Still Unforgettable: The Unforgettable Fire 30th Anniversary Thread

[Nick66]

Very well said Musikwala.

 

[alphabetagaga]

does anyone know if the bad (live) that is on the unforgettable fire 25th remaster bonus cd is also a remastered version? or is it simply as was on the wide awake in america ep?

 

[bobsaget77]

does anyone know if the bad (live) that is on the unforgettable fire 25th remaster bonus cd is also a remastered version? or is it simply as was on the wide awake in america ep?

I think it's a remastered version of the WAIA version.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[maxwell]

Statute of limitations begins on the date the aggrieved realizes they have been screwed so I have time to kill

 

[corianderstem]

Oh.

 

[An Cat Gav]

I think it's a remastered version of the WAIA version.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

That's good enough for me. The WAIA version of Bad is to my ears the best song U2 ever put on any record.

 

[alphabetagaga]

I think it's a remastered version of the WAIA version.

That's good enough for me.

and me. thanks for the info

 

[Yahweh]

This is where Eno and Lanios started and continue to be U2's best producers when they put their mind to it.

 

[david]

I picked this album up in late 1992 or early 1993.. I was deep into my U2 obsession and scouring their back catalog. I had seen Rattle and Hum and was blown away by the live performance of Bad.. So I tried to track down a copy of it that resembled the movie version. I remember going to a K-Mart that was on the verge of closing down at the time.. And was searching through their CD selection and found this album, in the CD long box too, and got home and played it start to finish.. but I was thrown off by how different Bad sounded on this album verses the live performance from R&H.

It was a good album to listen to with headphones on... as I did at the time due to being somewhat young and shy about music I listened to. It was also the album that I listened to on vinyl in 2003 that made me give records a try because I heard different dynamics in mastering with record vs. CD.

 

[The Panther]

Obviously a great recording. I don't think it was 'experimental' at all, though, from U2's perspective. There was a big gamble involved, which was their badgering Eno to come over and work with them (he refused a couple of times and tried to dispatch Lanois instead of himself.) As far as the music goes, it's not massively different from some of the War and October tracks. If you were to give the basic tracks of 'Drowning Man', 'Endless Deep', or 'Scarlet' to young Eno/Lanois to produce, they'd sound exactly like the Unforgettable Fire tracks. But hiring Eno to work with them at the point when they were set to become the new The Who / Led Zeppelin, and instead went into a unique direction, was a master-stroke.

Anyway, my only complaint is that they didn't put one of my all-time U2 faves, "Bass Trap" -- probably the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard -- on the record in place of, say, "4th of July", which is moody but musically forgettable.


It's a stunning sign of how U2's modus operandi has changed over the years to contrast this album's genesis and ethos against the recent records. In 1984, despite an extension (of maybe a month?) from Island Records, they worked under a tight deadline with Eno/Lanois and economically produced an artistic masterpiece that sold millions and earned them the respect of their peers. In 2007/8/9, they worked for years and years with Lanois/Eno, with an endless budget in multiple studios, and produced a piece of crap (with a few decent tracks) that sold modestly and made them look like desperate aging rockers trying to cling to a youthful audience.

 

[Nick66]

Obviously a great recording. I don't think it was 'experimental' at all, though, from U2's perspective. There was a big gamble involved, which was their badgering Eno to come over and work with them (he refused a couple of times and tried to dispatch Lanois instead of himself.) As far as the music goes, it's not massively different from some of the War and October tracks. If you were to give the basic tracks of 'Drowning Man', 'Endless Deep', or 'Scarlet' to young Eno/Lanois to produce, they'd sound exactly like the Unforgettable Fire tracks. But hiring Eno to work with them at the point when they were set to become the new The Who / Led Zeppelin, and instead went into a unique direction, was a master-stroke.

And the last bit can't be emphasised enough in how momentous a decision this was on U2 part.

 

[Hollow Island]

I think War was a more radical departure for U2. The addition of extra instruments, the dry sound, the super fast muted rhythm playing...it's more different from what came before than TUF is. A few songs on TUF would have fit on War.

 

[Nick66]

Actually War sounds more like a natural successor to Boy and TUF sounds more like a natural successor to October.

Though in any event, War certainly closed out U2 "Phase 1" and TUF was their first "reinvention" and the beginning of something new. Jettisoning Lillywhite and brining in Brian and Danny all but assured that.

 

[wolbersu2]

One of my favorite albums of all time. Hope there will be a live recording to be released in the future. I enjoyed the special edition from 2009 and inspired me to create a video to Yoshino blossom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsA8rqLnsp0