Many years before Bono thought his civic duty to lecture people about giving part of their salaries to third world debt while gouging fans with extortionate ticket prices, and just a few years before he and his mates hit megastatrdom with `The Joshua tree', U2 were a fledgling Irish rock band with two albums underneath their belt.
They realized that promise with `War', one of the more impassioned , raw ,aggressive albums ever made. The album was as Bono put it, a slap in the face to complacent music listeners everywhere. I would go so far as to say the album is akin to a petrol bomb exploding outside your door, and while you are on the inside, your innards shake from the force of the blast.
I was angry kid back then and u2`s post punk aggressiveness appealed to me. It was a soundtrack for my formative years.
Here, U2 address the Irish troubles(Sunday Bloody sunday), resolutions that we mean to keep but do we ever(New year`s day), standing up for your position in life(Like a song), immigration(The refugee), an energetic love song not steeped in sappy sentimentality(Two hearts beat as One), needing a hand while being overwhelmed)Drowning Man and a beautiful adaptation of a psalm that closes the album(40)
My better half reckons I resemble the kid on the cover shot when I was a youth. And that cover even conveys the rawness of the album before you hear it. Here, the kid is unsmiling, possibly angry with a cut lip.
This was an album that was unaplogetic.and uncompromising. Why people prefer Joshua tree(1987), a work where sensitive ponytailed men were soul searching is beyond me. U2 compromised a bit in my book.
Many people here on this site feel U2 are overrated. Back in`83 for a kid such as myself., U2 were possibly the best band in rock, not falling or giving into trends.
Nowadays, I have no more use for U2, but those are my reason alone.
Last edited by Magic; 12-22-2009 at 09:34 PM.
Reason: added the album image
I quite enjoy U2s War album for the wide range of songs presented on it, and the context it's presented it in, it's quite powerful considering it was done in 1983 - perhaps Pink Floyds Wall Album had some influence on it and then The Final Cut which came out the same year as War. The only song I don't quite follow from U2s War album is "The Refugee" which to me sounds somewhat laid back and satirical, U2s approach to it seems to sounds more like tongue-in-cheek than serious, but the rest of the album is wonderful. Someone recommended their followup live album "Under A Blood Red Sky" in 1984 though I found the album somewhat limited with the number of songs on it, however I've seen a DVD of that concert which includes more tracks from their War album, so that's probably the one to get.
I like U2 as a band but I am not real fond of Bono. I dont have this album, and I should probably add it to my library. I am much more fond of the later U2 albums, the softer less angry material.
Nice review Stout, that is one their best albums, I hold the opposite opinion to Magic's on this band, the early albums are by far the best, when they had that Edge to them.(No Pun intended.)
I agree with Bono being a **** now though, he has become a parody of himself, and his idea of his own importance far exceeds the reality.
It's a pity I cannot write about my Dissatisfaction about U2s Best Of 1990-2000 album, it's an absolute con. In many regards it is a New Album, but perhaps it's best not to judge cause I've hardly played it cause I wasn't all that impressed with it.
I don't usually have an opinion on what rock stars do in their personal lives Annie, and I do appreciate some of the things Bono has taken interest in, but he is infatuated with his celebrity status and it shows.(And if you are going to dabble in the politics of nations, you are going to get the odd black eye, simple as that.)
As for the music I think they were at their very best up to Joshua, since then they have slipped a little.
Last edited by Lord Grendel; 12-23-2009 at 01:13 PM.
Even from their first two albums, U2 got quite a bit of airplay on the alt/rock radio station here in Los Angeles, but it wasn't until War that even the mainstream rock radio stations began to pay attention and play their music.
As a whole, War was better than both Boy and October that preceded it, but what really got my attention was their 1983 Red Rocks concert that was broadcast over-the-air. Song for song, it's still one of the best concerts I've heard. I think it's safe to say that MTV put U2 on the map, but this concert put them on MY map.
Their follow-up album The Unforgettable Fire is also very good, but both The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum were spotty at best. I did like a lot of their music from the 90's, but their material during this decade is, again, spotty.
A great band, to be sure, but I could really do without the proselytizing that Bono is unfortunately known for.
Just one of the many, many great songs from the Live at Red Rocks concert... this is "Seconds" from the War album:
Here's a link to a video montage looking back at the filming of what has been cited as one of Rolling Stone's "50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll."
I am loyal to U2 no matter what they do and I think the slander against Bono is unfair.
I guess it's better to say nothing if you can't say nothing nice at all.
Hold on. these are legitimate criticisms. I will give Bono his due when it comes to raising awareness to third world poverty, but at the same token, when your band is charging quite a few hundred for a concert ticket and then you are preaching about third world debt,it seems to be hypocritical. I know it`s the promoter who sets the prices, but the performers are the ones who accept it To top it all of, U2 are a band who hardly pay any tax in Ireland meanwhile, the Celtic Tiger is no longer roaring in this economy. There are many Irish who have been hit hard in this recession and are fed up with Bono`s lecturing about one`s duty to third world debt.
In fairness to U2, I realize high concert ticket prices are not U2`s domain alone. Macca, Sting and/or the Police, Eric clapton are just as culpable.
Hold on. these are legitimate criticisms. I will give Bono his due when it comes to raising awareness to third world poverty, but at the same token, when your band is charging quite a few hundred for a concert ticket and then you are preaching about third world debt,it seems to be hypocritical. I know it`s the promoter who sets the prices, but the performers are the ones who accept it To top it all of, U2 are a band who hardly pay any tax in Ireland meanwhile, the Celtic Tiger is no longer roaring in this economy. There are many Irish who have been hit hard in this recession and are fed up with Bono`s lecturing about one`s duty to third world debt. In fairness to U2, I realize high concert ticket prices are not U2`s domain alone. Macca, Sting and/or the Police, Eric clapton are just as culpable.
You might as well critize the fans, who decided to spend their hard earnings on an U2 concert because I never ever told anyone to go to their concerts! But if you think that Bono and U2 are screwing people out of your own money, then don't go to their concerts! Sheese!
Hold on. these are legitimate criticisms. I will give Bono his due when it comes to raising awareness to third world poverty, but at the same token, when your band is charging quite a few hundred for a concert ticket and then you are preaching about third world debt,it seems to be hypocritical. I know it`s the promoter who sets the prices, but the performers are the ones who accept it To top it all of, U2 are a band who hardly pay any tax in Ireland meanwhile, the Celtic Tiger is no longer roaring in this economy. There are many Irish who have been hit hard in this recession and are fed up with Bono`s lecturing about one`s duty to third world debt. In fairness to U2, I realize high concert ticket prices are not U2`s domain alone. Macca, Sting and/or the Police, Eric clapton are just as culpable.
You might as well critize the fans, who decided to spend their hard earnings on an U2 concert because I never ever told anyone to go to their concerts! But if you think that Bono and U2 are screwing people out of your own money, then don't go to their concerts! Sheese!
Uhh, I never have been to any of their concerts because I simply can`t afford to. Not a single one!!!! God`s Honest Truth. You shouldn`t make assumptions about me, because you do not know me at all.
I just felt you were attacking me for voicing my opinion when you stated if you can`t say anything nice , don`t say anything at all. I thought the purpose of a message forum was to voice your opinion. And all I stated was what many people do feel, especially over in Ireland.
If you felt insulted by my statements , than I`m sorry you feel that way. And having written that, I might add that the sarcasm from you in your above post was out of line, not warranted, totally unnecessary, and far more insulting with the WTF Icon. I sure as hell was not that way with you at all.
If you have an issue with me,mate, take it up with me privately. I don`t do flame wars on the internet.
U2 - War (1983) 
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But if you think that Bono and U2 are screwing people out of your own money, then don't go to their concerts! Sheese! 
Linear Mode
