**The Offical U2 Fan Thread**

[Axver]

Ah right, yes, now I get you. They had to do something new, and what's more, UF was definitely their most Irish of CDs.

 

[Axver]

Because I'm feeling fanladish and I don't want to study maths ...

Unforgettable Fire-era U2 wasn't just limited to one release. We can't ignore the four track EP, Wide Awake In America.

Bad: What is it with this song and being so amazing live? There's nothing quite like a powerful, spine-tingling rendition of this song. Many people talk up the WAIA performance and with good cause, though I do not feel it is even close to the best. It most certainly is not 5 February 1985 or 8 November 1987 (the latter appears on the Rattle And Hum video). The 28 August 1993 version is fantastic, too - Bono begins snippeting Candle In The Wind and Fool To Cry, and the band slides into The First Time before the absolute explosion into Bullet.

A Sort Of Homecoming: I've noticed that people often comment on how this song was quite different live to in the studio. Very valid point. The WAIA rendition of ASOH is actually from a soundcheck and it's like the other live performances in style. Very well done and powerful.

The Three Sunrises: This is really the reason I'm posting. I am in love with this song. It is a masterpiece. The beginning is just ... wow. If it had not been cut off as a b-side but developed into a full UF album song, it could have proved to be such an absolutely brilliant song. It's sheer genius.

Love Comes Tumbling: Another song with a lot of promise. It and TTT were cut out of UF because the band did not feel they fitted with the album, but they felt they were too good not to release. Right on, too. Great songs. Interestingly, shades of LCT can be seen in Always, the b-side and early version of Beautiful Day.

For the record, Acrobat and Zooropa can also be seen in Always. It's interesting to see how long some U2 ideas can linger. For example;

She's A Mystery To Me (1987) --> Love Is Blindness (1991) - through the line 'And if my love is blind, I don't want to see.'
Acrobat (1991) --> Zooropa (1993) --> Always (2000) - through the line 'dream out loud.'
Take You Down (1990 demo) --> Ultra Violet, Lady With The Spinning Head, Salome, The Fly (1991) --> Wake Up Dead Man (1997) - various lyrics and musical structure

 

[oldrooster]

That was a great ep as well, I remember I got it on the release date, listened to it for about 8 hours straight.....

 

[Roush01USA]

I would love to see U2 live! I hear they put on an awesome show!

 

[Roush01USA]

Because I still havent found what im looking for!

 

[Axver]

Saying they put on an amazing show is an understatement. Just audio bootlegs are enough to get me hyped up. I can't wait for the next tour and I hope they go stadiums again. U2 stadium gigs are a spectacle and a half.

That was a great ep as well, I remember I got it on the release date, listened to it for about 8 hours straight.....

Wow, that would've been cool! I'm just slightly peeved I was born after my favourite U2 stuff was released ...

 

[sad astronaut]

I would love to see U2 live! I hear they put on an awesome show!

It is definitely a surreal experience. I went once to see their Elevation tour, and I would love to go again. For most of the concert, I don't believe my brain registered that I was actually there, seeing U2.

 

[KristianJ]

You have to do stadium gigs for U2. I could imagine when they do a Sydney gig, you'd need Telstra Stadium plus a feed to Sydney Olympic Park you'd have that much interest, plus a live showing on at least one free-to-air network. It'd be bigger than the Olympics!

 

[Axver]

You have to do stadium gigs for U2. I could imagine when they do a Sydney gig, you'd need Telstra Stadium plus a feed to Sydney Olympic Park you'd have that much interest, plus a live showing on at least one free-to-air network. It'd be bigger than the Olympics!

Woohoo! Yeah, that's true. Even if they play arenas in America and Europe, they will HAVE to do stadiums in this part of the world. I imagine they could play two sold-out gigs at both Telstra Stadium and the MCG. I'd LOVE a 'Gabba concert. And then when they go to South America ... that will be INSANE. The crowds they got to Popmart were just beyond belief.

 

[KristianJ]

You know the Maracana in Brazil? If it still holds 200000 and is modern enough, then that would be definitely insane!

 

[Axver]

We all know what those South Americans are like too! Apparently the Brazilian concerts on Popmart were something else. They've got a huge South American fan base and they've only been there once so the crowds will be especially insane when they return. As some trivia, rumour has it that they were going there to conclude the Joshua Tree tour but then they cancelled it to play the two gigs in Tempe, Arizona for Rattle And Hum (I don't believe that rumour just yet), and they were going there on ZooTV until they changed the plan and recorded Zooropa.

 

[rainbowprism]

Thier Elevation concert was one of the best I have ever been to! Love them and Bono is such a cutie-pie!

 

[Panthoryn]

Alright. I have "All that you can't leave behind" and "The Best of 1980 - 1990" I love all of The Best of and some of All That You Can't, but I want more! What should I buy! I want to get Joshua Tree and War, but what should I really buy to get my Bono and Edge on?

 

[Axver]

Well, I would tell you to get a War Tour or ZooTV bootleg, but those aren't exactly being sold in shops (though if you really are that interested, here's the two top gigs: 5 June 1983, Denver [Half of which appears on the Under A Blood Red Sky video] and 11 June 1992, Stockholm). Between The Joshua Tree and War, I'd get The Joshua Tree. That and Achtung Baby are commonly regarded as U2's masterpieces. I feel their best work is The Unforgettable Fire.

Just in the words of someone I know, "recommend anything as long as it's not Zooropa." Zooropa's ... a bit out there. The kind of thing you get into once you've got a few CDs and know you like these Irish lads.

 

[Panthoryn]

I love The Unforgettable Fire, it is just so incredible. Yeah, I've heard Zooropa and Pop are both a little out there from U2's regular sound.

 

[oldrooster]

I love The Unforgettable Fire, it is just so incredible. Yeah, I've heard Zooropa and Pop are both a little out there from U2's regular sound.

U2 does not have a regular sound, they are always growing.....

 

[The Electroencephelograph]

U2 FANS! U2 is the best band ever! I love their music! I made it to Popmart Tel Aviv AND WHAT A GIG!!! THAT WAS AMAZING! BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE! I wish I had a bootleg! All I have is Rock's Hottest Ticket and ZooEuropa. BUT THEY ARE AWESOME! Exit and In God's Country on RHT are my favourite songs! Nothing better than them!

<333 U2!

 

[Axver]

I love The Unforgettable Fire, it is just so incredible. Yeah, I've heard Zooropa and Pop are both a little out there from U2's regular sound.

TUF is a masterpiece of sound; the musical landscapes that it paints are incredible. Zooropa's more 'out there' than Pop - it was originally going to be an EP but once they got in the studio, they recorded a whole new album in just six weeks. It's extremely experimental with some powerful songwriting by Bono. It's basically U2 "taking whatever's out there and [bleep]ing with it" - Larry Mullen. Pop isn't quite as experimental and I think it's vastly under-rated. Gone is one of the best songs ever made (the Best Of 1990-2000 New Mix is even better), Mofo is a very autobiographical song by Bono, and Please and Wake Up Dead Man form a powerful close to the album. Heh, OR has a point that U2 has no regular sound. They keep on evolving and trying out anything that captures their interest (re: American gospel and blues influence on The Joshua Tree and Rattle And Hum).

The Electroencephelograph, you were at Popmart Tel Aviv? WOW! There is a bootleg of it, a wonderful bootleg; I only have dodgy MP3s but I'm sure you can find it. Rock's Hottest Ticket and Zoo Europa are awesome bootlegs, I have to agree with you there. Two other amazing ones I mentioned just before - The Concert (5 June 1983, Denver) and Dancing ZooTV (11 June 1992, Stockholm). My DVDs of the latter are nearly finished downloading and should be done in about three hours. As you can imagine, I am VERY excited. Oh, and Electro, are you really from Azerbaijan? I've always had a thing for that country.

 

[indigo tree]

Wow, I have alot of posting to catch up on.....

Yesterday I bought the U2 7 EP.I must say I love the song "Always". They're not kidding when they say "Beautiful Day" came from that song. During the chorus if it the percussion seems almost identical to that of the chorus of BD. Anyway, I've probably played that song ten times already.
I really like the version of "Walk On" it has. I like in the end how it goes "Halle, Halle, Hallelujah." And the Elevation Influx mix rocks. "Big Girls Are Best" is a rather different song. I really didn't know what to think of it the first time around, so I played it again and I liked it better.

 

[Axver]

Ah, I'd love to get U2:7. OK, so I have most of the songs from it, but that's beside the point. I'm a completist! Always, musically, is almost exactly the same as Beautiful Day, and went it comes to Walk On/Hallelujah, nothing beats the live versions where Bono sings that. Just awesome!