The Unforgettable Fire [Deluxe Edition][Original recording remastered]

U2

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 2009)
• Original Release Date: October 26, 2009
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Deluxe Edition, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B002JTHFV2
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,603 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. A Sort Of Homecoming [Remastered]

2. Pride (In The Name Of Love) [Remastered]

3. Wire [Remastered]

4. The Unforgettable Fire [Remastered]

5. Promenade [Remastered]

6. 4th Of July [Remastered]

7. Bad [Remastered]

8. Indian Summer Sky [Remastered]

9. Elvis Presley & America [Remastered]

10. MLK [Remastered]

Disc: 2

1. Disappearing Act

2. A Sort Of Homecoming [Live]

3. Bad [Live]

4. Love Comes Tumbling [Remastered]

5. The Three Sunrises [Remastered]

6. Yoshino Blossom

7. Wire [Kevorkian 12" Vocal Remix]

8. Boomerang 1

9. Pride (In The Name Of Love) [Remastered Single version]

10. A Sort Of Homecoming [Danny Lanois Remix]

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Robert Hilburn/LA Times/2004

"The War album in 1983 signaled the maturation of U2 as artists, but this CD was the real creative breakthrough."

Product Description

Deluxe Edition: containing 2 CDs; the remastered album, and the bonus audio CD which features B-sides and previously unreleased material, a 36 page booklet with liner notes by The Edge, Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and Bert Van de Kamp

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING!, October 26, 2009

By	Chauncey Gardner (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

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). The bonus disc confirms the power of the bands live performances, and growing strength of the bands songwriting, with tracks like DISAPPEARING ACT and YOSHINO BLOSSOM so strong, its surprising they didn't make the final cut.

Well worth revisiting THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars U2's Quantum Leap, October 27, 2009

By	D. A. Rich (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a review of the 2009 Deluxe Edition (2CDs) of U2's The Unforgettable Fire.

As a college DJ, I was one of the first Americans exposed to, and to play, the music of U2 when their debut album Boy was released in 1980. That album, together with their third album, War, cemented U2's status as a major rock band. But it was their next studio album, The Unforgettable Fire, that catapulted U2 to superstar status. The experimental nature of U2's first of many collaborations with producer Brian Eno and engineer Daniel Lanois and the strong songwriting on the album, together with a growing awareness that U2 was a unique, politically conscious band, gave U2 a special cache and took them to another level. The following year, U2 was one of the most highly anticipated acts at the 1985 Live Aid concert, and their follow-up studio album, The Joshua Tree, was probably the best album of the 1980s. The groundwork for that masterpiece, however, can be found on The Unforgettable Fire.

Unlike U2's prior, more straightforward, work, The Unforgettable Fire had an atmospheric feel to it, undoubtedly as a result of Brian Eno's involvement. I always felt, however, that the album sounded somewhat muddy, and the initial CD release of the album certainly was. This new re-mastering cleans up the sound without compromising the atmospheric feeling that pervades the album. The album has probably never sounded better than it does here. Larry Mullin's drums, Adam Clayton's bass, the Edge's guitar and Bono's voice just leap from the speakers. The albums closing song, MLK, is just phenomenal.

The second bonus disc is not too shabby either. It includes various B sides and outtakes, including all of the Wide Awake in America EP. That EP's "live" versions of Bad and A Sort Of Homecoming are actually superior to the studio versions, and they sound terrific on this new re-mastering. The second disk also includes a cameo appearance by Peter Gabriel on another version of A Sort Of Homecoming.
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The Deluxe version is very nicely packaged in the same manner as U2's prior "deluxe" releases (The Joshua Tree, Boy, October, War and Under A Blood Red Sky). The CDs are housed in a booklet that contains the lyrics to the songs on the original album as well as some nice pictures and essays by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Bert van de Kamp (commenting on the album) and the Edge (commenting on the bonus material).

So is the deluxe version worth ponying up the dough if you already own copies of the music? That depends on how big a U2 fan you are. There is no doubting that this is a nicely packaged much better sounding version of a classic album with some excellent and some interesting bonus material.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sonic Ambient Trance Masterpiece, December 29, 2009

By	Darrell Koerner (Boulder, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Unforgettable Fire" is U2's best album and is a sonic ambient trance masterpiece. 25 years ago the boys from Dublin, aided by the magical production talents of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois created one of the most remarkable recordings in rock history, including "Bad" - the best song of all time.

An impressionistic sonic landscape textured with transcendent chords of ringing infinite guitars, emotional howls of holy hell, and chthonic rhythms that plant the whole glorious cathedral firmly in the earth.

"And you hunger for the time
Time to heal, desire, time
And your earth moves beneath
Your own dream landscape."

Indeed.