U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
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Free Music Notes for The Unforgettable Fire
Free Music Review: A BEAUTIFUL, HAUNTING, TIMELESS MASTERPIECE
Hit: 5 Stars
U2 have always been a band of epic vision and uncompromising vision. From their first album, "Boy," right on through 1997's "Pop," they have continued to progress as songwriters and musicians. While albums like "War," "The Joshua Tree," and "Achtung Baby" are heralded as their best ever (and believe me, they are indeed remarkable feats), there's a certain quality about "The Unforgettable Fire" that makes it, in my opinion, U2's greatest achievement. I have never heard a more beautiful, haunting, or thought-provoking album. The amazing opening track, "A Sort of Homecoming," sets the tone for the rest of the album. Never has Bono's singing been so impassioned, and his lyrics so personal and full of emotion. The rhythm section is unmatched in their excellence (as usual), and the Edge shows why he's a true guitar visionary. The key tracks are absolutely stunning, but lesser-known favorites such as "Promenade" and "Elvis Presley and America" (featuring a beautiful, wavering Bono vocal, one of his finest ever) really do the trick for me. The album's finale, "MLK," is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard, and believe me, I've heard just about everything from everyone in my time. This ending song reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It truly touches a chord deep within my soul, and is a heart-wrenching tribute to the aforementioned Martin Luther King, Jr., who is the subject of the hit "Pride (In the Name of Love)", an equally marvelous track. Do yourself a favor and buy this timeless classic today. Even if you aren't a bonafide U2 fan, you will marvel at this stark, haunting, and simply heartbreaking masterpiece. A remarkable achievement that, 15 years later, truly stands the test of time. Unforgettable indeed.Free Music Review: Setting the Stage from the Broken Castles in Ireland
Hit: 5 Stars
i was five or six when i heard this album from my father's vinyl collection. at that age, you are easily drawn into anything that makes sounds (usually). for me, the unforgettable fire is an album that built on sounds as well as songs. but more than that... it has atmosphere.
there is of course the trademark songs: "pride (in the name of love)" is great (except i personally find it too overplayed) and the title track is heart wrenching (especially when i found out later that it was inspired by an art exhibit of paintings from survivors of hiroshima). "bad" is also great as well. not there's the issue of the so-called "filler" songs.
the rest of the songs provide a buttress for the major songs. "a sort of homecoming" is atmospheric and poetic (like early joyce... chamber music i'm thinking). "wire" is intense, angry and probably an early precursor to "until the end of the world" thematically. "promenade" is airy and idyllic. "4th of july" is airy and bleak (reminds me a lot of godspeed you black emperor in terms of atmospherics and a connection of apocalyptic ends). "indian summer sky" is similar to "a sort of homecoming." "elvis presley and america" - even if the lyrics are difficult to depicher (bono was under stress and strain becoming up with lyrics) - is an ambient piece that uses effectively a drum set (it's "a sort of homecoming" played at half-speed). then "mlk" is a great closer and one of the best tributary songs i've heard (non-cliché, simple, haunting and appropriate).
it is not an album for everyone. it is an album that enjoys creating atmosphere and whole complex universes upon listening as oppose to have something passively to listen to or to sing to every song. i like this album both then and now. and yes i really believe this sets the stage for their future endeavours.
Free Music Review: Unforgettable Indeed
Hit: 5 Stars
In their offtime between the 'War Tour' and the recording of "The Unforgettable Fire", U2 saw an exhibit in Japan about Hiroshima, which subsequently led to many of the ideas and images throughout this album. For this album, U2 let go of producer Steve Lillywhite, who had been at the helm of the group's first three records, and hired duo Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois(pronounced Len-Wa), a move that would pay off in more ways than U2 ever could have imagined when they made it. Eno and Lanios created a much more polished, atmospheric sound for and with the band, and it was quite apparent right from the opening chords of the record. To quote bassist Adam Clayton, on the transition between the end of the previous tour and this record, "It was either the end of something, or the beginning of something else...and The Unforgettable Fire was that new beginning". The castle on the record's cover(NOT, contrary to popular belief, Slane Castle) is very indicitive of the relaxed and wintry feel of this record. It's very quiet yet very loud at the same time. Highlights include anthem classic "Pride(In The Name Of Love)", the title track(which also happens to be one of the more orchestral tracks in U2's catalog), "The Unforgettable Fire", live classic "Bad", the opener, "A Sort Of Homecoming", "Indian Summer Sky", and the closer, "MLK", which is a rather comforting yet heartbreaking song about death(MLK's in particular). This is a great and even magical record in its own right, it went perhaps deeper musically, it was perhaps more sophisticated, than anything U2 had done before it, U2's second masterpiece if you ask me, yet it is still only a prelude, by most standards, to what comes next.
Free Music Review: U2's secret masterpiece...
Hit: 5 Stars
Probably the best band of the 80's and early 90's U2 have made a lot of great album. The Unforgettable Fire, passed almost unnoticed betweeen the amazing live set "Under a Blood Red Sky" and the popular breaktrough album "Josuah Tree" and it's a shame. To start with, I have never heard in any other U2 album (or any other band for that matter) such a perfect mix of guitar and keyboards. This perfect compromise resulting in such a unique sound on all the album might be due to the addition of producer Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois to the U2 team. The production itself is magnificient and for those who enjoyed more techno & alternative U2 album's like Achtung Baby, it all started here. The lyrics are also of a superior making. Bono had started his obscession on america and it's philosophy, but unlike the Josuah Tree and Rattle and Hum were the lyrics could sometimes sound pretentious or sanctimonious in Unforgettable Fire the lyrics are just strangely distant and beautiful, almost like poetry. This along with the almost hypnothic interplay between guitar and keyboards supported by great bass lines and impeccable drumming makes for a very relaxing, yet addictive record that encourages the listener to reflect on the various themes aborded by Bono (Such important themes as the bombing of Hiroshima, the life and death of Martin Luther King and the concept of entertainment and fame in America.) In conclusion unforgettable fire might lack the commercial appeal of the Josuah Tree, the in your face rock punch of War or Under a Blood Red Sky or the alternative coolness of Achtung Baby but it stand alone lyrically and musically as a perfect cocktail of all these elements that made U2 such a great band and in the end might be their real masterpiece.Free Music Review: my favorite U2 release to date
Hit: 5 Stars
Of all the impressive, oftentimes brilliant releases served up by U2 over the years, 'The Unforgettable Fire' still ranks as the most satisfying for me. From the angry, raw-edged 'War', through what might be their most complete release, 'Achtung Baby', and up to their current release, 'All That You Can't Leave Behind', U2 has never failed to impress me with their musicality and depth, and it is really no surprise that they have been so successful for so long. They simply make great music.'The Unforgettable Fire' is not a flawless piece of work, however. I think that the most popular single, 'Pride', is a little too repetitive, if classic U2 in sound. An often overlooked gem is the short cut, 'Wire', which comes and goes with surprising brutality. Very edgy, very, very good stuff!
My choice (and many others') for the single masterpiece on this album is clearly the cut, 'Bad'. It has everything that you could ask for in a perfect U2 song-- musicianship, soaring Bono vocals sweetly done and profoundly moving, and the Edge's trademark guitar sound is always prominent, distinctive, and wonderfully varied.
While 'Unforgettable Fire', 'MLK', and other tracks also hold up well over time, it is fair to say that this record is a little uneven overall. I can't say that this is U2's absolutely strongest release from top-to-bottom (that honor surely must go to 'Achtung Baby' or 'War', and even 'Joshua Tree' and the latest release are worth that consideration), 'The Unforgettable Fire' offers us a glimpse of what U2 are capable of doing in their finest moments. And surely, some of those finest moments ever are captured on 'Bad' and 'Wire'.