War (album)

War (album)

Infobox Album
Name = War
Type = studio
Artist = U2


Released = start date|1983|2|28
Recorded = start date|1982|5|17end date|1982|8|20, Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin
Genre = Rock, post-punk
Length = 43:38
Label = Island
Producer = Steve Lillywhite
Reviews =
*Pitchfork (8.9/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/142433-u2-boy-october-war link]
* Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:1i61mpzd9f1o link]
* Robert Christgau (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=u2 link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/u2/albums/album/21858786/review/21884627/war link]
Last album = "October" (1981)
This album = War (1983)
Next album = "Under a Blood Red Sky" (1983)
Misc = Singles
Name = War
Type = studio
single 1 = New Year's Day
single 1 date = start date|1983|1
single 2 = Sunday Bloody Sunday
single 2 date = start date|1983|3
single 3 = Two Hearts Beat As One
single 3 date = start date|1983|3

"War" is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on start date|1983|2|28. The album has come to be regarded as U2's first overtly political album, in part because of songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Years 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."cite web |url=http://u2_interviews.tripod.com/id19.html |title=War & Peace |date=February 26, 1983 |publisher=NME |author=Adrian Thrills |first=Adrian |last=Thrills |accessdate=2007-11-07]

While the central themes of their earlier, more ambient albums "Boy" and "October" focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively, [cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/210489/review/6067451/war |title=Review: War |accessdate=2008-03-07 |date=1983-03-31 |publisher=Rolling Stone] "War" focused on both the physical aspects of warfare, and the emotional aftereffects. The album has been described as the record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade." [Reynolds, Simon. "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984". Penguin, 2005. p. 367. ISBN 0-14-303672-6]

"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 #1 album in the UK. RS500|221cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/3 |title=The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |publisher=Rolling Stone Magazine |accessdate=2008-07-19 |archiveurl=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/3 |archivedate=2008-07-19]

History

U2 began recording "War" on start date|1982|5|17. The band took a break soon after as newlyweds Bono and Ali honeymooned in Jamaica. It has been noted that it was not a typical honeymoon, as Bono reportedly worked on the lyrics for the upcoming album. To showcase and test the new songs in a live setting, U2 embarked on a "Pre-War Tour" during the month of start date|1982|12 [ cite web|url=http://u2tours.com/find.src?TOUR=Pre-War&Concert=&x=11&y=9 |title=U2 tour details |date=2000-01-01 |accessdate=2008-02-29] [cite web|url=http://podcast.atu2.com/index.php?post_id=312271 |title=@U2 Podcast, Edition 4-2 "The @U2 Warcast |date=2008-02-29 |accessdate=2008-02-29] .

"War" was the first album in which Mullen used a click track to stay in time.cite web |url=http://u2_interviews.tripod.com/id18.html |title=Larry Mullen Interview |date=April 1, 1983 |publisher=White Lucy |accessdate=2007-11-06] Mullen said of the album in a 1983 interview, "I think the drumming has always been pretty simple, I don't think it needs to be flashy. For "War" I use a click track, something I haven't used before, it's a way of keeping time in my headphones. When I listened to the music in time with the click track I knew I had to bring it down to the real basics. Hopefully for the next LP it will be more complicated, I'll move on. I think of it as a musical progression for myself because I learned a lot recording this album, just about my own style and that's what I wanted to do. I think there is a definite style on "War" where there isn't on the previous albums."

The album was titled "War" for several reasons; in 1982, Bono said that the album was called "War" because "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 cosy 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 album opens with "Sunday Bloody Sunday", an ardent protest song and already a departure from the themes of innocence and spirituality displayed on the group's first two albums. Stemming from a guitar riff and lyric written by The Edge in 1982, the song describes the horror felt by an observer of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, specifically Bloody Sunday (1972). Early versions of the song opened with the line "Don't talk to me about the rights of the IRA, UDA".cite book|last=U2|authorlink=U2|coauthors=McCormick, N.|title=U2 by U2|date=2006-09-26|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|location=New York|id=ISBN 0-06-077675-7|pages=135–139] "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is considered to be among the greatest political protest songs, [cite video|people=VH1 Editors|year=2004|title=VH1's 25 Greatest Political Protest Songs|url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/68962/episode_countdown.jhtml|medium=Television series|publisher=VH1 television] and has remained a staple of U2's live concerts for 25 years. [cite web|last=U2-Vertigo-Tour.com|url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/song11.html|title=U2 on Tour - played songs: Sunday Bloody Sunday|accessdate=2008-03-07] In many live shows, such as the performance recorded for their "Under a Blood Red Sky" video, Bono stated that "this is not a rebel song". In interviews, he's stated that it's a positive protest song about things we can't forget but should. Originally written about the 1972 Bloody Sunday incident in which 14 Irish protesters were shot and killed in Derry, Northern Ireland by the British Parachute Regiment, the song has been applied to other conflicts in the years since, most notably during the performance at a Denver, Colorado show in 1987. This version was eventually included in the film "Rattle and Hum". Before the song, Bono referred to the previous day's bombing in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland and directed angry and controversial comments towards Irish-born Americans "talking to me about the resistance; the revolution back home...fuck the revolution..."

"Seconds" is a song about the imminence of nuclear catastrophe, and the possibility that Armageddon could occur by an accident.cite book |last=Stokes |first=Niall |authorlink=Niall Stokes |title=U2: Into the Heart - The Stories Behind Every Song |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press |location=New York |date=2005 |isbn=1-56025-765-2] The track contains a clip from the 1982 documentary "Soldier Girls". [cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=891 |title=Seconds by U2 |publisher=Songfacts.com |accessdate=2008-01-14] The Edge sings the first two stanzas, making it one of only three occasions where he sings lead vocals.

"New Year's Day" was released in start date|1983|1 as the lead single from the album. The single reached the top ten in the UK, and was the first release by the band to reach the Billboard Hot 100. The song is about the Polish solidarity movement, although its origin was as a love song from Bono to his wife, Ali Hewson. In 2004, "Rolling Stone" placed it as the 427th greatest song of all time. [cite web |title=The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |work=Rolling Stone |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=2004-12-09 |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/5 |accessdate=2008-03-12] The song remains a staple of the band's live set, and is their third most frequently performed song behind "I Will Follow" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)". [cite web |title=All songs U2 ever played in concert |publisher=U2-vertigo-tour.com |url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/most-played-songs-no-snippets.html |accessdate=2008-03-12]

"Like a Song..." was intended as a message to those who believed that the band was too worthy, sincere, and not "punk" enough. Bono speculated that the song's punk attitude would have made more sense in the 1950s and 1960's, as opposed to the "dressing up" of the genre in the early 1980s. "Like a Song..." was only played live once. [cite web |title=Like a Song |publisher=U2-vertigo-tour.com |url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/Like_A_Song-s228.html |accessdate=2008-03-12]

"Drowning Man" is the fifth track on the album. Its sound is a departure from the other tracks in "War" as it is a quiet, atmospheric song heavily influenced by the work of the Comsat Angels.Fact|date=July 2008 It was never performed live, although there are also unconfirmed reports that it was performed at a concert in 1983. [cite web |url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/show448.html |title=1983-06-03: Salt Palace Assembly Hall - Salt Lake City, Utah, USA |publisher=U2gigs.com |accessdate=2008-07-19 |archiveurl=http://www.u2gigs.com/show448.html |archivedate=2008-07-19]

In 1989, "War" was ranked #40 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". [cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html#80's |title=Rolling Stone - The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s |work=Rolling Stone Magazine |accessdate=2008-07-19 |archiveurl=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html#80's |archivedate=2008-07-19] RS500|221

tyle

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" introduces the album with a startling, military-esque drum beat by Larry Mullen, Jr., a fuming solo by The Edge that segues into staccato bursts reminiscent of machine gun fire, and pointed lyrical couplets such as: "And today the millions cry / We eat and drink while tomorrow they die." The album as a whole is more direct than the ambient "Boy" and "October". Bono said in 1983, cquote|A lot of the songs on our last album were quite abstract, but "War" is intentionally more direct, more specific. But you can still take the title on a lot of different levels. We're not only interested in the physical aspects of war. The emotional effects are just as important, 'the trenches dug within our hearts'. People have become numb to violence. Watching the television, it's hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction. One minute you see something being shot on "The Professionals", and the next you see someone falling through a window after being shot on the news. One is fiction and one is real life, but we're becoming so used to the fiction that we become numb to the real thing. War could be the story of a broken home, a family at war. Instead of putting tanks and guns on the cover, we've put a child's face. War can also be a mental thing, an emotional thing between loves. It doesn't have to be a physical thing.

Other songs concern topics such as nuclear proliferation ("Seconds") and prostitution ("Red Light"). Moreover, The Edge makes his debut as a lead vocalist on "Seconds".

The mood grows progressively more bleak as the album continues—despite some balance provided by songs such as "Two Hearts Beat As One", a simple love song (though often associated with the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland), and "New Year's Day" (about the 1981 suppression of Solidarity in Poland), which works as both a political song and a love song—until climaxing with the coda of "Surrender" and finally ending with the hushed hymn "40".

Arguably, the sound is much harsher than that of the band's other albums, with the possible exception of "Achtung Baby". A major reason for this is that The Edge uses far less delay and echo than in previous and subsequent works.

This album became U2's first #1 album in the UK, supplanting Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at the top of the charts.

On "40", which takes its name from the fortieth Psalm in the Bible, the Edge plays bass and Adam Clayton plays guitar, a reversal of their normal roles. In subsequent live performances they play each others' instruments.

Album cover

The boy on the cover is Peter Rowan (brother of Bono's friend, Guggi). He also appears on the covers of "Boy", "Three", "The Best of 1980–1990", and "Early Demos".

Track listing

tracklist|
all_writing = U2, with lyrics by Bono
total_length = 43:38
title1 = Sunday Bloody Sunday
length1 = 4:40
title2 = Seconds
length2 = 3:10
title3 = New Year's Day
length3 = 5:35
title4 = Like a Song...
length4 = 4:46
title5 = Drowning Man
length5 = 4:14
title6 = The Refugee
length6 = 3:40
note6 = produced by Bill Whelan
title7 = Two Hearts Beat as One
length7 = 4:03
title8 = Red Light
length8 = 3:46
title9 = Surrender
length9 = 5:34
title10 = 40
length10 = 2:35

"New Year's Day" and "Two Hearts Beat as One" were released as singles internationally. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "40" were also released as singles in Germany.

In 1993, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab remastered the album and released it as a special gold CD. This edition has slightly different running times: most notably, "Seconds" runs 3:22, adding 11.5 seconds in the break section (beginning at approx. 2:03), while "Like a Song..." runs 5:00, extending the playout section (beginning at approx. 4:45).

Later in 1983, the band released "Under a Blood Red Sky" (named after a lyric in "New Year's Day"), a live document of this album's associated War Tour.

2008 remastered edition

Following the remastered re-release of "The Joshua Tree" in 2007, it was rumoured that the band would also remaster and re-release "War", along with the albums "Boy", and "October". [cite news |last=Futterman |first=Erica |title=News Ticker: Ozzfest, Pete Townshend, U2, Dr. Dre |work=Rolling Stone |date=2008-02-11 |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/02/11/ticker/ |accessdate=2008-03-12] This was confirmed by U2.com on start date|2008|4|9.cite web |url=http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=2216 |title=Boy, October, War: Remastered |publisher=U2.com |date=start date|2008|4|9 |accessdate=2008-04-09] The remastered album was released on start date|2008|7|21 in the UK, with the U.S. version following it the next day. It was released in three different formats:

1. Standard format: A single CD with re-mastered audio and restored packaging.Includes a 16 page booklet featuring previously unseen photos, full lyrics and new liner notes by Niall Stokes. The 10-tracks match the previous release of the album.

2. Deluxe format: A standard CD (as above) and a bonus CD. Bonus CD includes b-sides, live tracks and rarities. Also includes a 32 page booklet with previously unseen photos, full lyrics, new liner notes by Niall Stokes, and explanatory notes on the bonus material by The Edge.

3. Vinyl format: A single album re-mastered version on 180gram vinyl with restored packaging.

Bonus CD (2008 reissue Deluxe Edition)

tracklist
extra_column = Original release
all_writing = U2
total_length = 59:21

title1 = Endless Deep
note1 =
extra1 = "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Two Hearts Beat as One" singles
length1 = 2:58

title2 = Angels Too Tied to the Ground
note2 =
extra2 = —
length2 = 3:34

title3 = New Year's Day
note3 = 7" single edit
extra3 = "New Year's Day" single
length3 = 3:56

title4 = New Year's Day
note4 = USA remix
extra4 = "Two Hearts Beat as One" single
length4 = 4:31

title5 = New Year's Day
note5 = Ferry Corsten extended vocal mix
extra5 = —
length5 = 9:42

title6 = New Year's Day
note6 = Ferry Corsten vocal radio mix
extra6 = —
length6 = 4:37

title7 = Two Hearts Beat as One
note7 = Long mix
extra7 = "Two Hearts Beat as One" promotional single
length7 = 5:56

title8 = Two Hearts Beat as One
note8 = USA remix
extra8 = "Two Hearts Beat as One" single
length8 = 4:24

title9 = Two Hearts Beat as One
note9 = Club version
extra9 = "Two Hearts Beat as One" single
length9 = 5:43

title10 = Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)
note10 =
extra10 = "New Year's Day" single
length10 = 3:24

title11 = I Threw a Brick Through a Window / A Day Without Me
note11 = Live from Werchter
extra11 = "New Year's Day" single
length11 = 6:58

title12 = Fire
note12 = Live from Werchter
extra12 = "Gloria" single
length12 = 3:46

There is some controversy as to which version of "Two Hearts Beat As One" is which. If one takes the research on this topic presented at the [http://www.u2wanderer.org/disco/sing011.html U2 Wanderer] website to be accurate, then the "Club version" and the "USA remix" on this bonus disc play in reverse order. This appears plausible, as there is some similarity in the sound of the mixes listed as tracks 7 and 9 (labeled "Long mix" and "Club version", respectively) on the disc, whereas track 8 is radically different; this might indicate that tracks 7 and 9 are the ones remixed by François Kevorkian (credited for "Long mix" and "USA remix" in the booklet), and track 8 is remixed by Steve Lillywhite (credited for the "Club version"). Also, the remix playing as track 9 (named "Club version" on the cover and in the booklet) is the same as the one playing on the CD version of the "Sunday Bloody Sunday" single (Island 664 971), where it is called an "U.S. remix" and credited to Kevorkian.

U2's official website partly addresses this issue in [http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=2243 this note] . However, the note mentions a misprint in the booklet only:

These misprinted books will appear in Europe and some international territories. The USA deluxe formats contain the correctly printed books and are not affected.
The note also affirms that the actual running order on the disc has the "Club version" following the "USA remix." Still, the controversy concerns the allegedly error-free US printing (disc matrix number 'B00 109 4902 01!!').

Chart positions and sales

Album

ingles

Personnel

*Bonolead vocals, additional guitar
*The Edgeguitar, piano, lap steel, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Seconds," bass guitar on "40"
*Adam Claytonbass, guitar on "40"
*Larry Mullen Jr.drums

Additional personnel

*Kenny Fradleytrumpet
*Steve Wickhamelectric violin on "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Drowning Man"
*The Coconuts: Cheryl Poirier, Adriana Kaegi, Taryn Hagey; + Jessica Felton – backing vocals on "Like A Song...", "Red Light", and "Surrender"

ee also

*U2 discography

References

succession box
before = "Thriller" by Michael Jackson
title = UK Albums Chart number one album
years = March 12 1983March 18 1983
after = "Thriller" by Michael Jackson


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