Live albums often invoke mixed reactions from listeners. There’s a kind of energy and synergy that they pack in spite of the compromise on the quality and slick production values that studio albums possess. Live albums also pack some of a band’s best music that are culled from several recordings which gives them great value. Add to that the sounds of hysteria that the audience conjures and you get a unique listening experience.
Now that the boring yarn is out of the way, it’s time to dissect the album and see what it packs inside.
Under A Blood Red Sky
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It’s a known fact that Bono (Paul Hewson) the lead singer of U2 is a man who thrives on exposing political and social issues through his words. His songs bank on crimes against humankind for their content and his intent is to bring forth possible solutions to make this world a better place. Much of U2’s earlier work either touched sensitive topics or the sensitive side of Bono.
Before they broke into mainstream through a series of releases like The Unforgettable Fire and the brilliant Joshua Tree, U2 used to command a localized fan base that swore by them. The first three albums enjoyed relatively good success and were raw, seminal works.
Under a Blood Red Sky contains live versions of the best tracks from the first three U2 albums
The Songs
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The album opens with Gloria - a song that features The Edge’s (Dave Evans) wailing guitar licks and Bono singing in wanderlust.
The comes 11 o’clock Tick Tock, a song that invokes images of missing children and melancholia...
The third track used to be a personal favourite of mine for it’s radical chorus... ’’If you walk away walk away... I will follow. The Edge plays a great guitar riff on this one.
Party Girl features an eclectic sound that could very well be interpreted as Spanish. Though the lyrics are pretty banal, the overall song has a nice groove to it...
Next comes the U2 anthem packed with military beat and crunchy guitars... Sunday Bloody Sunday invokes images of the Irish civil war and it’s casualties. Bono’s lyrical brilliance shines through with...
And the battle’s just begun
There’s many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart
The Electric Co. is another U2 song that features in my personal best of U2 for its intense singing and instrumentals. The song is followed by New Years Day another political message laden song with the theme of Unity as it’s core.
The EP closes with a 40 a sweet ballad that makes you want to reach out for a lighter and gently wave it in the air as Bono sings ’’How long... to sing this song?’’
I’d say... forever!
The final note
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Under A Blood Red Sky is U2 at their raw and honest best. It was performed at an era where the band was devoid of the excesses that marked their later works. This is the U2 that endeared itself to music lovers who sought a moving experience... an experience that few bands can conjure. U2 happens to be one of them.
~finis~
U2 - Recommended listening:
Joshua Tree
The Unforgettable Fire