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Showing posts with label U2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U2. Show all posts

Monday, 30 October 2017

Rewind: All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2 (2000)


 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2
Island Records
Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno
Released 30th October 2000
UK Chart #1
Irish Chart #1
US Chart #3
Canadian Chart #1
Australian Chart #1
New Zealand Chart #1
Austrian Chart #1
French Chart #1
German Chart #1
Italian Chart #1
Swedish Chart #1
Spanish Chart #1
Dutch Chart #1
Finnish Chart #1
Norwegian Chart #1
Belgian Chart #1
Danish Chart #2
Polish Chart #2
Swiss Chart #2


 Listen to All That You Can't Behind Here:

Personnel
U2
    Bono – vocals, guitar, synthesisers (Stuck In A Moment)
    The Edge – guitar, piano, vocals, synthesisers (Elevation), strings (Kite)
    Adam Clayton – bass guitar
    Larry Mullen Jr. – drums, percussion

Additional musicians
    Brian Eno – synthesisers, programming, backing vocals, string arrangement
    Daniel Lanois – backing vocals, additional guitar
    Paul Barrett – brass (Stuck In A Moment)


Singles on All That You Can't Leave Behind
Click On The Links To Listen
 CD1
03. Always

CD2

01. Beautiful Day

Released 9th October 2000
UK Chart #1
US Chart #21

CD1

CD2

01. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of

Released 29th January 2001
UK Chart #2
US Chart #52


 CD1
01. Elevation (Tomb Raider Mix)    
02. Elevation (Escalation Mix)
03. Elevation (The Vandit Club Mix)

CD2

Released 12th June 2001
UK Chart #3

CD1

CD2
01. Walk On (Video Version)    
02. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of (Acoustic)

Released 19th November 2001
UK Chart #5

****************
 

This was the album that got me back listening to U2 again. I had been disappointed for a number of years by Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop (though over the years there are songs on each of those albums that I have come to actually like). I had felt that their move into a more experimental "dance" and "electronica" infused sound was not really for me and so All That You Can't Leave Behind represented (at least to my mind) a bit of a return to form. Now, I know some of my friends who are fans of U2 might object to that, and some have tried to encourage me to delve into what they consider some of their finest work with the likes of Achtung Baby etc but where Rolling Stone had considered The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby as two of their "masterpieces" (All That You Can't Leave Behind was considered as their third!) my own thoughts were that The Joshua Tree and it's forerunner The Unforgettable Fire had that particular mantle!

The first hint to me of a bit of a new sound came in the form of the early October release of the first single Beautiful Day. The single became their 4th #1 on the UK Singles Chart.

 The album as I mentioned seemed to me like a bit of a return to the "old U2". The album cover - black and white, photographed by Anton Corbijn in the departure terminal at Charles de Gaulle in Paris gives an impression of the band "going home". 

Even the inclusion of J33-3 on the Gate Departure notice was a little sign maybe of a clearer spiritual view than had been present on the former three albums (J33-3 referencing Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call unto me and I will answer thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not." Bono would often refer to that particular verse as "God's phone number". Like it or not, Spirituality is a theme that runs throughout the album from the Biblical imagery of the Book of Genesis found in the opening track Beautiful Day to the closing track Grace ("Grace, it's the name for a girl/It's also a thought that changed the world")!

 The album contains some of my favourite lyrics of theirs, here's just a few of them:
"What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow" 
- Beautiful Day

"And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if your way should falter
Along the stony pass
It's just a moment
This time will pass" 
- Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of

"Love, lift me out of these blues
Won't you tell me something true
I believe in you"
- Elevation

"Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you steal
All this you can leave behind
All that you reason
All that you sense
All that you speak
All you dress up
All that you scheme"
- Walk On

"Did I waste it?
Not so much I couldn't taste it
Life should be fragrant
Roof top to the basement"
- Kite

"So I try to be like you
Try to feel it like you do
But without you it's no use
I can't see what you see
When I look at the world"
- When I Look At The World

"In the stillness of the evening
When the sun has had its day
I heard your voice a-whispering
Come away child"
- New York

"What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things"
- Grace

If I was pressured into saying what my favourite song on the album is it would probably be a three-way tie between Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Walk On and Kite.

The album and all of the singles would win Grammy Awards and to date it has sold over 12 million copies.

There would be a deeper appreciation for some of the songs on the album after 9/11 when the band appeared as part of the 9/11 America: A Tribute To Heroes television benefit show where they performed a snippet of Peace On Earth followed by a rousing performance of Walk On.
Bonus


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Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Rewind: 1983 - War - U2



War - U2
Island Records
Produced by Steve Lilywhite
Released 28th February 1983
UK Chart #1
US Chart #12



Side 1

Side 2


Singles on War


Released 1st January 1983
UK Chart #10
US Chart #53



Released 21st March 1983
UK Chart #18
US Chart #108

Sunday Bloody Sunday was also released as a single in some parts of Europe (like Germany and The Netherlands). Endless Deep or Two Hearts Beat As One was on the B-Side though the 12" in The Netherlands had Sunday Bloody Sunday on the A-Side and Two Hearts (a US Remix) and New Year's Day on the B-Side.
Released 21st March 1983
Dutch Chart #16


 40 (How Long) / Two Hearts Beat As One
Germany Only Double A-Side Promo Single
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War, the third studio album from Ireland's U2 was a very different beast to their second album October (which to some was considered a major disappointment). Steve Lilywhite broke his normal rule of not working with a band more than two times and came back to produce what is seen as one of the band's finest albums.

The album knocked Michael Jackson's Thriller off the top of the charts to become the band's first #1 album in the UK (it actually entered the charts at the top position) and also gave them a much deserved hit in the USA as they had worked hard at "breaking" the US market through extensive touring beforehand and on the War Tour that was to follow (supported by up and coming Welsh band The Alarm) they would begin playing much bigger venues.

The theme of the album was different to the first two albums which had dealt with issues of growing up and spirituality, on this one they would be at their most overt politically dealing with both the physical and emotional aftermath of warfare in its various guises throughout the world as they saw it.

In an interview with Adrian Thrills for the NME Bono said, "A lot of the songs on our last album were quite abstract, but War is intentionally more direct, more specific. But you can still take the title on a lot of different levels. We're not only interested in the physical aspects of war. The emotional effects are just as important, 'the trenches dug within our hearts'. People have become numb to violence. Watching the television, it's hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction. One minute you see something being shot on The Professionals, and the next you see someone falling through a window after being shot on the news. One is fiction and one is real life, but we're becoming so used to the fiction that we become numb to the real thing. War could be the story of a broken home, a family at war."

The album opens with Sunday Bloody Sunday, and man is it a powerful way to start an album! The almost military style beat of Larry's drums, the violin played by Steve Wickham (who The Edge had met at a bus stop and had asked if the band required any violin on their latest recording!) and the lyrics and that amazing guitar riff penned by The Edge set the tone for one of U2's most ardent protest songs ever regarding The Troubles and the violence of the IRA and British Soldiers in Northern Ireland! It was released as a single in Germany and The Netherlands

Seconds deals with the issue of Nuclear weapons and whether or not that armageddon could occur via an accident! When you think today that the nuclear codes are in the hands of one Donald Trump who on his best day is not the most stable of men then it makes a song like this even more pertinent! The Edge takes lead vocal on this one.

New Year's Day followed and what begun as Adam trying to figure out the bass line for Fade to Grey by Visage became this iconic opening for a song that had begun as a love song to Ali Hewson (Bono's wife) broadened out to embrace events that were happening in Poland with the whole issue of the Solidarity Movement. In the same interview quoted above for the NME Bono said of the song, "It would be stupid to start drawing up battle lines, but I think the fact that 'New Year's Day' made the Top Ten indicated a disillusionment among record buyers. I don't think 'New Year's Day' was a pop single, certainly not in the way that Mickie Most might define a pop single as something that lasts three minutes and three weeks in the chart. I don't think we could have written that kind of song." Released on New Year's Day in 1983 as a single it would become their first Top 10 single in the UK and their first US charting single.

Two Hearts Beat As One was another track that was released as a single and reached #18 in the UK but didn't do too well in the USA (reaching #101).

The closing track 40 was laid down in the studio during the final hours of recording the album. Adam had already left for the day and so The Edge plays both guitar and bass parts (in concert Adam would play guitar and The Edge the bass for this show closer) and along with Bono and Larry who thought the album didn't have such a strong closing song crafted this little song based around Psalm 40.

The album was titled War for several reasons; in the same interview already quoted from the NME in 1983, Bono said, "War seemed to be the motif for 1982," adding that "Everywhere you looked, from the Falklands to the Middle East and South Africa, there was war. By calling the album War we're giving people a slap in the face and at the same time getting away from the cosy image a lot of people have of U2." The Edge said that "It's a heavy title. It's blunt. It's not something that's safe, so it could backfire. It's the sort of subject matter that people can really take a dislike to. But we wanted to take a more dangerous course, fly a bit closer to the wind, so I think the title is appropriate."

Music Press Reaction To War
Upon its release, several reviews were negative in the United Kingdom. Gavin Martin of NME made a parallel between 1980's Boy and War, stating that "where Boy shone and flowed War is dull and static, and where Boy propelled lucid pellets of fire and imagination War cranks out blank liberal awareness"; he felt that after the single "New Year's Day", which he considered as "their finest single since "I Will Follow", War "declines quite dramatically", ultimately calling the album "another example of rock music's impotence and decay". Sounds shared a similar point of view, recognising that the two singles were "by far the strongest tracks" on War, but that "for the remainder, they are a (dejected sounding) mixture of the incomplete, the experimental (in the simplest sense) and the plain sub-standard."

Rolling Stone published a favourable review, with critic J. D. Considine stating: "Generally, the album's musical strengths are largely the product of well-honed arrangements and carefully balanced dynamics. Even as the Edge spins increasingly sophisticated guitar lines, he maintains the minimalist bluntness that sparked Boy. And while bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. have swung to more dance-oriented rhythms, their songs hurtle along with the sort of brusque purposefulness more frequently associated with punk." Considine added: "the songs here stand up against anything on the Clash's London Calling in terms of sheer impact, and the fact that U2 can sweep the listener up in the same sort of enthusiastic romanticism that fuels the band's grand gestures is an impressive feat. For once, not having all the answers seems a bonus." (I think I would seriously have to question whether these songs stand up to anything that's on London Calling!)


Bonus U2 Live On The War Tour
 
 And probably their most famous show of the whole War Tour due to its release on Video:

5th June 1983

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Monday, 9 January 2017

U2 To Tour The Joshua Tree in 2017

The Joshua Tree - U2
Island Records
Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno
Released 9th March 1987
UK Chart #1
US Chart #1

Also #1 in a number of other Countries

.
 Side One

Side Two

There is also a Promo of the album that was released in a Pizza Box!
 



Personnel
U2
    Bono – lead vocals, harmonica, guitars
    The Edge – guitars, backing vocals, piano
    Adam Clayton – bass guitar
    Larry Mullen Jr. – drums, percussion

Additional performers
    Brian Eno – keyboards, DX7 programming, backing vocals
    Daniel Lanois – tambourine, Omnichord, additional guitar, backing vocals
    The Armin Family – strings (One Tree Hill)
    The Arklow Silver Band – brass (Red Hill Mining Town)

Notes On Singles Released From The Joshua Tree



March 1987
 UK Chart #4
US Chart #1


 
May 1987
UK Chart #6
US Chart #1




September 1987
UK Chart #4
US Chart #13




US and Canadian Release
November 1987
US Chart #44
Canadian Chart #25
UK Chart #48 (On Import)


A Trip Through Your Wires    
B1 Luminous Times (Hold On To Love)    
B2 Spanish Eyes    
B3 Silver & Gold

12" Promo Released only in Australia and New Zealand
Radio Sampler Not For Sale
****************

UK and European Tour Dates

For North American Tour Dates and further information Go To U2's Official Website.

The official announcement came to today of the dates for what is bound to be one of the hottest tickets on the Concert Calender this year - The 30th Anniversary Celebration of The Joshua Tree.

This will no doubt evoke great memories of that 1987 Tour where U2 seemed to become one of the biggest live acts on the planet!

Just a Few Shows from the 1987 Tour
US Leg 1: 2nd April - 16th May
 
Europe Leg 2: 27th May - 8th August
 
US & Canada Leg 3: 10th September - 20th December
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Thursday, 20 October 2016

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 294 - U2

Boy - U2
Island Records
Produced by Steve Lilywhite
Released 20th October 1980
UK Chart #52
US Chart #63



A1 I Will Follow    
A2 Twilight    
A3 An Cat Dubh    
A4 Into The Heart
A5 Out Of Control    
B1 Stories For Boys    
B2 The Ocean    
B3 A Day Without Me    
B4 Another Time, Another Place    
B5 The Electric Co.    
B6 Shadows And Tall Trees 

Personnel
    Bono – lead vocals
    The Edge – guitar, backing vocals
    Adam Clayton – bass guitar
    Larry Mullen, Jr. – drums

Singles on Boy
A-Side: A Day Without Me
B-Side:Things To Make And Do
August 1980
Did Not Chart 

From the NME 16th August 1980:
"A jaunty pop record filled with interesting noises. U2's third single would be a wonderful soundtrack for a film of people hang-gliding (plenty of upward shots into the sun), or the more modern type of soft-drink commercial. Make no mistake, this is the sound of '67! This is the sort of record that happened when drugs met progressive pop, and I can put my hand on my heart and truthfully state that I would have bought this single without a second's hesitation when I was 16. Mine's a 7-Up".
- Charles Shaar Murray. 

A-Side: I Will Follow 
October 1980
Did Not Chart



Taken from the NME 15th November 1980:
"Running Bow Wow Wow a dangerous close second - as though competition should matter that much - comes this cut from U2's debut album. 'I Will Follow' stands out from the drab ranks of dull-but-worthies and just-plain-awfuls, distinctive for the strength of its individuality, the way that U2 actually seem to believe in the song. Brittle guitar gibbers away over a dense, muffled, driving beat; the number pushes forward with such propulsion it starts to soar - over and away from heavy rock's leaden limitations. Two or three more of this standard and we could have declared this A Decent Week."
- Paul Du Noyer 

Notes:
26th September 1979
The Three EP was the Debut record from U2 and released on CBS Ireland.
Out of Control and Stories for Boys were re-recorded for the album, and a live version of Boy/Girl appeared as the B-Side to I Will Follow.


26th February 1980
CBS Ireland

Twilight was also re-recorded for the album.


 
Island Records
16th May 1980
Did Not Chart

I'm not totally sure why it was but 11 O' Clock Tick Tock received a review on the 9th August 1980 (three months after it was released!) in the NME, penned by one of their biggest supporters Paul Morley:

"Not enough attention has been paid to this one. U2's determined anti-single is a non-hit of beauty if there was one from a band who have 'hit singles' stacked up ready to wake the dead. It's a good sample of Martin Hannett's genius - his is not just a physical technique, but abstract also. Compare the orthodox dynamics of U2's 'Out of Control' with the spacious and uneasiness of '11 O' Clock Tick Tock'. Hannett has transformed the group, allowing the metaphysical space to roam through, letting each individual come out of himself. This single is a masterpiece, U2 growing up before anyone's had a chance to say they are childish. Single of the Year along with 'Love', 'Treason', 'Floorboards', 'She's Lost Control', 'C30, C60, C90 Go' and 'How I Wrote Elastic Man'."

All of these tracks appeared on the 2008 Remasterd Deluxe Edition of the Album

*********************

Way back in 1980 there was a band comprising of four lads from Dublin, Ireland, called U2. This was a long time before Bono Vox became spokeperson for causes across the globe and the stage was like a giant play park to him. It was when Adam Clayton looked like that sixth former from your school who did as little work as possible and yet somehow managed to get the top grades. The Edge at this period had no time for beanie caps or hats as he was sporting a full on follical explosion on his noggin. And baby-faced Larry Mullen Jnr seriously looked like he had just broken out of primary school and was pounding the drums because there was nothing else to do!

I was quite fortunate to have seen U2 quite a few times prior to their Debut album at the Half Moon in Herne Hill and at The Marquee during their residency (having the cushy little job as glass collector meant I got to see a lot of interesting bands). I actually thought they were pretty good live, a bit rugged in places, but they were still learning and discovering the sound they wanted (no doubt the likes of Martin Hannett and Steve Lilywhite enabled them to get there a bit quicker). Within the same set you would often get moments of sheer brilliance when the music soared and you would get moments of sloppiness due to their youthful exuberance but as I said they were still on a learning curve and would get much better and fewer mistakes (the shows at the Marquee demonstrated a real sense of growth as they improved week by week).

Many people go on about what U2's best album is (and they've had a few good ones and some, in my opinion that were not very good at all!) and it's a hard decision to come to and because everyone is different you are bound to get various answers if you ask the question. I personally love The Unforgettable Fire above say The Joshua Tree but their debut album, Boy, is one to which I return more frequently than any of their albums.

The Album is Thirty Six years old today.


What The Crtiics Said About Boy*
 In the UK, the reviews were favorable. Paul Morley of NME praised the album as "honest, direct and distinctive" (Morley's review is worth reading again in full see NME Originals U2 p16), while Betty Page of Sounds dubbed the band the "young poets of the year". Melody Maker hailed it as a "rich" record, with reviewer Lyndyn Barber writing that "Boy is more than just a collection of good tracks assembled in an arbitrary order", and that it had "youthful innocence and confusion". The Guardian wrote that it was a "strong debut album", but that "it only needs slightly stronger melodies to be very impressive". Time Out's critic Ian Birch hailed Boy as a "timely" album and said, "Firing off a tradition laid down by the like of Magazine, [Siouxsie and] the Banshees and Joy Division, U2 have injected their own brand of grace and sinewy spaciousness to create a romanticism exactly right for those who sport chunky riffs and mackintoshes". Declan Lynch of Irish magazine Hot Press remarked that he found Boy "almost impossible to react negatively to".
   
*All of this section was info on U2's Wikipedia Page



 Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!
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