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War (album)
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War is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on . 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."
While the central themes of their earlier albums Boy and October focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively, War focused on both the physical aspects of warfare, and the emotional aftereffects.
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Encyclopedia
War is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on . 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."
While the central themes of their earlier albums Boy and October focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively, 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."
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. In 2003, the album was ranked number 221 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
History
U2 began recording War on . 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 .
War was the first album in which Mullen used a click track to stay in time. 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. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is considered to be among the greatest political protest songs, and has remained a staple of U2's live concerts for 25 years. In many live shows, such as the performance recorded for their Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky concert film, 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. The track contains a clip from the 1982 documentary Soldier Girls. 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 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. 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)".
"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.
"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. It was never performed live, although there are also unconfirmed reports that it was performed at a concert in 1983.
In 1989, War was ranked #40 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". In 2003, the album was ranked number 221 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Style
"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,
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 the studio version of "40", which takes its name from the fortieth Psalm in the Bible, The Edge plays bass and guitar. In live versions of the song, The Edge and Adam Clayton switch roles, as Clayton plays guitar and Edge plays the bass.
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
"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. This was confirmed by U2.com on . The remastered album was released on 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)
Chart positions and sales
Album
| Country | Peak position | Certification | Sales |
|---|
| Brazil | | Gold | 50,000+ | | Canada | | 3x Platinum | 300,000- | | France | | 2x Platinum | 600,000+ | | Germany | | Gold | 100,000+ | | Netherlands | | Gold | 40,000+ | | Switzerland | | Gold | 25,000+ | | United Kingdom | 1 | 2x Platinum | 600,000+ | | United States | 12 | 4x Platinum | 4,000,000+ |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|
| 1983 | "New Year's Day" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 2 | | 1983 | "Sunday Bloody Sunday" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 7 | | 1983 | "Two Hearts Beat As One" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 12
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Personnel
Additional personnel
- Kenny Fradley – trumpet
- Steve Wickham – electric 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"
See also
- List of covers of U2 songs - Drowning Man
- List of covers of U2 songs - Like a Song...
- U2 discography
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