Tutorial for UF please...

[FullonEdge2]

Yes, I have seen many, many instances of praise and worship for the album UF. However, I just haven't had that same kind of reaction. The first time I listened to the whole thing I felt like puking because I thought it was dreadful. Since then, it's grown on me a little so that I can kind of appreciate it.

I really want to experience UF like others do. I already love Promenade, but it's just too short. Homecoming is nice, but seems to lack punch. Indian Summer Sky sounds a little unprofessional. uggh, and then there is Ep and America

Please tell me how I can appreciate the whole album better. One theory I have for not quite loving it is this: You can't tell what Bono is saying throughout every song. It sounds like he's warbling and doing weird things with his voice instead of singing. I do know, though, that the lyrics are actually good. Do I have to be reading the lyrics while listening? How do I love this album??

I really want to!

 

[maro_chik]

I found that listening to The Unforgettable Fire live made me appreciate it more. When I listened to the Nantes 1984 bootleg, I gained a new appreciation for songs like Wire and A Sort Of Homecoming. And like yourself, I wasn't really turned on by Indian Summer Sky. But it really jumped out at me on the bootleg. You can hear some harmonies better, and then they stick out more when you listen to the studio versions.

So that's what I'd recommend - listening to live versions.

...And as for EP And America, I still haven't warmed up to that.

 

[HelloAngel]

EP And America breaks my heart. The lyrics are beautiful.

 

[UKTan]

I don't really think its something you can force, if you don't love the album, you don't love it. Its not a crime (tho ppl may point and laugh at you in the street ).

Learning the lyrics may help you understand the songs a little better & may increase your appreciation, but for me personally, that whole album is a vibe thing...its just something I feel rather than really understand or look to analyse.

EP&A is prob the only song there aren't "officially" words for..I kind of make them up as I go along when I wail along with it, but I think that song one of the most powerful on the whole album...i just find it heartbreaking.

I loved that album from the first listen and it remains my all time fav album...but I couldn't really tell you why specifically or give you advice on how to love it...its just personal preference.

Maybe one day it will just connect with you, I hope so

 

[zoopop]

Listen to while driving at night with a view of city lights in the distance. UF is U2's most atmospheric type album. It holds in own place in the U2 catalog.

 

[djerdap]

Atmosphere. Transitions. Lyrics. Vocals. Everything.
At least 5 songs from that album are U2 classics(Homecoming, Pride, The Unforgettable Fire, Bad and probably Wire because it started the great heroin trilogy. I would also put Promenade somewhere). Actually, comparing U2 to Radiohead, Kid A was most certainly their Unforgettable Fire, but they took it to a much higher level.

 

[Numb1075]

yeah, agreed with most of the statements above. it's more of an atmospheric love, not meant to interpret bono's points, but rather to hold onto the music/moods and figure out how they relate to your own life and place in time. I hope that makes sense and helps you in your quest.

EP & A - breaks my heart too, Hello Angel

 

[Axver]

UF is quite simply the greatest album ever made, but it takes a while to hit you. For five or six years I found the song UF to be pretty boring, and then one day its beautifulness hit me. I noticed the magic that I was missing - how well it was crafted, and how the atmosphere is made. A Sort Of Homecoming absolutely should NOT have 'punch' - that would ruin the sheer beauty and atmosphere of the song. Promenade/4th Of July/Bad flow as if they are one song, and Wire has such a chilling ending that it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I honestly think Indian Summer Sky shows what was to come in Streets and Bullet (especially through the intro), MLK is a soft, sweet song, and EPAA ... what a gem. You have to admire this song considering it was recorded in a single take.

And check out the flow from song to song. No other U2 record flows this well.

 

[OzAurora]

I have always thought that one of the main reasons why I love this album is because of the ambient sound of it. I love the way that this album has a very melancholy/cold feel to it. I was absolutely obsessed with the song, the unforgettable fire about ten years ago and this helped me love the album. I will admit that there are a few songs on it that make me go but i think that the gem songs on it, make the overall album, breathtaking. As someone said before, I dont think you can force these things, maybe give it time or come back to it in a few years. I know that with me, certain albums take years for you to 'discover'. After owning October for near ten years I didn't finally get into it until about three years ago and now it is one of my favourite albums, dont force it, just wait..

 

[GibsonGirl]

UF is an amazing album, IMO. It's my third favourite album, behind AB and JT. Try listening to it on a road trip...it's a fantastic car album, for some reason. I guess it's just the atmospheric quality of the music and the lyrics.

I don't understand why everyone seems to hate Indian Summer Sky so much. It's one of my favourite songs!

 

[FullonEdge2]

Wow, I love all your descriptions of it, and do have glimpses of it being superb once in a long while. Maybe the most magical time I've listened to it was driving in the autumn.

Yeah, I don't want to force it, I just think I'm missing something. I mean, how can anyone think EPaA is a gem? Yep, it sure sounds like they took it in one take and didn't bother improving it at all. Oh well, I guess it's all a matter of opinion. I do like it more today than when I got it though.

Thanks though. love the descriptions. just don't know why I don't love the album!

 

[Renne]

Maybe you just either like it or your don't. Maybe it really is that simple.

 

[Nate Dogg]

I have come to love this album..for one reason.....it is nothing short of the most perfect album to listen to at night. Put it on when you are lying in bed waiting to fall asleep. The flow, like others have said, is perfect. It doesn't matter what the hell Bono is saying in EPandAmerica. Listen to the mood it creates. His voice became an instrument on this album. The groundwork was laid for The Joshua Tree here, and it shows. As much as i love the live version of Bad, the ambience of the album version has never been recreated live. Larry's drums had never sounded better prior to this.

 

[Axver]

I mean, how can anyone think EPaA is a gem? Yep, it sure sounds like they took it in one take and didn't bother improving it at all.

It's a gem because it was recorded in a single take. Tell me, could you come up with that on the spot? Reworking it would have slaughtered it. The whole point of the song is that it is improvisational and "there and then." To continue working on it would have torn it to pieces and made it into something it's not meant to be. The amazing thing is it remains atmospheric despite how spur-of-the-moment Bono's 'lyrics' are. Like Nate Dogg said, Bono's voice is an instrument. Listen to EPAA as an instrumental. (Though personally, I can understand all the lyrics ...)

 

[madonna's child]

I think of UF as more of an atmosphere album. It just flows from one song to another so easily that you can listen to the whole thing and be surprised when it's over that it went so quickly. But it's not a rock album, by any means. So, if something a bit more ambient isn't your thing, then you'll probably never learn to like UF.

The Unforgettable Fire is my second favorite U2 album ever. Damn, now I wish I had it with me.

 

[rivergoat]

Listen to while driving at night with a view of city lights in the distance.

Originally posted by GibsonGirl
Try listening to it on a road trip...it's a fantastic car album, for some reason. I guess it's just the atmospheric quality of the music and the lyrics.

That's it - definately... music meant to be played while you're moving. That said, the CDs just don't seem to touch hearing it on vinyl - and it's hard to hook a record player up in your car! Compromises , compromises - if you've got an equalizer, trying throwing up the mid-bass frequencies a bit, dropping the highest frequencies, and cranking up the volume! }: )~ With the wind roaring out you through the open window as you cruise 90-to-nothing down the Interstate, be sure to keep your wheels on the ground - you'll be soaring!

Hmmm...

flying goat

 

[FullonEdge2]

Ok that is another theory of mine. At times it sounds like the ambience has incredible potential, but the recording is faulty or something. I definitely think I would love it more if I heard it in all its warmth on vinyl or something.

Yes, when I'm finished listening to it I'm always like: That was quick...of course, it barely surpasses 40 minutes.

Listening to it at night sounds interesting. I don't think I've tried that yet.

 

[biff]

The first CD version I bought of UF was really poor sounding, very thin. Since then, I found a copy of the Gold Masters version, and it's gorgeous. You should really try to track down a copy of this. There was a thread about this recently, but I can't seem to find it. Anyone?

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

love this album. definitely one of my favourites. it's definitely made for autumn nights, either driving with the top down on the interstate (or some winding road) or laying somewhere just staring upwards, be it the ceiling or (better) the stars.



i love to make mixes for each of the four seasons, and the whole album is one of my autumn mixes!

 

[LMP]

It's 1 of my fave albums too, better to listen 2 compared to Boy and October and half of ATCYLB, IMO of course

 

[u2bonogirl]

mlk is a great song. turn the lights off and listen to his voice. its eerie

 

[intedomine]

The Unforgettable fire, the album, is just like one long song of in excess of 40 minutes divided into connecting sections...its bloody beautiful.....

If wire was swapped with the three sunrises, it would be an even greater album i reckon.....stunning absolutely stunning....

 

[EvolutionMonkey]

You need to get the Making of the UF which shows them recording the album inside Slane Castle and when you see Bono singing his part for Pride you will then understand.

If you don't get it then we'll have to take you outside and spank you.

 

[~*Buffalo*~]

I know what you mean, FullonEdge, about not appreciating UF like it should be appreciated. It is my least favourite U2 album, not because it's especially bad but because it just doesn't seem like U2 when compared to their other albums. And for me, the effect was ruined because I had already heard Pride, UF and Bad on the Best of before I heard UF so I don't listen to those songs as UF songs - if you know what I mean. Usually I just listen to those three in isolation, and perhaps ASOH which does feel to me like "proper" U2, and I guess I do miss out on the atmosphere. I need to find the right time and place to listen to the whole thing so it feels special, I suppose.

 

[sortofhomecoming]

I found that listening to The Unforgettable Fire live made me appreciate it more.

I totally agree - until you hear these songs live - you cannot really appreciate them. I was fortunate to see this tour April of 1985. My first U2 Concert.

 

[EvolutionMonkey]

Promenade is so awesome, gives me chills erverytime I hear it. Apparently Bono and his wife lived by a boardwalk (in a roundhouse with a spiral staircase) and he saw the fireworks going off there and it inspired him to write the song. Whenever I hear that song i picture the boardwalk and the fireworks and all that.

 

[biff]

Yes, and the really cool thing about that house is that it had a glass roof, so they could lie in bed and see the sky and, presumably, the fireworks. How romantic is that? (And of course the fireworks line does provide a nice double entendre. )

 

[EvolutionMonkey]

Yes, and the really cool thing about that house is that it had a glass roof, so they could lie in bed and see the sky and, presumably, the fireworks. How romantic is that? (And of course the fireworks line does provide a nice double entendre. )

i saw a picture of that house and it defintely looks cool, i want to see it in person if i ever get a chance to go there.

 

[biff]

I wonder who's living there now? Not a family, for sure. It only had three rooms; definitely a love nest only.
And Promenade is one of my favourite songs as well, to get us back on topic.

 

[Jamila]

The house that y'all talking about is the Martello Tower in Bray (County Dublin).

Bono had helped to redesign it before he and Ali moved in.

Shows how much the B-man wears his heart on his sleeve - and how much we all love that in him.

TURN ME AROUND TONIGHT....UP THROUGH THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE....TO THE HIGHER GROUND....