U2 "Songs of Surrender" (2023)

Songs of Surrender

release date: Mar. 17, 2023

format: digital (40 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]

producer: The Edge [aka David Evans]

label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Album by U2 released as a new studio album, which means it succeeds Songs of Experience (Dec. 2017). The album comes in a standard 16 tracks edition (1 disc cd / 2 lp vinyl), or a 'Deluxe Edition' (4 disc cd / 4 lp vinyl) and a number of special issues. At a first glance it could look like a clever marketing construct as all songs here are newly recorded mostly acoustic versions of old songs - all compiled and put together by The Edge, who has 'invited' Bono to put new vocal arrangements to the recordings. Half of the band didn't have to do anything as Clayton and Mullen Jr. didn't even put any work into this The Edge solo project of utilising old recordings and recorded tracks to re-arrange what appears as a coincidental selection.

Old wine on new bottles? Yes, and no. Firstly, the songs are not really new - people, or at least: fans should be familiar with every single composition. And secondly, other artists have with or without success made this type of re-recordings of a back catalogue; however, in this particular case, I don't really spot ANY improvements, and to issue costly deluxe editions of something like this is difficult to see as anything else than profit thinking. I don't find any great versions - perhaps because I already feel done and over with this once great and innovative band, but bottom line: I just don't like it. For me, this band made its last relevant album back in the year 2009, and before that in 2000, and those albums weren't even close to great. Their last truly remarkable album remains Achtung Baby from 1991.

You've probably noticed how their most recent albums share bonding titles, like a smart marketing scoop of sorts, complete without limitations - you may imagine 'Songs of Wonders', 'Songs of Patience'... 'Lust', 'Greed', 'Profit' - at least there's room for many follow-ups in that category: Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, and now a 'Surrender'-version. Who knows, perhaps a fitting title for an upcoming album is 'Songs of Redundance'? Like the other two, this is not recommended.

[ 👍Pitchfork 5.7 / 10, The Guardian, NME 3 / 5 stars ]

U2 "Songs of Experience" (2017)

Songs of Experience

release date: Dec. 1, 2017

format: digital (17 x File, FLAC - Deluxe Edition)

[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]

producer: various

label: Island Records / Interscope Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 3. "You’re the Best Thing About Me" - 4. "Get Out of Your Own Way" - 7. "Red Flag Day" - 12. "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" - 14 "Ordinary Love (Extraordinary mix)"

14th studio album by U2 following three years after Songs of Innocence (Sep. 2014) is like that produced by a conglomerate of people of which Steve Lillywhite, Jacknife Lee, Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, and Paul Epworth are central co-producers. Lillywhite asures that 'back-to-the-origins' sound everyone associates with U2, and in that regard the album signals something original that never came to mind with the predecessor. The album has been released in various formats - the standard album consists of 13 songs, a double vinyl issue counts 16 tracks, and the digital Deluxe Edition consists of 17 tracks of which two are extended mixes. The standard album has a total running time of 51 mins, and the Deluxe Edition runs just under 68 mins.

With this, U2 revisit their own musical starting point, they combine electronic experimentation à la Pop, and they explore new territory without ever sounding like anything or anyone else than U2.

I dunno, it's a bit of a weird combo pointing in all directions - 'Everything everywhere all at once' to quote a fine movie title, only this is far from a quality release. The second single taken from the album "Get Out of Your Own Way" mostly sounds The Killers and Coldplay paying tribute to U2 - not that it's completely bad, it's just like so reworked and not remotely original. The exact same thing could be attributed to "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way", the fourth and final single from the album. Personally, I think track #14, which isn't part of the standard album, is one of the best moments here - the only song here produced by Danger Mouse. Also track #17 "You’re the Best Thing About Me (U2 vs. Kygo)", a danceable remix of track #3 works in the better half, but that also says more than just a small bit about the whole album, 'cause highlighting a remix of a song that sounds like a remake of classic U2, does that work as a recommendation?

Even the title - paraphrasing the 2014 album - is embodied sloppiness. Bottom line, and admittedly, I'm no longer a fan, but this is redundant and not recommended. Compared to the predecessor, this is even a clear step in the wrong direction, and together with Pop this really hits U2 rock bottom. The reason I still hand it 2,5 stars is mostly due to the quality in production sound.

[ 👍allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 5,3 / 10, NME 2 / 5, 👺The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

U2 "Songs of Innocence" (2014)

Songs of Innocence

release date: Sep. 9, 2014

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]

producer: Danger Mouse with others

label: Universal-Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" - 2. "Every Breaking Wave" - 5. "Iris (Hold Me Close)" - 7. "Raised by Wolves" - 11. "The Troubles" (feat. Lykke Li)

13th studio album by U2 follows 5½ years after No Line on the Horizon (Mar. 2009) sees a change in producer-credits. Preceeding the album, U2 released the (non-album) single "Invisible" (Feb 2014) produced by American artist Danger Mouse (aka Brian Joseph Burton), who was initially hired as producer on this, and they actually already had recorded the new album back in 2010. Danger Mouse is credited as co-producer on the majority of the tracks (7 out of 11, and is only producer on two), but he mostly shares the credit with others, as the band alledgedly wasn't satisfied with the recordings, and subsequently presented the recordings to various others to add details to the outcome, which explains the relative long time span between their 2009 album and this one. The finished album sees British producer Paul Epworth as co-producer on 4 tracks and additional producer on one, American musician Ryan Tedder as co-producer on 4 tracks, sound engineer Declan Gaffney is credited as co-producer on 3 tracks and as additional producer on two, and Flood (aka Mark Ellis) is co-producer on one song. To some controversy U2 sold the album to Apple, who made it 'free' with the launch of a new iPhöne model or a Watch, as well as for all (paying) customers on its iTunes platform.

Musically, the album appears as a 'return to rock' - although, the band has done this on multiple occasions since their first 'return' with All That You Can't Leave Behind (Oct. 2000) - something they sought to establish with the succeeding two, or three including this.

U2 sounds exactly like you would expect them to. Sometimes they tend to sound like other bands aiming to follow a bit too closely in their footsteps, or, they sound like a band without much new under the horizon, except from procaliming "Heey, stadium lovers, we're still here!!". Yes, admittedly, this is a new collection of songs, but beware, 'cause you already know what you get. I guess, they have reached the point most other artists have to deal with at some (late) stage in a long career, asking themselves: 'Are we still relevant?' And questioning if it's Okay just to stick to some kind of reproduction.

This new album is practically like watching a train fixated at a station. You may ask yourself: is this about to leave, any soon now? Has it just arrived?, or: Is this its final stop?! It's like time itself has stopped 'cause nothing really seems to be in a process - this is but a nicely produced distilation.

Not recommended.

[ allmusic.com, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5, 👉Pitchfork 4,6 / 10, 🤡Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

U2 "No Line on the Horizon" (2009)

No Line on the Horizon
release date: Mar. 9, 2009
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois, Steve Lillywhite
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "No Line on the Horizon" - 5. "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" (4 / 5) - 9. "White as Snow"

12th studio album by U2 follows 4½ years after How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Nov. 2004). The album is released on Island and this time they bring together a collaboration work by their best known producers: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite.
The album was met by luke-warm reviews, but for the first time in a long period, I actually think they manage quite Okay in creating what comes out as a true cohesive work, as opposed to putting a few single hits together with half-finished and / or lesser works of art. Another thing that strikes me is that the album doesn't contain the usual two to three hit singles - there's only one! - but then the lows are considerably stronger making it a generally better album compared to their last four albums. Since Achtung Baby (1991) the band could easily have cut down on the album flow and released eps or singles only, but for once they prove that they still know how to make music.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Blender, Rolling Stone, 👎Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

U2 "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (2004)

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
release date: Nov. 22, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: various
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Vertigo" - 3. "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" - 6. "All Because of You" (4 / 5) - 10. "Original of the Species"

11th studio album by U2 was not produced by a single producer or a group of people but each and every song had various people producing the individual tracks for the album. Having said that, it's also a return to their first producer Steve Lillywhite, who produced the band's first three albums, and who is credited as producer on five of this album's originally 11 tracks. Chris Thomas produced two tracks (and co-produced one track with Daniel Lanois), and the remaining tracks all had individual producers. Four years after All That You Can't Leave Behind (Oct. 2000) doesn't really suffice to make more than a decent release, and again rumour has it that the band was about to split. The album contains the fine tracks "Vertigo" (a track that was meant to reestablish the band as a real rock quartet), "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", and the only really great track "All Because of You" - the rest are easily forgotten.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, 👎Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

U2 "The Best of 1990-2000" (2002)

The Best of 1990-2000 (compilation)
release date: Nov. 5, 2002
format: 2 cd (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: various
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Best of compilation album by U2, which comes in a standard single disc version and a 2-disc Deluxe Edition with the addition of a disc titled "Best of - The B-sides", completely as was the case with the band's first best of album The Best of 1980-1990 & B-sides (Nov. 1998). Where the band with the '98 album focused on their most recent two albums, this is a bit of an extended mix. The tracks both cover the band's last four albums of the 1990's - and two of these, Zooropa (1993) and Pop (1997) do represent an artistic low-point, but the album also contains four new songs: the fine "Miss Sarajevo" recorded and released for the U2 / Brian Eno-project band, Passengers' album Original Soundtracks 1 (1995), "Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix)" (it also features the original version!), "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" made for the "Batman Forever" film by Tim Burton (1995), and "The Hands That Build America (Theme From 'Gangs of New York')" made for Martin Scorsese's 2002 film "The Gangs of New York".
As was the case in '98, the album is not really a compilation of U2's best compositions from the decade, although, several of the songs would be expected on a best of album. Strange decisions have led to the idea concerning "The Best of the B-sides" disc - too many odd mixes of original songs have been included to make it much worth. You get some, and then you get a lot of oddness, you just didn't hope for.
[ 👍allmusic.com 3 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 5,6 / 10, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

U2 "All That You Can't Leave Behind" (2000)

All That You Can't Leave Behind
release date: Oct. 30, 2000
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Beautiful Day" (4 / 5) - 2. "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (4 / 5) - 3. "Elevation" - 4. "Walk On"

10th studio album by U2 marks a return to the producer-duo Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. The band chose to fight, and spent more than 3½ years before releasing this new album. And thankfully so, 'cause the band obviously still has something to offer... after all. I know many people thought U2 were history and a band connected with the 1980's and '90s only. Instead this is a rebirth of the band, and it also signals that they will also be around in the new millennium. It's not really great but it's more than just Okay, and more importantly: it's far from the artistic low points of Pop (Mar. '97) and Zooropa (Jul. '93), and the band takes up its profile they had established before Achtung Baby.
The album contains two really fine songs: "Beautiful Day", and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of". Those tracks alone would have made a really great single, instead it's a so-so album 'cause the remaining tracks are sadly not on par with any of the aforementioned.
The album strangely made it to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

U2 "The Best of 1980-1990 & B-Sides" (1998)

The Best of 1980-1990 & B-Sides (comp.)

release date: Nov. 2, 1998

format: 2 cd (Deluxe Edition)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: various

label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

First official best of compilation by U2 covering the band's first decade. Astutely, the band released a limited 2-disc version, which was announced to be withdrawn and replaced by a standard 1-disc version after the first week. The standard being practically identical with disc 1 on the 2-disc version did come out, but the limited edition was later sold as a non-numbered Deluxe Edition - the album both comes in The Best of 1980-1990, and as The Best of 1980-1990 & B-Sides, and then some of the 2-disc issues has been released under the standard title. Anyway, the compilation rightfully covers a 10-year period, although, only three songs are from 1980 to 1983 and two of these stem from their '83 album. This basically overlooks the initial stage when the band made three full-length albums and made it from upcoming new name to an acclaimed and established brand - you could say: their most important period. Instead, focus is clearly on the band's new-found ground and especially the sound they have come up with on the albums The Joshua Tree (1987) and Rattle and Hum (1988). And speaking of sound, compilations are always a tricky matter, and in the case of U2, sound and style is a fleeting and highly temporary thing, so by putting songs from one stage together with songs from another period isn't without a distinct loss in coherency, which could be another reason for selecting most material from their most recent albums.

Then 2-discs could actually have served to have had an early period on say disc 1 and the later half of the decade on disc 2, but that probably sounds to easy. But nevertheless, that would have been a logic choice, and something that would do justice to their career. Instead we have these late 80s songs put together with B-side material, which on the other hand is far from complete. From a commmercial perspective they should have made clear and distinct choices - and frankly, I would have embraced a more fully coverage of their A-side singles on a best of album, AND a B-sides release covering their more obscure material - instead what we do have is a bit of this and that. U2 have made so many great tunes that it's a no brainer to compile a best of album, but instead we have strange songs like "Bass Trap", "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel", "Trash Trampoline and the Party Girl", and covers like "Dancing Barefoot", "Everlasting Love", and "Unchained Melody" in place of strong B-sides like "Out of Control", "Gloria", "The Electric Co", "I Threw a Brick Through a Window", etc., etc.

Bottom line is, I think this is a bit of a mess. You cannot deny their potential, and that's basically what this represents - a band who has been all over the place, and no matter what you pick, there's an rather big audience. Of course, what you need is their full discography - at least up until 1990 after which you will do with a selection of A-side singles, but that's a whole different story.

U2 "The Best of 1980-1990 & B-Sides" is not essential - some songs are nice to know of, but ultimately, you're way better off with five to six studio albums covering this period so much better. I rate the album 3,5 / 5, acknowledging the great tunes but I would rate the selection 2 / 5.

[ 👎allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

U2 "Pop" (1997)

Pop
release date: Mar. 4, 1997
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,38]
producer: Flood (Mark Ellis), Howie B, Steve Osborne
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlight(s): 1. "Discotheque"

9th studio album by U2, this time produced by Flood, Howie B, and Steve Osborne. How amazing it is that they were able to do worse than Zooropa (Jul. 1993) [!]. And they spent almost four full years finding new material after the highly acclaimed Achtung Baby. The track "Discotheque" is good, not great, and cannot save the overall impression of a band who seems to have no ideas left. Money comes tumbling their way no matter what they do or say. People who paid money for this should be offered an excuse and a refund.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, 👎Rolling Stone 4 / 5 - 👍Robert Christgau calls it "poor" and he's so right ]

U2 "Zooropa" (1993)

Zooropa
release date: Jul. 5, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,55]
producer: Flood (Mark Ellis), Brian Eno, The Edge
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 4. "Lemon" - 5. "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" (4,5 / 5)

8th studio album by U2, who holds on to Eno but still has made changes in the production team for the follow-up to their acclaimed '91 album. Where Achtung Baby introduced a new sound, they seem eager to take the next step from that by utilising programming as a main tool as contrary to the classic rock instrumentation of Rattle and Hum (1988). Stylistically, it may not be far from the '91 release but musically it shows a band trapped in its own success, and what seems defining for this album is that they apparently have lost control of musical direction.
At the time of the release, I rated this their worst album ever. Little did I know that the band could do even worse later on. They really try to make the right follow-up but also succeed far from it. The distance from great to really poor is noticeable on the album. The only really great track is "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" (from Wim Wenders homonymous movie) but together with the fine "Lemon" these two compositions drown in a collection of strange and / or poorly written and arranged tracks. From here on, the band initiate a rather negative tradition, which means that every new album comes with only one or two (at maximum: 3) great tracks. The rest of the songs are somehow fillers and / or detachments, or maybe they think they found that 'golden recipe': 'we make one fine single and release it with a bunch of unfinished outtakes and we have a new album'.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

U2 "Achtung Baby" (1991)

Achtung Baby
release date: Nov. 19, 1991
format: vinyl (212 110) / 2 cd (2011 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,25]
producer: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

7th studio album by U2 is a return to the collaboration work with the producer-duo Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Three years' work pays off with this conceptual album. U2 always was a near conceptual band but this is form and content matter in artistic synergy.
The resulting sound of this modern classic simply changes the sound of everything that follows in the early '90s. However, it's also the final really great U2 album, imho. It's really difficult to pin out the best tracks, as it only contains one mediocre song ("Love Is Blindness") - the rest is solid gold. The album was really a huge improvement from Rattle and Hum (1988), and again they did what they had done in 1984 with The Unforgettable Fire (1984) as they altered the music scene with something highly original. The album also signals the end of an era, and after this they have never again been close to this artistic level, and to me this is their swan song. The album is naturally enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 5 / 5, 👍Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5 stars ]

U2 "Rattle and Hum" (1988)

Rattle and Hum
release date: Oct. 10, 1988
format: vinyl 2 lp (gatefold - U 27) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Jimmy Iovine
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

6th studio album by U2 following 1½ years after The Joshua Tree (Mar. 1987) is a double album produced by Jimmy Iovine. This is when U2 conquered USA, or actually, they made way with the previous release but this one really made all of America 'luuuv' U2.
Long story short: I don't like this a lot. I adored their style up until this point. There's too much blues rock and gospel inspiration, Bono is too much, and there's too little U2, and I think there's way too much recycling. Also, the live versions and studio recordings don't mix that well. The best tracks are the singles "Desire", "Silver and Gold" (B-side on "Where the Streets..."), "Heartland", and "All I want Is You". The 17 tracks (and too long) double album could easily have been a mighty fine 4-track ep, thus making it a very good bargain. The rest is really just for people who can't get enough of listening to Bono listening to himself. For me, this is like a band believing too much in the image as the new Rolling Stones conquering the US. Commercially speaking, U2 just kept growing as a brand, but as an artistic project, I think they sold out with this. The music is only so-so and pretentions are sky-high. They simply lost me with this one.
[ allmusic.com, Sputnikmusic 3 / 5, 👍Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

U2 "Desire" (1988) (single)

Desire, 12'' single
release date: Sep. 19, 1988
format: vinyl (611 670)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]
producer: Jimmy Iovine
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: A) 1. "Desire" (4 / 5) - 2. "Hallelujah, Here She Comes" - - B) "Desire (Hollywood Remix)"

Single release by U2 taken from the forthcoming album Rattle and Hum (Oct. 1988) marks a bit of a change as the release isn't produced by the usual two - Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Instead the single and upcoming album is produced by American producer Jimmy Iovine, who worked as sound engineer on Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) but basically has produced for many artists over the past two decades.
I really loved the title track, and the second track is quite good, but the B-side is really just a filler.

U2 "Where the Streets Have No Name" (1987) (single)

Where the Streets Have No Name, 12'' single
release date: Aug. 31, 1987
format: vinyl (609 382)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Daniel Lanois / Brian Eno, U2
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: A) "Where the Streets Have No Name" - - B) 1. "Silver and Gold" (4 / 5) - 2. "Sweetest Thing"

Single release by U2 is the band's 3rd out of a total of 5 singles taken from The Joshua Tree.
The A-side track was never a big favourite of mine, but the two tracks on the B-side are really worth the price. I nearly only ever played that side of the single.

U2 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (1987) (single)

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, 7'' single
release date: May 25, 1987
format: vinyl (109 152)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Daniel Lanois / Brian Eno; U2
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: A) "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - - B) 1. "Spanish Eyes" - 2. "Deep in the Heart" (4 / 5)

Single release by U2 is a single release from The Joshua Tree, which is produced by Lanois / Eno, whereas the two B-side tracks are produced by U2. The best track here is actually the non-album composition "Deep in the Heart". I never really enjoyed the title track that much, which on the other hand gave the band much recognition in the States.

U2 "With or Without You" (1987) (single)

With or Without You, 12'' single
release date: Mar. 16, 1987
format: vinyl (12 IS 319)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Lanois / Eno; U2
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: A) "With or Without You" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Luminous Times (Hold on to Love)" - 2. "Walk to the Water"

Single release by U2 taken from The Joshua Tree. Only the title track is worth the lot on this release, and it's included on the album, so just stick with that.

U2 "The Joshua Tree" (1987)

The Joshua Tree
release date: Mar. 9, 1987
format: vinyl (208 219) / 2 cd (2007 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]
producer: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

5th studio album by U2 follows 3½ years after The Unforgettable Fire (Oct. '84) is the band's second collaboration work with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers. This is their huge commercial world wide success, which took the band 2½ years to make. It is a great pop / rock album, and a near conceptual one. I really loved it then, and played it over and over but I wasn't too pleased with the American tone of the album. I just find it hard to accept the band's adoption of blues and gospel into their musical universe, a thing that really worsened on the following album. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

1987 Favourite releases: 1. The Smiths Strangeways, Here We Come - 2. U2 The Joshua Tree - 3. Hüsker Dü Warehouse: Songs and Stories

The Edge with Michael Brook "Captive" (OST) (1986)

Captive (soundtrack) [debut]
release date: 1986
format: vinyl
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,78]
producer: Michael Brook, The Edge
label: Virgin - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Rowena's Theme" - 2. "Heroine (Theme From Captive)"

Album debut by U2 guitarist, The Edge (aka David Howell Evans), or 'quasi' debut since it was recorded and composed together with Canadian producer and guitarist Michael Brook.
Like U2, Brook had been working with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois on his collaboration debut album Hybrid (1985).

U2 "Wide Awake in America" (1985) (ep) (live)

Wide Awake in America, ep (live)
release date: May 20, 1985
format: vinyl (90279-1-A)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: U2, Tony Visconti; Brian Eno / Daniel Lanois
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: A) 1. "Bad" (5 / 5) (live in the US) - 2. "A Sort of Homecoming" (5 / 5) (live) - - B) 1. "The Three Sunrises" - 2. "Love Comes Tumbling"

4-track ep release by U2 meant for the American market only. This is a brief collection of songs, which doesn't seem too short due to the long live version of "Bad". It's really not more than a 12" maxi single but it's still a very strong live testimony. The two live versions on the A-side ("Bad", and "A Sort of Homecoming") makes me recall the Live Aid show where U2 stole more air play than scheduled, but they took the world by storm when playing a 9-10 min. epic version of "Bad" on that occasion. Here it's reduced to 'only' 8 mins. (the original running 6 mins.) and "A Sort of Homecoming" is on the other hand for some reason reduced by more than a minute compared to the original album version. The two B-side tracks "The Three Sunrises" and "Love Comes Tumbling" are no fillers but neither unforgettable moments.

BEST OF 1984:U2 "The Unforgettable Fire" (1984)

The Unforgettable Fire
release date: Oct. 1, 1984
format: vinyl (U25) / cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,72]
producer: Brian Eno / Daniel Lanois
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "A Sort of Homecoming" (5 / 5) - 2. "Pride" (5 / 5) - 4. "The Unforgettable Fire" (5 / 5) - 6. "4th of July" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Bad" (5 / 5)

4th studio album by U2 follows 1½ years after War (Feb. '83) is the band's first to be entirely produced by Eno and Lanois.
The album is not only seen as a cornerstone of modern rock music by its rich and varied production and arrangements, it also set new standards for a band in strong progress.
In my mind, this is the best album ever released by U2. It showcases their biggest progression as musicians, moving from traditional pop / rock roots into completely new territory of alt. rock that they define themselves. It's the first collaboration work with Eno and Lanois, a catalyst duo, who aids by giving birth to a sound that would be copied by almost everyone in the business in the late '80s.

1984 Favourite releases: 1. U2 The Unforgettable Fire - 2. The Smiths The Smiths - 3. The Blue Nile A Walk Across the Rooftops