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DISCID=7809e10a
DTITLE=U2 / War (West German "Target" Pressing)
DYEAR=1983
DGENRE=Rock
TTITLE0=Sunday Bloody Sunday
TTITLE1=Seconds
TTITLE2=New Year's Day
TTITLE3=Like A Song...
TTITLE4=Drowning Man
TTITLE5=The Refugee
TTITLE6=Two Hearts Beat As One
TTITLE7=Red Light
TTITLE8=Surrender
TTITLE9=''40''
EXTD=War (West German ''Target'' Pressing)\n\nOriginally Released Febr
EXTD=uary 28, 1983\nCD Edition Released \nMobile Fidelity CD Edition R
EXTD=eleased January 12, 1993\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Opening with the o
EXTD=minous, fiery protest of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," War immediately 
EXTD=announces itself as U2's most focused and hardest-rocking album t
EXTD=o date. Blowing away the fuzzy, sonic indulgences of October with
EXTD= propulsive, martial rhythms and shards of guitar, War bristles w
EXTD=ith anger, despair and, above all, passion. Previously, Bono's at
EXTD=tempts at messages came across as grandstanding, but his vision b
EXTD=ecame remarkably clear on this record, as his anthems ("New Year'
EXTD=s Day," "40," "Seconds") are balanced by effective, surprisingly 
EXTD=emotional love songs ("Two Hearts Beat As One"), which are just a
EXTD=s desperate and pleading as his protests. He performs the difficu
EXTD=lt task of making the universal sound personal, and the band help
EXTD=s him out by bringing the songs crashing home with muscular, forc
EXTD=eful performances that reveal their varied, expressive textures u
EXTD=pon repeated listens. U2 always aimed at greatness, but War was t
EXTD=he first time they achieved it. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAma
EXTD=zon.com essential recording\nThe final album of U2's early period
EXTD=, before the group broadened its sonic palette and lyrical vision
EXTD=, War is a brilliantly conflicted album, sounding martial and maj
EXTD=estic while its very purpose is to tear down false idols propped 
EXTD=up by politics. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "40" take the subject 
EXTD=of Ireland's troubles head-on, while it's the subtext of "New Yea
EXTD=r's Day," which is about a sundered love relationship symbolic of
EXTD= a greater division. "Torn in two, we can be one," Bono pleads, a
EXTD=s Edge's guitar scratches and snarls behind him. Songs such as "T
EXTD=wo Hearts Beat as One" and the delicate "Drowning Man" take a bac
EXTD=k seat here, but they help make War a compelling and well-rounded
EXTD= album. --Daniel Durchholz \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nWAR Sc
EXTD=ores, October 1, 2004\nReviewer: Richard B. Luhrs (Jackson Height
EXTD=s, NY United States)\nAn indisputable rock classic, WAR was U2's 
EXTD=first "big" album. It gave the band a huge international followin
EXTD=g, and effectively cleared the field of any serious competition f
EXTD=or the post-punk throne. With its fervent political commentary, p
EXTD=oppish sensibilities, killer hooks and vague nods to world music,
EXTD= it also served in many ways as the band's blueprint for the rema
EXTD=inder of the '80s. Henceforth U2 would become a social as well as
EXTD= a musical phenomenon, its overt dedication to various headline-g
EXTD=rabbing causes alternately complementing, combatting and at times
EXTD= even eclipsing the quartet's artistic accomplishments. Whether y
EXTD=ou love or hate U2, chances are WAR has a lot to do with why you 
EXTD=feel that way. \nWith a pseudo-martial drum statement now nearly 
EXTD=as familiar as the opening lick of "Satisfaction," "Sunday Bloody
EXTD= Sunday" starts the proceedings off in typically absolute fashion
EXTD=. One may choose to read this angry song as either a celebration 
EXTD=or condemnation of the Irish nationalist cause - or neither, whic
EXTD=h probably makes the most sense - since the lyrics, for all their
EXTD= earnestness, are a good deal more ambiguous than the spare and s
EXTD=harp music behind them. So easily does U2 pull of this transforma
EXTD=tion into explicit topicality, however, that it's rather surprisi
EXTD=ng to think it took the band until its third album to begin addre
EXTD=ssing political issues so directly. \n"Seconds" expands on this n
EXTD=ew, socially conscious side of U2, with The Edge sharing vocal du
EXTD=ties for a strangely catchy number about atomic bombs, power brok
EXTD=ers and the eternal possibility of instant annihilation for other
EXTD=s' mistakes. in lesser hands the message would undoubtedly sound 
EXTD=rather clumsy - the names of countries and capitals are tossed ou
EXTD=t like buckshot, with the stark assurance that in all of them "It
EXTD='s the puppets who pull the strings" - but then as now, Bono foun
EXTD=d ways to make profound truths sound as obvious as they really ou
EXTD=ght to, while his bandmates drove those truths home with fully re
EXTD=alized, no-nonsense arrangements. \n"New Year's Day," another cla
EXTD=ssic track, may be the album's strongest song. The haunting piano
EXTD= figure which underpins the melody sounds as distinctive today as
EXTD= it did twenty-one years ago, while the lyrics cleverly alternate
EXTD= the woes of lost love with grander and more threatening sorrows.
EXTD= "Like a Song," on the other hand, shows that Bono's penchant for
EXTD= bombast started early. Having apparently run out of specific gri
EXTD=pes, he here takes aim at just about everything and everyone, get
EXTD=ting downright silly by the end. "Drowning Man" sounds like earli
EXTD=er U2, a droning number complete with violin, which only brings h
EXTD=ome how much Steve Lillywhite cleaned up the band's sound for thi
EXTD=s album. As much as U2 itself, he is responsible for WAR's greatn
EXTD=ess. \n"The Refugee," my personal favorite track here, combines t
EXTD=hundering percussion and heavily processed guitar in a portrait a
EXTD=t once harrowing and humorous. "Two Hearts Beat As One," another 
EXTD=single, is one of the band's stronger early love songs. "Red Ligh
EXTD=t" goes a bit over the top with its blasting trumpets and girl ba
EXTD=ckup singers, but "Surrender" makes extremely effective use of th
EXTD=e latter in its huge chorus and extended ending. "40" closes the 
EXTD=album on its softest and most profound note, with Biblical lyrics
EXTD= perfectly summing up the catalogue of ups and downs presented ov
EXTD=er the preceding forty minutes. For all of those ups and downs, W
EXTD=AR is justly famed, and an essential addition to any serious rock
EXTD= music collection. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nU2's first dec
EXTD=laration of protest occurred here., January 13, 2004\nReviewer: D
EXTD=istant Voyageur "Nicholas Computer" (Io)\n     \n1983's "War" is 
EXTD=remember as the album where U2 saw their status as a formidable f
EXTD=orce come to fruition and with good reason. This album is absolut
EXTD=ely incredible and was a great commercial leap forward from their
EXTD= previous two albums. It was where they had their first major hit
EXTD= "Sunday Bloody Sunday" followed by the eerie and enigmatic "New 
EXTD=Year's Day" both of which are not only amazing but have defied th
EXTD=e passing years and are still powerful anthems for the 21st centu
EXTD=ry amidst the turbulent era we're going through right now. The ba
EXTD=nd brings forth an album that has a very pure and powerful expres
EXTD=sion of political expressions, pure fury and a desperation that i
EXTD=s not seen on any album of theirs since then. "War" in a lot of w
EXTD=ays has a unique appeal against their latter albums because most 
EXTD=of the music on this album has a very raw and live audio quality 
EXTD=to it like as if they recorded the music right out of the living 
EXTD=room and straight onto tape. \nFor a long time, "War" may have be
EXTD=en the soundtrack to a past time of turbulence and international 
EXTD=turmoil but now with the war-machine going on like a previous rev
EXTD=iewer stated, "War" has regained a great deal of it's chilling po
EXTD=wer and could help save us from the injury of a war mongering lea
EXTD=dership. The album cover alone gets my nod as one of the scariest
EXTD= but most riveting album covers of all time. The expression is ve
EXTD=ry unsettling like telling of something dangerous or horrible tha
EXTD=t has or will happen if we do nothing to stop it from occurring. 
EXTD=\n\nThe two hit songs off this album are not only the most well-k
EXTD=nown but also among the best on this album. "Sunday Bloody Sunday
EXTD=" is a very chilling but highly imaginative track with a very raw
EXTD=, live feel and a much younger Bono bringing forth some of the gr
EXTD=eatest vocals I've ever heard from him. The music itself is reall
EXTD=y amazing, being something that is so raw and relatively unpolish
EXTD=ed in production. In this way, "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a really
EXTD= great song that benefits from the rawness of its sound. This was
EXTD= one of my first exposures to U2's music. "New Year's Day" gets m
EXTD=y nod as the greatest song of U2's early period. This is a really
EXTD= powerful and sometimes scary song aobut the eeriness of a possib
EXTD=le silence before or after a major event, either good or bad base
EXTD=d on the lyrical line "All is quiet on New Year's Day". Those dis
EXTD=tant echoing piano riffs that dominate the track are absolutely h
EXTD=ypnotizing and give the song a very chilling and enigmatic feel t
EXTD=hat rivals the atmospherics of "The Unforgettable Fire" but throu
EXTD=gh a different light. I don't find much satisfaction with the sho
EXTD=rtened radio edit version with the rock guitars fading out and pr
EXTD=efer the full-length version with the echoing pianos rounding out
EXTD= the track. The third but minor hit is/was "Two Hearts Beat As On
EXTD=e". This is a very upbeat and joyous song. \n\nSome of the non-si
EXTD=ngles though are worth mentioning also. "Like A Song" is almost l
EXTD=ike two songs in one. It starts with pulsating drums and a haunti
EXTD=ng guitar riff and becomes a very intense and compelling song. Th
EXTD=e last minute of the song becomes a very menacing and sometimes s
EXTD=cary melody with the drums becoming loud and pounding and the mel
EXTD=ody becoming a minor note before fading out. My favorite song tho
EXTD=ugh of the non-singles is the fifth track called "Drowning Man". 
EXTD=This is a very moving and powerful song with a very downbeat vibe
EXTD= and a highly protesting mood to it. I love the acoustic 12-strin
EXTD=g guitars that dominate the middle of the song. "Surrender" is a 
EXTD=really hauntingly beautiful song with a mix of rock and some atmo
EXTD=spherics that give the song a distant and remote feel to it. I co
EXTD=mpletely disagree with someone saying that it's too long. It's ju
EXTD=st about perfect at its five and a half minute length. "Red Light
EXTD=" is a very interesting song starting with a haunting female chor
EXTD=us and melting into an edgy and somewhat jazz-oriented song. \n\n
EXTD=The last song "40" is pretty good too but it's not a whole lot to
EXTD= write home about and feels more like a leftover from the "Octobe
EXTD=r" era recording sessions. \n\nU2 have carried on since then to c
EXTD=reate better albums but "War" is Pretty much the album where they
EXTD= first reached their status as a musical tour de force. With thei
EXTD=r next album "The Unforgettable Fire" the following, they built o
EXTD=n the greatness of this album and created their best album alongs
EXTD=ide "Achtung Baby" seven years after that but do not let those tw
EXTD=o albums overshadow "War". "War" is a really well-rounded album a
EXTD=nd incredible for such a raw and sometimes undercooked album and 
EXTD=the instability in Ireland around 1983 that this album brings to 
EXTD=light gives this album a sense of power not seen on their other a
EXTD=lbums, even on those that are overall better than this one. This 
EXTD=is a definite must-have album and should not be passed up.\n\nAMA
EXTD=ZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nTruth-in-Packaging Violation!, April 23,
EXTD= 2003\nReviewer: A music fan\nTake a long, hard look at this albu
EXTD=m. It is called simply "War". Its cover is a black-and-white clos
EXTD=e-up of a young boy's face. His eyes are furious, his lips bruise
EXTD=d, his arms twisted behind his head as though he is being arreste
EXTD=d or lined up to be shot. His gaze confronts you dead-on: haunted
EXTD=, violated, yet utterly defiant. This could be an image torn from
EXTD= a headline about Palestine, Bosnia, Ulster. Its stark power remi
EXTD=nds you of the cover of Rage Against the Machine's debut, or any 
EXTD=of a hundred punk albums. Just imagine its impact in the days of 
EXTD=12" vinyl.\nYou put the CD on, expecting music just as ragged, ex
EXTD=plosive, and enraged. Or, at the very least, as tensile and crisp
EXTD= as U2's previous albums. And what do you hear?\n\nProbably not w
EXTD=hat star producer Steve Lillywhite heard when U2 first played thi
EXTD=s material for him. I envy him the experience, just as I envy the
EXTD= Asiatics who first crossed the Prehistoric ice-bridge over the B
EXTD=ering Strait to the New World. Imagine the floral sweetness of it
EXTD=s air, the purity of its rivers and springs, the untamed glory of
EXTD= its terrain. Buried in the stinking, toxic, prefab hellhole Amer
EXTD=ica is fast becoming you can still catch glimpses (between plumes
EXTD= of diesel smoke and video billboards) of the virile beauty of th
EXTD=at vanished land.\n\nSimilarly, under Lillywhite's mincing female
EXTD= choirs and saccharine orchestral swill you can sense the crack s
EXTD=ongwriting and killer riffs of a great album. What happened? Did 
EXTD=Steve have a little chat with the boys about unit shifting: "Here
EXTD=, lads, Celtic fervor is all well and good, but if we want to cra
EXTD=ck America we're going to have to go with the whole poncey, overc
EXTD=ooked Britpop thing...." It's not just that he diluted their powe
EXTD=r to the consistency of Harp Export; he also amputated their orig
EXTD=inality in favor of trendy mush-rock. (Notice that the only track
EXTD= with any raw force to it, "The Refugee", was produced by Bill Wh
EXTD=elan.) For every bracing gem like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" there's 
EXTD=a swamp-creature like "Surrender" or "Red Light" with backing tra
EXTD=cks slathered on with a trowel and tarted up with a big, pink pow
EXTD=der-puff. "Drowning Man" is right; that's what the whole album sh
EXTD=ould've been called. And man oh man, does it ever sound dated now
EXTD=....\n\nNone of this would matter so much, but the album's pencil
EXTD=-necked production turns its theme (or, rather, Crusade) into a j
EXTD=oke. How are we supposed to believe anything these bleating popme
EXTD=isters have to say about the harshness of conflict? The irony is 
EXTD=that the band *is* passionate, *is* sincere, and is completely ri
EXTD=ght about warfare, nationalism, the nuclear arms race, all of it.
EXTD= It's just that with these lyrics and this sound, you don't want 
EXTD=to give a toss.\n\nAds for this disk in 1983 exhorted us to "Join
EXTD= the war against boring music." Many underground songs of the tim
EXTD=e were like turbid roller-coaster rides; "War" feels more like be
EXTD=ing smothered in damp, rose-scented hankies. Not exactly boring, 
EXTD=but a far cry from that album cover, you know?\n\nAMAZON.COM CUST
EXTD=OMER REVIEW\nA Young Vandal Turns Me On To U2 (She Hate Me), Apri
EXTD=l 14, 2003\nReviewer: James F. Colobus (Pittsburgh, PA United Sta
EXTD=tes)\nI got into U2 back in high school at least partly because o
EXTD=f a girl who hated me. Her name was Jenny and the two of us mixed
EXTD= like oil and water. Jenny was a good friend of several of my clo
EXTD=se female friends so I was always around her despite our mutual a
EXTD=ntipathy. Part of the problem was that in ninth grade I had accid
EXTD=entally discovered that Jenny was responsible for a recent incide
EXTD=nt of vandalism in which the phrases "Nam Sucked" and "Free Nelso
EXTD=n Mandela" had been spray painted in large white letters across t
EXTD=he front of our beloved high school. Jenny became paranoid that I
EXTD= would turn her in to school authorities and began to make my lif
EXTD=e miserable with threats of physical violence of a most unpleasan
EXTD=t nature.\nYou might suspect that Jenny cut an imposing figure, b
EXTD=ut she was actually short, pale, and thin. She did, however, have
EXTD= an alarming affinity for spending her free time cutting and burn
EXTD=ing herself, hobbies which allowed her to achieve a sinister aura
EXTD= despite her diminutive stature. To avoid harassment from teacher
EXTD=s at school, Jenny covered up the damage wrought by knife and fla
EXTD=me by regularly donning a studded black leather jacket featuring 
EXTD=the word "Siouxsie" etched on the back with what appeared to be w
EXTD=hite-out. Three musical artists mattered to Jenny - one you can a
EXTD=lready guess, the other two were Kate Bush and U2. Now, I had lit
EXTD=tle interest Siouxsie and the Banshees or Kate Bush, but U2 seeme
EXTD=d a little more compelling. I'd heard "New Year's Day" on the rad
EXTD=io and found it utterly entrancing. As much as I disliked Jenny, 
EXTD=I had to admit she might be onto something. I discussed this hunc
EXTD=h with my friend, Chris, and he seemed to be of like mind. In fac
EXTD=t, he went so far as to pick up U2's War and a few weeks later ki
EXTD=ndly leant it to me. \n\nFrom the first drumbeats of "Sunday Bloo
EXTD=dy Sunday", I was hooked. After several years of happily listenin
EXTD=g to great songs without much lyrical substance from albums like 
EXTD=Van Halen's Fair Warning and Boston's Boston, War was the first o
EXTD=vertly political album I'd heard and I loved it. Whereas Fair War
EXTD=ning made me want to chase girls and Boston made me want to learn
EXTD= to play guitar, War gave me the urge to change the world or at l
EXTD=east be more informed about what was going on in it. Even if you 
EXTD=completely ignore the lyrics on War, the anthemic sound of many o
EXTD=f these songs just makes them feel important. In hindsight, altho
EXTD=ugh The Joshua Tree moved more units and Boy was a better overall
EXTD= album, no album represents what U2 were all about in the 1980s b
EXTD=etter than War. Songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Seconds", "Ne
EXTD=w Year's Day", "Like A Song" and "The Refugee" touch both mind an
EXTD=d heart.\n\nAfter War, Jenny felt U2 began to lose the faith. I'l
EXTD=l never forget how betrayed she felt by The Joshua Tree, which wa
EXTD=s released at a time of even greater social upheaval than usual f
EXTD=or Jenny. Her torrid affair with a 25-year old Marine was coming 
EXTD=to a close and she had begun looking forward to college at Columb
EXTD=ia where she would come to embrace the love that dare not speak i
EXTD=ts name. New York appeared to agree with Jenny and from what I've
EXTD= heard, she became far less angsty and self-destructive once she 
EXTD=arrived there. After a brief stint in grad school at Vanderbilt, 
EXTD=Jenny dropped out to toil in the health food industry, met the lo
EXTD=ve of her life, and got married in the Pacific Northwest. Since w
EXTD=e certainly don't keep in touch, your guess is as good as mine as
EXTD= to whether Jenny ever pulls out her early U2 albums or how she f
EXTD=eels about All That You Can't Leave Behind which in some ways rep
EXTD=resents a return to U2s early sound. Call me crazy, but I'm kind 
EXTD=of curious to know.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nOne of U2's Gr
EXTD=eatest!!!, July 10, 1998\nReviewer: A music fan\n'War' is U2's th
EXTD=ird major album and it is reknowned as the album which made the b
EXTD=and's presence known in America. In 'War' U2 has regained most of
EXTD= the vigor of 'Boy' (their debut record and most energetic), reta
EXTD=ined the complexity of their second album, 'October' while adding
EXTD= thoughtfullness and rage. As a result, 'War' is U2's most pensiv
EXTD=e album to date. \nEach song on the record reminds us of the self
EXTD=-destructiveness of society. The first song, 'Sunday, Bloody Sund
EXTD=ay' borrows its name from two Irish massacres, and it is frequent
EXTD=ly mistaken as a 'rebel' song. Yet, when one analyzes the lyrics,
EXTD= it delivers a plea for the end of the continuous violence in Nor
EXTD=thern Ireland, and the world. The following song, 'Seconds' (Bono
EXTD= rests his voice here and The Edge takes the lead on this one.), 
EXTD=sings of the horrors of nuclear warfare and acknowledges how quic
EXTD=kly it could all end - literally in 'seconds'. 'New Years Day' em
EXTD=phasizes the grim circumstances of war and hope's rapid rate of d
EXTD=eterioration. 'Like A Song...' contains allusions to the Irish Ci
EXTD=vil War and reflects the reluctance to participate in another con
EXTD=flict again. 'Drowing Man' is the tale of a dying man struggling 
EXTD=to reunite with his love. The fast-paced 'The Refugee' tells two 
EXTD=stories of a young woman ready to leave her homeland and of a you
EXTD=ng man enthusiastic about fighting although not knowing exactly w
EXTD=hy. \n\nDespite the preceeding melancholy songs, 'Two Hearts Beat
EXTD= as One' talks of the bewilderment of love and 'Red Light' speaks
EXTD= of the confused nature of a relationship. 'Surrender' sings of g
EXTD=iving into change and the album ends on a rather optomistic note 
EXTD=with "40" (based on Psalm 40). \n\nIn the eyes of any U2 fanatic 
EXTD='War' would be considered one of the finest masterpieces they hav
EXTD=e ever produced. Bono's singing, The Edges signature guitar metho
EXTD=d, Adam Clayton's bass technique and Larry Mullen Jr.'s militant 
EXTD=styled drumming are all at one of their heights in 'War'. No U2 c
EXTD=ollection is complete without the! edition of 'War'.\n\nROLLING S
EXTD=TONE REVIEW\nFrom the start, it was clear that U2 could create im
EXTD=pressive music. The jagged guitar riff and thundering drone that 
EXTD=launched "I Will Follow" and the rest of their 1981 debut album, 
EXTD=Boy, was eloquent and visceral. It was also musically uncomplicat
EXTD=ed; these four young Dubliners had an instinctive sense for makin
EXTD=g the most out of simple shifts in dynamics and elementary voicin
EXTD=gs, and it gave their sound a rough, exhilarating grandiloquence.
EXTD= The only problem was that once U2 caught a listener's attention,
EXTD= they had little to say. Boy waxed poetic on the mysteries of chi
EXTD=ldhood without really illuminating any of them; October, its succ
EXTD=essor, wrapped itself in romance and religion but didn't seem to 
EXTD=understand either. Without a viewpoint that could conform to the 
EXTD=stirring rhythms and sweeping crescendos of their music, U2 often
EXTD= ended up sounding dangerously glib.\n\nWith their third album, W
EXTD=ar, U2 have found just such a perspective, and with it, have gene
EXTD=rated their most fulfilling work vet. War makes for impressive li
EXTD=stening, but more important, it deals with a difficult subject in
EXTD= a sensible way. That subject is the sectarian strife in Northern
EXTD= Ireland, or what the Irish call "the troubles." U2 are not the f
EXTD=irst group to play soldiers with this topic: Belfast's Stiff Litt
EXTD=le Fingers have dealt with the problem explicitly, the Clash some
EXTD=what more obliquely. But no one has caught the paradox between st
EXTD=ance and action so accurately.\n\n"Sunday Bloody Sunday," which o
EXTD=pens the album, apparently addresses Bloody Sunday, a 1972 incide
EXTD=nt in which British paratroopers killed thirteen civilians in an 
EXTD=illegal civil-rights demonstration in Londonderry. As an acoustic
EXTD= guitar and a sizzling hi-hat build tension, vocalist Bono Vox si
EXTD=ngs. "I can't believe the news today...." The band slips into som
EXTD=e lush, sustained chords as he wonders, "How long? How long must 
EXTD=we sing this song?" then jumps back into a militant, jagged dance
EXTD= beat.\n\nIt's great drama, and it lends a certain amount of cred
EXTD=ence to the song's wistful chorus, "Tonight, we can be as one. To
EXTD=night!" But Vox tips his hand when he sings the urgent disclaimer
EXTD=. "I won't heed the battle call It puts my back up, puts my back 
EXTD=up against the wall." What Vox and the band are saying, then, is 
EXTD=that it's pointless to take irresponsible risks when confronting 
EXTD=irresponsible authority -- but one must still take some sort of s
EXTD=tance.\n\nUnlike the Clash, who wrestle with imperialist foreign 
EXTD=policy, or the Gang of Four, who try to transfer a Marxist dialec
EXTD=tic to the dance floor, U2 don't pretend to have the answers to t
EXTD=he world's troubles. Instead, they devote their energies to letti
EXTD=ng us know that they are concerned and to creating an awareness a
EXTD=bout those problems. And not only is that refreshing, but it make
EXTD=s sense, because U2 understand that it's the gesture, not the mes
EXTD=sage, that counts.\n\nComplementing U2's lyrical growth is a newl
EXTD=y developed dark sense of humor, which the band uses to striking 
EXTD=effect throughout the album. "Seconds," for example, opens with a
EXTD= sleepy funk riff driven by a cheerful toy bass drum. It's a plea
EXTD=sant juxtaposition, but as the song's subject matter becomes clea
EXTD=r -- the insanity of nuclear blackmail, where, as Bono Vox puts i
EXTD=t, "the puppets pull the strings"--you realize that this jolly no
EXTD=isemaker is no more an innocent plaything than is the one in Gunt
EXTD=er Grass' The Tin Drum. Similarly, "New Year's Day" includes the 
EXTD=wisecrack, "So we are told, this is a golden age Gold is the reas
EXTD=on for the wars we wage" -- a remark far wiser than it at first s
EXTD=eems.\n\nYet War isn't all jaded ideals and sour wit, for as Bono
EXTD= Vox makes his pronouncements, his vocalize reveals the full flow
EXTD=er of U2's melodic abilities. In between the bitter humor of "Sec
EXTD=onds," he breaks into joyous flights of wordless melody, his voic
EXTD=e soaring in multitracked polyphony over the song's slippery rhyt
EXTD=hms. "Surrender" is lighter still, thanks to its airy melody and 
EXTD=the Edge's coolly sustained guitar. In fact, this song is the one
EXTD= instance where the music says more than lyrics ever could, becau
EXTD=se hearing Vox' blissful tenor floating over the backing vocals (
EXTD=courtesy of Kid Creole's Coconuts) is a better definition of "Sur
EXTD=render" than anything in Webster's.\n\nGenerally, the album's mus
EXTD=ical strengths are largely the product of well-honed arrangements
EXTD= and carefully balanced dynamics. Even as the Edge spins increasi
EXTD=ngly sophisticated guitar lines, he maintains the minimalist blun
EXTD=tness that sparked Boy. And while bassist Adam Clayton and drumme
EXTD=r Larry Mullen Jr. have swung to more dance-oriented rhythms, the
EXTD=ir songs hurtle along with the sort of brusque purposefulness mor
EXTD=e frequently associated with punk.\n\nU2 may not be great intelle
EXTD=ctuals, and War may sound more profound than it really is. But th
EXTD=e songs here stand up against anything on the Clash's London Call
EXTD=ing in terms of sheer impact, and the fact that U2 can sweep the 
EXTD=listener up in the same sort of enthusiastic romanticism that fue
EXTD=ls the band's grand gestures is an impressive feat. For once, not
EXTD= having all the answers seems a bonus. (RS 392 - Jan 22, 1997)\nJ
EXTD=.D. CONSIDINE
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