Wide Awake in Europe VS. Wide Awake in America

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As far as actual content is concerned, Wide Awake in America by a landslide.

Wide Awake in Europe wouldn't have a fraction of the appeal if it wasn't for the ultra limited, vinyl-only release for record store day.
 
Make the fight fair.

If it had been live Mercy, live MOS and studio EBW and NS then there may be a decision to make.

WAIA shits me, only because every store that sells it in Australia charges like 13 bucks for it
 
Wide Awake in America. Simple and plain. Although, I like how the black and white artwork on both are similar in design....

The only thing that makes Wide Awake in Europe cool is that it is limited edition. That being said.... I can't stand the I'll Go Crazy remix. That's just me though.
 
Mercy is a track that polarises fans in the first place. The fact that many (most?) Mercy-lovers prefer the 2004 version over this live edited version means WAIE is probably not special to many.

If it was MOS (live) backed by the 2004 version of Mercy and another new track (even a full band Winter) I'd go nuts for WAIE.

Instead I much prefer WAIA. The first time I heard that version of Bad on the radio back in '85 I spent 15 mins on the phone to the radio station trying to find out where they got it, and another 2 weeks trying to track down my own copy (it was only originally imported in very limited quantities here is Australia)!

I wonder if the band had know last year that they'd not be releasing anything in 2011, if WAIE might've been a bit more special (maybe Soon, Winter, North Star or EBW) and had a full digital/CD release?
 
The first one. the Europe one needs another song EP's are 4-6 tracks not a mere 3 tut tut! :)

dan_smee said:
Make the fight fair.

If it had been live Mercy, live MOS and studio EBW and NS then there may be a decision to make.

WAIA shits me, only because every store that sells it in Australia charges like 13 bucks for it
Click to expand...

I guess it's a bit redundant now as a release if you get TUF Deluxe Edition as all the tracks are included there...

Funny thing is in the UK in spring 1985 it came out at the same time as TUF single which featured 3 out of the four songs over 2 formats, plus Bass Trap and 60secs so, I suppose us completist mugs spent 5quid on... Bad...
 
Wide Awake In America.

If they had done Wide Awake In Europe a bit differently though, it would win. Here's how it should have been:

1-Mercy (Live)
2-Moment of Surrender (Live)
3-North Star (studio/full band version)
4-Other new song.

:drool:
 
chocky said:
Mercy is a track that polarises fans in the first place. The fact that many (most?) Mercy-lovers prefer the 2004 version over this live edited version means WAIE is probably not special to many.

If it was MOS (live) backed by the 2004 version of Mercy and another new track (even a full band Winter) I'd go nuts for WAIE.

Instead I much prefer WAIA. The first time I heard that version of Bad on the radio back in '85 I spent 15 mins on the phone to the radio station trying to find out where they got it, and another 2 weeks trying to track down my own copy (it was only originally imported in very limited quantities here is Australia)!

I wonder if the band had know last year that they'd not be releasing anything in 2011, if WAIE might've been a bit more special (maybe Soon, Winter, North Star or EBW) and had a full digital/CD release?
Click to expand...

I frigging hate the 2004 version. Yay, music is subjective :happy:
 
but back on topic I much prefer Wide Awake In America. the absolute best officially released live version of Bad, followed by a great version of A Sort Of Homecoming....then two of U2's best songs getting well-deserved wider exposure than their original status as just B-sides.

What does Wide Awake In Europe have to offer? the butchering of a song that was actually ten times better than album it was dropped from, a version of Crazy Tonight where Bono sings laughably out of key at the beginning while doing the Frankie Goes To Hollywood snippets, and Moment Of Surrender...which is okay I guess. There's a reason I'm not too fussed I can't afford the extortionate prices its going for on eBay :sexywink:
 
gareth brown said:
(insert the obligatory Original Mercy Was Not A Demo Post here) :up:
Click to expand...

"Demo" is a derogatory term in these instances. Obviously, it wasn't a demo; it nearly made the album. Referring to it as a demo makes it easier to take lightly, however. If you consider it a full-fledged U2 song, you have to measure it against other full-fledged U2 songs. If you measure it against Heaven And Hell, it wins, obviously. You'll find that 95% of the people who consider it a demo dislike the song, just as 95% of people who dislike Passengers are loathe to consider it a U2 album. In this way, their favorite band remains infallible.

Anyway, WAIA.
 
LemonMelon said:
You'll find that 95% of the people who consider it a demo dislike the song, just as 95% of people who dislike Passengers are loathe to consider it a U2 album.
Click to expand...

As much as I would be flattered to be a member of this 5% minority, I have no idea how you got to this conclusion. I don't consider Mercy to be a demo (at least not in the same sense that Heaven and Hell is) and I dislike it. I like Passengers and consider it to be a U2 album. How does one thing have to do with the other? Why would something considered to be a demo be crucial in one's assessment of the song? I freakin' love Heaven and Hell and She's Gonna Blow Your House Down.

Wide Awake in America, of course.
 
gareth brown said:
people consider Heaven And Hell a full-fledged U2 song?? :huh:
Click to expand...

Depends on what do you mean by "full-fledged". It's a very loose demo that obviously hasn't gone anywhere. But it is based on some cool melodies. I still hope we'll see a more evolved version of it on the Achtung Baby Super Jumbo Deluxe Adam's Cock set.

We'll get 10 mixes of Salome instead, I know.
 
America. It's super lame how they added the crowd noise though - they're soundcheck recordings. Still, wicked versions, and the b-sides they tacked on are incredible. Europe is bad.

Homecoming is in my top 10 u2 songs.

Mercy wasn't a demo, it's just unmastered.
 
patternshirt170 said:
Funny thing is in the UK in spring 1985 it came out at the same time as TUF single which featured 3 out of the four songs over 2 formats, plus Bass Trap and 60secs so, I suppose us completist mugs spent 5quid on... Bad...
Click to expand...

But was WAIA actually released in the UK? I thought it was initially available as import only?
 
yeah I think it was just Import to begin with but now its just a properly available part of the catalogue. Didn't Imports actually chart a fair bit back then too? i mean people actually BOUGHT music back then :wink:

but Hollow Island, I think it's just ASOH that's a soundcheck. Bad was recorded in Birmingham or something, and had the final guitar note 'fixed' because Edge fucked up.

edit - hey what do you know u2 wanderer has everything I just said right there
http://www.u2wanderer.org/disco/sing017.html
 
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