brettig
New Yorker
All That You Can't Leave Behind was released on this day 12 months ago...its the 31st here in aussie right now so i think that covers both dates depending on where u live!
Here are a couple of the reviews of the album which we all read over and over in anticipation
Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/recordings/review.asp?aid=78063&cf=45
Q Magazine: http://www.q4music.com/q4musicstore/DisplayProductDetails.cfm?CatalogueID=742838
I also thought id dig up some trivia bits about the album from www.u2faq.com so here you are:
2.8.4 How come the track listing on my copy of All That You Can't Leave Behind is different from what was originally released as the track listing?
{AS} Supposedly the Edge changed up the tracklisting shortly before the album was pressed, but after a track listing was posted on the official web site U2.com. Thus the confusion. The two listings compare like this:
Original Tracklisting from U2.com
1. Beautiful Day
2. Elevation
3. Walk On
4. Stuck in a Moment
5. Peace on Earth
6. Kite
7. New York
8. In a Little While
9. Wild Honey
10. When I Look at the World
11. Grace
Actual Tracklisting
1. Beautiful Day
2. Stuck in a Moment
3. Elevation
4. Walk On
5. Kite
6. In A Little While
7. Wild Honey
8. Peace On Earth
9. When I Look at the World
10. New York
11. Grace
2.8.5 Who are the people listed in "Peace On Earth"?
{TS} The lyric is as follows:
They're reading names out over the radio
All the folks the rest of us won't get to know
Sean and Julia, Gareth, Anne, and Breda,
Their lives are bigger than any big idea
The names are of victims of the Omagh bombing. They died Saturday, August 15, 1998. Some background on the individuals referenced:
Sean McLaughlin (12), from Buncrana, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. Sean was an altar boy at the local church, St Michael's Oratory. The McLaughlin family live just a few doors away from the Doherty family, who also lost a son in the explosion. Sean was one of three boys from Buncrana to die in the explosion.
Julia Hughes (21), Omagh, County Tyrone. Julia was studying at Dundee University but had returned to Omagh for the summer to find temporary employment. She was working in Image Xpress, a photo shop in the High Street in Omagh, and as she left the shop she was met by the full force of the blast.
Gareth Conway (18), from Carrickmore. Gareth was about to enroll in an engineering course at the University of Ulster when he was killed. His father Mickey plays handball at the All-Ireland level.
Anne McCombe (45), from Omagh, County Tyrone. Anne was a close friend of Geraldine Breslin, who also died in the explosion. They both worked together in Watterson's clothes shop. They were having a tea break when the bomb exploded outside the shop. Anne was a Protestant and Geraldine a Catholic but their friendship bridged the sectarian divide. Ann was married with two sons.
Breda Devine (20 months), from Donemana, County Tyrone. Breda was taken by her mother Tracey (27) into Omagh to shop for a wedding gift. Tracey Devine was seriously injured, suffering burns over 60 percent of her body.
(Info. thanks to the CAIN project.)
{M2} On a related note, there's factual inspiration for these lyrics from "Peace On Earth":
She never got to say goodbye
To see the colour in his eyes
Now he's in the dirt
The inspiration comes from an article in the Irish Times, dated August 18, in which profiles/tributes to the victims were printed. One victim, James Barker, was remembered this way in the article:
Donna Maria Barker said she never realised how green her son's eyes were until she saw him lying on a mortuary slab. "To see him lying there with half of his head gone and those beautiful green eyes looking out at me as if he was waiting for me was devastating," she said.
"I never realised how green his eyes were. That image will stay with me for the rest of my life."
2.8.6 Did Mick Jagger sing with U2 on on of their new songs?
{M2} Jagger and his 16-year-old daughter Elizabeth sang backup vocals on a version of "Stuck In A Moment That You Can't Get Out Of" which they recorded while in Dublin one day to visit U2. Edge later said that the song "took a different direction" so they chose a version for the album without the two Jaggers singing backup. Both Jaggers are, however, thanked in the album's liner notes.
2.8.7 What's the "Alphaville" mentioned in "New York"?
{DGH} I'm betting that Alphaville is representing "Alphabet City." The East Village is known as Alphabet City, that's where Avenues A,B,C, and D are located, along with the lower numbers of streets.
2.8.8 Who is Aung San Suu Kyi and why is "Walk On" dedicated to him/her?
{M2} She is a leader of the nonviolent movement for human rights and the restoration of democracy in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Her father is widely acknowledged as the founder of modern Myanmar. After living abroad for most of her life, Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Myanmar in 1988 and started speaking out against the harsh rule of the Myanmar military government. She won democratic elections which were subverted by the military. She was arrested in 1989 and placed under house arrest, which lasted until 1995. Despite her supposed "freedom," the military increasingly restricts her movement and she refuses to accept offers to leave the country because it would mean she could never return.
2.8.9 The liner notes for my copy of All That You Can't Leave Behind have lyrics for "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", but the song's not on my CD.
{M2} This song appears as a bonus track on the UK version of the album, but the labels mistakenly used the same liner notes -- with the extra lyrics -- for other European pressings of the CD that didn't have the song.
2.8.10 What font is used on the All That You Can't Leave Behind album cover and the other tour logos and merchandise?
Eurostyle (extended).
So Happy Birthday ATYCLB, thnx for providing all us U2ers with great anticipation, a great year and a great tour!
(I hope someone will find a suitable cake to mark the occasion)
[This message has been edited by brettig (edited 10-30-2001).]