U2 albums planned for 2009 remasters

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re: Best Buy, yeah the 2xCD version was labelled as $29.99 so I gave the bird at the til $40, and got $18 back, didn't say anything incase they'd cocked it up, but no it's around $20 for the 'middle version' from bb

and love it so far...
 
For anyone looking for easter eggs on the dvd (if there are any?):

Explore the disc on windows explorer, where all the video files should be available to view. Anything hidden should still be accessible as a VOB file.
 
Wow....

From pitchfork:

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (Deluxe Edition)
9.3

The first song on 1984's The Unforgettable Fire is called "A Sort of Homecoming"-- not just "A Homecoming". And that shade of uncertainty-- that "sort of"-- is key. Compared to U2's first three albums-- and almost everything that has come afterward-- The Unforgettable Fire is marked by a sketchy in-between-ness that works as a gracious foil to the the band's natural audacity. It's sort of stadium rock, sort of experimental, sort of spiritual, sort of subdued, sort of uncharacteristic, sort of brilliant, sort of a classic.

After their first major breakthrough with 1983's War and its anthems "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day", U2 could have easily continued to perfect the fist-pumping, flag-waving arena battle cry. Instead, they sought out producer Brian Eno, a bold choice for a band looking to parlay semi-success into something Springsteen-ian. While Eno is now seen as a go-to stadium savior (see: Coldplay's Viva La Vida), back then he was still the guy who coaxed magnificent weirdness out of David Bowie and Talking Heads, to say nothing of his own work, which ranged from prog-rock insanity to elegant wallpaper. The U2/Eno braintrust has since become one of the most out-and-out successful in rock history, but The Unforgettable Fire finds the pair-- along with frequent conspirator Daniel Lanois-- feeling each other out and testing limits. The album ebbs and flows along the spectrum between the spiky, post-punk U2 of old and the impressionistic, Eno-assisted U2 they were yearning to become.

Not only were U2 and Eno an odd match musically, but their personalities clashed in a remarkable way as well. The album's interpersonal drama plays out on a half-hour making-of documentary originally released in 1984 and included in this reissue along with the remastered album and a disc of requisite B-sides and live cuts. While U2 were caricatured as honest and hardworking Irish boys who never met a stone-faced portrait they didn't admire, and Eno was the aloof London aesthete who openly mocked rock convention, you can watch the two subtly influencing each other throughout the intimate documentary. For example, after Bono is seen roiling himself into a frenzy while improvising over "Pride (In the Name of Love)"-- screaming, sweating, and flailing like a wounded lunatic in the recording booth-- Eno is nearly left speechless before he utters a totally sincere understatement for the ages: "I must say, this track is really bringing something out in your singing." The producer's unflappable cool often leads to a fatherly kindness that goes lengths to explain his lasting appeal.

The documentary, much like the album itself, humanizes U2 while fueling the idea that this band's head was completely up its own ass in the 80s. "I believe the songs are already written, and I think the less you get in the way of them the better," says Bono at one point in the film, explaining his muse, "The minute you take up that pen... you start interfering with the song-- I don't know if that sounds too spiritual." And while I'm not sure if the idea that God is writing your songs is truly "spiritual," it does sound quite presumptuous. But that's also the beauty of this band; whether in ironic or world-saving mode, their ambition is boundless. This can lead to garish stadium extravaganzas, but it can also birth something like "Bad", The Unforgettable Fire's centerpiece and one of the grandest arena-rock songs ever written.

There's no half-assing "Bad". After years of radio repeats, the track seems commonplace, which is a testament to just how much U2 have burrowed their way into the world's collective musical memory. Because this six-minute monoculture moment chronicling the torment of heroin addiction has no discernible chorus. Its hook is a burning build passed down from the Velvet Underground's "Heroin". But whereas that song ends with Lou Reed smacked up and despondent-- "And I guess I just don't know," he mutters-- "Bad" is the sound of revelation, recovery. "I'm wide awake!" belts Bono, triumphant in the face of isolation, desolation, and pretty much every other -ation there is. Once again, U2 put a patently cool underground icon-- this time it's Reed-- through their mega-band filter and end up with a song that sounds just as strong in record-collector headphones as it does to 100,000 fans physically forced to clap along by some primordial urge.

The Reed tribute is cemented on the live version of "Bad", filmed at Live Aid and included in this package, where Bono introduces the song with a little "Satellite of Love" and ends it riffing on "Walk on the Wild Side". In between, the possessed singer jumps down from his high perch onstage to slow dance with a fan, effectively bringing some punk-inspired spontaneity and compassion to an event that typified notions of classic rock heroism. The performance single-handily upped U2's stock in the global rock realm, and it's easy to see why.

So The Unforgettable Fire isn't U2's biggest commercial success (that would be The Joshua Tree) or its most rewarding artistic coup (Achtung Baby), but without it those records would not exist. It's a transitional album of the highest magnitude. The hits-- "Pride", "Bad"-- still hit, and even its sometimes-derided abstractions like "Promenade" and "Elvis Presley and America" contain enough mystery to keep unraveling 25 years later. The opener tells of an ambiguous return. And "A Sort of Homecoming" would come to define this band's fascinating internal struggle between sticking to what they know and venturing toward something undiscovered.

— Ryan Dombal, November 2, 2009
Click to expand...
 
Wow....

From pitchfork:

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (Deluxe Edition)
9.3

The first song on 1984's The Unforgettable Fire is called "A Sort of Homecoming"-- not just "A Homecoming". And that shade of uncertainty-- that "sort of"-- is key. Compared to U2's first three albums-- and almost everything that has come afterward-- The Unforgettable Fire is marked by a sketchy in-between-ness that works as a gracious foil to the the band's natural audacity. It's sort of stadium rock, sort of experimental, sort of spiritual, sort of subdued, sort of uncharacteristic, sort of brilliant, sort of a classic.

After their first major breakthrough with 1983's War and its anthems "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day", U2 could have easily continued to perfect the fist-pumping, flag-waving arena battle cry. Instead, they sought out producer Brian Eno, a bold choice for a band looking to parlay semi-success into something Springsteen-ian. While Eno is now seen as a go-to stadium savior (see: Coldplay's Viva La Vida), back then he was still the guy who coaxed magnificent weirdness out of David Bowie and Talking Heads, to say nothing of his own work, which ranged from prog-rock insanity to elegant wallpaper. The U2/Eno braintrust has since become one of the most out-and-out successful in rock history, but The Unforgettable Fire finds the pair-- along with frequent conspirator Daniel Lanois-- feeling each other out and testing limits. The album ebbs and flows along the spectrum between the spiky, post-punk U2 of old and the impressionistic, Eno-assisted U2 they were yearning to become.

Not only were U2 and Eno an odd match musically, but their personalities clashed in a remarkable way as well. The album's interpersonal drama plays out on a half-hour making-of documentary originally released in 1984 and included in this reissue along with the remastered album and a disc of requisite B-sides and live cuts. While U2 were caricatured as honest and hardworking Irish boys who never met a stone-faced portrait they didn't admire, and Eno was the aloof London aesthete who openly mocked rock convention, you can watch the two subtly influencing each other throughout the intimate documentary. For example, after Bono is seen roiling himself into a frenzy while improvising over "Pride (In the Name of Love)"-- screaming, sweating, and flailing like a wounded lunatic in the recording booth-- Eno is nearly left speechless before he utters a totally sincere understatement for the ages: "I must say, this track is really bringing something out in your singing." The producer's unflappable cool often leads to a fatherly kindness that goes lengths to explain his lasting appeal.

The documentary, much like the album itself, humanizes U2 while fueling the idea that this band's head was completely up its own ass in the 80s. "I believe the songs are already written, and I think the less you get in the way of them the better," says Bono at one point in the film, explaining his muse, "The minute you take up that pen... you start interfering with the song-- I don't know if that sounds too spiritual." And while I'm not sure if the idea that God is writing your songs is truly "spiritual," it does sound quite presumptuous. But that's also the beauty of this band; whether in ironic or world-saving mode, their ambition is boundless. This can lead to garish stadium extravaganzas, but it can also birth something like "Bad", The Unforgettable Fire's centerpiece and one of the grandest arena-rock songs ever written.

There's no half-assing "Bad". After years of radio repeats, the track seems commonplace, which is a testament to just how much U2 have burrowed their way into the world's collective musical memory. Because this six-minute monoculture moment chronicling the torment of heroin addiction has no discernible chorus. Its hook is a burning build passed down from the Velvet Underground's "Heroin". But whereas that song ends with Lou Reed smacked up and despondent-- "And I guess I just don't know," he mutters-- "Bad" is the sound of revelation, recovery. "I'm wide awake!" belts Bono, triumphant in the face of isolation, desolation, and pretty much every other -ation there is. Once again, U2 put a patently cool underground icon-- this time it's Reed-- through their mega-band filter and end up with a song that sounds just as strong in record-collector headphones as it does to 100,000 fans physically forced to clap along by some primordial urge.

The Reed tribute is cemented on the live version of "Bad", filmed at Live Aid and included in this package, where Bono introduces the song with a little "Satellite of Love" and ends it riffing on "Walk on the Wild Side". In between, the possessed singer jumps down from his high perch onstage to slow dance with a fan, effectively bringing some punk-inspired spontaneity and compassion to an event that typified notions of classic rock heroism. The performance single-handily upped U2's stock in the global rock realm, and it's easy to see why.

So The Unforgettable Fire isn't U2's biggest commercial success (that would be The Joshua Tree) or its most rewarding artistic coup (Achtung Baby), but without it those records would not exist. It's a transitional album of the highest magnitude. The hits-- "Pride", "Bad"-- still hit, and even its sometimes-derided abstractions like "Promenade" and "Elvis Presley and America" contain enough mystery to keep unraveling 25 years later. The opener tells of an ambiguous return. And "A Sort of Homecoming" would come to define this band's fascinating internal struggle between sticking to what they know and venturing toward something undiscovered.

— Ryan Dombal, November 2, 2009
Click to expand...
 
Is The Unforgettable Fire documentary a bit longer than the one released on the Slane DVD or is it the same thing?
 
Anyone pick up the 180gram Vinyl of UF?

I bought it yesterday and listened to Side A. Sounded so sweet. Songs had such an umph to them. My wife, not the biggest audiophile by any stretch even commented how good it sounded.

UF to Promenade to close Side A :drool:
 
Sorry if someone posted this already, but on the atu2.com site you can find three videos of U2 talking about The Unforgettable Fire. Some interesting inputs in there, they talk about their favorite songs from the record and some other trivia.

The only WTF moment is when Edge remarks he was not aware at how big a song Bad would be while making the record, otherwise they would put it earlier in the album. Since when are big songs forbidden to be on the second half (and what a weaker 2nd half it would be if Bad wasn't in there)?
 
djerdap said:
The only WTF moment is when Edge remarks he was not aware at how big a song Bad would be while making the record, otherwise they would put it earlier in the album. Since when are big songs forbidden to be on the second half (and what a weaker 2nd half it would be if Bad wasn't in there)?
Click to expand...

I caught that too. Where did they get this idea that the best songs have to go at the start of the record?
 
zoopop said:
Anyone pick up the 180gram Vinyl of UF?

I bought it yesterday and listened to Side A. Sounded so sweet. Songs had such an umph to them. My wife, not the biggest audiophile by any stretch even commented how good it sounded.

UF to Promenade to close Side A :drool:
Click to expand...

Ooh thanks for reminding me I need to go pick this up!

djerdap said:
Sorry if someone posted this already, but on the atu2.com site you can find three videos of U2 talking about The Unforgettable Fire. Some interesting inputs in there, they talk about their favorite songs from the record and some other trivia.

The only WTF moment is when Edge remarks he was not aware at how big a song Bad would be while making the record, otherwise they would put it earlier in the album. Since when are big songs forbidden to be on the second half (and what a weaker 2nd half it would be if Bad wasn't in there)?
Click to expand...

That's what I :heart: about u2. Sometimes they are just one big WTF moment :cute: :hug:
 
Some songs we're still playing now, like Pride (In the Name of Love)...

Not anymore!
 
Screwtape2 said:
I caught that too. Where did they get this idea that the best songs have to go at the start of the record?
Click to expand...

Vinyl. It took a little more effort to change tracks and even more effort to turn the thing over to side 2.
Plus the grooves on the outer edge that would play first have better sound than the inner grooves. It's a physics thing.
 
INDY500 said:
Vinyl. It took a little more effort to change tracks and even more effort to turn the thing over to side 2.
Plus the grooves on the outer edge that would play first have better sound than the inner grooves. It's a physics thing.
Click to expand...

That's actually pretty funny, and true. Although I always listened to all my albums straight through both sides. Never knew that about the edges though.
 
thelaj said:
Just letting folks know that The Unforgettable Fire is now £22.98 for the super deluxe version on Amazon UK; it was previously £29. After getting stung for The Joshua Tree super deluxe, I will now be picking this up.

The Unforgettable Fire (Remastered - Super Deluxe Edition): U2: Amazon.co.uk: Music
Click to expand...

In addition, the joshua tree 3 disc super deluxe is currently available for £7.99 on play.com for those who may be interested.

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/3513078/The-Joshua-Tree/Product.html

Apologies if already mentioned elsewhere
 
So I finally got around to listening to the TUF bonus disc. Since I'm sure you all care, here are my comments on some of its contents:

Disappearing Act - A perfect example of new vocals destroying a lovely instrumental. The lyrics are vague and vaguely poetic, like a caricature of the TUF era as a whole, but none of the above can sink Edge's beautiful guitar work and the song's intriguing structure. I would never argue that this is album-worthy, but it would surely fit on the album a little more smoothly than fucking Indian Summer Sky. It's also superior to the JT remaster refurbishments, which are uniformly awful IMO.

Yoshino Blossom - Proof positive that most TUF era instrumentals sound exactly the same. It's quite pretty though, merely inessential.

Wire (Kevorkian Mix) - A version of Wire that loops the song to an unnecessary length. The break in the middle -- where the song comes to a screeching halt and kicks right back in -- gives a pummeling track some needed dynamics, and I wish it would have been integrated into the album mix.

Pride (In the Name of Love) (Extended Single Version) - An insult to our intelligence, but what the hell, it's Pride.

11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Long Version) - About as necessary as a burst appendix.

Wire (Celtic Dub Mix) - I truly believe the Interferers should use this as a backing track some day. I can live with the handful of egregious, highly unnecessary (in my heterosexual male opinion) Bono grunts that would bleed into the mix.
 
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