Customer Reviews

The Unforgettable Fire [Vinyl]

5 star:		(134)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This album is their least commercial of all, but the most artistic, in my view. The cascading drums of 'A Sort of Homcoming' begins the passionate journey, which is The Unforgettable Fire. It's interesting to hear the musical progression from 'Boy' to this record, in only 4 short years (I'm assuming that Eno and Lanois' influence had a big part in that evolution). 'Pride' is the only departure on an album that cares more about taking you on a passionate journey, than feeding you songs with a hooky chorus. Some of my favorites include, ' A Sort of Homecoming', a great opening force of raw passion and spirit, 'Wire', which reminds me of some the music of today, although with more depth and focus, 'The Unforgettable Fire', with its haunting guitar overlaying and strong supporting string arrangement, 'Prominade', for it's beautiful story of falling in love in a seaside town and it's poetic lyrics, and of course, 'Bad', which is a fantastic build type song that reaches a pinnacle of emotional passion.

I love every song on this album, including Elvis Presely and America, and everytime I hear the opening of Edge's guitar on 'Pride', it reminds of of that fall of 1984 when the airways were filled with Cindy Lauper, Madonna, hair bands, and a host of New Wave synth [stuff] and remembering that great guitar work just blowing me away. For a 20 year old who wanted something raw, yet powerful, that was music to my ears and thank God U2 was there to keep mainstream rock honest and back on course.

'Joshua Tree' and 'Achtung Baby!' may have a better collection of pop tunes, but when I want to hear U2 at their artistic pinnacle I always put in Unforgettable. This record is timeless and it still stands up today.

I'm somewhat looking forward to U2's next, which should be coming out late this year, but I'm not expecting anything to match what was done from '84-'91. I just hope they continue to be as passionate as ever, regardless of what Henry Rollins says about them. (...)

The 1985 release of "Unforgettable Fire" vaulted U2 into heavy video rotation and arena rock. With the production team of Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois at the helm, the group's sound shaped with new keyboard textures and lots of layering of The Edge's guitars. Some might say the disk was over-produced. We also get Bono's trademark emotive breathing on several tracks.

I wavered between giving this 4 or 5 stars, so 4.5 might be the best assessment. The primary reason most people got this album was for the mega-popular anthem "Pride (In the Name of Love)" with its Christ imagery ("one man betrayed with a kiss...") and Martin Luther King, Jr. theme ("early morning, April 4, shot rings out...") and memorable guitar melody. Great vocal performance by Bono and backing by The Edge (oh-oh-oh-oh). An instant classic.
"Pride" aside, this disk has a number of excellent tracks. One of my all-time favorites is "A Sort of Homecoming" and I especially like the lyric "faces ploughed like fields that once gave no resistance." There's a strong Ireland theme here, and this is a great leadoff song. One drawback is that I think the mix is a little muddy.
"Wire" is a high energy piece with a chunky bassline, great drums, and very cool guitars.
"The Unforgettable Fire" really brings out the guitar atmospherics, along with a string section, and another powerful vocal from Bono.
"Promenade" is not a bad song, but it's really a sound-alike to many of the other songs, and not a particularly memorable memory.
"4th of July" is a sonic instrumental introduction to "Bad", which is one of the best songs on the disk. Great simple guitar melody and vocal performance with the "I'm wide awake...and I'm sleeping" rise and fall dynamics. Perhaps some of Adam Clayton's best bass work to this point. Check this song out on the "Wide Awake in America" live EP. It's a beautiful tune.
"Indian Summer Sky" is like "Promenade" in that it's not a bad song, but not as good as its sound-alike, "Wire."
"Elvis Presley and America" shows U2's growing love affair with Americana. It's a nice ballad.
"MLK" is the true Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute, a gospel-like vocal over some light keyboard textures. It's a great under-stated performance by Bono and nice closer for the disk.
The strengths by far lift up the few weaker tunes, and this disk is very listenable in its entirety.

U2 in a rare pantheon of artists, being together for over 30 years, fans get the rare gift of seeing the band evolve musically before their collective eyes. The Unforgettable Fire was the first album produced with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and represents a huge leap forward both musically and lyrically. This album represents the sound of the band that would become the mega-selling act for decades to come.

The remastering reveals who new layers to the music, a crispness and clarity that only enhances epic tracks like THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE, BAD and PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE).

This album is a sample of the REAL classic U2 - not the sold out one they want you to believe by putting the same cocktail of trademarked sounds once again -.

A sort Of Homecoming is an experience for me. Without doubt, one of my top 10 U2 songs. Then, a TRULY classic: Pride ( in the name of love ). Everyone have listen this song, so it's not worth to talk about it, simply a great song. For all those freaks whom think this U2 2000 is "classic" or whatever, LISTEN TO BONO'S VOICE !!!! WHAT A RANGE HE HAD IN THOSE DAYS !!!! not this raspy one who "likes the sound of his own voice" ( what a crap !!! ). The Edge was innovative in those days ( unlike nowadays ), as well Adam and Larry.
Bad is a TRULY anthem. Promenade includes one of the top 10 Bono's performances.
Elvis Presley and America is an amazing musical journey, I don't what do you think, but every time I listen to it I'm listening a pretty Zoo Tv times in it !!! OUTSTANDING.

Finally this album contains the most beautiful - not boring, I'm not talking about Grace or Yahweh - ending ever: MLK. It's an amazing effect if you listen to this song and then you put Joshua Tree on the first track ( Where The Streets Have No Name ).

Why 4 stars ? I really don't know why they included that filler instrumental number called 4th of July. Also I don't like so much Indian Summer Sky. The rest is fantastic.

Highly recomended

Very different than U2's previous three studio albums, Unforgettable Fire gave us softer, more melodic renderings such as "Bad," "Elvis Presley and America," a lullaby called "MLK," and even an instrumental piece, "4th of July." With Unforgettable Fire, the band stops with the disenchanted- youth thing (which is a good gig for while, as their albums Boy and War proved, but can grow tiresome after a time) and breaks into the meaningful social-consciousness stuff we know and love them for. This album was the fitting prequel to probably the best album of all time, "The Joshua Tree" (it actually finishes "MLK" with the same bass-line note that JoshuaTree begins with ("Where the Streets Have No Name").

At first, I wasn't quite sure what to make of this album because it contains one super-hit ("Pride - In the Name of Love") and a lot of musical experimentation. Then I figured it out: just like Joshua Tree, this album was meant to be listed to wholly. Sure, you can listen to "Pride" and "Bad" individually, but I highly recommend listening to the album cover to cover. What you will find if you do is elated mourning - loss of beloved friend, parent, visionary, home, mixed-in with an exuberance you would never expect for such things. Plus, there are many, many recurrent themes to be discovered that come out again and again in later works. I hear something new ever time I listen.

If Unforgettable Fire is not a masterpiece in its own right (and I think it is), it certainly is by proxy because it was the necessary step before Joshua Tree.

This album simply gets better over time. It doesn't have War's aggression or The Joshua Tree's openness, but those records were more structured and hook-laden. TUF has an emotional depth that has never been reached by the band since. The production is muted and ethereal, the Edge's guitar is hypnotic, and Bono's singing ranges from a junkie's mumble to painful confessional. But what really makes this record brilliant is not the music itself but what the music will reveal about you, the listener. Put it on when you need grounding, when you're empty, when you're excited and about to embark on a big adventure, when you question the world and your life, when you're about to make or have made a big decision. Sit quietly and listen to "Elvis Presley and America." It's sadness and beauty is almost overwhelming.

After years of Hyundai car commercial jingles and Beer adds that have usurped the surface appeal of this ground breaking album it is easy to understand why it has slipped from favor in the U2 cannon. To be fair, it is not always possible to ask listners to listen to music for its historic or contextual value. Then again there have been scores of magazines heralding the virtues of Sgt. Pepper as the finest rock record ever even though... well... who really spends time having their world view shaken by the likes of "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" anymore? The point is that this album, as difuse dreamlike, and well, dated, as it sounds now was a shocking departure in its day. This was U2's first stab after something more "artistic" than the visceral sound of a rock band. It may well be for this reason that it has offended so many. It is also the album that really won for them the stature their later work has attained. String sections, layered guitars, open spacious arrangements that became the signature of so many '80s acts were introduced to that decade by this ground breaking work that finally allowed Brian Eno not only to conquer, but to change the world with his oblique stratagies. The fact that an album from 1985 should sound so completely familiar and played in another millenium is testimony to just how much its soundscapes became a part of the popular consciousness. It is easy not to forgive this album for all the crass imitations it has spawned, but try, just try listeneing to it on its own merrits. Listen to the chiming harmonics, and low cello strings, and wonder just where the ideas to mate the two came from. Miles Davis is said to have listened to this album frequently during the last few months of his life. Its musical merits, and earnest youthful atempts to surpass itself are in fact part of its charm. Its stumbles are not mere errors, they are unguarded moments and as such they are quite brave considering the commercial success that the band was guaranteed by simply sitting on its laurels and playing it safe.

Of all the U2 cds I chose this one as their best. The reason being that the three that came before, Boy, October and War are all rough edged and unfinished albums. I didn't choose The Joshua Tree because it's so popular already and I didn't think it matched Unforgettable's cohesion. Achtung, Baby would have been an obvious choice except that it doens't sound as good, musically, as Unforgettable. Zooropa, Rattle and Hum and Pop are all good albums but, again, they lack the consistency of Unforgettable. This album has 10 tightly produced songs that sound great 16 years later. If you don't know where to start this would be the one. If you're not a U2 fan, this would be the one to start with. It's moody and melodic and shows just how great U2 was about to be. That's what's really great about this disc--you know what came next. This is an often overlooked gem in their catalogue but it was a precursor to The Joshua Tree. A must have for any serious music collector.

It was about time this was remastered! I own the MFSL gold cd, and this new version sounds very good, a little brighter than the MFSL, the instruments come out clearer but this also adds a little bit of hiss. The sound levels (no extreme compression/limiting here) give room for the dynamic range to breathe. This album is a classic, the songs flow nicely one into another and now we can enjoy it without having to buy expensive gold remastered cd versions. Cheers!

I am absolutely amazed by the reviewers who state: "Promenade", "4th of July", "Indian Summer Sky" and, in particular, "Elvis Presley and America" are somehow weak or sub-par. These are some of the best moments U2 has EVER created. This is clearly a band in the begining stages of musical and emotional maturation and unabashedly unafarid to put it out there as such.
His 1st person observation in "Promenade" is nothing short of breath-taking, and the way "4th of July" creeps into my skin is almost frightening.
The only thing that "Indian..." and "Wire" share in common is tempo, and even that's not quite the same.
A little known fact: Bono made up the lyrics on the spot to "Elvis...", that's why it's so ethereal. it still makes me cry when he and the band crescendo together towards the end, begging to be forgiven.

listen to these songs again and TRY TRY TRY to remove yourselves from the constraints of pop music and what is only heard on the radio. allow yourself to feel and be moved by these gems, they are brilliant.