U2 - Unforgettable Fire (CD)
ORIGINAL 1990 CD RELEASE!!!
No Skips, No Freeze ups!!!
No Scratches, No Scuff Marks!!!
CD and all artwork included.
CD in Excellent Like New condition.
Jewel Case has normal wear.
An appreciable leap forward in almost every fashion from the group's
first trio of albums, The Unforgettable Fire is its first with
the production team of Brian
Eno and Daniel Lanois. And while they take a strong hand in
wrestling U2's music out of the mainstream and into a more
individualistic area, it's the songs themselves that demand a more
subtle approach. Moody gems such as "A Sort of Homecoming" and the
entrancing "Bad" set the table for more explosive fare such as "Wire," the title track, and "Pride," with great vocal performance by Bono and backing by The Edge (oh-oh-oh-oh).
An instant classic. . This is the album that made U2 a career
act, showing that their music could grow by leaps and bounds, even at
the hand of another, without sacrificing its soul.
Track
listing
1. Sort of Homecoming, A
2. Pride
(In the Name of Love)
3. Wire
4. Unforgettable
Fire, The
5. Promenade
6. 4th of July
7. Bad
8. Indian Summer Sky
9. Elvis
Presley and America
10. MLK
Product Details
- Audio CD
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Island
U2 Biography
Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk
experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock & roll bands
of the '80s. They were rock & roll crusaders during an era of
synthesized pop and heavy metal, equally known for their sweeping sound
as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion. The Edge
provided the group with a signature sound by creating sweeping sonic
landscapes with his heavily processed, echoed guitars. Though the Edge's
style wasn't conventional, the rhythm section of Larry Mullen, Jr. and
Adam Clayton played the songs as driving hard rock, giving the band a
forceful, powerful edge that was designed for arenas. And their lead
singer, Bono, was a frontman with a knack of grand gestures that played
better in stadiums than small clubs. It's no accident that footage of
Bono parading with a white flag with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" blaring in
the background became the defining moment of U2's early career -- there
rarely was a band that believed so deeply in rock's potential for
revolution as U2, and there rarely was a band that didn't care if they
appeared foolish in the process.
During the course of the early
'80s, the group quickly built up a dedicated following through constant
touring and a string of acclaimed records. By 1987, the band's following
had grown large enough to propel them to the level of international
superstardom with the release of The Joshua Tree. Unlike many of their
contemporaries, U2 were able to sustain such popularity in the '90s by
reinventing themselves as a postmodern, self-consciously ironic,
dance-inflected pop/rock act, owing equally to the experimentalism of
late-'70s Bowie and '90s electronic dance and techno. By performing such
a successful reinvention, the band confirmed its status as one of the
most popular bands in rock history, in addition to earning additional
critical respect.
With its textured guitars, U2's sound was
undeniably indebted to post-punk, so it's slightly ironic that the band
formed in 1976, before punk had even reached their hometown of Dublin,
Ireland. Larry Mullen, Jr. (born October 31, 1961; drums), posted a
notice on a high-school bulletin board asking for fellow musicians to
form a band. Bono (born Paul Hewson, May 10, 1960; vocals), the Edge
(born David Evans, August 8, 1961; guitar, keyboards, vocals), Adam
Clayton (born March 13, 1960; bass), and Dick Evans responded to the ad,
and the teenagers banded together as Beatles and Stones cover band
called the Feedback. They then changed their name to the Hype in 1977.
Shortly afterward, Dick Evans left the band to form the Virgin Prunes,
and the group changed names once again, this time adopting the moniker
of U2.
U2's first big break arrived in 1978, during the members'
final year of high school, when they won a talent contest sponsored by
Guinness. By the end of the year, the Stranglers' manager, Paul
McGuinness, had seen the band play and offered to manage them. Even with
a powerful manager in their corner, the band had trouble making much
headway, and they failed an audition with CBS Records at the end of the
year. In the fall of 1979, U2 released their debut EP, U2 Three. The EP
was available only in Ireland, where it topped the national charts.
Shortly afterward, they began to play in England, but they failed to
gain much attention away from home.
U2 scored one more
chart-topping single, "Another Day," in early 1980 before Island Records
offered the group a contract. Later that year, the band's full-length
debut, Boy, was released. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the record's
sweeping, atmospheric but edgy sound was unlike most of its post-punk
contemporaries, and the band earned further attention for its public
embrace of Christianity; only Clayton was not a practicing Christian.
Through constant touring, including opening gigs for Talking Heads, U2
was able to take Boy into the American Top 70 in early 1981. October,
also produced by Lillywhite, followed in the fall, and it became their
British breakthrough, reaching number 11 on the charts. By early 1983,
Boy's "I Will Follow" and October's "Gloria" had become staples on MTV,
which, along with their touring, gave the group a formidable cult
following in the U.S.
Released in the spring of 1983, the
Lillywhite-produced War became U2's breakthrough release, entering the
U.K. charts at number one and elevating them into arenas in the United
States, where the album peaked at number 12. War had a stronger
political message than its predecessors, as evidenced by the
international hits "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day." During
the supporting tour, the band filmed its concert at Colorado's Red Rocks
Amphitheater, releasing the show as an EP and video titled Under a
Blood Red Sky. The EP entered in the U.K. charts at number two, becoming
the most successful live recording in British history. U2 had become
one of the most popular bands in the world, and their righteous
political stance soon became replicated by many other bands, providing
the impetus for the Band Aid and Live Aid projects in 1984 and 1985,
respectively.
For the follow-up to War, U2 entered the studios
with co-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who helped give the
resulting album an experimental, atmospheric tone. Released in the fall
of 1984, The Unforgettable Fire replicated the chart status of War,
entering the U.K. charts at number one and reaching number 12 in the
U.S. The album also generated the group's first Top 40 hit in America
with "(Pride) In the Name of Love," a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.
U2 supported the album with a successful international tour,
highlighted by a show-stealing performance at Live Aid. Following the
tour, the band released the live EP Wide Awake in America in 1985.
While
U2 had become one of the most successful rock bands of the '80s, they
didn't truly become superstars until the spring 1987 release of The
Joshua Tree. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews, many of which proclaimed
the album a masterpiece, The Joshua Tree became the band's first
American number one hit and their third straight album to enter the U.K.
charts at number one; in England, it set a record by going platinum
within 28 hours. Generating the U.S. number one hits "With or Without
You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," The Joshua Tree
and the group's supporting tour became the biggest success story of
1987, earning U2 the cover of respected publications like Time magazine.
U2 decided to film a documentary about their American tour, recording
new material along the way. The project became Rattle & Hum, a film
that was supported by a double-album soundtrack that was divided between
live tracks and new material. While the album Rattle & Hum was a
hit, the record and film received the weakest reviews of U2's career,
with many critics taking issue with the group's fascination with
American roots music like blues, soul, country, and folk. Following the
release of Rattle & Hum, the band took an extended hiatus.
U2
reconvened in Berlin in 1990 to record a new album with Eno and Lanois.
While the sessions for the album were difficult, the resulting record,
Achtung Baby, represented a successful reinvention of the band's
trademark sound. Where they had been inspired by post-punk in the early
career and American music during their mid-career, U2 delved into
electronic and dance music with Achtung Baby. Inspired equally by
late-'70s Bowie and the Madchester scene in the U.K., Achtung Baby was
sonically more eclectic and adventurous than U2's earlier work, and it
didn't alienate their core audience. The album debuted at number one
throughout the world and spawned Top Ten hits with "Mysterious Ways" and
"One."
Early in 1992, the group launched an elaborate tour to
support Achtung Baby. Dubbed Zoo TV, the tour was an innovative blend of
multimedia electronics, featuring a stage filled with televisions,
suspended cars, and cellular phones. Bono devised an alter ego called
the Fly, which was a knowing send-up of rock stardom. Even under the
ironic guise of the Fly and Zoo TV, it was evident that U2 were looser
and more fun than ever before, even though they had not abandoned their
trademark righteous political anger. Following the completion of the
American Zoo TV tour in late 1992 and preceding the launch of the tour's
European leg, U2 entered the studio to complete an EP of new material
that soon became the full-length Zooropa. Released in the summer of 1993
to coincide with the tour of the same name, Zooropa demonstrated a
heavier techno and dance influence than Achtung Baby and received strong
reviews. Nevertheless, the album stalled at sales of two million and
failed to generate a big hit single. During the subsequent Zooropa tour,
the Fly metamorphosed into the demonic MacPhisto, which dominated the
remainder of the tour. Upon the completion of the Zooropa tour in late
1993, the band took another extended break.
During 1995, U2
re-emerged with "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," a glam rock
theme to Batman Forever that was produced by Nellee Hooper (Björk, Soul
II Soul). Later that year, they recorded the collaborative album
Original Soundtracks, Vol. 1 with Brian Eno, releasing the record under
the name the Passengers late in 1995. It was greeted with a muted
reception, both critically and commercially. Many hardcore U2 fans
(including drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.) were unhappy with the Passengers
project, and U2 promised their next album, to be released in the fall of
1996, would be a rock & roll record.
The album took longer to
complete than usual, ultimately being pushed back to the spring of
1997. During its delay, a few tracks, including the forthcoming first
single "Discotheque," were leaked, and it became clear that the new
album was going to be heavily influenced by techno, dance, and
electronic music. When it was finally released, Pop did indeed bear a
heavier dance influence, but it was greeted with strong initial sales
and a few positive reviews. Demand for the album lessened in the
following months, however, and Pop ultimately became the band's least
popular album in over a decade. In late 1998, the group returned with
Best of 1980-1990, the first in a series of hits collections issued in
conjunction with a reported 50 million dollar agreement with Polygram.
Included in the comprehensive track list was a remixed version of
"Sweetest Thing," originally released as B-side in 1987, which charted
well in multiple countries.
Three years after the mediocre
response to Pop, U2 teamed up with Eno and Lanois once again to release
All That You Can't Leave Behind in fall 2000. The album was heralded as a
return to form, melding the band's classic sound with contemporary
trends. It topped charts around the world, reached number three in
America, earned Grammy Awards for the singles "Beautiful Day" and "Walk
On," and became the band's biggest-selling record in years. (The
Elevation tour that followed also brought U2 a hefty paycheck.) Steve
Lillywhite, producer of the early-'80s landmarks Boy, October, and War,
returned to the helm for U2's next record, How to Dismantle an Atomic
Bomb. Released in November 2004, it hit the top of the Billboard charts
and quickly gained platinum status. The album also garnered eight Grammy
Awards, including Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, and Song
of the Year (for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," which Bono
had written for his father). U2 were inducted into the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame in early 2005 and launched an international tour soon
after, selling out arena venues in the U.S. and outdoor stadium shows
abroad. The Vertigo Tour became the highest-grossing tour of 2005; by
the time the entire tour concluded in late 2006, its gross of $389
million had made it the second most successful tour ever.
U2
returned to the drawing board in 2006 by partnering with veteran rock
producer Rick Rubin. Two songs from those sessions appeared on the
compilation U218 Singles, but the remaining material was ultimately
scrapped. The band then turned to longtime friends Brian Eno, Daniel
Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, all of whom helped shape the sound of U2's
12th studio effort. Entitled No Line on the Horizon, the album was
originally slated to appear in October 2008, although the release date
was ultimately pushed back to March 2009.
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