Relaxing reveries for the laziest day of the week…
Who: U2
Song: With Or Without You
Where & When: With an orchestra at the legendary
Abbey Road Studios in London in 2016. Magnificent rendition…
U2: Facebook
Knockouts from the past…
22 October 2019
Band: U2
Song: Desire – first No 1 UK hit for the Irish stars in October 1988
Album: Rattle And Hum – the band’s fourth No 1 album
in the UK, topping the British charts on 22 October 1988,
31 years ago today
Here we go…
U2: Facebook
You can stream their 1988 No 1 double album RATTLE AND HUM here…
13 October 2019
35 years ago today, on 13 October 1984, Irish mega rockers U2 scored their second
No 1 album in the UK with their fourth studio album ‘THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE’.
The band hired two musical experts, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, to help them with
their experimentation with a more ambient and abstract sound. The album’s title is
a reference to ‘The Unforgettable Fire‘, an art exhibit about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 by the USA. The longplayer also topped the charts in
New-Zealand and Australia and peaked at #12 in America.
The two singles…
– PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) –
‘THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE’
Band: U2
Album: NO LINE ON THE HORIZON
Released: February 2009 / their 12th LP
Artwork: T-O-T-A-L-L-Y D-U-L-L
Music: Half dull
Knockouts from the past…
16 May 2019
On 16 May 1987, this day 32 years ago melodramatic pop icons U2 hit the top spot of the US singles chart with ‘WITH OR WITHOUT YOU’. It was the lead single of their fifth studio LP THE JOSHUA THREE. The album that made them global superstars. Here comes Bono…
21 March 2019
On 21 March 1987, thirty-two years ago today, U2 reached the top spot of the UK albums chart with their fifth album THE JOSHUA TREE. It was their 3rd numero uno LP in Great-Britain. Although Turn Up The Volume rates this one as their third best, behind ‘Achtung Baby‘ (1991) and ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind‘ (2000) you can’t ignore that ‘The Joshua Tree‘ contains some of their best songs ever. Here are 3 of them…
– I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR –
– WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME –
– WITH OR WITHOUT YOU –
Album in full…
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I saw the band play Brussels 2 years ago to celebrate the
30th birthday of ‘The Joshua Tree’. Review here
The best of the past…
Every week Turn Up The Volume! travels to the past to reactivate
25 Killer Crackers and 3 Top Albums per year/per week. Here’s: 1987
The 25 Killer Crackers
.
The 3 Top Albums
– ‘Echo & The Bunnymen’ by ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN –
.
– ‘The Joshua Tree‘ by U2 –
.
– ‘Document‘ by R.E.M. –
.
Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…
9 October 2018
Band: U2
Album: RATTLE AND HUM – the Irish megastars’ sixth longplayer
Released: 10 October 1988 – 30 years ago
ROLLING STONE review: “Rattle and Hum is an expression of U2’s urge to have it both ways.
A sprawling double album that incorporates live tracks, cover versions, collaborations, snippets of other people’s music and a passage from a taped interview, the record is an obvious effort to clear the conceptual decks and lower expectations following the multiplatinum success of The Joshua Tree… But for all its excitement, Rattle and Hum seems a tad calculated in its supposed spontaneity. The album is, after all, a soundtrack. Rather than a documentary, it’s merely a document of events that often were staged and arranged for the express purpose of being filmed and recorded. The album ably demonstrates U2’s force but devotes too little attention
to the band’s vision. – Full review here – Score: 3.5/5
TURN UP THE VOLUME! says: We know this isn’t a proper album. Rather a soundtrack
for the accompanying documentary about how U2 conquered the west. Reduced to one instead of two albums it would have been a masterwork.
FOUR FABULOUS MOMENTS: Pride (In The Name Of Love) / All I Want Is You / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Angel Of Harlem
* PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) – we played this on our wedding party, the place went nuts
* ALL I WANT IS YOU – epic…
* ANGEL OF HARLEM – steamy…
*I STILL HAVENT FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR – goosebumps rendition…
ALBUM in full…
https://open.spotify.com/album/7hIoJcH4ObWasDFq78u1x9?si=9mnRY1JuS-6ES66aj5aTgQ
.
U2: Website – Facebook – All Albums
photo by TUTV!
Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…
28 February 2018
BAND: U2
ALBUM: WAR – their third LP
RELEASED: 28 February 1983 – 35 years ago today
ROLLING STONE wrote at the time: “Generally, the album’s musical strengths are largely the product of well-honed arrangements and carefully balanced dynamics. Even as the Edge spins increasingly sophisticated guitar lines, he maintains the minimalist bluntness that sparked Boy. And while bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. have swung to more dance-oriented rhythms, their songs hurtle along with the sort of brusque purposefulness more frequently associated with punk. U2 may not be great intellectuals, and War may sound more profound than it really is. But the songs here stand up against anything on the Clash’s London Calling in terms of sheer impact, and the fact that U2 can sweep the listener up in the same sort of enthusiastic romanticism that fuels the band’s grand gestures is an impressive feat. For once, not having all the answers seems a bonus.”
TURN UP THE VOLUME! says: massive tunes, massive sentiments, massive album…
THREE HIGHLIGHTS: Sunday Bloody Sunday / 40 / New Year’s Day….
* SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY – a signature classic…
*40 – gripping pearl…
* NEW YEAR’S DAY – massive cracker…
WAR in full…
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U2: Website – Facebook – Twitter
‘The Joshua Tree’ by U2
On 9 March 1987 – 30 years ago – U2 released their worldwide masterpiece album
THE JOSHUA TREE. The Irish rockers fifth album, produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian
Eno, made them 24 Karat superstars all over the planet. Influenced by their American
tour experiences, relating literature and Uncle Sam’s politics and probably because of
their commercial and competitive desire to confirm their already huge status in the U.S.
of A., the band chose America as a central theme for the record. Legendary American rock magazine Rolling Stone was undoubtedly impressed with the new LP and journalist Steve Pond wrote this classic review back then in 1987. You can read it here .
Top tracks…
I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU
Album in full…
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U2: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 – Website – Facebook
See you in Brussels next August…