The Unforgettable Fire (BONUS)

The Unforgettable Fire will feature bonus audio material and a DVD including music videos, a documentary and unreleased live footage from the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour in 1986.

Here’s the 16 track listing for :

The Unforgettable Fire Bonus Audio CD.

Disappearing Act
A Sort of Homecoming (live)
Bad (live)
Love Comes Tumbling
The Three Sunrises
Yoshino Blossom
Wire (Kervorkian Remix)
Boomerang I
Pride (In The Name of Love)
A Sort of Homecoming
11 O’Clock Tick Tock
Wire (Celtic Dub Mix)
Basa Trap
Boomerang II
4th of July
Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come

As the comments on our earlier story have been suggesting, The Unforgettable Fire - with the arrival of Brian Eno and Danny Lanois in the studio - has a special place in the heart for many fans and a lot of the tracks on this bonus CD have been unavailable for a long time.

Two of the titles from those Slane Castle sessions have never been available: ‘Yoshino Blossom’, and ‘Disappearing Act’, which the band recently completed. A Sort of Homecoming and Bad are live versions, from The Unforgettable Fire Tour that were on the highly sought after collectors item EP Wide Awake in America.

The version of 11 O’Clock Tick Tock was the b-side to ‘Pride (In The Name of Love)’ while Wire (Celtic Dub Remix) was previously on 7” vinyl given away free with NME in May 1985.

And The Unforgettable Fire DVD Collection looks like this:

The Unforgettable Fire
Directed by Meiert Avis

Bad
Directed by Barry Devlin

Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Directed by Donald Cammell

A Sort Of Homecoming
Directed by Barry Devlin

The Making Of The Unforgettable Fire - documentary
Directed by Barry Devlin

Additional Material

U2 at A Conspiracy Of Hope Concert
1. MLK
2. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
3. Bad
Recorded live at Giants Stadium, New Jersey, USA, 15th June 1986

U2 at Live Aid
1. Sunday Bloody Sunday 2. Bad
Recorded live at Wembley Stadium, 13th July 1985

Pride (In The Name Of Love) - Sepia version
Directed by Donald Cammell

11 O’Clock Tick Tock - Bootleg version
Live from Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland, 29th June 1985

“The Unforgettable Fire”

CORPUS CHRISTI — Irish band U2 released “The Unforgettable Fire” in late 1984. At the time, Bono was developing into not only the band’s charismatic leader. The time also marked the beginning of his more outspoken diatribes against injustices. And while some of the songs on the album weren’t as fully developed as the band’s future work, that chapter in the group’s history gets an upgraded overview that’s worth revisiting on the reissue of the updated, two-disc reissue of “The Unforgettable Fire” (Island).

On earlier albums, such as “Boy” and “War,” U2 made it clear that they had no problem wearing their hearts on their sleeves and their fists in the air as they proudly exhibited youthful rebellion.

But their world view became even wider thanks to their burgeoning notoriety. Despite having success and adulation, they were more acutely aware of the wrongs they saw in their expanded world view. Bono became enthralled with Martin Luther King Jr. during this period. King’s spirit is audibly alive on the defiant “Pride (In the Name of Love),” the album’s big single, and “MLK,” one of the set’s standout tracks.

Elsewhere on the album, U2 effortlessly conjures iconic images in their focus on the Unites States and its rich history, as heard on the solemn “Elvis Presley and America” and the equally stunning “4th of July.”

“Bad,” the disc’s emotional centerpiece, now takes on an eerie, almost hypnotic air in light of the world’s increasing fragmentation, with its message continuing to resonate as dramatically as it did more than 25 years ago.

The second disc in the package will confound collectors, as it includes a generous selection of rarities and remixes, most notably live versions of “A Sort of Homecoming” and “Bad,” outtakes like “Love Comes Tumbling,” plus a magnificent remix of “Wire” that will put a smile on the face of any U2 fan.

This is the album that linked U2’s youthful restlessness to their compelling maturity, as their next album, 1987’s “The Joshua Tree,” would find them perfecting their own kind of rock ‘n’ roll that moves the body, challenges the mind and awakens the spirit.

This updated version of “The Unforgettable Fire” manages to give a deeper, fascinatingly detailed perspective of a band leaving behind its youthful restlessness and confidently maturing with purpose and grace.

U2 goes to Africa

Tribute albums are challenging because not only do the acts involved have to face the reality of knowing that their version of a well-known song will never match the original’s impact, but sometimes, participating in such a project might be more of a marketing ploy and not be such a “tribute” after all.

Neither is the case on “In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2” (Shout! Factory).

Bono has campaigned for many causes to help the people of Africa. That commitment didn’t go unnoticed by music producer Shawn Amos, an African-American who originally went to Africa to help build housing and was inspired to put together this collection as not only a way to pay tribute to U2, but also as a way to give back.

Proceeds generated from the disc’s sales will go to the Global Fund, a charity that seeks to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Third World Countries.

Amos not only shows his formidable abilities as a producer, but also as an arranger, staying true to the rhythms and essence of African music while tipping his hat to U2’s Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.

This collection comes to life thanks to several breathtaking performances, including Tony Allen’s otherworldly “Where the Streets Have No Name,” Les Nubians’ chilling “With or Without You” and a spine-tingling recasting of “Pride (In the Name of Love)” by the Soweto Gospel Choir.

The most dramatic moment may belong to Keziah Jones, who glides over the poly-rhythmic grove of “One,” and delivers warm, transcendent vocals.

Jones sounds to deeply understand the song’s plea for unity. This song is the most touching moment on the disc, one that makes it sound less like a tribute album and more like a love letter from the dry, parched plains of Africa to the cold, narrow streets of Ireland.



U2 takes risks to make Fire

The boys from U2 have been marking the 25th anniversary of the release of “The Unforgettable Fire” with a series of re-issues of the album. There’s a new remastered version, a vinyl version, a “Deluxe Edition” and even a “Super Deluxe Edition” for $54.99 on Amazon with two CDs, a DVD and a bunch of other extras.

Speakeasy is hoping that they come out with a “Super Mega Magnanimous Deluxe Edition 2.0″ with plane tickets to Dublin, a pub crawl with Bono and guitar lessons from The Edge. We can only hope.

“The Unforgettable Fire” is an album worth celebrating. U2 fans and critics can debate which album is the group’s best–”War,” “The Joshua Tree,” maybe “Achtung Baby.” But “The Unforgettable Fire” deserves to be part of the conversation.

Released in October 1984, and recorded at Slane Castle in Ireland, the release was the first U2 album to be produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois and it took U2 in a more experimental direction. When you see the 1984 video  “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and see all these largely-forgotten European pop-rockers with questionable haircuts, one reason why U2 transcended all that is that they took an artistic leap like “The Unforgettable Fire.” U2 didn’t just take risks with their hair–they took chances with their music.

“Unforgettable” songs like “A Sort of Homecoming” combined poetic lyrics with nakedly emotional performances, pulling the listener in and keeping them there as they tried to figure out what it all meant. Other songs gave up their meanings more readily: “Pride (In the Name of Love)” eulogized Martin Luther King, Jr.–a challenging subject for a rock song. The track “Bad,” also off the album, explored heroin addiction in terms that were both evocative and abstract.

U2 provided Speakeasy with an exclusive clip of the band talking about the making of ”The Unforgettable Fire.” You can watch it below. Feel free to sound off on what you think is the best U2 album in the comments section.

Videos and Comments

We have been building a FAN friendly site over the last couple of months and as e speak we are working 2010 version that will provide you the fan an up close and personal view of U2. More photos, more videos and more stories from around the globe.  Its a lite Friday here on the east coast of America and we have been working on new stories and cleaning out video drop box. We have tons of videos that you the fan have sent in to us and we will be posting all of the to the U2TOURFANS channel on Youtube. Currently we are in a test with Youtube to see the stress of the channel. They are trying to gage how many people really follow U2 videos and Fan based video sites. So please watch some videos and post some comments, subscribe if your inclined. 

Gretty ImagesBerlin Wall Review: “I have scaled these city walls…But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for,” Bono once sang. Lots of would-be concert goers can sympathize.  In a performance marking the fall of the Berlin Wall (It went down nearly 20 years ago on Nov. 9, 1989), concert promoters erected another, smaller barrier, sparking outrage in Germany. After doling out 10,000 free tickets to the concert at the Brandenburg Gate, fans without tickets hoping to get a peep of the rockers faced a 6 1/2 foot high metal barrier blocking their view. Organizers said the fence was built “around the site to ensure the safety and security of the attendees at the event as well as residents and businesses in the area.”

Changing gears; with U2 recently in the news thanks to their LA concert being broadcast live on YouTube, it’s an opportune time to be releasing a re-mastered, 25th anniversary fourth album.

Available in four formats, it holds up well. The nervy, jerky energy of Edge’s treated guitar comes into its own on Wire, while Brian Eno’s sense of texture and atmosphere lends A Sort of Homecoming much of its appeal. Factor in the title track and the stadium-baiting qualities of Bad, and it’s bettered only by Achtung Baby as U2’s greatest album.

 Videos:  We selected 2 videos for you. Take a look and vote for the best one.

The bonus disc features two previously unreleased songs — the haunting Disappearing Act, which probably should have made the finished album, and a pretty instrumental, Yoshino Blossom, which may have had a case too — as well as several live cuts and the fine Kervorkian Remix of Wire. Incidentally, Eno was not U2’s first choice of producer. Krautrock pioneer Conny Plank declined the invitation. It’s fascinating to wonder what path Bono et al would have taken had Plank, and not Eno, shaped the U2 direction from 1984 on.

360 Tour: Did you see the show ? As we finish out the year we would like to hear from you, the FAN. We would like you to share your U2 show story with us. No matter where you saw the show you have a chance to share your experience with the fans that did not attend. Do you have videos,photos or both we would like to see them. Drop a comment to us below. If your experience is selected you will be our show of the day. Remember your story does not have to be in English, it helps but no worries we have a team that can translate. Cheers

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The Unforgettable Fire: Rare Video

With the re-release of U2’s fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire, the group has decided to share rarely seen before video footage with their fans. The video showcases frontman Bono speaking on the recording process of the breakthrough album and flashes back to some of the most historical songs ever written.

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