Be the Song That You Hear in Your Head ... Appreciating U2's POP

Released in March of 1997, Pop is probably one of the most despised of U2's albums, but I love it. First and foremost, it was a huge risk on U2's part. They had just come off a huge tour and poor reception to Achtung Baby's follow up album, Zooropa. It was far different from anything people heard. But I always felt there was something there. With time, this album has aged gracefully. Okay, maybe not the lemon spaceship and muscle shirts. 

The lyrics are heavy; a lot of contemplation, but at the same time, serious fun with a more mature tone. Hanging with Frank Sinatra pre-recording this album definitely translated into some of these vibes. 

Let's review - one of U2's least liked albums, Pop.

Discothèque
So this song confused the hell out of people. Maybe it was Bono's mid-mid life crisis after he had the existential Machphisto

mid-life crisis, Discothèque was an interesting choice to open the album too because there is nothing else on the album like it. And then there is the video --  



Do You Feel Loved
Bono really experimented with lyrics on this album - it isn't clear exactly what this song is about, some say ecstasy, others Bono's fame and fan worship of him, and then other always point to religion. Whatever it is, Adam Clayton is getting some bass love on this album.

Mofo
Bono always seems to pen one song about his mother who was lost to him at a very young age. This song might be the most revealing about Bono -  as it captures so many questions of his existence, sans mother, including filling the void of her loss, his religion, and becoming a father. It also includes many artistic references that many will miss including two quotes from both Salman Rushdie and William Butler Yeats.


If God Will Send His Angels
A beautiful song that never got the recognition it deserved. It is full of so many vivid images of the world we live in, the despair, hope, and questions of the world and the spirituality that many question everyday. Again, Bono goes after faith and the selling of religion, the commercialization of it, and the loss of its true meaning.

Does love...light up your Christmas Tree
The next minute your blowing a fuse
And the cartoon network turns into the news

Staring at the Sun
Bono again goes with the internal review of self with this song. It's catchy, acoustic, and again bass heavy. Let's look at the title alone - what happens when you stare at the sun? Everyone does it right, because you're not supposed to. I'm not the only one whose happy to go blind, Bono sings. We do what we aren't supposed to and then tell others not to do it. Will we ever live in peace? 'Cause those that can't do often have to, Those that can't do often have to preach. It's as much a song about practicing what you preach as it is about looking past the burning blindness of the sun and seeing the real truth. See, I told you this album was deep.

Last Night on Earth
While the video seems very apocalyptic, it's semi-obvious that it is probably about Paul Yates, ex-wife of Bob Geldof, lover of Michael Hutchence, and tabloid fodder. This is what gave it away for me:

She's not waiting on a savior to come
She's at a bus stop with the News of the World
And the
Sun
Sun here it comes
She's not waiting for anyone

The tabloids, News of the World, the Sun and a sad prediction:

The future is so predictable
The past is too uncomfortable

Gone
This is a very rock and roll song and a special one for such a family man. Bono wrote this about loving rock but missing his family while on the road. And again, praise the bass lords on this album.

Miami
This is a silly little ditty, no message but relaxing on the beach.

The Playboy Mansion
There are blurred lines here between the heaven of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion and the religious heaven. It's a little Vegas at time's and you can feel Bono channeling the Riviera Hotel's  vibes in this song. And again, our sneaky song writers show that years of study at Mount Temple. Then will there be no time for sorrow, then will there be no time for pain is a reference to Revelations 21:4 - curious blurred reference indeed.

If You Wear the Velvet Dress
This is a haunting song about the moments of temptation and the morning after when life seems more clear than the moon that casts shadows and false images:

Sunlight
Sunlight fills my room
It's sharp and it's clear
But nothing at all like the moon

 

Please
A very timely and foreshadowing song, Please was written about the Northern Ireland Peace Process. It's about the love of country that gets people killed. Love is hard, love is though but love is not what you're thinking of. While written and recorded in 1997, in 2001, the following lines would echo in our ears, an eerie premonition from Bono:

September
Streets capsizing
Spilling over
Down the drain
Shards of glass splinters like rain
But you could only feel
Your own pain

Wake Up Dead Man
My favorite song on the album. It's a prayer made in time of question and desperation and an order to wake up, wake up and take care of me and my needs.

Jesus, Jesus help me
I'm alone in this world
And a fucked up world it is too
Tell me, tell me the story
The one about eternity
And the way it's all gonna be

Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man

Jesus, I'm waiting here boss
I know you're looking out for us
But maybe your hands aren't free
Your father, made the world in seven
He's in charge of heaven
Will you put in a word in for me?

 

Bono and the boys were approaching the ago of 40 when this album was written and released. It's a time of reflection and recollection of those lost and moments that could have been different. For these lads, 1980-1997 was a blur. Red Rocks, Live Aid, Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, using satellites to talk to the world. You also take stock in the fact that you've worked hard enough and earned those times of joy, whether it's at the Playboy Mansion or at Miami.

Eyes In a Moon of Blindness: Rattle and Hum

...It's a musical journey

Released on October 10, 1988, it's no secret that the critics panned this entire effort from U2. The video documentary of their tour following their blast to stardom after The Joshua Tree release amalgamated the distinct artistic eyes of Phil Joanou and Phil Corbijn. Jimy Iovine envisioned the journey that captured U2's exploration of America through the eyes of the young Irish musicians. It was not an easy sell, not even for music critics who hailed the album as "excitement", another described it as "misguided and bombastic". Either way, this piece of rock history was captured and has had staying power, at least with the fans. I guess it could be said that Rattle and Hum has matured well. Whether or not they were trying to create the next Scorcese-esque video documentary, we may never know, however the album and movie capture U2 at some of their best live performances. 

A few great performances were left off the album, such as Sunday Bloody Sunday and Exit, two performances filled with passion and captured the essence of live U2. 

Below are some stories and thoughts behind the songs. 

Helter Skelter 
 The opening is raw and angry and perfect for a band who is about to go off amidst critics rambling about their delusions of grandeur ... ironic what comes next for the band isn't it?

Van Dieman's Land 
One of Edge's few vocal leads, this haunting song about the prison land that many Irish were sent to remains haunting. 
...I wrote a song called 'Van Diemen's Land' which touches on that on the new album. I was interested in the history of this character, John Boyle O'Reilly. I was out one day with my wife Aislinn and we came upon this monument in County Meath. At the entrance to it was this faded brown newspaper clipping which gave the history of his life. How he was a member of the British Army in Ireland. He left the British army and became a Fenian and wrote Fenian poetry. He was arrested by the British Government and was charged with writing material that was liable to undermine the government and was deported to Australia for 20 years' hard labour. He was, to me, a prisoner of conscience in a way. He was not a man of violence, and he was sent away for 20 years so I wrote a song about that." - The Edge, NME 1988 

Desire
This is the song that most will remember from the album. It's rock and roll with the Edge's sound and Bono's political take of the infamous 80's Tammy Fayes and Jims.

Desire' is a little classic, a little 45. Edge took the beat from The Stooges' '69, which was their take on the Bo Diddley beat. The rhythm is the sex of the music. I wanted to own up to the religiosity of rock'n'roll and the fact that you get paid for them. On one level, I'm criticizing the lunatic fringe preachers 'stealing hearts at a travelling show' but I'm also starting to realize there's a real parallel between what I am doing and what they do. - Bono, U2 By U2 2006
 
Hawkmoon 269
Bono says the song was inspired by the writings of gifted Sam Shephard and that it achieved its title because 269 was how many takes it took to get this song complete. There is a burning desire for someone in this song.


All Along the Watchtower
Bono's politics on full display as he covers the Hendrix / Dylan tune (and defaces public property). 
 

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Performed with a Harlem church choir - this version is stripped down to basics. 

Freedom For My People

A song spontaneously filmed by a local Harlem music act. They called it "folk-soul" and were inspired by Richie Havens. 

Silver And Gold
I was listening to a John Lee Hooker track, and I asked, 'Who's playing the drums?' 'That's his foot,' Keith [Richards] said. 'He was just kicking at the floorboards.' I was blown out of it. I left with my head in a spin and I went back to my hotel room on my own and wrote 'Silver And Gold' and tried to apply what I'd just heard to the project at hand, which was an anti-apartheid record. I called Keith the next day and said, 'Can I come round, I've got a song I'd like to play for you? Maybe you'd like to play on it?' Keith said, 'Sure.' So, I recorded an acoustic version of this, my first blues song, with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. - Bono, U2 By U2 2006

Pride (In the Name of Love) 
A great live version from McNichols Arena is a song that always inspires at any U2 show. This song, like so many, is best live as Bono can put his passion on display.


Angel of Harlem 
We landed in JFK, and we were picked up in a limousine. We had never been in a limousine before, and with the din of punk rock not yet faded from our ears, there was sort of guilty pleasure as we stepped into the limousine. Followed by a sly grin, as you admit to yourself this is fun. We crossed Triborough Bridge and saw the Manhattan skyline. The limo driver was black and he had the radio turned to WBLS, a black music station. Billie Holiday was singing. And there it was, city of blinding lights, neon hearts. They were advertising in the skies for people like us, as London had been the year before. And it was snowing. - Bono, U2 By U2 2006

Love Rescue Me 
We played two nights in LA. I woke up one morning with a song in my head, 'Love Rescue Me.' Lots of songs arrive in a dream state. At first you think it must be somebody else's song, because it's there, verse, chorus, melody. I had been dreaming about Bob Dylan and I thought it w might be a Bob Dylan song. It's about a man people keep turning to as a saviour but his own life is getting messed up and he could use a bit of salvation himself. - Bono, U2 By U2 2006  

When Love Comes To Town 
I asked Bono if he would write a song for me and he said yes. About a year later, the group was touring in the US and asked if I would open the show, and I said gladly. Bono said, ' I have this song for you.' He brought it out and I thought it was a very deep song for him, being such a young man. But I liked it very much. The lyrics were very heavy... Blues is not prejudiced. You can be any colour to play the blues. Most people say it's a simple music, I won't argue that. I say

everybody can play it, but that doesn't mean everybody's gonna like it. I think U2 did a very good job. I thought it was great and I still do. - BB King, Uncut 

Heartland 
New Orleans had the sweetness of a rotting vine, when the grapes are just on the turn. I loved it, the noble rot as wine loves call it. There's some dark colours, violet and purple. It was raining when we arrived. Danny had this baroque château in New Orleans, a beautiful house with an amazing stairwell. It was a magical place... Danny Lanois had found a world of people as lost to the music as he was; there was this dizziness in the air. That was such a great journey and a great time spent with adam. I'll treasure it for the rest of my life. - Bono, U2 By U2 2006

God Part II
He can't reply, so I'm going to.' And that became 'God Part II,' in homage to Lennon's beautiful song 'God'. - Bono, U2 By U2 2006
 
Bullet The Blue Sky
Part of the beauty of this rockumentary is that is captured the feel of a stadium rock show. The soaring guitar in Bullet is a great rock song for a large stadium. 

The subtle knock of the Hendrix Woodstock Star Spangled Banner being played before Bullet is lost on some. The song itself is the band's outspoken view of America's $$ reach into other countries through violence and regime change.

All I Want Is You 
One of Bono's sweet love songs ... it captures the stages of love and is a perfect song for the closing credits. 

When Fact Is Fiction and TV A Reality: U2 War

War seemed to be the motif for 1982 ... 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. ~Bono (War and Peace NME - 1983)

On this final day of February in 1983, U2 released its third album, War. Boy and October introduced us to the religious youth from Ireland with a few whispers of the political 80's, War gave us the first hint of the politics that would shape this band's songs and their hearts. 

The Edge honed his signature sound on songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday and Two Hearts Beat as One, not to mention his signature cold notes on the piano. He also had one of very few opportunities to sing co-lead on the Cold War atomic song, Seconds. It was also the advent of the video age and U2 was eager to take part, freezing on horseback for New Year's Day, the track first released to the world. It was a heavier sound that most were used to with U2, but it worked well with the politics of the tracks. 

The album ends with one of the most iconic U2 songs, 40. Was Bono telling us more songs were on their way in only the way expected of U2, through a Psalm?

Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bono's mother was a member of the Church of Ireland and his father was Catholic making him both unable and unwilling to choose a side in the violence. The band tried to stay away from, ironically enough, the politics of Ireland. The song's main anthem is How long must we sing this song? That is the point of the song. One of the most gut-wrenching versions of this song was seen on The Rattle and Hum tour. Bono, angered by the events of a bombing in Enniskillen, sang an impassioned version of this song. The version most are familiar with is however, is the below iconic Red Rocks version.

Seconds
The Soldiers Girls and the atomic annihilation inspiration for this song. So many angry comments of the times yet echo so into the future. Also one of the few times we see Edge on lead vocals! 

New Year's Day
It is NOT, I repeat NOT a song about celebrating the start of the New Year. It is in fact a song about Polish Solidarity, a worker's party that was gaining popular support in the push towards the end of The Cold War. Adam's pulsing bass lines dancing with The Edge's tight piano notes are one of the iconic moments on this album.

Trivia (U2's little known except by fanatics as myself, Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop, was a B-Side to this single. And now you know).

Like a Song...
You think Larry Mullen was on fire for Sunday Bloody Sunday, he's the entire drum line on this song. This is a song about the generation of the 80's that was tired of war and fighting and revolution. In fighting, out fighting ... when does it stop?

But I won't let others live in hell
As we divide against each other
And we fight amongst ourselves
Too set in our ways to try to rearrange
Too right to be wrong, in this rebel song

Drowning Man
This song is not political but a cry to help their own bassist who was struggling with his own demons and the least religious in the band. There are so many layers to this song both beautiful and chaotic.

The Refugee
Okay ... a bit of a departure. The refugees are moving to America ... wait a minute. 

Two Hearts Beat As One
Okay, a love song this time. Bono wrote this while on his honeymoon with his wife Alison. 
Just take a moment to appreciate Adam's bass line in this one. 

Red Light
No overt political statements here ... love, red light ... and one of the stand-in back-up singers stripped to her bra under the red lights of the studio. 

Surrender
So many ways to interpret this song. Drugs, love, God ... 

40
Only U2 could get away with singing David's 40th Psalm. Here is a clip from Madison Square Garden in 2015. Chills every time.

The Hype of U2*

I don't remember exactly when it happened. I don't remember the moment where I transcended liking U2 to having to understand every word of every song they sang. Like many, The Joshua Tree was first U2 album that I owned. It was actually one of the first CDs that I owned (Kick was the other).

 

When I really started to listen to and read the lyrics, I understood that they were more than your average rock band. U2 was trying to tell you something. U2 became, and still is, the rock band with a conscience.

Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, The Edge (Dave Evans), and Bono (Paul Hewson) joined forces in the late 70's, just some kids from the Mount Temple School that wanted to make music. 11 O'clock Tick Tock was the first the "world" heard of U2.

 

All of the elements of quintessential U2 are present: Clayton's very present bass lines, The Edge's signature guitar sound, Larry's fast snare, and Bono, the  preacher man. Their religious upbringing helped shape many of their songs, especially on Boy and October. The songs were mainly about teen angst and religion with Out of Control, I Will Follow and Gloria being the best known from those albums.

 

Politics really entered into U2's realm with the War album in 1983 with songs such as Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day,  and Seconds (one of only a handful of songs The Edge would sing). 40, based on Psalm 40, still makes the concert rounds. Under a Blood Red Sky and Unforgettable Fire would propel U2 into their role as super group and world savers. The biggest song for them with Pride (In the Name of Love) would ready them for what would come next.

 

We must give credit to Sir Bob Geldof here. I truly think that he influenced Bono by way of showing him what was going on in the world. It was the 80's and there was a hunger crisis in Africa. Enter: Live Aid. U2's performance at Live Aid was one of their best and when Bono danced with that young lady from the crowd, we knew a true showman was born. But what Live Aid also did was it took Bono and his wife, Alison Stewart, to Africa. Their visit influenced one of rock's biggest selling albums, 1987's The Joshua Tree.

Every single song on The Joshua Tree could have been a hit. The haunting sounds of Where the Streets Have no Name, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and the almost disturbing With or Without You were on rotation on every radio station ... and on MTV. Yes, the age of video most definitely helped U2 close the loop on being the number one band at the time. Not only did you get to hear them, you got to see Bono's brooding, The Edge's hats, and we were introduced to the genius of well thought and produced music videos.

Most don't realize this about The Joshua Tree: it's political. At least six of the songs on the album are about political corruption in the US, Columbia, disappearances, drug abuse issues, starvation, and hopelessness. Bono wanted to be the voice of the voiceless and give hope to the hopeless.

The tour that followed gave us Rattle and Hum, the album and movie. We were essentially on this journey with U2, yes, to quote Larry Mullen, Jr. It was a "musical journey." They had the world at their fingertips. The cover of Time, top selling albums and being called the best band in the world. But what made U2, U2, happened on December 30, 1989

Go away and dream it all up again...

What everyone wanted was The Joshua Tree again but that they were not going to get. What we got was Achtung Baby and a schizophrenic Bono wearing devil horns and pleather suits.

Achtung took many by surprise. It was different, but they liked it. I still cannot and refuse to compare Achtung and Joshua Tree. U2 reinvented themselves but the world was doing the same thing. Tiananmen Square was fresh on everyone's minds, the Berlin Wall fell and East and West were now one. U2 was actually in Berlin when the re-unification happened. This and the entire story of that period of the band's existence is told brilliantly by Bill Flanagan in U2 At the End of the World. Bono faces eviction without his pants, might be the best opening to any bio I have ever read. The world was changing and U2 was leading the charge. 

Next up - ZooTV and Zooropa. Again, U2 would conquer the world via live performance. The stage, complete with screens of all sizes, was a tribute to the out of control TV and satellite world that we live in. Each night, Bono (usually MacPhisto)  would call someone on his phone. The world was Bono's stage. And in the political atmosphere of the late 80's and early 90's Bono was a kid in a candy store. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Gak4X2Jlc

Now, say what you will about the next album, I loved it (the tour was ok too if you can get over the Lemon Space Ship). Pop. It was disco-y and quirky but relevant. Songs like Please and Staring at the Sun question the violence in our world.

All That You Can't Leave Behind brought U2 away from the supersized techno glitz and re-invented themselves yet again with stripped down, but magnificent songs. Beautiful Day, Kite, Walk On, and Stuck in a Moment brought the fandom back to U2. But it would be the Super Bowl where U2 would bring the world to its knees in one of the most beautiful tributes to 9/11 I have ever seen. The names of those lost, floating up to heaven, never forgotten.  In case any of you are wondering what Bono says before the song starts, he is reciting a portion of Psalm 116:

What can I give back to God
For the blessings he's poured out on me
I'll lift hig the cup of salvation
A toast to God

I'll pray in the name of God
I'll complete what I promised God I'll do
And I'll do it together with his people

  

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, No Line on the Horizon brought U2 back on the road, and of course Under the Brooklyn Bridge. 

And then a moment of who let the band decide that it would be a good idea to place your new album on everyone's iPhone. However ... Songs of Innocence was a really good 13th album for U2. The longest release gap between albums saw what would be a tribute to the band's  personal lives and inspirations. Songs of Experience followed three years later (delayed by Brexit and Bono's Central Park bicycle incident) and was a heavier and more welcomed sound for the band. 

I am certain though, that every word of every song is methodically planned. A bible verse, a political jab, or an historical moment woven perfectly into the melodies.

Bono, Modern Day Psalm Writer

It is no secret that Bono loves the role of front man, but Bono is also morally conscience and seems to always be looking for something to tell the world about. To me, he is our modern day King David. Bono writes our psalms for us. He also does not shy away from his belief of God. He penned a wonderful piece in the Guardian prior to the release of a new version of The Psalms in 1999. An excerpt:  

David was a star, the Elvis of the Bible, if we can believe the chiselling of Michelangelo. And unusually for such a "rock star," with his lust for power, lust for women, lust for life, he had the humility of one who knew his gift worked harder than he ever would. He even danced naked in front of his troops -- the biblical equivalent of the royal walkabout. David was definitely more performance artist than politician. http://www.atu2.com/news/psalm-like-it-hot.html

The deep religious roots that almost drove the band out of existence in the 1980's still thrives within him. He's a humanitarian, a philanthropist, and a family man. I look forward to what he has to say next.

*U2 fanatics might get the title reference.

Excellent U2 reads:
Walk On Spiritual Journey of U2 - Steve Stockman
U2 At the End of the World - Bill Flanagan
Into the Heart - Niall Stokes

Into the Heart: Boy at 40

The freshman album by U2 was anything but naive. With Steve Lillywhite at the helm, this album is extremely philosophical and psychological for these literal boys -19 and 20 when this album was released. But their religious studies had them thinking deep for many years, and would, in fact, almost tear the band apart. 
 
Famously known for the cover art,  Boy would catch the ears of many critics, hailing it as an album that shows the potential of a poetic and philosophical band.





I Will Follow 
A tribute to the mother he lost at 14, the symbolism is deep for a song with so much spirit:
I was on the inside
When they pulled the four walls down
I was looking through the window
I was lost, I am found.

 
Twilight
A coming of age song, where "in the shadows, boy mean man, this song deals with the confusion of becoming an adult.

An Cat Dubh
The black cat, the woman, the other woman, the scorned lover. This is so much like the types of songs we hear in Achtung Baby. This song is about women, and love and sex, but innocently symbolized in the cat that sleeps next to it's victim bird. 
And in the daylight
A blackbird makes a violent sight
And when she is done
She sleeps beside the one
 
Into The Heart
Foreshadowing their Innocence / Experience albums, just what did these four lads think they already knew about being young and innocent and the challenges of getting older?
Into the heart, into the heart of a child
I can't go back
I can't stay awhile.
Into the heart.

Out Of Control
A standard in today's shows about being young and living life. 

Stories For Boys
Again, another song of innocence 

There's a picture book
With colour photographs
There's a comic strip
That makes me laugh

The Ocean
The shortest of U2 songs, paying homage to Oscar Wilde an as well as some religious allusions and potential delusions of grandeur. The bass line on this is what gives away Adam's true talent, creating the sounds of the ebb and flow and even fog horns of the ocean. 

A picture in grey
Dorian Gray
Just me by the sea.

And I felt like a star
I felt the world could go far
If they listened to what I said.
The sea

Washes my feet
Washes my feet
Splashes the sole of my shoes.


A Day Without Me
One of the more reflective songs on the album about life and what it would be like without them in it.


Another Time, Another Place
Everyone seems to be more concerned about the Gaelicy-German that Bono utters, as opposed to what this is really about. But it seems to be about lovers or the loss of a lover. In all, this seems to be a foreign sound for U2. The Edge is not playing Edge like-notes and the sound seems a little moving towards a Sunday Bloody Sunday sound - but that's two albums away.
 
Bright morning lights
Wipe the sleep from another day's eye
Turn away from the wall
And there's Nothing at all
Being naked and afraid
In the open space of my bed

Electric Co.
Short for electric conversion therapy, this peppy song is a reference to a friend who was suicidal and was taken in for electric shock therapy. This is an early indicator of Love is Blindness - like "love songs" about extremists.  

Red, running red
Play for real
The toy could feel
A hole in your head
You go in shock
You're spoon-fed

If you don't know...Electric co.

Shadows and Tall Trees
Quite the somber, self examination song to end on, but again, it was where the band was. Everything was an examination of self in relation to their religious studies. 

 Boy is a rare example of a first album for a band that would become world famous. While deep in philosophy and questioning of life, the music lends itself to the listener, allowing them to be let in, even if they don't want the message, questions, or answers. It foreshadows much of the discussion we would have with Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry in the future 13 albums and numerous world tours.

 

 Scot Anderson of the Iowa City Press-Citizen called Boy 'an album that, while flawed, shows the potential of the band'. Anderson thought certain songs were too long or too short, but believed U2 distinguished themselves from their peers with their spirit and humanity, making 'a most refreshing splash in the New Wave.'

 

October

Before there was the Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum, in 1981 U2 produced an album that would spawn only one recognizable song. October is one of my favorite U2 albums. The only recognizable song to many would be Gloria. The rest of the songs, gems if you ask me, are dreamy at times and are wrought with politics, religion, and young angst.

Gloria

This is where our Bono becomes David, the King and Psalm writer and makes his debut of sorts. He mixes traditional Catholic Latin Gloria...in te domine (Glory, In You Lord) with a sort of power ballad to the father, son and Holy Ghost Himself. Statements like But only in you I'm complete make reference to the band's overall Christian beliefs. Add a catchy bass solo by Adam Clayton and the praise-filled song become a band favorite.

I Fall Down

I don't know who Julie and John are but it seems as if they are down on their luck. But Julie seems like a pretty positive person. And let's just say that The Edge really loves pianos on this album.

I Threw A Brick Through A Window

Adam has strong bass presence on this song, one of my favorites on the album. It could be a song about a typical male adolescent sibling argument; it could also be about the Troubles. And in this song, Bono is flirting with symbolism and allegory, his literary genius comes out in this song with lyrics such as No one...no one is blinder, Than he who will not see, No one...no one is blinder, Than me. Its definitely a song about conflict of some kind and it has a very haunting feeling to it.

Rejoice

Did you know how devout to Christianity Bono, The Edge and Larry were? Enough to not only write this song, but to write this song about Adam not carrying that same devout belief that the others did.

These are some extremely deep lyrics for 20 something kids to be writing Just tell me what am I supposed to say, I can't change the world, But I can change the world in me, If I rejoice, Rejoice...

Fire

Yup, if you haven't gotten the religious overtones of the album yet, this one might just do it. It even starts out with sort of a chant that you might hear in church. It's a very apocalyptic, fire and brimstone song. He also references going home in this song, and I don't think he meant anywhere near the River Liffey.

Tomorrow

Such a beautiful, sad, haunting song about the Troubles. The pipes even add to the sorrow of this song. Won't you come back tomorrow, Won't you be back tomorrow, Will you be back tomorrow, Can I sleep tonight?It isn't about the person who died, but the song writer himself, telling a black funeral cab to return another day. It's also the cry for what  Christ stands for Open up, open up, To the lamb of God, To the love of he who made , The blind to see, He's coming back, He's coming back, I believe it, Jesus coming.

October

Ahh, the song I play each October 1st. The piano notes are like the first chilly nights of the month. Simple song about the month the album was released.

With A Shout

When a song contains references to Jerusalem, sides of the hill and messiah, you know where the band was coming from. It shocks so many that songs that sound like typical U2, Larry's Apprentice Boys sharpshooter drumming, Adam's bass and the perfect notes from The Edge, could really be about the crucifixion of Christ. Again, it was songs like this that almost drove the band apart since Adam was not devout like his band mates.

Stranger In A Strange Land

A song NEVER performed live that was inspired not my Northern Ireland like many think, but my an encounter with a soldier at a crossing in Germany. It was the beginning of Bono reflecting on politics and life around the world.

Scarlet

It has some future Passengers sounds, and some sounds that U2 don't reproduce until 2000. Chant worthy and very tribal.

Is That All

This song seems like a temper tantrum to me. Singing this song makes me angry ...  Singing this song makes me happy. This seems like a song to just get the album over but I could be wrong. Bono, if you're out there - help me out on this one. 

 

So there you have it. The religious undertones of a young U2, just mastering what would be their signature sound before The Joshua Tree. They would have been great, very energetic men of the religious word, but secretly, I am glad they found that maybe being in a band could also be a platform for preaching the word ...

Begin One Direction comments ... now!

My Dream Set List for U2 Innocence + Experience Tour

Super excited to have U2 on the concert calendar yet again this June. So here it is, the wishlist. Yes, this set list is super long, so I'd be happy to hear each of these across three glorious nights at the Garden. 
What is your ultimate U2 set list?
 




Miracle of  (Joey Ramone)
I Will Follow
Desire
Sleep Like a Baby
Blackout
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Van Dieman's Land Intro; Please;Troubles
The Fly
Stay Faraway (So Close)
Love Comes Tumbling


Intermission

Raised by Wolves
Pride
Walk On; The Ground Beneath Her Feet
City of Blinding Lights
Where the Streets Have No Name
Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)
Numb
With or Without You

Encore
Window in the Skies
One Shot of Happy;New York
Is That All?
Stranger in a Strange Land
Drowning Man 
Hawkmoon 269
Gloria - 40