U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

I became a fan of U2 when I first heard my buddy Jim's copy of the War album and became even more enamored with the group after I bought my cassette of Under A Blood Red Sky and wore it out over Christmas break 1983. Needless to say, this release was highly anticipated by yours truly. I wouldn't say I was initially disappointed, but I wasn't exactly thrilled with this album upon it's release in late 1984.

When I was 18 years old, I wanted the album to rock, but the music here is more moody than what I expected, so I listened to what was side one (the first five tracks) of my LP much more often than side two. The influence of the 1982 Simple Minds album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) on The Unforgettable Fire has been discussed many times, including these articles from Pitchfork and The Irish Times. To my mind, it begs the question "why didn't the band hire New Gold Dream producer Peter Walsh to produce Unforgettable Fire?" I'm just asking, not complaining. I think Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois do fine work on the album even though I've never come across a mix that wasn't a little muddy so I'm going to guess crispness wasn't the goal with these tunes. Still, the album contains U2's finest single, so that fact alone places it in the top half of the band's eight releases during the 1980's (yes, I'm counting EPs because I'd have Under A Blood Red Sky at the top of that list). 

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★): "seems to drone on and on"
• Stereo Review: "represents a significant expansion of U2's heretofore limited musical vocabulary."
• High Fidelity: "vinyl evidence of a band in transition."
• Record Mirror (+++¾): "Brian Eno's production was an important and not unwise choice"
• CashBox: "another inspired - and inspiring - set of powerful guitar rock"
• Billboard: "A cloudy, obtuse and daring outing"
• Robert Christgau (B+): "Eno has shaped this record to accentuate Bono's wild romantic idealism, and while I prefer his moral force I have to admit that the two are equally beguiling to contemplate and dangerous to take literally."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #12
• Billboard CD: #12
• CashBox: #5
• CashBox CD: #11
• Rolling Stone: #3

Tracks: Pride is my all-time favorite U2 song and it's not even a close race. The rest of the album doesn't quite measure up (how could it?), but I also dig A Sort Of Homecoming, Wire, and the title track. I also like Bad, but the definitive version of that song is on Wide Awake In America. I wasn't a fan of MLK until I heard a church choir perform an exquisite arrangement of the piece that exposed the simple beauty of the music while reinforcing the message of the lyrics:

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thunder cloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Rain down on him
So let it be
So let it be

Now I recognize the song for the great album-closer it is.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: On Monday, February 25, 1985, U2 held a concert at Reunion Arena in Dallas. At the time, I was a freshman at a nearby university; only an hour's drive from Dallas. However, my friends and I couldn't score tickets to the show, so we were stuck in the dorm that evening. The concert was sponsored by a local radio station - I think it was KEGL (Eagle 97) but who the hell knows - and starting a few hours before the show, they started playing the entire U2 catalog. During the show, the remote DJs would give brief concert updates along the lines of "the band has taken the stage" or "they just played Sunday Bloody Sunday" before kicking it back to the studio to play more U2 records. We just moped around the dorm room, listening to the radio, and kicking ourselves for not trying harder to get tickets. And then up for a 8:30 AM ear training class the next morning.

Previously revisited for the blog:

The Joshua Tree (1987)	Under A Blood Red Sky (1983)
Wide Awake In America (1985)	October (1981)