@@MrAitraining - Funnily, the band themselves had initially thought they'd completely sucked with that performance and Bono's spontaneous actions, when coming off the Live Aid stage 😅 As a massive fan at that time, U2 were my highlight that day - even over Queen! 😀
@@mightyV444 yeah sometimes off script is more memorable. I was well aware of U2. First "kid on the block" with one of their albums. "October" a few yrs before Live Aid.
@@MrAitraining - Awesome! 😀 And that's also my favourite U2 album! 😊 They'd first appeared on _my_ 📡 in '83 and via a 'Rockpalast' TV and radio live simulcast during their 'War' tour, and it didn't take long before I became a massive fan 🙂 This ended very abruptly with the release of 'Rattle & Hum' (album and movie) in '88, sadly: I don't entirely _hate_ Soul and Blues, but at least at that time it had felt like being betrayed by them sympathising with the musical enemy, and in a rather arrogant way, too!
Appreciate your honesty. That's always a legit way to know a channel isn't chasing clicks. As a huge U2 fan, this song was before my time, but I found the build up, the 2 chord progression the addiction. lyrics are a huge ;part of U2's appeal!! Check out Live Aid's version.
This is actually my favorite U2 song. Not the most adventurous musically. But it always moved me. It became my favorite once I heard the live version on Wide Awake in America.
Probably the best official live version. There are several mesmerizing live performances over the years to watch. Dortmund Germany 1984, Live Aid, Rattle and Hum, Rome 2017..
@@fday1964 - The Live Aid one is _my_ favourite; I remember being given 'Wide Awake In America' for Xmas that same year and being slightly underwhelmed by its 'Bad' version, mostly because of Bono's tamer vocal performance and his voice also sitting too low in the mix. Still also a great version, though 😉👍
This song was a religious experience when played on this tour for unforgettable fire. It's impossible to explain the emotions it conveyed to the audience
@@gregoryherman1562 - 'One' is _my_ 'surprise' in that list! Such a 'meh' song, in my opinion! 😅 It's U2's 'Losing My Religion' to me, which is just as underwhelming 😆
Yeah, I too feel this song is mostly about Bono's vocal performance combined with the lyrics. I do love it, though. But it definitely plays a mahoosive part that I associate amazing memories with this song, starting with witnessing U2 playing it on TV during Live Aid in August '85, when I was 15, and that also was the first time I heard it 🙂 And speaking of vocal performance, Bono was giving his best one then, too! 😍 And the drums were even cooler! 🤩 And Clayton knew what to play and wasn't searching for the right notes anymore like he seems to be doing in this studio version 😅 Which I heard on the radio not long after Live Aid, and I remember thinking, "Oh! That sounds rather tame!" 😄
Sometimes you can get so hung up on the technical analysis of chord sequences that you fail to actually hear the music. Fail to actually feel the music. Sometimes, despite music theory suggesting otherwise, magic just happens.
@@ChrisBrown-ig2wy - Not only that, but there's one very important factor about music that is completely missing and with _any_ first reaction: The personal memories and their emotions connected with those songs! Sometimes it's the simplest songs we love, because they remind us of amazing things! 'Bad' is one of those songs for me! 🙂
Wow. You say basic & I say gorgeous. Powerful. Evocative. Emotional. Heartfelt. Intense. It's music man, not science. It's magic..... Thank you for reviewing this album, it's a beauty & it's been a while since I've listened to a lot of these songs. Warning-> most of U2's music is on a spiritual level not a music theory level. It transcends the notes & chords. Cheers.
I works for me in the vocal performance, in the feel & emotion, how he draws you in. mostly. I was younger when it came out, and it had a stronger/deeper resonance then too. Still like it but it's not like then.
@@stephanechamberland8486 - I still far prefer it to the 'Rattle And Hum' live version, though! Gosh, how I loathe that album and movie! U2 turning into a wanna-be Soul & Blues band, arrogant in believing they had to go to America and educate its people on those styles - which actually originate from there, duh! 🙄 Stopped me from being a U2 fan, that BS 😏
Not gonna lie, when I first heard this my reaction was "Ruh roh -- they're going full Springsteen." It does give you that big climactic build, but there's not much of a payoff. It's all about Bono's performance and that anthemic, arm-waving vibe. I get the appeal, and songs like this really helped catapult U2 into massive arena-sized settings. But broken down there's not much meat on the bones. I also seem to recall there were a lot of bands exploring this kind of thing in the mid 80's, all on the back of Peter Gabriel's "Biko", leading to Live Aid and all those kinds of events.
Better live ? This sounds like a live recording to me, without background noise. I do like the sound. This is signature U2 without doubt. With all the greatness they have to offer you can easily skip over this one 👍🤘
@@stevepreece2931 - Yeah, you're right! And it most likely also _was_ recorded live, too! It definitely has quite a 'loose' feel to it, with the bass even bordering on sloppiness here and there, and Bono's vocal cracks at the end being left in would suggest so, too! 🙂
No, it was recorded at Slane Castle, which U2 was using in lieu of a traditional recording studio. This one was recorded in the castle library, I believe.
@@KoYou9NWTM - Yes, but it could still have been recorded live = the whole band playing together like in a live show, as opposed to their instruments being recorded seperately, one after another 🙂
That's definitely my own experience with them! I'd first become aware of them in mid '83 and quickly became a huge fan, which lasted till '88, when they suddenly turned into a faux Soul & Blues band with that 'Rattle And Hum' album and movie BS. I did later like 'Achtung, Baby' and several songs from 'Zooropa', but 5 years of being a proper fan seem very short by comparison with the 36 years they've continued going meanwhile! 😅
@@JosephHuntelvisnspiders - He said that vocals and lyrics to him make only about 25% of a song. Add another 10% for the drums, and it still leaves 65% of 'Meh' for him! 😅
I am 60 so I grew up with U2 saw them in concert back in the 80's so many hits and this album is so underrated one of my favorites along with the Joshua Tree an Achtung Baby. Justin you should check out their concert at Sloane Castle Ireland especially streets with no names.
My favorite U2 song (I think…the top spot changes constantly). The 10-minute extended live version is transcendent. So good that I never get sick of it even after hundreds of listens over the years. Some of Bono’s best singing ever & I love Adam’s base on the extended version & the Live Aid version when Bono “disappears” off stage.. So I have to disagree with you on this one.
Another one of their 2 chord songs. I don’t know why I like it. I think it’s just the atmosphere that they create because really theres not much going on. This album is great background music, or great for a rainy day.
@@mightyV444 Asus4 / A / Dsus2 / D for most of it. Same basic 2 chords but 4 actual chords regardless. It's a totally different song without those suspended chords. Which is why, coincidentally, it sometimes sounds like Brass in Pocket, lol.
@@bminturn - Oh! _That's_ how you've broken it down! In which case it's actually _six_ chords! 😊 I do also play guitar, but bass (along with drums) is my #1 instrument, and thus it also was my focus for determining these chords 😉 And yes, I do see the similarities to that great Pretenders song, too; Good observation! 😀👍 I also think it's a cool guitar part! Technically simple, and the Delay effect does half the work, but very catchy and also atmospheric 😍
@@mightyV444 yeah I responded to dude's review of Promenade and said that it was my favorite song on the album, totally forgetting about Bad. Bad is a top 5 U2 song in my book. I even understand the "boring" comment, but I can't get bored with the bass in this song. It's just all over the place, like barely staying on the rails, but it just works.
Yeah, I remember liking this song, but feels boring now as you called it. But I do know that live it was a whole ‘nother experience. Got to see them live several times back in those special years.
I bought this album when it first came out and agree with this review 100%. Vocals are great but the song in general is a slow developing burn that falls way short of the peak it's aiming for. Wire and The Unforgettable Fire are much more interesting songs.
Any U2 experts out there help me out. I was a young adult when U2 hit it big and know of course all their hits but own none of their stuff. Is there a song that got lots of radio airplay that sounded eerily similar to this song? I still haven't found what I'm looking for is all that kept popping into my head but I could be wrong. Maybe there is a different version? One thing I always couldn't stand about them was the guitar tone and style. It all sounded repetitive to my ears anyway. Cheers
@@kennethmckinney2532 - Yeah, I have a friend who's Irish himself but also doesn't like U2 because of the 🎵Chigge-chigge-chigge🎵 echo-laden guitar stuff 😅 As for possible similarly-eerie U2 Singles: Nah, I can't think of anything, sorry! 🙂
@kennethmckinney2532. LOL. And for others it’s the opposite. Edge’s chime-y, ringing guitar (his signature dotted eighth note delay) is precisely one of the reasons I love this era of U2 so much. I love the feeling like I’m in the middle of a valley & this beautiful guitar sound is just echoing all around me off the hillsides, inwrapping me in its music. That said, although Edge is heavily identified with this approach, U2 has very different sounds in different eras of their career. Maybe you’d like their earlier, rawer post-punk sound better. Anyway, in answer: I know pretty much their entire catalog & I can’t think of a song like the one you’re describing. If you’re sure it’s not this one itself & you’re misremembering it (about 2 billion heard Bad at Live Aid & then radio stations started playing it) …then the only other U2 song I can think it maybe could be is All I Want Is You. Which is a masterpiece. Similar tempo. And build. But also really quite different-especially with the strings & long symphonic outro.
@@KoYou9NWTM - Ohhh, yes! It may well _be_ 'All I Want Is You'! Even the two chords in the verses are the same, A and D! 😀 And it does have some eerie moments also! Especially once the string ensemble kicks in 😀 I can't stand most of the then-new songs on 'Rattle And fricken Hum', but that one is a beauty 😍 Quite a sad story in its video clip, too 😌
I'm with you on this one, this song is so revered by U2 fanatics but I always found it kind of boring as well. It just feels like a long build up to nothing really, other than Bono's impressive full on vocal. The live version from Wide Awake in America is better, but as a song this is one where I feel the simplicity in their music is a little overbearing. The riff is not interesting enough to keep repeating as the main musical motif and vocally it kind of drones on as well other than the climactic screaming. 100% agree with you that some more changes in the songs chordal and melodic structure would have been so cool to build to. The simplicity works in a lot of their music because the melodies are so strong and they arrange dynamics well, but to me....this song kind of goes nowhere and I usually skip it.
Their Live Aid set and this song was a memorable moment for sure. Introduced them to the world on the big stage
@@MrAitraining - Funnily, the band themselves had initially thought they'd completely sucked with that performance and Bono's spontaneous actions, when coming off the Live Aid stage 😅
As a massive fan at that time, U2 were my highlight that day - even over Queen! 😀
@@mightyV444 yeah sometimes off script is more memorable. I was well aware of U2. First "kid on the block" with one of their albums. "October" a few yrs before Live Aid.
@@MrAitraining - Awesome! 😀 And that's also my favourite U2 album! 😊
They'd first appeared on _my_ 📡 in '83 and via a 'Rockpalast' TV and radio live simulcast during their 'War' tour, and it didn't take long before I became a massive fan 🙂
This ended very abruptly with the release of 'Rattle & Hum' (album and movie) in '88, sadly: I don't entirely _hate_ Soul and Blues, but at least at that time it had felt like being betrayed by them sympathising with the musical enemy, and in a rather arrogant way, too!
Appreciate your honesty. That's always a legit way to know a channel isn't chasing clicks. As a huge U2 fan, this song was before my time, but I found the build up, the 2 chord progression the addiction. lyrics are a huge ;part of U2's appeal!! Check out Live Aid's version.
This is actually my favorite U2 song. Not the most adventurous musically. But it always moved me. It became my favorite once I heard the live version on Wide Awake in America.
That EP and Under A Blood Red Sky were my teen self’s favorite records
The Wide Awake In America version of Bad is my favourite U2 track. Absolutely mesmerising.
Probably the best official live version. There are several mesmerizing live performances over the years to watch.
Dortmund Germany 1984, Live Aid, Rattle and Hum, Rome 2017..
@@fday1964 - The Live Aid one is _my_ favourite; I remember being given 'Wide Awake In America' for Xmas that same year and being slightly underwhelmed by its 'Bad' version, mostly because of Bono's tamer vocal performance and his voice also sitting too low in the mix.
Still also a great version, though
😉👍
Couldn't agree more...just phenomenal!
@@fday1964wide awake version of Bad is not live, is a mix of sound checks during the UF Tour.
@@felipeepilefelipe...as I stated, it's the official live version, as the Rattle And Hum movie version is not on the album
Do try to get a grip.
This song was a religious experience when played on this tour for unforgettable fire. It's impossible to explain the emotions it conveyed to the audience
Dude this is one of the best songs U2 made... It's epic
Just funny to me that Bad in most U2 fans top songs this usually lands in the top 3 with One and Streets Have No Name
@@gregoryherman1562 - 'One' is _my_ 'surprise' in that list! Such a 'meh' song, in my opinion! 😅 It's U2's 'Losing My Religion' to me, which is just as underwhelming 😆
My favorite song of theirs. Just something about it. Thanks for reaction!
One of my most favourite songs fron U2, amazing feeling, and the Live Aid rendition is just incredible
Yeah, I too feel this song is mostly about Bono's vocal performance combined with the lyrics. I do love it, though. But it definitely plays a mahoosive part that I associate amazing memories with this song, starting with witnessing U2 playing it on TV during Live Aid in August '85, when I was 15, and that also was the first time I heard it 🙂
And speaking of vocal performance, Bono was giving his best one then, too! 😍 And the drums were even cooler! 🤩 And Clayton knew what to play and wasn't searching for the right notes anymore like he seems to be doing in this studio version 😅
Which I heard on the radio not long after Live Aid, and I remember thinking, "Oh! That sounds rather tame!" 😄
My favorite from them
I never knew Bad was inspired by Heroin addiction. It has a similar build up as Lou Reed's Heroin.
The live version from 'Rattle And Hum' is incredible.
Sometimes you can get so hung up on the technical analysis of chord sequences that you fail to actually hear the music. Fail to actually feel the music. Sometimes, despite music theory suggesting otherwise, magic just happens.
Really lol. I think justin does what justin does and thats fine no?
@@anthonypallen7919 not always. Not if, for example, it leads you to the conclusion that a song like Bad is "boring" with "no pay off"
@@ChrisBrown-ig2wy - Not only that, but there's one very important factor about music that is completely missing and with _any_ first reaction: The personal memories and their emotions connected with those songs! Sometimes it's the simplest songs we love, because they remind us of amazing things! 'Bad' is one of those songs for me!
🙂
Wow. You say basic & I say gorgeous. Powerful. Evocative. Emotional. Heartfelt. Intense. It's music man, not science. It's magic.....
Thank you for reviewing this album, it's a beauty & it's been a while since I've listened to a lot of these songs. Warning-> most of U2's music is on a spiritual level not a music theory level. It transcends the notes & chords. Cheers.
I had forgotten how good U2s catalogue is. They sure did some amazing compositions
Soooou ❤ love this band ever anda i see alive im bless
My favorite on the album.
I works for me in the vocal performance, in the feel & emotion, how he draws you in. mostly. I was younger when it came out, and it had a stronger/deeper resonance then too. Still like it but it's not like then.
The live version on their EP, "Wide Awake in America" is better and excellent...like the "Live Aid" performance.
@@stephanechamberland8486 - I still far prefer it to the 'Rattle And Hum' live version, though! Gosh, how I loathe that album and movie! U2 turning into a wanna-be Soul & Blues band, arrogant in believing they had to go to America and educate its people on those styles - which actually originate from there, duh! 🙄
Stopped me from being a U2 fan, that BS 😏
Always loved this one, so atmospheric and I like Adam Clayton's Bass playing in general but especially on this track.
Not gonna lie, when I first heard this my reaction was "Ruh roh -- they're going full Springsteen." It does give you that big climactic build, but there's not much of a payoff. It's all about Bono's performance and that anthemic, arm-waving vibe. I get the appeal, and songs like this really helped catapult U2 into massive arena-sized settings. But broken down there's not much meat on the bones. I also seem to recall there were a lot of bands exploring this kind of thing in the mid 80's, all on the back of Peter Gabriel's "Biko", leading to Live Aid and all those kinds of events.
Have a listen to the live version on wide awake in America. It’s an ethereal atmospheric dynamic hymn.
This is my favourite U2 song on my favourite U2 album. I was in grade 12 when it came out, so I was easily impressed. lol.
Live aid 1986
Better live ? This sounds like a live recording to me, without background noise. I do like the sound. This is signature U2 without doubt. With all the greatness they have to offer you can easily skip over this one 👍🤘
@@stevepreece2931 - Yeah, you're right! And it most likely also _was_ recorded live, too! It definitely has quite a 'loose' feel to it, with the bass even bordering on sloppiness here and there, and Bono's vocal cracks at the end being left in would suggest so, too! 🙂
No, it was recorded at Slane Castle, which U2 was using in lieu of a traditional recording studio. This one was recorded in the castle library, I believe.
@@KoYou9NWTM - Yes, but it could still have been recorded live = the whole band playing together like in a live show, as opposed to their instruments being recorded seperately, one after another 🙂
@mightyV444 In that case, yes, I believe so. Like a U2 jam session.
I always like old U2. It seemed like they peaked. Early and then slowly just didn't have it anymore.
That's definitely my own experience with them!
I'd first become aware of them in mid '83 and quickly became a huge fan, which lasted till '88, when they suddenly turned into a faux Soul & Blues band with that 'Rattle And Hum' album and movie BS.
I did later like 'Achtung, Baby' and several songs from 'Zooropa', but 5 years of being a proper fan seem very short by comparison with the 36 years they've continued going meanwhile! 😅
If you're not into lyrics then this isn't the song for you,... yet. :)
@@JosephHuntelvisnspiders - He said that vocals and lyrics to him make only about 25% of a song. Add another 10% for the drums, and it still leaves 65% of 'Meh' for him!
😅
I am 60 so I grew up with U2 saw them in concert back in the 80's so many hits and this album is so underrated one of my favorites along with the Joshua Tree an Achtung Baby. Justin you should check out their concert at Sloane Castle Ireland especially streets with no names.
My favorite U2 song (I think…the top spot changes constantly). The 10-minute extended live version is transcendent. So good that I never get sick of it even after hundreds of listens over the years. Some of Bono’s best singing ever & I love Adam’s base on the extended version & the Live Aid version when Bono “disappears” off stage.. So I have to disagree with you on this one.
Another one of their 2 chord songs. I don’t know why I like it. I think it’s just the atmosphere that they create because really theres not much going on. This album is great background music, or great for a rainy day.
I think that it's 4 technically if you count sus and add as different chords.
@@bminturn - Yes. It's mostly A and D, with G and e happening in the descend during the 🎵"I'm wide awake"🎵 parts 🙂
@@mightyV444 Asus4 / A / Dsus2 / D for most of it. Same basic 2 chords but 4 actual chords regardless. It's a totally different song without those suspended chords. Which is why, coincidentally, it sometimes sounds like Brass in Pocket, lol.
@@bminturn - Oh! _That's_ how you've broken it down! In which case it's actually _six_ chords! 😊
I do also play guitar, but bass (along with drums) is my #1 instrument, and thus it also was my focus for determining these chords 😉
And yes, I do see the similarities to that great Pretenders song, too; Good observation! 😀👍
I also think it's a cool guitar part! Technically simple, and the Delay effect does half the work, but very catchy and also atmospheric 😍
@@mightyV444 yeah I responded to dude's review of Promenade and said that it was my favorite song on the album, totally forgetting about Bad. Bad is a top 5 U2 song in my book. I even understand the "boring" comment, but I can't get bored with the bass in this song. It's just all over the place, like barely staying on the rails, but it just works.
Yeah, I remember liking this song, but feels boring now as you called it. But I do know that live it was a whole ‘nother experience. Got to see them live several times back in those special years.
Gr8 tune dude, sorry I gotta disagree with you 😅
I bought this album when it first came out and agree with this review 100%. Vocals are great but the song in general is a slow developing burn that falls way short of the peak it's aiming for. Wire and The Unforgettable Fire are much more interesting songs.
Any U2 experts out there help me out. I was a young adult when U2 hit it big and know of course all their hits but own none of their stuff. Is there a song that got lots of radio airplay that sounded eerily similar to this song? I still haven't found what I'm looking for is all that kept popping into my head but I could be wrong. Maybe there is a different version? One thing I always couldn't stand about them was the guitar tone and style. It all sounded repetitive to my ears anyway. Cheers
@@kennethmckinney2532 - Yeah, I have a friend who's Irish himself but also doesn't like U2 because of the 🎵Chigge-chigge-chigge🎵 echo-laden guitar stuff 😅
As for possible similarly-eerie U2 Singles: Nah, I can't think of anything, sorry! 🙂
@kennethmckinney2532. LOL. And for others it’s the opposite. Edge’s chime-y, ringing guitar (his signature dotted eighth note delay) is precisely one of the reasons I love this era of U2 so much. I love the feeling like I’m in the middle of a valley & this beautiful guitar sound is just echoing all around me off the hillsides, inwrapping me in its music. That said, although Edge is heavily identified with this approach, U2 has very different sounds in different eras of their career. Maybe you’d like their earlier, rawer post-punk sound better.
Anyway, in answer: I know pretty much their entire catalog & I can’t think of a song like the one you’re describing. If you’re sure it’s not this one itself & you’re misremembering it (about 2 billion heard Bad at Live Aid & then radio stations started playing it) …then the only other U2 song I can think it maybe could be is All I Want Is You. Which is a masterpiece. Similar tempo. And build. But also really quite different-especially with the strings & long symphonic outro.
@@KoYou9NWTM - Ohhh, yes! It may well _be_ 'All I Want Is You'! Even the two chords in the verses are the same, A and D! 😀 And it does have some eerie moments also! Especially once the string ensemble kicks in 😀
I can't stand most of the then-new songs on 'Rattle And fricken Hum', but that one is a beauty 😍 Quite a sad story in its video clip, too 😌
I have heard this one before it is good
This is my favourite song. I'm sorry you weren't able to appreciate it.
If I wanted to request an album reaction from you then how much would it cost ?
It’s $25 per song, but Justin might be open to negotiate if you email him
@@robshaw2639 Ok thanks 👊
Jazz is what you should be reacting to.
Lambert, Hendrix and Ross!
Wrong channel?
bad reaction hahaha
I'm with you on this one, this song is so revered by U2 fanatics but I always found it kind of boring as well. It just feels like a long build up to nothing really, other than Bono's impressive full on vocal. The live version from Wide Awake in America is better, but as a song this is one where I feel the simplicity in their music is a little overbearing. The riff is not interesting enough to keep repeating as the main musical motif and vocally it kind of drones on as well other than the climactic screaming. 100% agree with you that some more changes in the songs chordal and melodic structure would have been so cool to build to. The simplicity works in a lot of their music because the melodies are so strong and they arrange dynamics well, but to me....this song kind of goes nowhere and I usually skip it.
Live Aid version is much better.
Nice background music.