Robbie Robertson & U2 circa 1987

[trevster2k]

I just listened to the Robbie Robertson CD from years back. U2 did an awesome job of backing up his music. Only a couple of tracks have the band but they are distinctive. Listening to it brought back some great memories.

That's all.

 

[doctorwho]

Some trivia...

Robertson collaborated with U2 before the release of JT. He said he had no idea they were on the verge of becoming the "biggest band in the world". One wonders if he still would have collaborated with U2 say in '88 or '89, between legs of the tour.

 

[U2DMfan]

Sweet Fire of Love is a kick ass song
Bono sounds tremendous

Testimony....not so much

 

[Cleasai]

How very odd you made this thread. Two days ago I was rummaging through a vinyl record shop. In one of the discount bins (for $1 exactly) I found record featuring Sweet Fire of Love! I thought it was sacrelig they were selling it so cheap!

 

[bratty_cat]

That entire Robbie Robertson album is great - produced by Daniel Lanois, with guest appearances by U2, Peter Gabriel and more! Just replaced my vinyl copy with a cd a couple of years ago. Highly recommend

 

[U2DMfan]

That entire Robbie Robertson album is great - produced by Daniel Lanois, with guest appearances by U2, Peter Gabriel and more! Just replaced my vinyl copy with a cd a couple of years ago. Highly recommend

Ahh yes, Fallen Angel. Peter Gabriel's voice is amazing.
I forgot that was a Lanois production.

Broken Arrow is a cool song as well.
I even kinda liked Rod Stewart's version of that song.

Another collaboration that I really like is The Call with Peter Gabriel and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds called "Everywhere I Go"
Bono sings on one of their songs as well, but the name escapes me right now, it could "What Happened To You?", but I am not positive.

 

[JCOSTER]

When I first heard Sweet Fire of Love ran out and bought it! Bono was on it!!!

 

[martha]

Sweet Fire of Love is a kick ass song
Bono sounds tremendous

Testimony....not so much

My exact thoughts.

 

[nuke126]

the first 2 Robbie Robertson solo albums are fantastic! the self titled album and Storyville. if anyone doesn't have them i highly recommend both. and it is cool to hear that distinct joshua tree sound in there before joshua tree came out.

 

[Rafiennes]

One of the forgotten albums of the late 80's.

Fallen Angel, Showdown At Big Sky, Somewhere Down That Crazy River - all fantastic songs.

 

[cleazer]

One of the forgotten albums of the late 80's.

Fallen Angel, Showdown At Big Sky, Somewhere Down That Crazy River - all fantastic songs.

AMEN!
I love that cd, and listen to it all the time.

 

[Knuckle]

Yes, 1987/1988 was an incredibly productive time for U2. I remember that I could not believe how much great stuff they were putting out that year. They seemed to be a creative juggernaut.

I remember reading in an article that year that Bono said he wanted U2 to be like the Beatles in that the Beatles would put out sometimes a few records a year (all with great songs) and he wanted U2 to match it. Given the creative volume they put out that year I really thought Bono meant what he said.

I remember buying so much stuff in 87/88 and thinking that they had already beaten the Beatles as far as I was concerned. They had put out:
-Joshua Tree album
-Multiples singles from the Joshua Tree album (each with 3 or 4 "b" sides)
-Collaboration w/Robbie Robertson (Sweet Fire of Love/Testimony)
-Contribution to the "Folkways" album (Jesus Christ)
-Contribution to "A Very Special Christmas Album" (Christmas, Baby Please Come Home)
-Rattle and Hum with several excellent new songs and several singles released from it with additional new songs and covers
-there must be more, but that's what comes to mind now
-(those were also the days of scrounging through the less-reputable record stores around looking for every bootleg U2 concert recording I could find)

Those years may have been the peak of the volume of creative output for U2, but the best is always yet to come.

 

[JCOSTER]

20 years later in 2007 could be another year like 1987

 

[doctorwho]

Yes, 1987/1988 was an incredibly productive time for U2. I remember that I could not believe how much great stuff they were putting out that year. They seemed to be a creative juggernaut.

I remember reading in an article that year that Bono said he wanted U2 to be like the Beatles in that the Beatles would put out sometimes a few records a year (all with great songs) and he wanted U2 to match it. Given the creative volume they put out that year I really thought Bono meant what he said.

I remember buying so much stuff in 87/88 and thinking that they had already beaten the Beatles as far as I was concerned. They had put out:
-Joshua Tree album
-Multiples singles from the Joshua Tree album (each with 3 or 4 "b" sides)
-Collaboration w/Robbie Robertson (Sweet Fire of Love/Testimony)
-Contribution to the "Folkways" album (Jesus Christ)
-Contribution to "A Very Special Christmas Album" (Christmas, Baby Please Come Home)
-Rattle and Hum with several excellent new songs and several singles released from it with additional new songs and covers
-there must be more, but that's what comes to mind now
-(those were also the days of scrounging through the less-reputable record stores around looking for every bootleg U2 concert recording I could find)

Those years may have been the peak of the volume of creative output for U2, but the best is always yet to come.

While this was a very productive time, even in eras that we deem "slow", I've found U2 to be very busy. For example, '93 through '97 may appear slow, but we have OS1, "Hold Me..." and "Mission: Impossible" as just a few of the bigger releases. Members of U2 also had countless collaborations and guest appearances during this era. Likewise, '97 through '00 may appear slow, but there was the 80's "Best Of" release and the "Million Dollar Hotel" soundtrack and film as the two big releases. I can go on and on. Heck, in the early days, U2 had almost an album per year! As a collector, one really sees how busy U2 were during certain eras.

I think the one true quiet time came after the release of R&H. Before AB, U2 only had one other official release, and that was "Night and Day". I know of some fans who complained about the lack of U2 music during this time. Of course, what those fans don't realize is that U2 toured all the way through early 1990 for the JT/R&H albums! That was nearly 3 years on the road, with 2 albums and a film, plus various collaborations! As soon as they got off the road, they started writing AB! So despite what may seem like infrequent releases, they are busy. Even now, with a "sick family member", U2 have still toured extensively and released a few collaborations (like with Blige). This group is never really "gone".