I "heart" the album War

[Brian-C]

Don't even get me started on pompous fans such as yourself who lay down their taste as if it's the only legitimate perspective. Don't tell me what taste to have.

I'd personally say October kills War. War's a good album and all, but everything from Gloria to Tomorrow with the solitary exception of I Fall Down is a stronger and more passionate, intense run than anything on War. I suppose that sounds like a bit of a funny thing to say given the impact of War, but something like I Threw A Brick is even more suffocating and desperate than most of War, and very few songs anywhere achieve the emotional intensity of Tomorrow.

Yeah. Everything he said.

 

[LemonMelon]

Underrated on this forum, overrated everywhere else. I would consider it an upper-middle tier U2 album, mostly fantastic, with a second half that deviates from the theme of the album a bit, blunting its impact.

 

[LemonMelon]

Right. I'm pompous. And you've never had the problem of laying down your tastes as if it were the only legitimate perspective. Uh-huh . . .

The faults of others do not excuse your own. That's an immature way of looking at the situation. You really did cross the line into pomposity there (keep in mind, I am NOT one of those "place IMO after every other syllable, or you're shoving your opinions down my throat" types) and whether or not Axver does on an hourly basis is irrelevant.

Back to your regularly scheduled hearting.

 

[purpleoscar]

Yes, exactly. It's retarded.

Can't seem to get the symbol to show up on the thread title.

 

[Brian-C]

I have no problem labeling War as an absolute masterpiece. In the world of U2, there are a lot of high-watermark albums, like the Stones, Dylan, the Beatles, etc. We're talking about a huge band with an undeniable catalog. War isn't MY personal favorite of theirs, but it's an album where I can find little to complain about. In fact, while the early singles, Boy and October all had their merits, it seems to me that War is the popular package where the first U2 "sound" came together most fully realized.

And then they took a left turn and created a whole different sound with Unforgettable Fire.

That's what's so great about them. They realize when a formula has been perfected, and they move on to other uncharted waters.

 

[U2girl]

A little overrated. One of their best side A's followed by a weak side B (again similar to UF).
Still War > Boy and October combined.

 

[Bonochick]

It's retarded.

I think you can find a better choice of words to express displeasure over something.

 

[mikal]

i've always considered this album to be very strong, but it could have been much stronger if "Red Light" and "Refugee" had been replaced with better songs. and after hearing "Angels Too Tight To The Ground", i'm very disappointed that it was not included on the album. i thought it would have fit in very well before "Surrender".

 

[eviltwin]

Boy and October are good, very good if you consider their age, but not not enough to compete directly with the best of the Jam, the Police or the Clash and that was always their goal. By the time of the release of War, the Jam had already disbanded, and the Clash were on the verge of collapse. The Police would disband before the release of TUF. So War is U2's manifesto. It is their proclamation: "we are the new kings".

As a manifesto it works, it is very eclectic, showing off a multitude of styles (similar to the Police's "Ghost in the Machine" or the Clash's "Sandistas" in that respect) There are multiple ideas on there within each song, which had it been produced by Enois, could've resulted in twice as many songs and twice as many discarded half-songs.

In a way War is the last true U2 album, very few US influences, no synths, no Eno adding textures, no Lanois; as such it is the culmination of 6years of work. They WANTED to experiment with violins, trumpets and backing singers and so they DID.

I also think that War is the reason that they could make TUF (and JT), not only because commercial (UK#1) and artistic success gave them some credit to persue other directions, but also because it is the perfect closer for a trilogy. After War (and UABRS) they could reset and start anew, much like after LoveTown or Popmart.

Lastly, War is their first "big" album, big in the sense that Boy and October deal with small, personal issues, where War tackles the big issues (conflicts on a global as well as interhuman scale). Boy and October are very much inward looking, Boy talks of a young man dreaming of taking on the world, War however, shows men actually taking on the world. Songs like Please, Crumbs or Love and Peace or Else, could not have existed without Seconds or SBS.

 

[OrARoundabout]

I WAR!

And I love The Refugee...so fuck the haters

JK I understand u wouldn't...but I always liked the song

This is a "no skip" album for me, every track is pretty strong...except for one *coughRedLightcough*...


I was listening to some demos yesterday...great stuff. Even in their rawest form, songs like SBS and Seconds still sound amazing...


Does anybody know where I can find more War demos?

 

[Fernando-]

I suppose you already have the 2 CD version of War remastered, other than that, I don't know of any place where to find more U2 demos, anyways.. good luck.

 

[eviltwin]

Does anybody know where I can find more War demos?

not necessarily demos, but the pre-War tour (late '82) features live versions of War songs in their rough, prerelease form. For example New Year's Day from Manchester (2nd of Dec, 1982)

It might be interesting to check those out.

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

Why does everyone spell the "heart symbol" as "heart"? Isn't it supposed to mean "love"? Shouldn't it be "I Love Huckabees" or "I love the War album"?

I "Heart" all of the WAR album, except RED LIGHT.

Sorry. Just doesn't work for me.

 

[OrARoundabout]

not necessarily demos, but the pre-War tour (late '82) features live versions of War songs in their rough, prerelease form. For example New Year's Day from Manchester (2nd of Dec, 1982)

It might be interesting to check those out.

Will do!

 

[goincommando]

Always has been and always will be my favorite album. "Seconds" is constantly fighting "The Fly" for my favorite song, if you don't like this album you don't deserve to like U2.

 

[OrARoundabout]

^Amen