. War was definitely one of the gems I'd listen to constantly and repeatedly, all of the other used to rotate, I think they included Jethro tull, Zeppelin and perhaps the Police and Rush...can't remember...
Drowning Man was just a piece in the collage of the album, so I'd consider this song and back then it sounded like laid back stoner ballad. kind of nice-to-have track in this War album repertoire.
Around 1992 or 1993 I played drums with my back then band. We were inspired by emerging rock and grunge bands and went rehearsing late at nights and end up at my guitarists house, getting stoned and inspired by songs. At some point, he put War into his CD player and played this track as all of the band members were out of service...let's put it this way...
"You gotta listen to this," he said "...this song is phenomenal!" Then I thought to myself I know this song, but never deep dived into it, and indeed marvelous song but never understood why...
Damn you Rick! It is a pity I just got to better understand this song, 32 year later!! Wish I had the chance to know you back then to explain this to me what makes this song so ingenious. Well, never too late to learn new things.
Thank you so much for driving this channel!! Keep it up!!
We have quasi-similar stories. I was introduced to WAR in 1989 when in graduate school, and it was the album that made me a U2 fan (for life since then). And "Drowning Man" was the song that cemented that fandom. I borrowed that cassette for so long from my housemate that he eventually demanded its return and said, "You have to get your own copy." But before he took it back, it was the soundtrack to my student teaching experience in a town on the edge of Appalachia.
The way the musical parts swirl around each other is much like water or mist, the singer and lyrics very much a drowning man, brilliant. Kudos to Rick for showing 'how' it works.
Yes, The song evokes imagery of a mist that impairs sight, or a metaphorical mist of confusion or despair. And Bono's voice is like an anchor of steadiness perplexingly, but decisively, reaching out to and speaking to the listener out of that mist.
Early U2 was soulful, spiritual, panoramic, mystical, earthy and sonically a masterpiece up to and including The Joshua Tree. Absolutely tapping into desolation of the spirit, searching, wanderlust and finding an individuals soul.
You just put into words what I was thinking. Bravo!
I feel this mostly, yes. BUT, I feel also passionately about certain songs from Achtung Baby. In particular "Until the End of The World." It's the beautiful, dreamy place where U2 and Lanois meet and give us music that turns our insides out. Just my opinion...
@@KB-ku4um All of the above is true about the early albums up to Joshua Tree. Then Achtung Baby is my favorite album by U2.
oh yes. mee to!!11 While there are still good songs after Joshua Tree the albums up to and including it ware superiour.
100% Agree But I Adore Actung Baby- & Lemon too!
also I consider Bono one of the greatest lyricist EVER. On almost every song I find lines that touch me deeply or lines that make me shout "THIS IS SO TRUE". He is a master of allegory
The Irish are rather fine storytellers, are they not?
So true. His singing ability & tone are so exceptional that at times that has overshadowed his lyrical genius. He’s actually underrated in this regard. Bono is one of the best lyricists ever.
Well how about that lol
It is very pleasant to see in Rick’s videos how he can’t keep emotions when his loved song is playing . When he admires every note of Bono’s phrase without any theoretical comments I am really with him at that moment ! because I’m dying about this u2 song too, it is just unspeakably amazing and touching …..
Bono is without a doubt one of the greatest melodic singers of all time. Love the song. By the way, a snippet of Drowning Man (Hold on. Hold on tightly) was used in 11’o Clock Tick Tock live version during the War Tour.
bono's always been so good at putting that sense of desperation, calling out to god sort of feeling into his voice
"drowning man" is so enthralling and emotional to me - one of u2's absolute best.
Rick - Love the episode. This album was their breakthrough album that moved them from "wannabe" to "star". I remember many a late night (when I should have been sleeping) listening to the tape through headphones.
This song and New Year's Day are songs that STILL move me. I hear them and I am transported to that time and place.
I've been waiting at least thousand years for anyone to break down this amazing song, and every bit of it, 'cause I think is magnificent and I know almost every note, technique voicing and instrument. I've meticulously scrutinized this tune myself too and I believe it is one of the band's best studio efforts. It is a hidden gem, that's unfortunately being forgotten by the radio stations. Rick, thank you very much for breaking my all time U2 favourite, appriciating every aspect of this masterpiece. I am constantly watching your channel and you've been doing fantastic job:D
Their Best Tune and Bono's Best Vocal Performance (still gives me goosebumps after 100s of listens). A reminder that very few could touch them back then. Credit to Steve Lillywhite, has a very Eno vibe to it. Steve Wickham from The Waterboys does a great job on Violin filling out the sound. Finally Cheers Rick for being a true fan of music, before being a great scholar in noticing this song in the first place.
Ha! I just listened to the "This is the Sea" album this morning.
Thank you for this, Rick. I’ve always wondered why this song was so under appreciated. It’s nice to see there are a bunch of people who hear what I hear.
I can't remember every hearing this track and I did listen to U2 back in those days. The Edge guitar textures are off the charts- I mean some of the most striking ambient playing unlike his very syncopated delay style which always keeps you on the beat, these guitar chords and drones are really beautiful, I would say very Orchestral in his electronic world of playing. A perfect song in every way. I can't believe there are U2 haters out there. True masters of music- Genius
Well said. I totally agree.
Being the record's A-side's last song, it's a filler song of sorts; you'd have to have the album and to listen to it thoroughly to really notice it. Nevertheless it is a very good song.
in those days the flight was deeper... and we was submerged on that music ...
@@sergiosaunier Yeah, you had to listen to the whole album - but that's what you did then. You (or, at least I did, and everyone I knew) put the needle down and listened till the end of the side, then flipped it over and spun the black circle again.
Only rarely did you lift the needle early. Selections were what mixtapes were for... Aah. Those days.
@@Coynkydynk I second that!
Back in the day you had to buy the whole album...and then were rewarded by discovering songs like this one.
Lmfao. Still have my vinyl of it.
Glad I bought the full album anyway to give it a try. The best songs are often the least well known.
That’s the reason I’m buying the whole album if I like a single song, you get to find little gems like these
Luckily, this whole album is golden!
To me the song is rooted to an Irish folk song. Some heartache blended with hope.
Takes me straight back to the early 80s.
I agree. The song is stunning. I played this complete album daily for months and it remains one of my favorite albums of all time.
And don’t underestimate Steve Lillywhite’s production on this album. It snaps and fizzes all the way through, bright airy reverby and powerful.
Yeah, he really elevated their game on this record. The production on New Year's Day is unbelievable. Many of the records he worked on are classics. I think he did some of XTC's best work, English Beat? I need to look more into everything he worked on. Great, great production.
I've also always loved the production on this album...so industrial and raw. On songs like "Seconds" and "Refugee," it sounds like Larry is playing a garbage can for a bass drum, and it was all with intent from Lillywhite.
@@foto21 That key tone on NYD is so unbelievably iconic, I remembered that as a kid before even remembering it was a U2 song. So many dance remixes, the melody itself and its' phrasing is so ridiculously perfect for trance. And then with that amazing guitar tone and Bono's voice being the cleanest and purest thing in the mix... stupidly underrated U2 track at this point. Better than Sunday imo, and as an Irish fan that song means a hell of a lot.
@@sp0ngeb00b7 One of the reasons NYD is so unique is that the piano is so broadly recorded and given lots of lead time (never happen today). You almost forget it's a piano even though it's so obvious and none of the band members are ever shown as pianists. But the incredible driving drums, fat bass and piano are what makes that song stand out. Of course, the guitar and vox are also brilliant, but the piano sets the mood.
@@foto21 Oh I agree, not to ignore the efforts of the band as a whole, or forget the bassist haha! People really don't listen out for bass unless it's the focal point of the song, that bugs me too. But yeah, that intro key line is just, the most ear-wormy part of the song and it has such a distinct melancholy voice. Also I could not name one off the top of my head, but I can guarantee you there is still good piano work out there! Keys are just a way more adaptable and genre-blending instrument of course, so despite the lack of traditional pianos there are still iconic keys/synth lines popping up by the year, Blinding Lights by The Weeknd being the first to come to mind :)
Right on Rick. This one jumped out at me when I first heard it as well. Just an incredible song in so many ways. The lyrics are something else as well. The violin at the outro,. the mastering..... A freaking masterpiece of music and taste of things to come from an incredible band. One of my all time favourite songs - thank you for your breakdown. It confirms what I already knew and felt about this song. Cheers from Canada!!
I bought War after seeing the New Years Day video on a local cable channel. Drowning Man and Like a Song quickly became my favourite cuts, but this is one of those albums that is a whole, not just a group of songs. It’s amazing to me that they’re still going, still producing great music, but this will always be THE album of theirs for me.
Great deep cut Rick!
Love this entire album…so powerful and such different styles for each song…
Rick, I'm 60 years old.
I've listened to debut albums by The Cars, Boston, Kansas, and so on. You sir, are similar to these amazing debut albums. I can listen for hours, over and over again. Thank you for your insights, instruction, and passion.
Drowning man is one of my favourate, songs... It hits almost every emotion musically possible at some point and his vocals fit to perfection, especially when he dives back in for the second verse...the 'take my hand' echoes toeards the end are just the iceing on the cake ,nfantastic upload here again!! Sonique
Have always been a big fan of U2's opening "trilogy" in Boy, October and War...the latter being the culmination of the three and the band's first real classic. The Joshua Tree is great, of course, but there is something about the first three - and then Under A Blood Red Sky - that displays the bands true uniqueness and rawness.
I'd also include "The Unforgettable Fire" and call it a day on U2's discography!
@@sergiosaunier U2 was unassailably great from 1980 to 1991. After that their albums still have some good songs on them but are no longer masterpieces in their entirety.
Well said, there was an essence of shooting for the moon without any calculations in those first 4 albums
So true. U2 today is a tribute band of this original U2 but from Boy -> Achtung Baby they were brilliant. All You Can tLeave Behind had a few great moments as well. Since then has been trash sadly.
@SmashedB Totally agree with you. The first three albums are what U2 are all about for me, and then likewise, Live Under a Blood Red Sky. First live album I bought and I played that to death until every note, nuance and even crowd noise on that album became second nature. And of course, the video is classic U2.
U2 and Bono live is POWER. Seen a lot of bands/artists live, but NO ONE reaches the level U2 does.
Early U2 is underrated and this song is a great example of their music prowess when they were young and still had that hunger to prove themselves and fire for their music. Great stuff. Please do more of these.
I think their first four albums are their best. Maybe it's because I was experiencing them through my mid-teens to my early young adult years. In any case, they left a strong impression.
War is one of my top ten all time best albums of all time.
I'm amazed that this came so soon, especially considering they very nearly disbanded around the time of October when they were conflicted over whether they should continue down the musical path or go in the direction of their church, which would have deprived us of some incredible music, and probably a few bands that took early inspiration from them. I think their period of raw innovation and risk taking came to an end with Zooropam which I refer to as a Brian Eno album (feat U2). Their albums now don't have the same impact or overall greatness, but then again in the era of the ipod I don't know if albums have the power to move people like they once did. Or maybe I'm just getting old.
Well done Rick. Extremely underrated deep cut from U2. They almost played this on the 360 tour. Sound checked a few times but never made it into the setlist
Bono doesn't have the voice to sing it as he should.
@@scizmeli They often play down a half to full step these days. I wonder if that's to allow for his range.
@@rjblaskiewicz Most likely , I would think - same w/Scorpions
@@rjblaskiewicz Bono lost big-time his amazing, powerful voice during the 97 Pop tour, just before the famous Sarajevo concert.... His voice never recovered fully ever since. I'm so sad still about it.
@@rjblaskiewicz Well, they've always played down a half-step. That's nothing new. Only song I know that goes a full step live is Pride, no?
Rick is right in saying the this song is almost like a hymn. In fact it is one.
Read the lyrics in light of the the following two passages and you will understand where the song is coming from.
He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
and
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar on eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
That’s why U2’s music is christian rock music, whether they want to admit or not, and only christians should really be enjoying it. I say this as an atheist.
@tango_blue , nahhh, anyone can enjoy it, I understand their meaning and being a follower since I hear this album, I'm not a Christian, I just love great tunes and lyrics.
I'm obsessed with U2's earlier work. Can't believe how young and brilliant they were.
Wow, seriously?! This is a deep cut on that album and I love it! Can't believe Rick's depth of recall on these albums, and then to take the time to analyze it too. Is there any artist, song or album this guy hasn't heard of? I'm blown away that he found this little gem. :)
This was me and my late, great love and girlfriend at the time, Mia Zapata's(RIP) favorite album when it came out. Hard for me to listen to this song without thinking of her and how much I love and miss her..
You dated Mia Zapata?
@@josephgreble5 , yes, for five years..
Thank you for breaking down this song Rick. Back in 1985, It brings back memories of when I was in the Navy and my friend Brian and I would listen to this song. We would talk about the emotion and feeling of the song and how powerful it was. The last time we listened to it together he went out with some friends and was killed in a car accident that evening. Now when I hear this song it takes me back to the day's on the ship with Brian listening to this song. Again thank you Rick I really needed this tonight and I know Brian is listening as well.
I can’t imagine the feelings this must bring back. Sorry for your loss. Music certainly has a way...... the HARDEST way to tie us to a day and time.
Rick nailed this. I've always loved Drowning Man and this entire album. I will never stop loving Bono and U2!
I'm so glad that you're pointing out how good U2 are. Not just Bono's vocal/melody's but the clever understanding that the band had on the earlier records.
Rick is so talented and skilled, but is doing well on you tube partly because he is so likeable. He’s so passionate about what he likes and never disparages anyone. He always makes me smile. And by the way, he’s preaching to the choir about Bono’s singing:)
"... and never disparages anyone" - except blockers.
@@laneadamson5686 Haha yes that’s certainly true.
"War" is the best U2 album that's played with real instruments. All songs of it are masterpieces. Violin plays in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" too and as it's noted on wiki: "A local violinist Steve Wickham approached The Edge one morning at a bus stop and asked if U2 had any need for a voilin on their next album"
Yes I agree about the violin on Sunday Bloody Sunday, all I hear is a violin, a brum and a Irish dancer. It's a pity U2 didn't get a home town violin player, as the Who did.
@@michaelayliffe7238 What do you mean? Steve Wickham was from Dublin.
Also well known for his work in the Waterboys, where he is by far the longest-serving member. I had the pleasure of hearing Wickham singing "Wonderful Copenhagen" at a Waterboys show there a few years ago. He apparently lived there for a while. It's good he mostly stuck to fiddle.
Real instruments?
a most overlooked song. I know I did when I bought the tape in ‘83. really didn’t discover it until a couple years later, still gives me chills.
That was such an excellent analysis - I also love The Edge's "Take my hand" on the outro as well. I would love you to analyse From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea by The Cure. It has similar feel and there's a single piano note that goes all the way through the song anchoring it.
From U2’s most haunting and underrated song to The Cure’s. Well done, James.
Rick's passion and appreciation has the power to reserrect a song from almost 40 years ago. Thank you Mr Beato.
This and the song The Unforgettable Fire are wonderful compositions.
Oh man The Unforgettable Fire gives me chills!!
I was just saying that I’ve always loved this song, because it has that ethereal feel like Unforgettable Fire, my favorite song of theirs.
It's not hate, they can't handle the fact that a band gets so big and so popular. It's envy.
Yeah, the same way they despicably treated the Bee Gees. Poor boyos.
They're the New York Yankees of rock. People hate them because they're so successful.
Truth, just like they hated the Bee Gees, so gifted and magical. Always happens.
Why is it always envy? Where is the problem that some people don't like them?
Fans cannot handle the fact, that not everybody likes their idols
@@bettinajoseph3758 it's not the people who don't like them. I get that. It's the people who hate them so much that they think that no one should like them at all and so any time someone mentions U2 off they go with trashing them or whining about a free album on their iPhone from 9 years ago.
"War" was the first cassette tape i bought of U2 in 1984. It was such a fresh sound at the time. I immediately went out & got "Boy" and "October" and was hooked. Went to my first show on the "Unforgettable Fire" tour in '85.
My first concert ever was The Unforgettable Fire Tour on April 18, 1985 at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts. One of the best times of my life!! Easily!!
Amen! This _is_ a great song! As a kid it was my favourite one off the record to play on my Walkman lying on my bed in the dark: it has so much atmosphere! I believe Edge is strumming those harmonics on a 12 string acoustic. Thank you for shining a light on it. BTW the album version of Sunday Bloody Sunday also features the electric violin. I think the story goes that Edge met the violin player at the bus stop on his way to the studio; they got talking and he ended up on the record.
I've been to many, many concerts with great bands and artists over the past 35 years. NOTHING has beat seeing U2 live at Giants Stadium in NJ for the Joshua Tree Tour on 9/14/87 with 50,000 other people. It was like a religious experience and Bono was unbelievable live, I agree with Rick that Bono's live performances are incredible!
Similar experience here. Saw them on the Achtung Baby tour at the Vet in Philly. 30 years later, it’s still one of the best music experiences of my life.
I WAS THERE!!!!!!!!!
I saw them on the same tour. I loved that band. I had their poster on my wall and I wore the shirt from that concert every other day for a year. Then they betrayed me. They started to really suck. I tried to get into them again, but just couldn't. I even bought one of their albums in the 90s. I just couldn't get past one listen. Pure suck.
Same here!
@@alukuhito I hear you, but I didn’t feel that way. I liked every album up to/including HTDAAB. After that, I agree, they just lost something.
I can’t get over how brutal and haunting the song is. The lyrics and vocals have so much desperation in them. Those guitar strums are like knife slashes. Wow
Yes! The PASSION!!
The lyrics reference Isiah 40:31
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Many of U2’s songs contain biblical references
Yes they were a Christian band back then…Forty is another of my favorites…literally Psalm 40
40 is one of my favorites.
I love "40".
Haters going to hate. Their Rattle and Hum shows were incredible, and the Edge (a fellow Welsh man) is an awesome, inventive guitarist. Respect.
Glib, throw away line!
@@DMSProduktions why thank you.
Love the Edge!!! His sound is so unique that he garners high praise from his counterparts. Even Metallica gave U2 their props with their unique sound, via the Edge.
@@dontlookatmeever Wasn't really a compliment...
@@DMSProduktions, yeah I got that, just didn't want to engage with an obvious dick. Peace out.
Wow that brings back some good memories. I remember buying this album on cassette tape and playing the heck out of it at Uni in our dorms. Loved U2 then - still love them now. My ex-husband spent the entire morning of our wedding day (and during the wedding reception) trying to get us tickets for the Achtung Baby tour! Our first dance was to ‘One’. Sadly we missed out on the tickets but went to see the next tour when I was pregnant with our daughter. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favourite song and I know people have written them off since then but I love, love, love ‘Sometimes you can’t make it on your own’ from ‘How to dismantle an Atomic Bomb’. Thank you Rick - I really enjoy your channel.
I am sure that daughter is amazing as she has been exposed to out-of-this-world vibes in that concert.
That's another great song. Bono's commentary on the song being about his dad make it surprisingly intimate coming from the biggest band on the planet at the time.
As someone who only recently discovered U2, thank you Rick for introducing me to such a beautiful song. Love your channel. It is fascinating.
I love U2. Listen to the guitar on "A sort of homecoming" not the live version but the album version. WTF is he doing? It sounds incredible !!! U2 is a super band.
I always go back to those opening moments on The Unforgettable Fire. The whole album and that first tune but those first 4 songs are so strong and The Edge really pushed the boundaries as a guitar (and keyboard) player.
The best U2 song for me. Lots of memories connected to that song from my college years. I love it.
It was recorded in a castle, so it has that beautiful natural reverb. Pair that with the Korg rack delay, AC30 cranked and the genius of Lanois and Eno...it's stunning
Specially the version in the EP , Wide Awake in America, to me far better than the album version. One of my favorites of all time.
I love Steve Lillywhite’s production on that record. He was one of the best back in those days, and I bet he had a lot to do with the sound of this track.
I would hate to hear what it would have sounded like if didn't produce it. I guess U2 had to find someone who could polish a turd.
I love that song. It was my wife's choice for our solo dance at our wedding reception. Hearing it just brought tears to my eyes. Bono is very Biblically literate, and the lyrics are reminiscent of the Song of Songs and the Book of Isaiah.
What a beautiful choice!
U2 took a massive jump when making the War album.Still my personal favorite.Haunting and genius.
Me too. Sometimes I feel like Achtung Baby is my fave of theirs but I find myself listening to War more often. It’s one of those albums (for me at least) where I can listen to every song and not skip any of them.
I can't imagine anyone not liking U2. But I totally agree with the analysis here. Bono is just flat out awesome on every song he sings.
U2 - War was my introduction to U2 in 1985ish and love this album! U2 was favorite band for the longest time! I love all of there styles with some being better than others. I recently rediscovered Red Light from War and love the trumpet is amazing!
War and October. I knew U2 for their popular Songs on The Josjia Tree, Rattle and Hum but discovered their earlier and kind of raw songs.
I am old enough to remember the times when U2 was the biggest band in the world and not hated by most people at all, and it surprises me a lot the hate they receive nowadays, to the point that even their work from the 80s and 90s is invalidated. I mean, even if what they do now is not so good, even if Bono is not likeable to a lot of people or whatever, their music until that period is immense, it was there all the time and was massively influential, and that needs to be acknowledged.
I just ignore all that criticism. It's not based on anything real. It's just generational. I see people hating on some of the greatest bands ever: Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, U2... Mostly younger people shitting on the music of older generations in order to make a statement about themselves and plant a flag in the ground, saying how they reject boomer icons, etc.. When I was young and immature, I always said that I hated Elvis, jazz and classical music. (Basically anything my parents liked.) Eventually we all grow up and recognise the quality in things we once hated.
Well said. U2 was utterly massive in the mid 80s. Great music, too.
Agree
U2's work from Joshua Tree and earlier is universally loved. Post Joshua Tree, some people will have their issues.
@@bobjones2041 What did Bono do? Try to get nation's to forgive the debts of poor African nations. What the hell is wrong with that? U2 got flak because they tried to force one of their albums through the iphone.
At a track meet in Norcross, Georgia we had a lot of down time between events. I laid in the infield grass and listened to this album on cassette on my little Sony Walkman. I agree War is a classic record. I so appreciate the respect he shares for U2. It’s funny how music can remind you of when and where you were in your life. I love these guys. So talented and my favorite rock band period.
The combination of your technical, musical prowess combined with a nearly unhinged passion in your delivery makes your videos an absolute delight. Thank you so much for sharing the joy. 😁❤️
This! Exactly!
Period.
"nearly unhinged passion"
Rick that was one of the best breakdowns I have seen you do. I have been a subbie from when ya had about 8000 people. You just demonstrated what good old rock and roll is.
I loved U2 in their early days. This song was so ethereal and 'out there'! The Edge may not be the greatest guitarist on the planet, but the guy has a fantastic 'feel' for melody and he is a real 'band' man. He puts the band first and ego second! Plus the guy has managed to develop his own unique sound and 'style' which not many guitarists ever do!
YES he has his own EDGE......LOL
But that is what makes any artist an artist and unforgettable/memorable when they do their thing and not everyone else's thing.
Jethro Tull for instance a guy who is a self taught flautist who breaks every rule of instrument use/hand placement etc..
In the end it really doesn't matter to quote Linkin Park.
When it works it works even if your making the sound with your ear lobes.
He’s one of the most influential guitarists around. He doesn’t shred, gets dissed for that, but Edge is completely original. No one was doing what he was doing with a guitar in the 1980s. He’s an artist. Nice voice, too.
Yeah, because he uses 5 million effects pedals to compensate for the fact he can’t actually learn how to play a lot of notes on his guitar. The reason he gives for why he doesn’t is even more stupid. He says doesn’t want to learn how to play a lot of notes because they’re “expensive” and they “spends emotional currency”. WTF does that even mean??
@@lmac6635 It’s not even because he doesn’t shred, it’s because he literally only plays two notes in different places on his guitar and cheats his way out of playing by using hundreds of effects to play all those other notes for him, so it sounds the exact same way as if he actually learned how to play his fucking guitar.
@@curly_wyn Maybe so... but whatever he's doing (cheating or not)... it sounds so f*cking AWESOME!!!
Love this era of music not because I was 15 but because the bands like U2, REM, Smiths, Cure, Replacements sold out stadiums not because of the power of record labels but the power of passionate fans who shared mix tapes. When I saw U2 on cover of Time magazine it was a proud moment as it was simply the result of the power of teenagers buying records.
Ohh yea. Mixtapes were life! Class of 1988 here. Wouldn’t change a thing. Soundtrack of my life