# Deep Tracks - U2 - "War"



## Guest (Sep 14, 2018)

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Please *choose up to seven selections* for this particular poll.

On all polls created if you click on the number of votes following the song title the username of all voters and their chosen selections will appear.

The tunes themselves will be found below the poll itself as links rather than as embedded videos due to bandwidth issues for those who wish to reacquaint themselves with a tune that may have receded a bit too far into the past to be remembered with the clarity that came when they were first released...

Next up is - U2 - "War"

"War" is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Steve Lillywhite, and was released on 28 February 1983 on Island Records.

The album has come to be regarded as U2's first overtly political album, in part because of songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day", as well as the title, which stems from the band's perception of the world at the time; Bono stated that "war seemed to be the motif for 1982."

While the central themes of their earlier albums "Boy" and "October" focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively, "War" focused on both the physical aspects of warfare, and the emotional after-effects. Musically, it is also harsher than the band's previous releases. The album has been described as the record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade."

"War" was a commercial success for the band, knocking Michael Jackson's Thriller from the top of the charts to become the band's first number-one album in the UK. It reached number 12 in the US and became their first gold-certified album there.

While poorly received by British critics at the time of release, "War" has since gained critical acclaim.

In 2012, the album was ranked number 223 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The group supported the album with the War Tour through the end of 1983.

Three of the tracks featured backing vocals by the Coconuts, of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. In the words of Steve Lillywhite, "they just happened to be in Dublin on tour, so we hung out with them and they came in and sang on 'Surrender'. So it was sort of random - this serious Irish rock band having the Coconuts on their album."

The album was titled "War" for several reasons; in 1982, Bono said, "War seemed to be the motif for 1982," adding that "Everywhere you looked, from the Falklands to the Middle East and South Africa, there was war. By calling the album War we're giving people a slap in the face and at the same time getting away from the cozy image a lot of people have of U2."

The Edge said that "It's a heavy title. It's blunt. It's not something that's safe, so it could backfire. It's the sort of subject matter that people can really take a dislike to. But we wanted to take a more dangerous course, fly a bit closer to the wind, so I think the title is appropriate.

The War Tour proper began on 26 February 1983 and lasted until 30 November of that year. In total, the band played 110 gigs in Europe, the US, and Japan to promote "War". Over the course of the tour, the band began to play progressively larger venues, moving from clubs to halls to arenas.

Bono attempted to engage the growing audiences with theatrical, often dangerous antics, climbing scaffoldings and lighting rigs and jumping into the audience. The sight of Bono waving a white flag during performances of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" became the tour's iconic image.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_(U2_album)

Your commentary on any and every aspect of the album and especially any memories reawakened as a result of the poll is welcomed.


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2018)

"*Sunday Bloody Sunday*" -






"*Seconds*" -






"*New Year's Day*" -






"*Like A Song...* "






"*Drowning Man*" -






"*The Refugee*" -






"*Two Hearts Beat As One*" -






"*Red Light*" -






"*Surrender*" -






"*40*" -


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Probably my favourite U2 album, still sort of raw and edgy like a garage band, and before all of the over production that occurred in later albums. But still raw and edgy with some production values. And Two Hearts Beat as One is a terrific title, so poetic. I haven't heard it in years though.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Bog-standard rumpty-tumpy rhythm section with a guitarist who sounds like PIL's Keith Levine but with more expensive effects. Add to that a preaching Irish short-*** with a Napoleon complex and - hey presto! The biggest band in the world!


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2018)

senza sordino said:


> Probably my favourite U2 album, still sort of raw and edgy like a garage band, and before all of the over production that occurred in later albums. But still raw and edgy with some production values. And Two Hearts Beat as One is a terrific title, so poetic. I haven't heard it in years though.


_"Two souls with but a single thought,
Two hearts that beat as one!" 
_
― John Keats


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2018)

elgars ghost said:


> Bog-standard rumpty-tumpy rhythm section with a guitarist who sounds like PIL's Keith Levine but with more expensive effects. Add to that a preaching Irish short-*** with a Napoleon complex and - hey presto! The biggest band in the world!


https://www.today.com/popculture/10-best-rock-bands-ever-2D80554936

"Ireland's U2 is the most important and influential band of the post-punk era, joining ringing guitar rock, punkish independence, Celtic spirituality, innovative production techniques and electronic experimentalism - all held together by singer/lyricist Bono's transcendent vision and charisma.

U2 was the leading rock band of the '80s because its members, like perhaps only Bruce Springsteen in the U.S., still believed that rock 'n' roll could save the world, and they had the talent to make that notion not seem hopelessly naive.

This earnestness and willingness to shoulder the heaviest of responsibilities led to soaring heights of achievement and escalating psychic and artistic demands that eventually led the band to adopt irony as its basic means of expression for a time in the '90s.

(Editor's Note: I'm still using irony as my basic means of expression and have no intentions of giving it up)

All bands want to be cool, and in the '80s U2 almost single-handedly made earnestness cool, but it was hard, relentless work. After the gritty, chunky guitars-and-idealism of the '80s, the '90s saw the diaphanous chill of electronics-and-irony, which was literally and metaphorically cool, but ultimately not what the band is about.

U2 is now a mature, confident, still amazing band that knows it doesn't have all the answers, but isn't afraid to keep asking the right questions."


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

One thing I actually admire them for is staying together for as long as they have - I bet ZZ Top are the only ones who can beat them in the 'so many years with no personnel changes ever' stakes. Sorry about the earlier negativity and it's not a pop at anyone who likes them but U2 are just one of those bands which give me a rash.


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