Ranking U2's Albums from Worst to First: #6, War

 

In the early 1980s, "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland were still raging.  For over 60 years Ireland had been divided into two separate political entities.  The Irish Free State, later becoming the Republic of Ireland, consisted of the 26 counties and the majority of the island.  Six northeastern counties made up Northern Ireland which remained a part of the United Kingdom.  Hence the official name of the UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  Most Roman Catholics, North and South in Ireland desired the UK to give up its control of the 6 northeastern counties and allow the entire island to be united under the government of the Republic of Ireland. However, in the late 20th century, Protestants (the descendants of Scottish and English planters first given land in Ireland under James I) still made up a majority of the population of Northern Ireland and wished to remain British.  Over time, the tension between the two communities in the north bubbled up into outright hostilities, climaxing in atrocities committed by both sides against one another (and sometimes even against each other).  The British army was called in to "keep the peace", but as is typical with occupying forces, at times the "shit hit the fan".  In January of 1972, British soldiers shot 26 unarmed peaceful nationalist protesters in Derry, killing 14.  It is this incident that informs the narrative of U2's classic song, Sunday Bloody Sunday, released on the War album in 1983.

"The Troubles" in Northern Ireland formed the basis for much of the themes on War, but the idea of human conflict in all of its various permutations is explored on this record.  From the Polish Solidarity struggle in New Year's Day, to the threat of global nuclear holocaust in Seconds, to the immigrant fleeing political violence in The Refugee, to the interpersonal struggles that dating and married couples experience in songs like Two Hearts Beat as One and Surrender, the album takes us down the human path of most resistance.  Bono jokes that it was on his honeymoon that many of the ideas for War came to him!  

Thematically, this album is tightly wound together, both lyrically and musically.  After a brilliant debut record and then a bit of a misstep on their second effort, U2 rebounded fantastically with War.  And with this output, they began to explore some new musical textures, adding violin to Sunday Bloody Sunday and horns to Red Light.  The album ends with a Davidic prayer taken directly from Psalm 40 and simply titled, 40. It is with this album and the subsequent tour that U2 grew from cult status to one of the biggest bands in the world.    

U2, War - Released February 28, 1983 

Album Charts - #16 Ireland, #1 UK, #12, US

Worldwide Sales to Date - 11 Million

Singles - New Year's Day, #2 Ireland, #10 UK, #53 US.  Sunday Bloody Sunday, #7 US Main Rock Chart.  Two Hearts Beat as One, #2 Ireland, #18 UK.  Surrender #27 US Main Rock Chart.

Standout Songs - Sunday Bloody Sunday, Seconds, New Year's Day, Drowning Man, Two Hearts Beat as One, 40.

Weakest Track - Red Light

Hidden Gem - Drowning Man

If Boy is possibly one of the most underrated debut records of all time, War is probably one of the most underrated rock albums of all time. - Shay 

Ranking U2's Albums from Worst to First: #7 Boy

The shimmering, echoey, and hopeful sounds of The Edge's guitar announced to the world that a band that was not so much rooted in the past but moored to the future had arrived as I Will Follow blasted from the needle of record players through hi-fi wires and out stereo speakers into the universe and beyond.  U2 had arrived with the martial wallop of Larry Mullen Jr.'s bombastic drumbeats, Adam Clayton's unorthodox bass lines, and Bono's earnest, if not quite yet refined shouting (I mean, singing).  I Will Follow might be the best lead-off track of any debut album in rock history.  45 years after the fact, the song and the album still sound fresh.  If all U2 had ever released was the album, Boy, it would have been enough to cement them as rock legends.  And yet, this first record of theirs is "only" #7 on this countdown of U2's albums from worst to first.  

U2 were not the most skillful musicians when they released their initial full-length album, but for the previous four years they had created a unique sound on the "toilet bowl" touring circuits of Ireland and the UK.  Since they weren't God's gift to musicianship, they were forced to create their own quirky, yet cool songs, rather than simply cover other artists works.  This, in the long run, forced them to craft their tunes in unconventional ways and when their playing caught up to their imaginations, they were on their way to the rock'n'roll hall of fame!

Boy explores the journey that all adolescent males traverse as they transition from boys to men, from teenagers to adults.  It is an album of loss and discovery.  It is a record of innocence as it transitions to the naive belief that you've arrived and have it all figured out at the age of 18, 19, or 20.  Boy is the journal in song of going, not so much from innocence to experience, but innocence to a false summit.  Oh, but what vistas are available, even from these pseudo-peaks.  If education is the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty, then Edge, Adam, Larry, and especially Bono are as confident and self-assured as any young man might be on their debut album.  Sure, at this point, they don't know what they don't know, but this first record of theirs is all the better for it.

U2 Boy - Released, October 20, 1980.

Album Charts - #52 UK, #63 US.

Worldwide Sales to Date - 5.7 Million

Single - I Will Follow, #81 US Charts.

Standout Songs - I Will Follow, Out of Control, The Ocean, A Day Without Me, The Electric Co.

Weakest Track - Twilight

Hidden Gem - The Ocean 

Boy is one of the most underrated debut albums of all time.  - Shay 

Ranking U2's Albums from Worst to First - #8 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

 In 2000, U2 stormed back into mainstream consciousness with the release of All That You Can't Leave Behind, an album that will feature later in this unofficial countdown of their 14 studio albums from "worst to first".  With the critical and commercial success of their 2000 release and subsequent world tour, the band carried much momentum with them into the studio for the follow up record.  Four years later, the band produced How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb which didn't quite live up to the critical or commercial success of its predecessor (it's hard to follow up an all-time classic) but is a solid record and has offered a number of tunes which still frequent current U2 touring playlists.

For this album U2 harnessed a gritty and almost "dirty" rock n roll sound on songs like Vertigo, All Because of You, and Love and Peace or Else (not that I particularly like this latter track - see below).  They also harkened back to some of their early 1980's material on songs like Miracle Drug and City of Blinding Lights.  It is a testament to U2's greatness that this is only the #8 album on my ranking and it is a record that spawned big hits and big sales - 10 million to date!  

U2 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Released Nov 22, 2004

Album Charts - #1 Ireland, #1 UK, #1 US.

Worldwide Sales to Date - 10 Million

Singles - Vertigo, #1 Ireland, #1 UK, #31 US.  All Because of You, #4 Ireland, #4 UK.  Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own, #3 Ireland, #1 UK, #97 US.  City of Blinding Lights, #8 Ireland, #2 UK.

Standout Songs - Vertigo, Miracle Drug, One Step Closer, Original of the Species, Yahweh.

Weakest Track - Love and Peace or Else.

Hidden Gem - Miracle Drug

We are only half-way, and the best is yet to come.  In fact, it might be even better than the real thing! - Shay   

Ranking U2's Albums from Worst to First: #9 Songs of Innocence

 

On this date, September 9, eleven years ago, U2 released a digital version of their 13th studio album, Songs of Innocence without previously marketing it or letting either the press or the public know about it.  In fact, if you owned an apple phone, it was downloaded to your music library without your knowledge, or your consent.  Hey, free music - pretty cool.  At least that's what I would have thought.  I did not (nor still don't) own an apple phone and so had to manually download the album (still for free!), but many people who received the automatic download were appalled and offended by the seeming generosity of the band.  Others in the music industry felt it set a bad precedent to give away music for free.  At the end of the day, it was all a bit of a storm in a teacup.  

At any rate, 26 million people actively downloaded the album by the end of October 2014.  The physical release of the album "only" generated sales of about 1.1 million, but much of the focus on Songs of Innocence has centered around the band's "forcing" it down the public's throat, rather than on the artistic merits of the music.  

Songs of Innocence is a quality record with raw guitar riffs, catchy melodies, and tight bass and drum rhythms holding the songs together.  As mentioned in the previous post, it is the first of a two-part album, with Songs of Experience coming three years later.  And as the title implies, the album echoes some of the band's earliest recordings, but with an extra 35 years of writing, recording, and touring experience.  It also deliberately references some of the band's earliest musical influences, both lyrically and musically (The Ramones, The Clash, and even The Beach Boys). 

U2, Songs of Innocence - Released, September 9, 2014

Album Charts - #2 Ireland, #6 UK, #9 US.

Worldwide Sales to Date - 1.1 Million (26 Million Downloads)

Singles - The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) #1 US Adult Alternative Chart, Every Breaking Wave #23 US Adult Alternative Chart, Song for Someone #13 US Adult Alternative Chart. 

Standout Songs - The Miracle (of Joey Ramone), Every Breaking Wave, Song for Someone, Sleep Like a Baby Tonight, The Troubles.

Weakest Track - Raised by Wolves

Hidden Gem - The Troubles 

Songs of Innocence is a batch of tunes that could fit nicely alongside late 1970s and early 1980s hits, as well as next to tracks from the 21st Century. - Shay