special introductory paragraph!

Boy

October

War

Live Under A Blood Red Sky mini-lp

The Unforgettable Fire

Wide Awake In America EP

The Joshua Tree

Rattle And Hum

The Hits/The B-Sides

Achtung Baby

Zooropa

Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1 (with Brian Eno)

Pop

All That You Can't Leave Behind

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Boy - Island 1980.

A great guy named Chris Crowson once told me that this is the only U2 album he can sit all the way through, and I can definitely see why. No egos here. This isn't radio-ready overproduced rock - it's rough-around-the-edges art rock in the vein of early Public Image Limited (with more emphasis on guitar) - a darned fine attempt to combine the amateurish feel of punk with the emotional moodmaking of all those silly types of music that aren't punk. And no, this isn't "punk" in any sense of the word, but it sure is exciting in its own way. The melodies are just beautiful ("Into The Heart," "An Cat Dubh," "Out Of Control," others), and it's so refreshing to be able to sit down and listen to really creative music that sounds like it was made by the kids who live downstairs. That's what this is all about. And it was only a matter of time before this lovely style got them too much attention and their egos began flailing wildly out of control, but hey.... You can't feign innocence forever.

Please buy this one. Then try to convince me that "One" is a great song. No. It's not. I'm sorry. Unless you're referring to that Metallica song, "One" is NOT a great song. It's hardly even good. "I Will Follow" - now, there's a good song!!! And no, I'm not gonna argue that every track on here is a winner. That's why I only gave it an EIGHT! But it's a fantastic first attempt, and there's no way you can listen to it a couple of times and then turn to me and tell me that U2 never deserved all that media attention. Know what I'm saying? Mmm? Mmm? How's about a Fresca? Mmm? Mmm?

Reader Comments

dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen)
Not bad. "One" sucks! "I will follow" rules, but for some reason early U2 brings to mind Thin Lizzy and very very early Dead Kennedys. The DK may be a bit of a reach, but Thin Lizzy, that's another matter. Thin Lizzy were from Ireland and just go listen to the Jailbreak album and you'll pick up the pieces of the building blocks U2 used to build their career.

strider@redrose.net (David Straub)
I think "An Cat Dubh" and "Another Time Another Place" are pretty damn amazing for a band of 18 and 19-year-olds. The Edge is already a true original on guitar here, even if he is buried in the mix every now and then. And even so-- how about that production anyway? Obscure wannabe punks from Dublin? This stuff still sounds really fresh and Lillywhite built a well-deserved reputation on this record. I will never get tired of listening to this album.

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
One hell of a debut album. Sonically, Mark hit the nail on the thumb--it sounds like really melodic punk with clangy guitars and a singer who oversings (in a good way, not in a banal Hootie way) everything. There's no ego, no dull ballads (not to say U2 ballads are dull, but it's cool when they're not there, y'know?), and no stupid techno. I'd call it the best debut album of the 80s if 'twerent for the Pixies's Surfer Rosa. Otherwise, it's their best album until The Joshua Tree, and a good one to hook people who don't like U2 on. Their first three albums rule!

Blademate@aol.com
This is one hell of an album. Boy is so f***king creative, innovative, interesting... and it's not even their best. As for that "new sound," damn right, but they still have it, just in a different form.

jason69@sprynet.com (Jason Carter)
Interesting, the Thin Lizzy comparison, since Henry Rollins - a Thin Lizzy fan - hates these fuckers. But BOY is their best one. Some of their best SONGS are not here, mind you, but it is definitely their most cohesive RECORD. You don't sit there wondering what political angle old Bono is coming from or why the Edge keeps trying to cover up his male pattern baldness with those silly hats.

bish24@erols.com (JTB)
"I Will Follow" is one of those tracks that I still am not tired of hearing. This is an amazing record when you realize these guys were barely out of their teens when it was released. Hell, when I was their age I was drinking beers and not doing much in the creative department!

grimlock@vt.edu (Charles Calhoun)
I've never heard this album... I dunno, I think my ex-roommate playing POP every day for a couple months has left emotional scars... but a brief note on that Rollins thing Jason brought up. From what he said at a spoken word show (go), it seems Hank only hates them because they started out sincere, and immediately turned into cynical, commercial shit. Like they can't play the old shit anymore with a straight face, because it was a different front.

BireneBee@aol.com
Boy is one of the most goddawful albums I have ever had the misfortune to hear, and yes, I listened to it all the way through, and yes, I quite like some later stuff by these tossers. It's consistently overblown, like Bono has to prove how soulful and passionate he is, but he just sounds like he's having a particularly long and painful shit. You Yanks just don't get it, do you? The band are bloody awful, like any bunch of 16 year olds trying to work out how to play solos for the first time, and only Steve Lillywhite's production saves it from sounding like total dreck. It's posey, pretentious in the worst possible sense (unlike, say, Pere Ubu) and it is occasionally quite embarrassing to listen to. These people needed to grow up desperately, and thank fuck they did, although a move from Jesus H. himself to God the Almighty stinks of careerism, if y' ask me!!

wilkinso@muskingum.edu (Meredith L. Wilkinson)
"One" is a fine song!

Itchload@aol.com
Henry Rollins hates U2? I saw him host MTV countdown of all-time best songs, and when he introduced New Years Day he said "that was the brilliant song New Years Day by U2" I don't call that hate. As for the album, it ranks among the best debuts album of all-time, ranking with REM's Murmur and Pixies' Come On Pilgrim or Surfer Rosa if you don't count COP because it was only 8 songs, they both were great. Out of Control is my favorite though.

jgwilson@DELTA.IS.TCU.EDU (Jeff Wilson)
as a matter of fact, henry rollins does hate u2......when he went to dublin to perform, he was bitchin and complaining about them the whole time... ayways, i think all of their albums are great including BOY..

9402992h@student.gla.uc.uk (Dan Hackney)
Boy is weird. It's a very cold record. It has an immensely passionless guitar sound (and player) with some kid trying his damnedest to cover it up with deep and meaningful yelps...and it sounds fuckin' mint! I challenge anyone to play a guitar that slowly and simply and badly with anything approaching the same glorious detachment. It just sounds amazingly pure and crystalline. No wonder he uses so many effects now to try and give the impression of depth. He needn't bother, it was amazing as it was.

cynderelli@techline.com (TAD)
I agree agree agree. But has NEbuddy ever figured out what Bono sounds so UPSET about? I mean, he's so INTENSE! 4 yrs I thot it was some kinda homosexual confusion, should-I-or-shouldn't-I type of thing (Cms pretty clear from some of these songs).

Doesn't matter, of course. This record has GORGEOUS ringing guitar work, and the songs R mostly pretty damn brilliant, especially the 1st side (tho the middle of "An Chat Dubh" drags a bit when I'm not in the mood). Love practically all of it, especially "I Will Follow," "Twilight," "Into the Heart," "Out of Control" & "The Electric Co.," & sometimes "Stories for Boys."

But I worked in a record store when this came out, & we couldn't GIVE the damn thing away. We only ever sold about 4 copies. People just don't know what's good 4 them. Guess U2 had the last laugh on that 1....

richbunnell@home.com
I do like this album, but it seems sort of blatantly off the mark to name it "U2's masterpiece"-- it's really just a bunch of distant arena-rock songs mixed in with a few soft ballads, and just because it's more sincere than anything else they released later doesn't necessarily mean it's better. Plus, some songs are just boring and annoying, like "An Cat Dubh"(why the hell does that song go on for so long?). No matter what I say, though, the album is pretty consistently rocking, and I'll stand by "I Will Follow," "Twilight," "The Electric Co.," "Out Of Control" and "A Day Without Me" until the day burglars enter my maximum-security mental hospital cell and steal the album from me while I'm tied up in my straight jacket. I'd give the album a 7.

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
I think for a bunch of ninetten and twenty year olds (never the less a debut album), this is a pretty peice of work. Sure, the only one that actually knew how to play at the time was drummer Larry Mullen, but the others fake it nicely. The Edge displays a distant sound and fully avoids ear-drilling solos, (most thought he was being modest, but in actuality, he couldn't play that well at the beginning), Adam Clayton gives a rumbling bass, Larry does an impressive job on songs like 'I Will Follow' and Bono makes you feel the pain of his lost mother and fucked up childhood. Songs like 'A Day Without Me', 'I Will Follow', 'Electric Co.' and 'Out Of Control' tend to recieve the "play it till the record is ruined" treatment and, though greatly flawed for sheer inability play so early in their carrer, is a testament of their talent and a omen of things to come.

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
I really really really like this album. Yeah. Hey, this was another one that turned out to be WAY better than I expected. So consistent! The songs do sound similar, yes, but not so much that it's annoying. Even half-songs like "The Ocean" are quite evocative in their half-song-ness. All of the songs are good, but "I Will Follow," "Twilight," and "Another Time, Another Place" especially rule. And Bono's oversinging works well, methinks--he sounds really good! An underrated singer if you ask me. An underrated album, if you ask me twice. 9, if you just have to ask me three times. Glutton!

zaanpunk@hotmail.com (Michiel Heinicke)
My favourite U2 Album!!!, me being into Punk Music and well, this is a PUNK album, and not a ROCK album. I mean, almost every song is up-tempo, the guitar is loud. The reason most people dont think this is punk is because the edge doesnt play powerchords, he justs plays high-one-string notes the whole time. And well Bono is no Johnny Rotten of course. But listen to the bass and drums and compare it to a Ramones-album. Pretty Clear. And well the production also took away the sharp edges. Listen to the pre-boy singles and u'll understand me. (connect to napster and search for em!!) Fact: U2 Started playing Ramones Covers before writing their own material! 9/10

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
Call me crazy but I'm gonna give this one the 10! it's got to be one of the most exciting debuts I've ever heard! Mesmerizing guitar sounds, tons of energy and every single song is either wonderfully catchy ("Out of control" "another time, another place") or dropdead georgeous ("The ocean" "Into the heart.") The creepy, acoustic closer "Shadows and tall trees" is just unbelievably cool.

Starchild795@aol.com
I also heard Henry Rollins hates this band,and he should,they really,really suck!

jaimoe0@hotmail.com (James Welton)
A great debut by this band of Irish lads who don't sound a thing like Thin Lizzy, thank you very much Doug Swalen. I've always felt that this album had a very strong thematic unity, that theme being the transition from boy to man, and more universally, from child to adult. Songs like "Twilight," "Into the Heart," "A Day Without Me," and "Shadows and Tall Trees" seem to me to all address the fears, confusion and possibility attendant with that time. Considering that the band members were all in their late teens when these tunes were composed and recorded, they were in an excellent position to comment on that state of flux knowingly and without the least bit of condescension. Being only a few years younger than the band members themselves when the album came out, I connected with this release very directly and intimately. It's one of those albums I grew up with.

While I hear the sort of detached, antiseptic sound in the instrumentation and production, I don't find it chilly or without passion and emotion. In fact, songs like "I Will Follow," "Out of Control," and "Electric Co." are unabashedly enthusiastic and rocking. They would never sound this sincere and genuinely engaged again, I think, which isn't to say that U2 didn't have a lot of great music left in them, but there's no sense of naivete or first-time wonder in any of the later releases. But why should there be? You only get one debut, right?

jdecuir@satx.rr.com (Uncle Buzz Records)
Did you go back and edit that silly "Should I or shouldn't I ?" bit out? Guess you figured out that "Twilight" was more about that awkward period in life where you're neither a boy nor a man, not making ass plans .

This record rocks. Mainly because Adam Clayton plays bass like Cliff Williams: that relentless dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh... keeps the album movin' ever forward. That's right, AC/DC!!!! Think I'm kiddin' ? Check it out! It's all over the place. Listen to the segue into "Out of Control" , the guy can hardly wait to start pluggin away! Ocassionally he'll start a song with some kinda riff, but by the end, it's back to dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh... again. It works! It rules! It kicks ass! And it probably saved them a lotta money on studio tricks ' cause unlike later releases, this album is driven by U2's energy.

As far as them other 2'ers go: the drums sound smackin' and Lillywhitey. The Edge still has one. Bono's vocals are really good , especially 'cause they're mixed down with the rest of the music! He's merely started a landslide in his ego here, it hasn't yet blossomed into a full-on flag-wavin', marchin'-mullet-headed ego yet. And then there's the BELLS! No one is given credit for playing them. They just appear.....on almost every song. How cool. They give Boy a great starry-night-timey feel none of the other albums have.

I saw these dudes live around the time this album came out. They played at Randy's Rodeo in San Antonio , the place where the Pistols played. There were only about 200 people in the audience, but the band were in-flippin'-credible. They definitely had a certain something. Glad I caught'em when I did, 'cause I'm not too crazy about what they later became.More power to y'all who like the later stuff. Must be something there. But this is the one for me. I played it recently for a friend who thought U2 have always totally sucked & he had to admit.............

gag05@bigpond.com.au
I bought this album thinking it was a Pete Townshend album..ill leave that at that!! But imagine my surprise when I discovered that it's actually a Gary Glitter album..I mean U2, shit what's up with the title of this album neway?????? Ah well thank god this album has Bono on it. Seeing as Bono is the only man alive to have fucked the Pope, Nelson Mandela and every American president from George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Madonna ..Fuck it!! every president who ever existed had an affair with Bono!! except Jimmy Carter coz he didn't dig punk music which Bono invented!! (along with a number of other minor things like stadium rock, psychedelic rock, "cool" sunglasses, Bob Geldolf, Boy Bands, Girl Bands, Gay Bands and Irish messiahs who aint drunk and pretend to be god, Bono is the real deal, man.!!) And for that reason alone every U2 album should receive a 10!! Sure the music might be pretty crap, a little rough around the edges(HA!) and it's kinda dull.but Bono H. Christ sings on the album so its 10 all the way. That's right 2.

October - Island 1981.

So the problem is that I'm really not the hugest U2 fan in the world, and their only album that I've listened to sixty jillion times is The Joshua Tree. So you may be right - maybe October DOES deserve more than a seven, but in the time I've spent with the record, it just hasn't grabbed my attention as well as the other early records. It's real similar to Boy, but a lot of the songs (probably due to production) seem kind of musically empty ("I Threw A Brick Through A Window," "Is That All?," "Stranger In A Strange Land"), and Bono is already madly in love with the sound of his voice, so the end result is rather... eek.... kinda dull and annoying. Just doesn't have the life of the first record. It does have some of that echoey Edge guitar that would soon become the band's trademark, but the dabblings with serious art music just drag and drag some more. Oh ho sure, there are some fantastic songs on here. "Gloria," "Rejoice," and "I Fall Down" are lovely and rockin', for example. They'll be stuck in your head for days. Still, they would have benefited from some tougher War-like production. But who knew???? In short, not a bad album at all. But not up to the standards of early U2, if you ask me. Maybe it was just time to grow up and start sounding like a real FM radio band.

Reader Comments

strider@redrose.net (David Straub)
Some of these tunes are very good ("Gloria", title instrumental, "Stranger in a Strange Land") but this album is really pale in comparison to the ones on either side of it.

Still, trade in your copy of Zooropa for this today!

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
Funny--I always liked this album. It was the last U2 record I picked up. I kept hearing all this crap about it having a "religious theme", and that kinda steered me away. But when I picked it up, I loved it! "Gloria", "I Fall Down" and "With A Shout" kick ass, the title track and "Tommorow" are beautiful, and well, everything else is pretty great too. It's a lot more mature than Boy, but not quite as great. I'd say it's about as good as War; 8/10.

Blademate@aol.com
October is a good and creative album, but I'd say it's one of U2's worst (which isn't saying much; it's still damn cool). It does have some great rhythm and beat, though, and it still has that special something that makes U2 my favorite band ever.

markc@javanet.com (Mark Cybulski)
Is it just me, or does the production on this album sound shitty? It's always sounded kind of murky and not as clear as Boy or War. That's why I think it's the weakest of the first three.

bish24@erols.com (JTB)
I had heard that Bono and the boys had a whole bunch of material ready to go for their follow up to Boy, but it all was lost or stolen or something. They then put their heads back together and came out with October. Put in that context, this is another incredible record. I only imagine what the "lost" stuff was like......

Itchload@aol.com
This one isn't as good as Boy or War, but it is still very good. After this album came out and didn't sell as well as Boy, the band almost broke up. That was close.

jgwilson@DELTA.IS.TCU.EDU (Jeff Wilson)
its true, bono DID lose the lyrics, and the other material a week or so before going into the studio to record it, so he had to improvise and try to remeber the lyrics as they went along.

charbono@hotmail.com (Charlene Granger)
Wow, I love your site and have recommended it to lots of people. However, I feel that it is now time for me to have my own say!

From the opening "Gloria" (IMO their best live song) to the unsettling "Is That All?", October is simply beautiful. It's not "pale", it's just... sensitive. It sits in the corner and thinks. It's not loud or brash like War or R&H - it's a very introspective album.... it's message is more personal than the social commentary of War. It has moments of grief (Tomorrow) and also moments of great joy (Scarlet). Although it does get a bit religious at times, I see it as more of a spiritual album, rejoicing in self rather than the almighty ("I can't change the world... but i can change the world in me"). "October" the title track is not the sort of thing you'd get down and boogie to, or sing at the top of your voice (in fact "Gloria" is the only anthem on here) yet it is a powerfully moving song, both in music and lyrics. IMO October is a stronger album than either War or Boy, not in spite of it's understatement but because of it.

richbunnell@home.com
I actually think this one's better than the debut. To me it seems like another case of Reggatta De Blanc syndrome, i.e. since the album was quickly rushed out after a successful debut, people assume that it HAS to be inferior, when, in truth, it's actually a superior album. "Gloria" is the classic, of course (and in typical pretentious U2 fashion, the title isn't a girl's name but the Latin word for "glory"), but I'm also extremely fond of "Fire," "Tomorrow," and pretty much all of the first seven tracks plus "Is That All." "With A Shout" just strikes me as an aimless rambling disguised as a rocker (so no ordinary folk would notice), but most of the rest is top-notch. However, the highest notch would soon be raised on the following album..... Anyway, this one's an 8.

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
The incorpperation of religion into rock and roll can be a messy business and October reveals this. Though songs like 'Gloria', 'October' and 'I Fall Down' can carry the album a little, you can tell that they were pressed for time on this one and you can also tell that Bono's lyrics were stolen before they got in the studio (they were). It seems Bono stutters through the whole album, (except 'October'), and even states in 'Gloria' that he can't get out what he wants to say.

This could have been a great album if U2 had been given the time. I'd say that Edge is forced to save the album with his guitar work, which have obviously improved since Boy.

Too bad the other three weren't there with him or this album could have been filled with songs like 'Gloria'.

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
I also think that this effort was inferior to their debut, if only because their debut was so good. The highs are there, but the consistency is not. The second half of the album (except for "Scarlet") can go eat its own feces for all I care. OK, that's not entirely true. Album sides do not produce feces, and they do not eat anything. Regardless, I stand by the gist of my original statement. Disgusting as it may have been.

Moving on to more important matters, the first side of the album is every bit as good as Boy. "Gloria," "Rejoice," "I Threw A Brick Through a Window," and especially especially "Fire" (I thought any song with a name as stupid and generic as "Fire" would automatically suck, as evidenced by the Van Halen song of the same name, but Boy, was I wrong! Huh huh. Boy.). Hey, I just realized I ended that last sentence prematurely! It's not even a sentence! Fuck!

I forget, was "With A Shout" on side 1 or side 2? Well, anyway, I like that one too, despite the beating it has received so far. Sorry, I didn't mean to "take sides" on this whole side 1/side 2 issue. Anyone can see that there are good arguments for both sides. Sighed? Psi-ed!

zaanpunk@hotmail.com (Michiel Heinicke)
Good Followup!!! Cant say its boy 2, it does have some of those up-tempo punky songs. But there's a classical touch on this one There are Piano and Bagpipes on this one. A darker album. People say that Bono lost his lyrics one week prior to recording, but if i wasnt told id never known, cuz Bono sings good. They didnt put any song on Their 1980-1990 Compilation, because cept for Gloria, there isnt any Charbuster here. An underground U2 Album. I guess they didnt put Gloria on the compilation cuz its so simular to I will Follow. 8/10

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
Another great album, the sound is a bit murky in places and it kind of sounds as if they ran out of ideas half-way through side two, but it's still a heck of a lot of fun. Bono had such a great voice back then, and the addition of piano on some tracks is a really nice touch. I give an 8.

jaimoe0@hotmail.com (James Welton)
Where the debut is a great album, this is merely a really good album. I think the main problem with it can be attributed to the loss of the lyric sheets prior to recording. Musically, I think they take tentative steps forward, and the addition of keyboards here and there is a nice touch, kind of expanding the instrumental sound, but the production isn't as crisp as the last album, but still manages to be detached and, in this case, downright cold. Only exception to that statement that I hear is the exuberant, first-album sounding "Gloria."

I guess the problem is that some of the tracks sound unfinished. "Is That All," for example, has rocking music, but it sounds like a good idea that was never finished. It's sort of repetitive - I know that repetitive, simple guitar lines were a major component of the band's sound, but this sounds like repetition through desperation, not design - and it just doesn't go anywhere. Bono must not have lost all his lyrics though, because "Gloria," "I Fall Down," and "Stranger in a Strange Land" are just fantastic songs. A very good album, but with some glaring flaws.

War - Island 1983.

What I'm getting at is that this is a REALLY GOOD early-'80s album that finally let the world in on the fact that U2 were a force to be reckoned with. The funky "Two Hearts Beat As One" was the first U2 song I ever heard (and I liked it!), the marching "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is still a radio classic, and "New Year's Day" is, in my opinion, the greatest song they've ever done. I've heard it over a googol times, but it still brings annoying little bumps to my armskin. It's fast and pounding, and the echoey piano is eerie and threatening-esque, and the echoey guitar just whickles and thraps all over the top as if The Edge actually deserved such a silly pseudonym. Bono's overblown vox even FIT the mood this time, believe it or not! Amazing song. I love that bit where he goes, "Newspapers say.... say..../SAY IT'S TRUE!! IT'S TRUE!!!!" That part kicks my ass about halfway across the living room, which in and of itself is only about 5x1, but when you're speaking in turns of an energy source as weak as "audio," well then it doesn't seem quite so small now, does it? One bad thing this album does is it kinda makes you wonder if U2 isn't gonna totally corn out and become a weakass radio band who eschew art for cash. They didn't. Time saved us from going into that argument here. If Pop was made for cash, I'll eat my shoe.

I won't really eat my shoe, but have you ever heard that Rancid Hell Spawn song "Eat My Shoe"? I like it a lot. They sound like a guy playing punk rock on a Casio keyboard through a distortion pedal. Just thought you, a big U2 fan, might like to know.

Reader Comments

dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen)
I consider this the best they've done. And with "Sunday Bloody Sunday", and "New Year's Day" on the same album, can you blame me? But I'll go out on a limb and say "Sunday" was better than "New Years"...

khrystynah@hotmail.com (khrystynah foster)
this is by far their best album, and also the first one that i ever owned. it's so raw and rough. i love "sunday bloody sunday". it still gets me worked up.... and if i were in a punk band... i would cover it. and the edge is gorgeous; how could you look into those eyes and not give him whatever he wants??

strider@redrose.net (David Straub)
10. One of the better records of the 80s... Agreed on "New Years' Day", but I might like a couple of tunes on the next one even better...

I wish I could play the guitar like the Edge was at this point. What an awesome sound.

levon@netcom.ca
Yeah I have to agree as well, the album is really good, I think it's their best early 80's album as far as I am concerned. It's so good, that I still listen to it today.

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
This was the first U2 album I bought, but it's not my favorite. It has the band's best songs up to this point ("Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", "Two Hearts Beat as One"), and none of it is bad. But some it is really second rate. I love "Like A Song..." and "40", but the other half of the album is mediocre. Besides these complaints, I must admit that all the melodies stick in your head and the record is sequenced perfectly, allowing it to become more than the sum of its parts. Hmmm. Maybe it is better than October. 9/10

Blademate@aol.com
This is a beautiful album, especially with songs like "Surrender" and "Drowning Man." It's tragically moving if you listen to the lyrics, and downright devastating when you absorb the music. It's a wonderful album with great writing, and probably is the best thing that came from the 80's until '87, with The Joshua Tree.

wilkinso@muskingum.edu (Meredith L. Wilkinson)
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" still chills me, but I think I like the live version from Live Under a Blood Red Sky better.

Burney2061@aol.com
This is a great album, I echo precious "Drowning Man" sentiment, of course "Sunday" and New Yar's Day", "40" ad nauseum were great songs also...a complete album, very nicely done...

jltichenor@earthlink.net (James L. Tichenor)
This is, as far as im concerned, the only good u2 album. I totally agree with you on "New Years Day". So never say mainstream 80's didnt produce something good till youve had it out with this album kiddies.

cbunnell@ix.netcom.com (Rich Bunnell)
GREAT album. Still extremely raw compared to some later U2 albums, but the rawness is what makes songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" work so well. "Two Hearts Beat As One" is also a wonderful song, and the rest of the album is highly anthemic rock, such as "Like A Song" and "New Year’s Day," two of U2’s greatest songs. It’s a bit too raw to reach the full 10, but it gets darn close. 9.5/10

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
This album brought U2 into the mainstream. They now had a sound and a lot of people liked it. They still do as this is one of the fans' favorite U2 albums.

It's a great album and it's messages are all too clear. Peace in Ireland! It sounds really unlikely writing it here, but Bono belting it through 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' makes you think for a moment it could happen.

Larry Mullen (drummer) takes a strong hold in this album, banging out martial beats and practically being the whole band on the song 'The Refugee'. Bono has finally got some good song writing going on this album, but Bono says now (in the year 2000) that he can't listen to that album anymore for one reason...he says he screeches through the whole album. Personally, I don't think so, but it sounds so angry sometimes that I have a hard time not getting a little ticked at the things wrong with the world when I listen to it. 'New Year's Day' is one of the only songs I hear stray from that, but it [War] still U2 in their element and a very good element!

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
I'm very glad that so many readers think that this is U2's best album. I would have to cough up the 10 and agree, because this is just about as good as it gets from the goofily-named quartet. No, it's not perfect (I agree with Mark 100% about "Refugee" and "Red Light"), but the highs ("New Year's Day") are SO high that they obliterate any imperfections with the rest of the album. For me, no track is quite as luminous or powerful as "New Year's Day," but I have a great fondness for ""40"" as well. Not entirely sure why--it's only a fragment after all, and I can't even understand the words, but my! those harmonies are gor-gee-uss. Anyway, aside from the two slightly lackluster songs mentioned above ("Refugee" and "Red Light," not "New Year's Day" and ""40"" (Damn, I just completely removed the need to refer to those songs as "the songs mentioned above" since I just mentioned them)), this one's a beaut. If you think U2 is just The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby (not that those are bad albums, either), check War out and see how wrong you are. And how ugly you are too.

zaanpunk@hotmail.com (Michiel Heinicke)
A combination of the punky Boy and arty October. But that doesnt make this a better album. No. There are good songs here, of course the famous Sunday Bloody Sunday and New years day, but also Like a song and Two hearts beat as one. But hell some songs here are Crap!!! Seconds, The Refugee, Red Light, Surrender... eww no this is the first time u2 produce shitty songs. 7/10

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
This one was diappointing, you're right - it is straightforward guitar rock, and that's what bugs me, I really miss the arty vibe from the first two records. Also, a lot of these songs just are n't very memorable, "Two hearts beat as one" totally rules though! "Surrender" starts off great, but then just drags on for way too long, I give the album a 7.

Jcjh20@aol.com
Awesome record. Definatly one of my favorites. The production is dark and dreary, pretty much just like the messages in most of these songs. "New Years Day" (i agree, that one bit in this song is amazing), "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Two hearts beat as one" being the main classics, and also being my favorites on here. Other songs i really like are "Seconds", "Like A Song" and "40". I also dig "Refugee" for some reason, although ill admit its pretty dumb. Only song that doesnt do much for me is "Red Light", but besides that, not a bad song on here. 9/10.

scoggin@ecnet.ec
An 8, mr. P? I've been a major U2 fan since '83 just after this came out, I've heard all their discs a thousand times each and I can boldly say that nothing before or since can touch this one. J Tree is excellent, as is Achtung Baby (you blew it on this one too Mark) and there are prolonged moments of greatness on almost all of the remaining discs, especially Boy, however, never again would they produce such a brilliant string of pertinent, passionate, heartfelt, well-written SONGS, yes real songs that are catchy and they make you think and want to get up and slap around those who believe that violence will solve anything. In fact, it is of Sticky Fingers magnitude, and I don't say that lightly. Sunday Bloody, New Year's Day and Two Hearts are major classics, in fact Sunday nestles nicely among the top 5 songs of the decade. Red Light, Drowning Man, and Surrender are second tier only because the first tier is way too good, on their own they would make any other album a classic. Seconds, Like a Song... and The Refugee round things out and give the disc a battle cry feeling that fits the era and the overall theme. 40 is typical U2 finishing their disc with dignity. There is no pretentiousness here, no egotistical deviation that really started growing with Unforgettable Fire and reached its climax with Zoopoo and unfortunately continues to be their Achilles heel to this day (2005). On the contrary, it's clearly a group effort, with Larry taking a stand. It's got a personal touch to it that reaches out to each fan and inspires; all of which were reflected in their live shows of the time. Totally outrageous. 10/10.

rockylisa@yahoo.com (R)
The only U2 cd I ever gave a rats about. I guess AchtungBaby was ok. Ide take the Cure albums or Poisons first record over most U2. U2 War is a good record.

Live Under A Blood Red Sky mini-lp - Island 1983.

Reader Comments

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock" was the band's first single, released (I think) in 1979.

Blademate@aol.com
A damned good album. One of the best live albums I own, and probably the best U2 live album there is. All of the songs are good, the instrumentation is played well, and the non-LP songs are very good.

9402992h@student.gla.uc.uk (Dan Hackney)
There's a better "11 o'Clock Tick Tock" on the b-side of a 12 inch single, "Fire" I think. It just sounds slightly muggier, more live if you like. Judging by the crowd noise all of about nine people were there. Including the band. Which is amusing. Probably can't get it over there though. Ha Ha.

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
Okay, U2 could have gone into the studio for a couple days, pull out some shitty live recordings and made lots of money. Instead, they decided to really work at it and set up a video of it as well. They even include treats like the impossible to find '11 O'Clock, Tick Tock' and the glorious and beautiful 'Party Girl'. I would argue this better than some of their studio albums only because this is where U2 belongs and always has. They're a live band. And a very good one.

Even more so is the fact that they let little stuff like edge missing a chord and Bono calling him a 'guitar hero' slip through, showing that they're human and make mistakes. The album pulls you through and down into Red Rocks all over again. My only complaint is that 'New Year's Day' sounds horrible. Adam is going to fast and something is off in Edge's piano. Despite this it's a must have.

zaanpunk@hotmail.com (Michiel Heinicke)
A fantastic "best of the first trilogy" compilation. Man theyre good Live!!! (or WERE comparing it to the later Expensive show crap) It has all my favourite songs, I will Follow, Gloria, New Years Day, etc. and there are songs not found on the albums! 11 o clock tick tock and Party Girl are beautiful! One complaint, Why do i hear the Audience almost blowing up my speakers at the beginning of every song???? should have kept the volume down, but hey we have to hear how much applause U2 gets. But the music itself is really well produced. Dont buy 1980-1990, buy this one!!! 10/10

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
Great live album, I like how the opening riff from "Is that all" was tacked onto the beginning of "The Electric Co." - nicely done! I give it an 8.

mossinator@hotmail.com (Ian Moss)
Boy, Grandma, it sure would be nice if this album featured spacey guitars and songs that were all like 20 minutes long and sputtering saxophones and angry bass counterpoint and no singer and indie record distribution and the title "Swami Rock'n'Rollikenanda, Bitch!" and hairy armpits. But it doesn't. Therefore I give it a 1.

(four months later)

The Fearsome Foursome live up to their spy-plane namesake with this album, swooping in under the radar of my quality-album-consciousness and depositing a payload of live-action Steve Lillywhite goodness in my unsuspecting ear. Not that ears are known for their ability to predict spy-plane attacks, but tell that to my copywriter. Anyway, I enjoy listening to this album in my car, a 1992 Saturn SL1 with 86,000 miles, automatic transmission, A/C, AM/FM/cassette, power windows, power locks, front-wheel drive, and excellent maneuverability. Alternator recently replaced, oil changes every 3,000 miles, well-taken care of, no problems, 3rd owner. Record of all work done. This car handles like a dream! Enclosing my review I give my car a big fat 10. Too bad it's not for sale, suckas!!!!!!!!!!

(two years later)

Oh right, the album. "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" is exactly the same song as that other one on Boy, and Gloria, which means that it's great! "Party Girl" is about a girl named Party, if I'm not mistaken. You know how they always have those new sitcoms on the network and the title is some GOD-AWFUL pun on the character's first or last name, which itself was specially engineered in service of the grand PUN itself? Well, thank god they didn't try to make a sitcom out of "Party Girl," that's all I can say. Oh, wait, they DID!!!!

The others are okay, mega-#1-hits, best-songs-ever, ho hum. I could listen to "40" for about 40 minutes though. Seriously, in all seriousness here, I love that song. I wish I could wear it around my neck. And I wish Bono were some guy named "Ficus Mandellabaumanberg" and that he perfomed with a tree strapped to his back. But some things were never meant to be wished for, Virginia. That's why I'm giving this album an 8 and hittin' the road.

The Unforgettable Fire - Island 1984.

Plus, Bono became obsessed with America at this point, for some reason, and included songs about Elvis, Martin Luther King, and the 4th of July. Which reminds me - Do they have a 4th of July in Ireland? Of course they do!!! It's right after the 3rd. Anyway, cool your jets and smooth around to this lovely record that both rocks and lulls at the same time - even in the same songs!!!! The classic is "Pride (In The Name Of Love)," and, as I'd hope you'd agree, aside from the legendary lyrical flub (Marty died in the afternoon, not "early morning"), it's one of the finest songs recorded by an Irish guy ever. Including that fucking Van Morrison piece of shit. Fuckin' asshole goddamned shit.

Not that I dislike him, you understand. But with a first name like that, you'd think he'd rock a little harder, with guitar hammer-ons and crap.

Reader Comments

dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen)
Okay album. I really do not like "Pride" at all. It's way too upbeat. Maybe they wrote it that way on purpose, as opposed to the serious as hell "Sunday Bloody Sunday". But it just gets sooooo much on my nerves, I wince whenever I hear it.

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
Sorry, but this one is way overrated. "A Sort of Homecoming", "Pride", "Wire" and "Bad" are all fantastic, but the rest of the record sounds like filler. Instrumentals? Nothing against instrumentals; hey, Husker Du's "Reocurring Dreams" is a great song, and that one doesn't have vocals. But I thought U2 outgrew 'em after October! I give it a 7/10; it's easily their weakest record pre-Zooropa. I can't see it for anything other than a dress rehersal for The Joshua Tree, right down to the prototype "desert" cover. The Joshua Tree is one of the best albums of all time, period. The Unforgettable Fire is just okay.

Blademate@aol.com
This record is one of their best, by far. All the songs are well written and blended, even the singles, and on "Elvis Presley and America," they take only 2 chords and make it sound awesome. Now that's art!

djonesl@flash.net (Doug Jones)
Are you listening? This is U2. This is what happens when the spirits of four guys meld. Hear their pathos, their Christ, find America, with all its beauty and treachery. This is where WAR was going, and from where THE JOSHUA TREE was slowly pulling away. Listen closely. This is the zeitgeist of the 1980s.

wilkinso@muskingum.edu (Meredith L. Wilkinson)
I guess maybe it is just me, but even though I love all U2, this album just hasn't grown on me much. Aside from "Pride," which I can't help but love.

cbunnell@ix.netcom.com (Rich Bunnell)
Half of the album is good (the first four songs and "Bad") but yes, "Elvis Presley And America" goes on for too long without supplying any sort of melody, and the other songs, while I know they were pleasant, I can’t remember how they sound at all. It’s certainly a pretty album, though, so let’s say a 7/10, i.e. I like it when I’m listening to it, but I’m rarely inclined to, much like every Dave Matthews Band album.

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
This was a necessary leap for U2. Cut the overly political crap. U2 has a myth now, as political know it alls and it's time to leave that behind...Time to paint a picture. And a beautiful one.

'A Sort Of Homecoming' is the best start off on a U2 album that they've ever had. It kicks you right into it and immediately makes you wonder 'who is this? Where's the white flag waver we used to have?He's gone...but I still like it!'

It upset some fans, but they're true fans understood that the band didn't want to be a stereotype. Bono learns to write peotry, learns what a couplet is and learns how to sing again after shouting out his accusations on the last album. He's letting things flow and songs such as 'Elvis Presley And America' show this. Despite critics hating it, it's a beautiful song with lyrics (if that's what you want to acll them) that capture an important moment in the recording process. '4th Of July' is another one of these and, though the title comes from the day it was recorded and nothing to do with America, it displays the ability of U2's guitarists to work off each other.

It's a vibe album...an album painting a rather vague, but still intrigueing, picture. A damn good vibe album.

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
Sometimes I wish this Fire were more Unforgettable. Unfortunately, the album does not live up to its title, and songs such as "Promenade" just slip into my head and slip right out again. "Pride" and "Bad" are good, and "4th of July" is a pretty little itty-bitty ditty, but the rest is sort of, well, bland. Except for "Elvis Presley and America," which is so bad it makes me cringe. I think a 7 is about right.

wiklesz@poczta.onet.pl (Leszek)
Unforgettable Fire is absolutely one of the most singular U2's work ever. First album of U2 I heard and still I just adore listening to it. Eno/Lanois just set the fire that will never be put out by any other album.

zaanpunk@hotmail.com (Michiel Heinicke)
U2's first adult work. No more 3 minute up tempo beats. Theyre rockstars now. The Edge's delaypedal is the only thing that hasnt changed. Pride, The Unforgettable Fire and Bad did well in the charts but man, they're beauties! And this time, the shitty songs are at the end. After Bad, take out the cd! 8/10

amcquill@home.com (Andrew McQuillan)
It has strong songs like 'A Sort of Homecoming', 'Pride', 'Wire', 'Bad', and the title track but the rest isn't too great to me. I think Joshua Tree is much better.

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
Beautiful album! this was oviously U2 making the transition from their earlier hard rock sound into more ambient territory, The Edge was also at an absolute peak with his guitar playing here, and spins out tons of really clever, catchy little guitar lines (especially on the excellent "Wire") the title-track is probably one of my fave U2 tracks aswell. I would give it the 10, but that "Elvis..." song is just total crap, and at six and a half minutes - it's pretty hard to just ignore the damn thing, so I'll settle for a 9 out of 10.

uglytruth@hotmail.com (Hossein Nayebagha)
I got this album because I always got a kick from Edge's guitar. The result was the decision of never purchase another U2 album again (unless it's really fuckin' cheap).

One thing I notice is that "Pride" for some reason sounds out of place when you listen to the whole record. It's as if it was specifically produced to become a hit, and it did but, yeah, it's just odd.

There are some cheesy keyboards and just too much reverb, I know it sounds odd to say "too much reverb" about U2, their whole sound is based on that and it can be appealing, but I don't know, I guess there's a limit for everything. But, the main problem is Bono - he's a lousy vocalist, not that he can't perform well, he does a good job occasionally, but sooner or later, he'll ruin the song with his pathetic religious-style cries.

My favourite song on the album is the opening track. 6-7/10.

Wide Awake In America EP - Island 1985.

Reader Comments

Burney2061@aol.com
"Bad" and "Homecoming" totally kick ass and make this EP worth owning all by themselves; these live versions are way better than the studio ones...

jacktobik@worldnet.att.net (Nate Tobin)
Hey Blademate where are you man. I think that Wide Awake In America EP is one of the best. I GUESS YOU AREN'T A REAL FAN.

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
It's 1984 and with The Unforgettable Fire, U2 is finally getting some recognition in the States. 'Pride' top 40. U2 decides to release a little mini-LP of live stuff for the fans. A little four track EP for a reasonable price...for the fans.

I personally like it and have heard many a story for fellow U2 fans that the version of 'Bad' on this EP is what got them hooked on U2. It's a great live version. My beef comes with 'A Sort Of Homecoming'.

It's one of my favorite songs on The Unforgettable Fire, but the live version takes that punch it always had away. They get a grip on it by the end of the song, but the beginning of the song is sooo slow on Wide Awake... that I feel like yawning.

On the other hand, the two extra studio songs are very good. 'Love Comes Tumbling' could have fit just fine on The Unforgettable Fire and, though very simplistic, it has a creative magic to it. For some strange reason it has more appeal to me however when I hear on the B-sides album where you hear the band warm up slightly at the beginning before kicking into the song. Don't ask me, I don't even understand it. 'The Three Sunrises' sounds a little ackward and it definitely wouldn't fit on The Unforgettable Fire, (it might have it the whole song was like the beginning), but I still like it. Edge's guitar sounded different than what any of their fans were used to, but I liked it. And U2 has never really cared about the critics. All they care about is the fans and they made most of us pretty happy.

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
The live renditions are great, especially "A sort of homecoming" which actaully sounds better than the original, the outtakes are okay, nothing great, I can see why they got left off. I give it a 7, and will say that this e.p. distinguishes itself by being their last decent record, before they lost the plot and started grovelling up to the Yanks.

jaimoe0@hotmail.com (James Welton)
"Started grovelling up to the Yanks?" Yeah, Alan, because us Yanks so fabulously dig electronic dance music, which explains why Aphex Twin and Oakenfold just fucking burn up the charts over here. U2's Pop... as American as they come, baby!

Fine live renditions of songs that were great in the studio. That extended version of bad really shows these guys off as the monstrously strong live act that they are. See them if you get a chance, even at this late stage. They really are great live. The studio tracks are mediocre... serviceable stuff, but not up to their standards to this point.

* The Joshua Tree - Island 1987. *

So what? So the difference between this U2 album and those that came before is that they've mastered the creation of radio-ready art rock and somehow managed to make an album that doesn't kinda fall apart near the end ("Exit" is weak, but the album closer, "Mothers Of The Disappeared," is great). I think most folks consider this to be their best album - at least, I hope so. It's incredible. And NOT that by-the-numbers obvious melodicism that permeates the even more popular Achtung Baby. No sir, U2 were still all over it in '87. Lullabies for older babies. Bliss.

Reader Comments

Weigelda@aol.com
I've noticed that "falling apart at the end" thing, too. What is that? Every single U2 album has two things--a second side that's weaker than the first, whether marginally (Joshua Tree) or completely (Pop). And then there's that syndrome where the last 2 or 3 songs suck ass. Joshua is really the only one that's good for the whole listen.

dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen)
Call it a case of overhype or whatever but I probably would like this album a lot more if it wasn't so overplayed. Like Metallica's "Black Album", every radio hit hardened me to the album. The one exception is "Bullet The Blue Sky." That song is PHENOMENAL! I'll never get tired of hearing that one. Ever. It's the old U2, before they started believing all their press. It's the U2 of War. In short, it's the U2 that I remember.

HDVW143@aol.com
This is the only U2 cd I have and i really enjoy it. I usually don't listen to pop, but i made an exception for this one. I really like "With Or Without You".

jamesd@elink.net (James Vincent Debevec II)
I agree completely with Doug Swalen. It is a good solid album, but I've heard it all so much on the radio way back when. A couple of real interesting songs, but U2 for everyman basically. Yawn.

Blademate@aol.com
I don't care what anybody says about that "falling apart at the end" thing, it just ain't true. "Mothers of the Disappeared" and "One Tree Hill" are two of my favorites on the whole album! Just because the second part doesn't have any RADIO SINGLES doesn't mean it's not good! Gimme a break! But as for the rest of the album, it's probably the best thing that happened to the '80's. Believe it or not, it's still not my favorite U2 album, but it's great.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
If you must get one U2 album this is the one to get....but that's not saying much because U2 pretty much suck.....like the last 4 songs on this album are such crap. So get it if you want a U2 experience.. just don't get Pop.

djonesl@flash.net (Doug A. Jones)
This is a fantastic album. Many folks see it as U2's best, but the formula packaging and commercial selling out lamented as beginning with or just after RATTLE AND HUM actually have their seeds here. It's very subtle, almost imperceptible, and maybe I just won't allow myself to think the mass public seeks out real depth, that I find universal popularity fundamentally irritating (well, it is), but I just think FIRE is a more honest, cohesive piece of art. No doubt it was at the TREE where the world, once and for all, caught on to just how important U2 was, but the blood simple honesty we found on FIRE was now a shade less spontaneous, more accessible, more sampled, less courageous. Before, we were "wide awake" in a post-modern, post-Elvis, Western world on the brink of the unforgettable fire of thermonuclear destruction, yet celebrating the ultimate sacrifice of love (MLK, Christ). Now, we acknowledged that we still couldn't find what we were looking for but no one cared, as long as it sounded like U2.

But even the sound was established on FIRE--the tonal depth, Edge's layered guitar, Bono's passionate, soaring vocals--not on TREE. Seen as the climax by some, to me THE JOSHUA TREE was instead a wonderful denouement, with RATTLE AND HUM becoming a fond epilogue. Aware of its own oversaturation and afraid of becoming a parody of itself, U2 summarily left the building and was replaced by some futuristic, technoscratching, cathode-driven horror show. Given the latter, I shouldn't quibble with those who see THE JOSHUA TREE as U2's best. It's a fantastic album.

cshin@aecom.yu.edu (Cathy Shin)
Nothing like listening to this album while driving through JTree itself on the way to climb. A dream come true. A Brit I picked up at a Houston youth hostel in 1988 wanted to find the tree on the cover in the Monument. we drove around for hours looking for it and playing the album. Pure blue sky. Wonderful music.

arnoldnicholas@hotmail.com
If you could only own three albums, The Joshua Tree is right there with Dark Side of the Moon and Abbey Road as THE essential albums of the late 20th Century.

wilkinso@muskingum.edu (Meredith L. Wilkinson)
This was not my first U2 album, nor my last, but is the only one I can never ever get out of my head. Yes, I play the entire album in my head sometimes. It haunts me.

Scott Oglesby
J-Tree was for me the worst U2 LP; it retained all the pretentiousness they've had since day one and threw out any interesting music. It seems like it's all the same four chords (and in "With or without you," it *is* the same four chords, over and over again, until the song finally tires itself out or you change the station). The Edge has that strumming habit in nearly every track that reminds me of a dog scratching itself. The album is sort of pioneering in that a lot of three-chord slacker crap has made millions in the following years. Weezer, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Everclear, the Offspring, and many other "alternative" bands owe a lot to U2 for showing the way.

"Where The Streets Have No Name" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (along with WOWY) are the worst of the bunch, and of course got all the airplay. The U2 juggernaut crowded more interesting music off the air (the Kenny G effect). Between J-Tree and Rattle and Hum, which seemed like a plea for respect, I thought these guys were finished. Sure, they'd keep making records, but they'd all suck; either U2 had run out of ideas, or they had found a formula that works: cash out in a odd year, go for critical acclaim in an even one. Even if Bono singing with B. B. King sounds like the kid with his Fisher-Price bubble mover following his dad with the real thing.

But then Achtung Baby came out. I agree with your "7" (probably a C- on your curve) but at least some songs were interesting again. Now they're trying out different styles. They seem to have turned things around.

But that's all personal taste anyway. It seems that the people who liked J-Tree the best tend to like Top 40 music, watch a lot of television, root for the local sports team, jump on every bandwagon, etc. It's still interesting to read your page and the comments of others. Thanks.

swillhide@ocsnet.net (Susan and Brian)
You dont own this yet? You're just thinking about buying it? Come on! I hope you were looking at this review just to see what Mark thought of it, because it's only one of the best records ever.

Tell you what, if you're new at this, but you kinda like U2, and you want to get the good stuff, but you don't want to get burned, follow these directions:

1. Go to your job at Burger King or wherever. Clean the fryer out and scrape the grill some, go home; repeat.

2. At the end of the week go pick up your check. Tell them you're sorry, but you can't work today to cover for that chick that you hate, who called in sick.

3. Look at your check. $33.17!!! Just enough for two CD's!

4. Get your mom to drive you to the mall.

5. Walk briskly to your local chain-type record store.

6. Purchase this album, along with Achtung Baby, also by U2.

7. Tell the pimply chick at the counter that of course you already have these, but that you loaned them out to some jackass and you were afraid you'd never get them back. You can buy $33 dollars worth of CD's anytime, because you've got the dough to toss around. Get her telephone number and go on a date. Knock her up and get married. Have ten kids. Get audited and find out your twelve year old daughter is pregnant. Forget all these happy tunes and kill yourself.

It's really that simple!

See, I'm a big help.

malester@cpuinc.net (Lester)
"Exit" is the best song on the album!!!!!! and "Bullet the Blue Sky" is really cool too, with that spoken word bit at the end. the radio hits are the most mediocre songs on this album, too.

jgwilson@DELTA.IS.TCU.EDU (Jeff Wilson)
the last 4 songs suck???you have got to be kidding me!! two of their best songs are of the last four. EXIT kicks ass if u fast forward through the intro. and onetreehill is an excellent song....By the way, whoever said that u2 sucks, youre wrong. if they sucked so bad, they wouldnt have 80 million worldwide sales.

cbunnell@ix.netcom.com (Rich Bunnell)
Overrated—but isn’t EVERY album overrated (and underrated) in a way? Lots of people treat this one like the best album ever made, and I’ve also heard quite a few people deride it as underdeveloped and annoying. I wouldn’t give it a ten, but aside from the last two songs, which are still nice to listen to in a way, every song is good, even if messy ("Bullet The Blue Sky") or slight ("Running To Stand Still"). The first three songs are undeniable classics (well okay…people can deny them, but -I- love them) and "One Tree Hill" is also very well-made. I can’t help noticing that the "intro" to "Exit" is merely an acapella-ish 30-second reprise of the song before it. It’s still not the best album though, even though those who say it’s "gruesomely overrated" are going a teensy bit too far. 8/10

Kevman0001@aol.com
Aww...dammit. When I first heard this I said to myself "WOW! What a piece of work!!!" Then after reading the comments and listened to it again. Now I can't stand the second side, and I keep replacing this CD with "Achtung Baby" instead. The first three tunes are classics, "Bullet the Blue Sky" has some grrreat guitar work by the Edge but some amazingly stupid Bono lyrics and "Running To Stand Still" shoulda been a radio classic, but I guess four hit songs off one album is a bit too much; BUT HELL!!! IT'S MY FAVORITE U2 SONG EVER!!! HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM SLIGHTLY ROTTEN APPLES, HUH???!!!

bgreenstein@nctimes.net (Ben Greenstein)
Shame, Prindle. And I thought you were a real music fan. Sorry, this one just does nothing for me. Actually, that's not true - the first four songs are just beautiful, energetic, emotional pieces that knock me down every time I hear them. And - no surprise here - they're the ones that get radio play. However, after that, it seems that Brian Eno got tired of doing actual production, and just let the band do a bunch of weak songs without any energy whatsoever.

"Red Hill" is way overrated - a lot of fans like it, but it's actually quite boring. Maybe I'm just bitter because I expected it to have the "brass band" that the liner notes claim it does. And as beautiful as "Running To Stand Still" is, I'll have to say it lacks emotion - though that bluesy opening part is cool. "Trip Through Your Wires" is incredibly catchy, but, in all truth, I find it very irritating. "In God's Country" is even worse - now that's a piece of crap song. Sounds like Bono and Edge had both had lobotomies, or were on Prozac. Just disgusting. And "Exit" not only sucks donkeys, but blows them as well.

So that means the only songs on the second side that I enjoy are the beautiful "Mothers Of The Dissapeared" and "One Tree Hill." And as for what I said about "the first four songs" - I lied. Only three are great, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is kind of gross.

macdonaf@cadvision.com (Frank Mac Donald)
I am trying to find out some information of the song Red Hill Mining Town. Friends tell me the song is about a mining disaster in a small province in Canada. I think that in bunk, it seems to be a song about a relationship. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
They knew when they were in the studio for Joshua Tree they had a winner. But they never knew what it would really do to them...make them stars, celebs, but all that stuff would show up later on Achtung Baby. Until then, songs like 'With Or Withou You' grabbed them any pop fanantic's attention. The magic of U2 shines through on songs like 'WOWOY', 'Where The Streets Have No Name', 'Exit' and 'Bullet The Blue Sky'. 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' is a true gospel song, U2 style, and 'Running To Stand Still' has incredible emotion, something missing for the music of 1987. Joshua Tree was great because it was so much better than anything else out there and it was U2's best ever. It is not U2's best album however. It comes close, though, and U2 is becoming well-known for not making the same record twice. Everyone is playing great. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen have become an awesome rythum section, Edge is playing solos, (now that he can), and Bono has never sounded better. Enter Achtung Baby...

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
Amazingly enough, I, a U2 fan (they're my 5th favorite band) do not own this album. But my parents do, and I've listened to it several times--and you know what, it's not worth my time. The first three songs are played on the radio endlessly, and with good reason (although I did find Ben's characterization of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" as "kinda gross" to be quite accurate). "Bullet the Blue Sky," which is a GREAT song, is the only track on here that is a) infrequently broadcast over the FM airwaves and b) worth listening to on multiple occasions. Everything else...enh. "In God's Country" is OK, I guess. But the last few songs suck ass big time. Oh, about the petering-out at the end trend: absolutely right. It's true of every single U2 album (of the ones I've listened to, which is most of them) except for Rattle & Hum, where the opposite is the case. Oh, and the last two songs on War are good. But anyway...yeah. Get War or Achtung Baby instead.

msclguru@email.unc.edu (Michael J. West)
You know, I've tried and I've tried and I've tried and I've tried, but the Joshua Tree has just never done it for me. Of all U2's albums it's the one I pull out the least. Achtung Baby! Now THAT'S worth your money.

zaanpunk@hotmail.com (Michiel Heinicke)
I consider this album The unforgettable Fire part two. It also has the Beautiful hitsongs, this time: We're the streets have no name, I still havent found what im looking for, With or without you, In Gods country And i dig Bullet in the Blue sky. It makes me wanna break something! hehe. And well it has the same problem as The Unforgettable Fire, The lasts songs suck. (also songs 8,9 and 10!) 8/10

amcquill@home.com (Andrew McQuillan)
To the dude that said they don't suck because they sold 80 million records, the Spice Girls and Backdoor Boys probably sold that much, it doesn't make them good. It's the music that makes a band good. The Pixies didn't sell much but man are they awesome. Exit, Running to Stand Still, Red Hill Mining Town and With Or Without You are the best.

tgoodwillie@hotmail.com (Timothy Goodwillie)
Wow! I have never read such inciteful album criticisms! "The last four songs on the album suck." Great depth, thanks a lot.

The Joshua Tree was the first CD I ever owned and remains my favorite to this day.

In response to the person that said people that love this album probably like the top 40 radio hits...you are sadly mistaken. Read what REAL album critics have to say and talk to some REAL fans who own the album, or maybe even go a step further and trully listen to it. I realize by now its probably too late...you've already made up your mind about this one, but it's worth a try. The Joshua Tree was an artistic masterpiece. Get past the first four tracks, and you'll find where the album really shines. "One Tree Hill" is far and away my favorite on the entire record, with its passionate, surging tune.

Just because many of the songs are simple do not make them bad. Other than "Bullet the Blue Sky," with its excessive lyrics, the album is beautifully arranged and is packed with solid tracks throughout. It's one of those albums that I like to listen to on headphones in the dark.

Being a huge fan of U2 and rock in general, I just want to say that the album is THAT good people.

And hey, if the album doesn't "speak" to you, don't go writing that it sucks. Explain what sucks and why it sucks...it will make your comments valid and effective!

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
My god, this would have to be one of the most boring records I've ever heard. "With or without you" was a very good, and well-deserved hit - but the rest of this album is just painful to sit through, no energy, no melodies, not even a vaguely interesting atmosphere to any one song. An utterly worthless album, I give it a 2.

jesushchrist@seductive.com (Pig Millions)
U2 are IRISH you ignorant jerk. This may seem like a strange dedication request, but recently there was a death in our family, he was a little dog named Snuggles. No, start again. This is bullshit. No one cares. It's a lot of wasted names that don't mean diddly shit, this is bullshit. It's portable, too. It's been getting stronger all the time. Snuggles, he was a little dog named snuggles. THIS is American Top 40, this is bullshit. Fuck you. Here we go with the shit trying to find it. You couldn't find your fucking ass hole if you're fucking butt wasn't connected to it. You never have given out his correct address or a description of a car or what he looks like and all that information. You got someone there, I don't know who, but why don't you go knock on his door. It's impossible to make all those up tempo transitions and then you got to go into some dog dying. I don't understand it. Why are we doing these instrumentals, 'cause we got 'em? Would someone find out the goddamn answer? In the '60s there was a song called "Louie, Louie" they played it upside back, backside up looking for the dirty message. Hail Satan! Satan, Hail! I don't think the satanic message is there. Fuck. Snuggles. I'll be wearing a red and white baseball cap, ok? I'll whoop your fucking ass. I want a goddamn concerted effort, I want someone to use his fucking goddamn brains to not come out of an uptempo record every time I do a goddamn death dedication. This is American Top 40, right here on the radio station you grew up with Music Radio 1380 Fuck.

agalperi@midway.uchicago.edu (Andrew Galperin)
Am I the only one to notice that "Where the Streets Have No Name" is a complete and total ripoff of the Who's "Baba O'Riley"? And I don't mean just minor hooks - half the song sounds identical. Might I add that Baba O'Riley is more original-sounding, as well. Next point: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and parts of "With or Without You" both sound extremely similar to the opening track. So, that makes three ripoffs - one from the Who, and two from themselves. And they're the three best songs on the album, as far as I'm concerned. And this is on par with the Beatles? You've gotta be kidding me. These guys don't even hold a candle to Radiohead.

leahcim110@aol.com
U2 trying it`s damndest to place itself in the "Rock in roll Hierarchy" of Beatles,Stones,Dylan,... And with "Joshua Tree" they come close. Great songs that are as powerfull today as when first released. All four band members are superb,with Bono leading the way singing,screaming,crying all the way. This is an album which represents an outsiders view of America, The Massive promise of hope it holds for so many. The suffocating weight of living under America`s shadow, it really is an amazing album no american band (save bruce springsteen) might even attempt.Special honors must go out to the man who created the "SOUND and TEXTURE" of Joshua Tree the always overlooked Daniel Lanois. One of the 80`s best.

bylcote555@yahoo.com
PIECE OF SHIT.
This is the album where U2 cease to become relevent and begin their transformation into cartoons.

MatthewByrd@hotmail.com
Hugely melodic? Yes. Catchy? By-golly yes! Well-worded!? Yes! Produced by Brian Eno!? I THINK! Self-important? Well.... yeah. A bit lost? Yeah, but that's understood. The greatest fuckin' album ever made!? .... no. The greatest album of the last 25 years?..... no. The greatest album of the 80's? Not even close. The greatest album of 1987!!?? ... well, no, not really. My point is that U2 may be a talented band and The Joshua Tree may be an exhilerating listen but there is a bit more to rock 'n' roll than that........ but........ will I give this album a good review for the hell of it? Yes. An 8 1/2. Ok, ok a 9. It's a legendary album for a reason-it's pretty damn good. I'd take Sign 'O' The Times, Born In The U.S.A., Graceland (oh my GOD GRACELAND! Now THAT'S an exhilerating listen!) Rain Dogs, Imperial Bedroom and a few others over it (as 80's albums) though. It's still excellent.

fishpaste35@hotmail.com (Mark M.)
The guy who said 'Exit' sucks and blows donkeys is a genius. Back in the day, as those urban types would say, U2 & The Joshua Tree were so ubiquitous that you really did walk away from the Dire Straits and Simply Red racks to get them. I had tJT, and enjoyed it. Hands up. But God yes, it sucks and blows pompous 80s donkeys now though. Sepultura do Bullet The Blue Sky live and even they show it up to be the political turd that Bono has made a career out of hatching. Everything since Achtung Baby is just toilet. I cannot bear the arch, knowing, preening horror of it all. And the schmoozing with the Illuminati! Here's yer Nobel prize Bono, now get back to yer golden tower and don't make anymore records. Satan's not heard your Atomic Bomb album yet, so he'll have you a few juicy torments lined up for when he gets around to it. ipod-peddling, middle-aged, and irrelevant. Just like me, except for the ipod bit.

ricardo.nunez@poliformusa.com
… The Joshua tree is a good album, overrated, but good. It gets a bit boring after “Bullet the blue sky” and to tell you the truth, I find “The unforgettable fire” to be way more interesting and enjoyable. But that’s just me…

MatthewByrd@hotmail.com
I take back all I said before! A Beautiful album!

P.S. And why the hell does Edge have to play his guitar like a complete fag ALL the time, why do I always have to hear him playing a million different chords at once? WTF is that?

(several months later)

God..... what a great album. Mothers of the Dissappeared (however the FUCK you spell that word) is so great. Damn.

Mcshane123321@aol.com
10? Are you kidding?! Not all the songs are so great - "Red Hill Mining Town" stinks out loud, and "Bullet The Blue Sky", whilst a good song, sounds completely out of place on the record. "Exit" is definitely the most interesing track on the record. It gets between a low-8 and a medium-9.

PS you like U2 and not Echo & The Bunnymen? Ocean Rain is WAAAAAAAAAAAY better than The Joshua Tree. In fact; Crocodiles beats Boy (the debuts); Heaven Up Here beats October (sophomores); Porcupine probably beats War (you see where I'm going); and Ocean Rain thrashes The Unforgettable Fire. In terms of release dates, U2 only wins on the fifth effort (I'll admit that The Joshua Tree is quite a bit better than Echo & The Bunnymen's eponymous).

So, in conclusion, U2 is overrated because they sold alot of records, just like The Beatles (< The Kinks), The Clash (< Buzzcocks) and Pearl Jam (< Soundgarden).

Rattle And Hum - Island 1988.

One final thing about this album - it contains the most preposterous sentence ever spoken by Bono - right in the middle of "Bullet The Blue Sky," he starts preaching about those awful televangelists who steal money from the weak and the old, and in a thick Irish accent, his bile risen to its boiling point, he exclaims "Well, the God I believe in isn't short o' cash, MISTER!!!"

Maybe you'd just have to hear him say it....

Reader Comments

strider@redrose.net (David Straub)
The obscure tracks on this record make it worth it. "Hawkmoon" and "God Pt II" are really great. And yeah, "All I Want is You" is quite lovely.

Even my Dad likes the movie. As cheesy as some of it is (Larry sitting on Elvis' bike? COME ON) the performances are fantastic. I love it when Bono gives Adam a big hug at the end of "Bad". And Mr. Hewson's tirade during "Sunday" is just so cool. Fuck the Revolution!

Blademate@aol.com
This is simply a damn good live album. This proves even more than Under a Blood Red Sky that U2 can really play live. It's just a good rockin' collection, with one exception: the gospel choir must go. (This is the only real criticism I've EVER given U2.) But BB and Dylan kick ass... that's all there is to it.

markc@javanet.com (Mark Cybulski)
This is at best, 5/10. The album (and the movie) was nothing more than a real ego trip for these guys. They tried to potray this image as being a rootsy rock n' roll band. Didn't wash well with me, especially in light of the groove heavy Achtung Baby they put out three years later. This is way overrated.

wilkinso@muskingum.edu (Meredith L. Wilkinson)
I love "All I Want Is You" and "Hawkmoon" but most of this album seems rather bizarre and pointless to me. One complaint I have...they should have put the "Sunday Bloody Sunday" tirade from the movie on the album. It is one of my favorite U2 moments, and I'd like to hear it more often.

Burney2061@aol.com
Hey, I LIKE this album, it has some really sweet moments; again, they really shine as a live band, "Bullet" is at least as good live as the studio version, IF NOT better...the choir shit could have stayed on the cutting rom floor, "Sunday" added, and this would've been classic. Instead...just good.

streb@mail.sssnet.com (Dan Streb)
Why the hell are you calling "a duet with BB King" CRAP?????? "When Love Comes to Town" is one of the best songs they've ever done. Maybe it's just the fact that you and your Cows and even your own damn band LuMP suck at guitar and BB King is one of the greatest guitarists in all the universe.

sorry. just had to burn off a little steam there. I actually like Cunning Stunts and I bet your LuMP albums are way better than Live In Cook County Jail.

BTW Roger Waters' The Pros and Cons of Hitch-Hiking IS the worst album ever made.

swillhide@ocsnet.net (Susan and Brian)
What do you feel is the stupidest thing Bono says on this album?

Is it:

a.)"This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles... We're stealin' it back!"

b.)"Am I buggin you? I dont mean ta bug ya- Okay Edge- Play the blues!!!"

c.)"...well, the God I believe in isn't short 'o cash, mister!"

I swear, this album is all over the road. If this record was driving home on a friday night, then it could count on getting asked to walk a straight line for the fuzz.

The live cuts here are so-so. Well produced, well played, but not as stunning as the originals, plus Bono is very nearly unbearable with his bullshit speeches in the middle of almost all of them.

The new songs are hit and miss. The big hits are all good, plus I like the BB King thing, plus one of the others is good. The problem with these songs for me, though, is that aside from the hits and the BB King thing, they all sound the same. I guess that's great if you like this particular stage in their career, but to me, it just sounds played out.

Obviously, the band thought so too, because they took like a year off to create a fresh, new sound, and then another year fine tuning thier next record, using three or four cool producers and recording in Berlin, instead of some hole in the wall where Elvis and Johnny Cash used to record in the dark ages.

This one gets a six from me. It's a dead horse. When you flog it, sometimes it does something funny, but the rest of the time it just lays there.

How do you flog anyway?

Itchload@aol.com
Rattle and Hum is U2's worst. I'd give it 7/10. I hate the live versions of classic songs for some reason. They should have included the live version of Where the Streets have No Name instead. The 10 studio songs are mostly awesome though, it's just some of them are a little too "country" for me. A note: When this came out, a big U2 backlash came about. Sure it still sold very well, but the movie bombed and the media started to hate U2. Everyone accussed them of being pretentious and way too serious. SOO, they made Auchtung Baby which perfectly satarized pop culture. It showed they had a sense of humor after all. Don't get pissed at them because they changed, we the public caused it. Now, they're taking it too far with POP, but it still is good music. POP caused the second media backlash at U2, they were accused of being too trendy with "electronica"(come on, anyone who's listened to it knows there's only two dance songs on the entire album) They're in the studio now, how much you wanna bet they'll come out with something completely different without a trace of sytnesizers. Why would they just release a compilation of classic 80's U2 songs, I think they're forshadowing a big return to form.

melodie83@aol.com (Joe)
I grew up on this album in the late 1980's. I agree that the album should of been a studio disc only and not a live album then it would of been a classic. Desire Angel of Harlem everyone knows but there are other great songs Hawkmoon269,Heartland,God Part2 Love Rescue me are great songs All i want is You is great also .the live songs are okay I Still Haven't Found is cool except for the lady who shows off at the end singing is supposed to be fun not to show who's better.the Dylan song is okay but Pride is pretty boring .I give it an 8

DABaker@cadet.vfmac.edu (Darryl Alan Baker)
What's wrong with the B.B. King duet? I love that song.

charbono@hotmail.com (Charlene Granger)
Heheheeh.... Bono's kick-ass speeches are my favourite bits of this album. I don't have much time for the BB King duet either, but "Heartland" alone makes this album worth buying. And to the guy who reckons that Pride live has "no passion whatsoever" - ?!@#!? You need to watch the movie. They play SBS (featuring infamous Fuck The Revolution speech) - which on it's own is totally mind-blowing - and then go into the most gorgeous version of Pride (on the album, they place Pride after Silver And Gold, when in reality it occurred directly after SBS) which is healing, and goosebumpling, and oh-so incredibly passionate... i can't believe they put in such an energetic performance right after that incredible version of SBS. Overall this is my least-favourite U2 album, but i'd still recommend it ;)

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
America loves you. Praise left and right for Joshua Tree. Critics hailing you as geniuses. Millions of love fans. Rattle And Hum...hey, where'd all our fans go?

For some reason they act like you hit a nerve. Irish guys trying to be BLACK AMERICANS? Trying to play rythum and blues? Dylan? B.B King? The Beatles? Are they insane?

No, they aren't. They're musicians...they're learning, living. Okay, so they made a movie...it was good. Not real revealing, but good. Maybe not theater good. It had it's moments...it was really for the fans, not the critics. Which is good 'coz the critics don't like it. They think they're egomaniacs and the antichrist. Good God, it's just an album! No need to crusify them. So Bono said that thing about Charles Mansion and the Beatles. It wasn't mocking the Beatles in the slightest. It was looking up to them. 'We're fans too!' U2 says and the critics reply, 'Not if I can help it!' It's a great album. It's not the album their snubbing, but U2's image and the mania around them. 'God Part II'? Incredible! 'Angel Of Harlem'? It's okay. 'Desire'? A rock and roll masterpiece!

Rattle And Hum tells you less about U2 and more about the critics.

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
To me, the last four tracks on this album make it all worth it. First you got Jimi's "Star-Spangled Banner," which has nothing to do with U2 but is great in any context. You got yer live "Bullet the Blue Sky," which isn't quite as good as the studio version, but comes close. You got yer "God Part II," a really COOL little song...I can't really think of anything more to say about it. Hmm. And finally, you got "All I Want is You," a rare example of the non-smarmy-but-still-heartfelt-love-ballad. All in all, about 17 minutes of pure musical joy. Add that to 45 minutes of muddled, inconsistent U2 and you get a 7.

alanhaw@hotmail.com (Alan Hawkins)
I don't own this record, but I've heard most of it - and it just sounds like U2 giving America one huge blowjob. Pathetic.

Starchild795@aol.com
I've got to comment on this band just once because I think they are the most overrated band ever.Why do people buy their albums? They all sound the same! Basically U-2 have been making the same record for 20 years,except for maybe that ZOOROPA which also sucks a big one,please,somebody tell me what makes this band so great,I want to know.

junghans@hms.harvard.edu (Richard Junghans)
"when love comes to town" - was this song with bb king a collaboration only on the performance or the writing too? who are credited with writing the piece? i dont have the recording to check the liner notes.

The Hits - Island 1998.

The B-Sides - Island 1998.

Now then, about this compilation. It was released in two forms; a single disc of hits, and a double disc that also includes a B-sides disc. The hits disc is great, of course, except for a couple of weird decisions -- NOTHING off of October, but FOUR tunes from Rattle And Hum? Come on, not even "Gloria"? And where the hell is "Two Hearts Beat As One"??? That was the first U2 song I ever heard! And it kicks buttock!

And the b-sides? Man, but they had some surprisingly good b-sides! If you've got the extra marijuana, pay the dosage wank for the pisser. Some of the b-sides should definitely have been on the LPs -- they're just that good! Holy maloney!!!!

Reader Comments

bgreenstein@nctimes.net (Ben Greenstein)
A pretty decent starter collection (it worked for me), but it's missing a bunch of important songs. "Bullet The Blue Sky" is one, "Gloria" is another. And what the hell is up with all that crap from "Rattle And Hum"? "All I Want Is You" is pretty, but wasn't a hit, and "When Love Comes To Town" makes at least 75% of U2 fans cringe. They should have done a little research into chart positions and fan popularity before assembling a collection of hit singles and popular favourites.

charbono@hotmail.com (Charlene Granger)
Argh, now this gives me the shits. Of course, they're all great songs but they're not "The Best". What is the deal with leaving off "Gloria"?!?!? And that bloody remake of Sweetest Thing... the original is soooo much better. I have the same grouch with the B-sides. They include stupid "Love Comes Tumbling" but totally ignore the studio version of 11 O'Clock!! (not to mention Boy/Girl, Touch, Things to Make & Do, A Celebration....) *grrrrr*

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
You have to give something to the fans while they wait for the new album. A Best of could work...how about a B-sides collection? Why the hell not?

Too much Rattle And Hum. Dead on it's obvious that U2 is trying to erase October ('October' is squeezed in as an extra track after 'All I Want Is You', but who wants to listen through that yawn-inducer for it?) and glorify Rattle And Hum. Rattle And Hum was glorified to death. That was the problem and the reason for the U2 backlash.

'Bullet The Blue Sky' was a missing Joshua Tree link...'Unforgettable Fire' (title song) seemed a little out of place and is aging badly, but it had been released as a single in Europe so... Over all the selection's a little ify, but it still captures most of the U2 that was important. And it's worth it all for that incredible new version of 'The Sweetest Thing'.

B-sides? A masterpiece! Easier and more fun to sit through than the Best Of! 'Party Girl'? 'Spanish Eyes'? Bring it on!

zaanpunk@hotmail.com (Michiel Heinicke)
Could have been a good compilation if they had just left out the shitty Rattle & Hum songs, included Gloria and called it "Best of the Dublin years". Cuz face it, after they got so obsessed by the USA, they produced shitty albums. And including B-sides is a nice thing, but include a little more early work. Like 11 o'clock tictoc, Boy/girl A Celebration or Another Day. Under a Red Blood Sky is still their best compilation CD. 5/10

Achtung Baby - Island 1991.

This is just me talkin', you understand, but (and I said this about R.E.M.'s Monster too) I feel that overprocessed '90s production is no substitute for actual songwriting, and half the time, it seems like that's what U2 is trying to do here - pull the wool over our eyes with some snazzy studio tricks. I don't fall for it. The "rockers" are dull and most of the ballads are completely unnecessary in the grand scheme of the universe. I wouldn't be bitching so much if it weren't for the fact that this album, for me, signals the beginning of the end of this fine outfit. It's actually a good album, basically. But not up to Yoo Hoo's standards as set by me and nobody but. Classics include "Even Better Than The Real Thing" (which isn't, but it's got a neat guitar run in the chorus), "One" (a popular ballad that bores the shit out of me personally), and "Mysterious Ways" (which is okay and might make you shake your butt, but sounds stupider than the word "kedge" when placed next to "I Will Follow," "New Year's Day," "Gloria," "Pride," or any of their other earlier driving classics). Go ahead and buy it if you want. You'll probably love it. Everybody else does!!! Damn fools.

Reader Comments

levon@netcom.ca
Well this album is good for the 90's and probably their only good album in the 90's aside from the "Hold me, Thrill me, Kiss me, Kill me" single. It's some pretty good work. They came into the 90's very well with this album.

deeeeter@aol.com (Christophe Juliet)
I have heard U2 as they progressed to one of their best, the joshua tree. Loved the hits, "Bullet in the Blue sky" was a great rock song. But i gotta tell you, what really turned me onto this band was this incredible album. Not just a rock album but a great mix of rock and some techno aspects mixed in in the right amounts. My first listen to this album didn't leave me that enthused even though i had heard the many singles from the album on the radio. A great many listens to this one though brought out all the attention to detail that you pick out listening to these tracks. Ok, i know this reviewer is just into heavy metal so you are getting a jilted version of how good this album really is. As far as i am concerned it is one of the best you can buy. If it is any consolation to him, i also would consider back in black from ac/dc to be one of the best albums of all time as well.

Sometimes when you expect a band to sound a certain way it biases how you review a subsequent album that has totally changed style. In a perfect world all our favorite bands would keep up the quality and the style. Well, U2 definitely changed their style here but the quality sure didn't change. If you are looking for an album to buy, I guarantee this one will not disappoint and maybe even open you up to a new genre, it did for me, ...seriously. This one should be a 10! (And yes, i like ac/dc as well).

Weigelda@aol.com (Dave Weigel)
It's a step down after The Joshua Tree, but Achtung Baby is still U2's third best album. It took me a while to appreciate it, and I do feel they could have edited it down to 10 tracks, but I still love it. The greatness is in the non-hits; "Ultra Violet", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", "Acrobat", "Love is Blindness" and "So Cruel" are all amazing. And I kinda dig "The Fly", too. What about that part where Jeff Goldblum picks out his teeth! Ewwww. 9/10.

Blademate@aol.com
7 out of 10??? ARE YOU CRAZY??????
This is, without exception, the greatest album EVER CREATED. The processing isn't to pull the wool over our eyes; it's to ADD TO THE ART! The combination of brilliant songwriting, playing, AND processing is what makes this album such a piece of art! On a scale of 1 to 10, i give this album a 30! Every song is good; the cover and lyric photography and presentation is masterful and intriguing; the processing gives to the band what they couldn't have before, and opens up a whole new level. THIS IS ART! (By the way, it's also my favorite U2 album.)

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
I'd just like to say here to anyone that's reading this column to disregard what blademate says about every U2 album. What the hell is wrong with you anyway blademate? What's with this "wool over our eyes" crap?? And "add to the art" crap you throw in here with your reviews?? Next time you do a review would you mind telling us what your definition of art is. Because this is just another crappy U2 album; they're just a band, not musical geniuses that want to "add to the art". "Add to the art", "art", "processing"..just give a fucking review in a language most people understand. Get your head outta your ass and don't try to sound like you know what you're talking about by using big words..and metaphors...you're talking in circles and not really supporting yourself for why you think this is the greatest album ever..you just keep trying to sound all bad ass by saying "adding to the art", "processing"..next time give good reasons..the only logical reason I see behind your review for Achtung Baby was "brilliant songwriting, and playing"..that's it..next time tell why it's good.don't talk in circles with all this art bullshit and your fucked up "wool over our eyes" crap..dumbass.

jason69@sprynet.com (Jason Carter)
"Ultra-Violet (Light My Way)" - why was this not released as a single?

Burney2061@aol.com
Blademate, settle down--it's all good. I thought I was the only one who couldn't get enough of "Ultraviolet" that song is just so incredible; this album has it's moments, but I hated "Horses" and heard "Mysterious Ways" until it drove me to convulsions.

Really.

7 out of 10

swillhide@ocsnet.net (Susan and Brian)
What's wrong with you? I love your site and reviews, don't get me wrong, but you're so far off the mark on this record that it hurts.

Tell me this, would you really have liked it better if U2 had sat around and cranked out three or four more albums in the same vein as the last three? You'll probably say yes, but you'll know you're lying, because one of your most common complaints is that most bands ride a formula into the ground until they are no longer relevant.

If you can't tell that the pattern was getting played out by the time of Rattle and Hum, then you're blind. Never before has a band really recreated themselves as totally and as surely as this. When a band gets weak, they usually start doing live albums and greatest hits sets, but for this one, they took a look at themselves, saw what they were, and became a complete opposite of themselves.

This is probably one of the top ten albums of all time, in addition to just the nineties. No other album has half the energy of this one. Even the jacket is an explosion of color. No other U2 album has a cover half as interesting as this, and really, none of them ARE as interesting as this. Disagree all you want, but do it alone. The reason everybody loves this record is because it's so right. This is the best music this band ever did. This is the freshest music most people will ever hear.

I agree that the albums that come after are lacking... Something, but even ZOOROPA is great in ways other albums and bands will never be.

And giving OCTOBER a better review than this is just a slap in the face.

Maybe you should listen to this one again, and reconsider. I know you feel guilty for loving it, but you and I both know you've caught yourself singing "Mysterious Ways" in the shower.

And trust me, Bono's lyrics will never be as good as these again. "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief; they kill their inspirations, then sing about their grief".

jgwilson@DELTA.IS.TCU.EDU (Jeff Wilson)
this album is just pure genious. i think its far better than JT. i rate this album based on how good it is, not how many sold. even though this album did not sell as much as JT, it is way better. i dont find myself falling asleep on this one.

Shellb2k@aol.com (Tim Shellberg)
As a fellow critic, I've admired your often sardonic take on almost everything you've read, but on Achtung, we's got a problem. Full-on reversal of texture and outline, with a result as revolutionary as War and Treee.

Too honkin' tired right now to counterpoint you, but I'm accredited as a music covering writer. Would love to discuss this matter further and verify my credentials...

I'm at Shellb2k@aol.com. This album needs a counterpoint. You're WAY OFF!

Love what you're doing here.

cbunnell@ix.netcom.com (Rich Bunnell)
EXCELLENT. Even if the band is supposedly trying to "pull the wool over our eyes" as you say, the thing is that you have to look at it this way—even though the songwriting would sound weaker without the studio dancey gimmickry, that’s the POINT—WITH the gimmickry, the songs sound great. If the songs didn’t have lots of studio stuff, then there’d be quite a reason to complain. As for individual songs, "One" is actually a really good buildup song (though not the best song ever), and the "lame" stuff like "Zoo Station" and "The Fly" sounds good enough to me. The only time so far when U2 has successfully used dance grooves and synthesizers. 10/10

Kevman0001@aol.com
THE GREATEST ALBUM OF 1991 AND POSSIBLE THE ENTIRE DECADE. You should go out right now (regardless of what the clock says) and buy this, just so you can actually hear a U2 album that is lyrically unpretentious (seems like that whole Rattle & Hum thing showed Bono how NOT to write songs) and clever at the same time.

All the melodies kick ass; "Zoo Station" is a great industrial rocker, "EBTTRT" is, as Mark said, another great showcase for Edge's otherworldly guitar solos (plus the music video for this song rules), "One" has some of Bono's best words and singing (and that organ part in the beginning gets extra points), "Until the End of the World"...it sounds like Edge is litterally ripping his guitar apart in that solo, love that opening part of "Wild Horses" and "So Cruel" is slow and overlong, but the woman in the song is uh ... SO CRUEL (Oh! Now I get it!)

Second side: "The Fly." Was this a #1 song? It should have been! The best cut off the record. "Mysterious Ways" is a great blend of hip-hop and Eastern melodies, "Trying To Throw Your Arms Around the World" is an underrated classic, "Ultra Violet" a stunning rocker, "Acrobat" kinda gets lost in the shuffle, but is another excellent cut and "Love Is Blindness" has a really creepy church organ in the beginning and is a disquieting way to end the album.

By the way, what's with all this sexual imagery? A lot of it's pretty dang disturbing; sounds like the members were all having romance problems while making it. Even the title sounds like some German "marital aid."

Interesting sidenote: this was recorded in the same studio where David Bowie did his brilliant Low/Heroes/Lodger trilogy. U2 and Bowie even used the same guy--Brian Eno!

Melodie83@aol.com (Joe)
One of U2's most entertaining records one of there best records because it's so diverse you have a mix between ballads and rockers Zoo Station and Even Better Than The real thing are terrific rockers back to back One is an incredible song Bono's vocals are wonderfull his falsetto gets a real work out here also very touching lyrics some of his best,then you have Wild horses which is a U2 classic great chorus and vocals by Bono also the Edge really smokes on the ax on this one So Cruel is a okay not great side two is almost as good The Fly has great vocals by Bono Mysterious Ways is catchy but tired after hearing it about a million times on the radio ,Trying To Throw Your Arms is also quite catchy but UltraViolet is the best song on this side Bono's falsetto cries and the Edge's backup harmony are great the only downer is the last two songs other than that a great album I wish U2 could make an album half as good as this compared to there last few a 8 rating from me

bgreenstein@nctimes.net (Ben Greenstein)
The single best album the band ever put out. Doesn't sound one bit fake to me. Actually, it does - "Zoo Station" and a few others are shameless attempts to imitate "experimental" stuff like late seventies David Bowie. But, dammit, I like late seventies Bowie, and I like this stuff! "Beauty And The Beast" kicks it's ass into orbit, but I quite enjoy its several imitators present.

And a lot of the tunes aren't fake, or "electronic" for that matter, at all! "One," for one, is a super song - really emotional. It is beyond me how people can LOVE "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," yet call "One" boring. And I really like the funky "Mysterious Ways" - it may not be P-Funk, but it grooves along with the best of them.

I also think that the guitars on "Even Better Than The Real Thing" sound kinda middle eastern (and cool!), that "Until The End Of The World" feels like, well, the end of the world (but cool!), that "Wild Horses" is just okay (but still cool!), and that "The Fly" is the kickin-buttest song on here! How can you not love that awesome guitar riff, that silly falsetto, those cool lyrics (in my opinion, the only great lines Bono ever penned)? "The Fly" is a great song!

And check out those last two - dark and atmospheric, like I like 'em. I find this album immensely enjoyable. 10/10.

charbono@hotmail.com (Charlene Granger)
This is simply the greatest album ever made. This entire record is one poetic burst of emotion after another. Swillhide is right - they *could* have brought out a Joshua Tree II and III and IV - but then what? Instead, they did what only U2 could do - totally changed not only in musical direction but a complete image makeover. They were already getting flack when R&H came out, about being "pompous". They changed from a band who were put up on a pedestal by the media, (c'mon, you know they got soooo much criticism for being serious!) to a band who made fun of themselves. Since JT Bono had been portrayed as arrogant - so what does he do, but invent THE FLY, the embodiment of all he was accused of being. When put into the context of the times, the change from 80's to 90's U2 is almost predictable. But anyway, about the music. It's the best they've ever done. It's haunting, it's passionate, it's bold, it's intense, it's moving and it absolutely rocks. Bono's lyrics in Achtung are the best ever (every song!). Really, even The Joshua Tree is mediocre when compared to Achtung. EBTTRT is just as exuberant as I Will Follow, and Love Is Blindness' disturbing darkness is on a par with Exit. It's just pure genius. "So Cruel" is a *perfect* song - unimprovable. The drum and bass pulse liike a heartbeat, Edge's piano complements the rhythm - and then Bono's voice enters. Yet this album's strength is not it's lyrics - or it's guitar solos or bass or drums or vocals. It's in the perfect merging of these four individuals' talents, to form the complete whole essence of U2. Not a note out of place; this album is THE BEST.

eklawitter@earthlink.net (Edward Klawitter)
Once again stereotypes have taken over the band and America is fully sick of U2 and their serious man face. Time to "Dream it all up again". So where do you go? To a newly reunited Germany...Berlin in fact. The famous Hansa studios, where Bowie made history. Okay, so the place hasn't been used since then and is this close to being condemned. There's no deterring Bono. Berlin it is! The recording is going horrible, the studio's crappy and Larry [Mullen-drummer] says he doesn't want to be the world's most stylish and expensive juke box anymore, so another Joshua Tree is out of the question. Time for a change, but nothing's happening and Edge is almost ready to give up when BAM! There's 'One', a true gem. And everything comes far from easy then on, but at least it's coming. Time to chop down the Joshua Tree...ACHTUNG, BABY! 'Mysterious Ways', 'The Fly', 'One', 'Even Better Than The Real Thing'...wow, has U2 changed! 'The Fly' comes through radios and people think they're going deaf. This is U2?

Yeah, and isn't it kick ass?

"Damn straight" as the poet says.

imoss@northernlight.com (Ian Moss)
I LOVE "The Fly"!!! It's one of my favorite songs by anyone! I love the big riff, the way everything is low-down in register but because of the production you still get some menacing squeaks and hisses at the top, the way it totally but seamlessly changes character during the "angel" part, the way Bono sounds so damn EVIL, and especially that incredible guitar solo--the one that launches off of the aforementioned angel parts, starts winding and twisting its way through ridiculous phasing effects and heavy reverb, until towards the end of the solo there's this one moment where the phasing kind of "breaks over the top" and it sounds like the crest of a wave coming down from the top of some harmonious heaven. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

And there's plenty else to like, too! With the album, I mean. "One" is very sing-along-able, "Mysterious Ways" is catchy (although not one of their greatest), "Even Better Than the Real Thing" is nice. I like some of the non-hits too, like "So Cruel," "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World," and "Ultra Violet." Don't much care for "Wild Horses" or the last two songs, though. Petering out at the end again. That's why this only gets a 9.625. There was a one-tenth deduction for slipping on the balance beam. A little too much movement on the uneven bars, if you know what I mean. Not quite enough to vault into place as the band's best record. But damn, the floor exercise was good!

csarcher@hotmail.com (Cameron Archer)
Anyway, just have to add a comment on U2's Achtung Baby. I don't see it as their best, and it sure as hell isn't utter shit like Zoorapa or Pop-A-Bono, but come on. In my opinion, too many producers spoiled the broth. THREE producers are credited with producing or co-producing the album. It's obvious which way the three producers were going. Brian Eno wanted to reinvent U2 as a synth-based band, much like he did with Talking Heads. He comes up with most of the good songs on this album. Steve Lillywhite did a good job with the one track he produced ("Even Better Than The Real Thing") and kept "Who's Gonna Keep Your Wild Horses" from stinking too badly. That said, most of the blame for the hit-and-miss that is Achtung Baby falls upon the shoulders of Daniel Lanois. It's obvious that most of the tracks he produces himself orco-produces with Eno suggest that he wanted to turn U2 into a ballad-heavy band, which unfortunately encompasses more than half of the album. Unfortunately, a few good tracks does not a good album make, but it was a necessary retrenching from the mistake that was Prattle And Bomb.

Good Songs: "Even Better Than The Real Thing," "Until the End of the World," "Mysterious Ways," "Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World," "Acrobat" (mainly because Bono dedicates it to Lou Reed)
Iffy: "Zoo Station," Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses"
Lanois-Induced Crap: "One," "So Cruel," "The Fly," "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)", "Acrobat," "Love Is Blindness"

IMHO, 5/10. The last decent U2 album. Can't beat the Boy/October/War era, though. They should have stopped after The Unforgettable Fire. Oh, I'm sorry. Did I piss off all you Joshua Tree fans? Well, that's too fucking bad. Ha ha. See yuh.

goanga@yahoo.com (Dragos Stefanescu Goanga)
Look, I really enjoyed your reviews till I got to Achtung Baby

This album is THE BEST RECORD EVER by anyone anywhere anytime. And I think only All That You Can't Leave Behind could ever come close to this.

This album it's almost prefect - well, there's no such thing as perfection, and The Fly is only halfway perfect, because the verses tend to get a bit annoying, but it's wonderful nonetheless. And Edge's solo is just brilliant. Which brings me to another point - Edge's playing is the backbone of this record, and not the electronica which has almost the same value as the costumes in a porn movie. it's there, but it's not something this record (or the listener) focuses on.

Moreover, I think all the of the Beatles should feel pretty damn fucked by this record. I'm a huge Beatles fan, yet I'd rather have Achtung Baby than Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper and the White Album any day of the year. Including February 29th. It's THAT good.

By the way, have you noticed the symmetry of it? both sides feature six tracks - two rockers, a ballad, two rockers, a ballad. well, maybe Acrobat isn't really a rocker, but it's fucking intense anyway. I hate to repeat meself, but this is definitely the closest any rock album could ever get to perfection , and I haven't heard anything as fascinating in ten years. I know it by heart, from the rough sounds that open Zoo Station to the echoes that end Love Is Blindness, going through every single note played by Edge and every single word from Bono, and I still can't get enough of it. And I know I never will. If it were legal, I'd marry this record. Well, if it'd have me but anyway. If anyone still thinks it's not such a good album, I say listen to it again (LISTEN carefully I say - this is not bubblegum music), and if you're still not convinced, I'll give you a refund. Then again maybe you're just plain dumb, in that case, don't bother, it's not for you.

peace

Muggwort@aol.com
I don't really like U2's Achtung Baby. and it's not because i find it gene