War (album) 930724 225937565 2008-07-16T02:48:37Z Y2kcrazyjoker4 1835211 {{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums --> | Name = War | Type = studio | Artist = [[U2]] | Cover = U2_War_album_cover.jpg | Released = {{start date|1983|2|28}} | Recorded = {{start date|1982|5|17}}–{{end date|1982|8|20}}, [[Windmill Lane Studios]], [[Dublin, Ireland|Dublin]] | Genre = [[Post-punk]], [[Rock and roll|rock]] | Length = 43:38 | Label = [[Island Records|Island]] | Producer = [[Steve Lillywhite]] | Reviews = * [[Allmusic]] {{rating-5|5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:1i61mpzd9f1o link] * [[Robert Christgau]] (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=u2 link] * ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' {{rating-5|4}} [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/210489 link] | Last album = ''[[October (album)|October]]''<br/>(1981) | This album = '''War'''<br/>(1983) | Next album = ''[[Under a Blood Red Sky]]''<br/>(1983) | Misc = {{Singles | Name = War | Type = studio | single 1 = [[New Year's Day (song)|New Year's Day]] | single 1 date = {{start date|1983|1}} | single 2 = [[Sunday Bloody Sunday (song)|Sunday Bloody Sunday]] | single 2 date = {{start date|1983|3}} | single 3 = [[Two Hearts Beat As One]] | single 3 date = {{start date|1983|3}} | single 4 = [["40" (song)|'40']] ([[West Germany]] only) | single 4 date = {{start date|1983|8}} }} }} '''''War''''' is the third studio album by [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] [[rock and roll|rock]] band [[U2]], released on {{start date|1983|2|28}}. The album has come to be regarded as U2's first overtly political album, in part because of songs like "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday (song)|Sunday Bloody Sunday]]", "[[New Year's Day (song)|New Years Day]]", as well as the title, which stems from the band's perception of the world at the time; [[Bono]] stated that "war seemed to be the motif for 1982."<ref name="NME 83">{{cite web |url=http://u2_interviews.tripod.com/id19.html |title=War & Peace |date=February 26, 1983 |publisher=NME |author=Adrian Thrills |first=Adrian |last=Thrills |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> While the central themes of their earlier, more ambient albums ''[[Boy (album)|Boy]]'' and ''[[October (album)|October]]'' focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/210489/review/6067451/war |title=Review: War |accessdate=2008-03-07 |date=1983-03-31 |publisher=Rolling Stone}}</ref> ''War'' focused on both the physical aspects of [[warfare]], and the emotional aftereffects.<ref name="NME 83" /> The album has been described as the record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade."<ref>Reynolds, Simon. ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984''. Penguin, 2005. p. 367. ISBN 0-14-303672-6</ref> ''War'' was a commercial success for the band, knocking [[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Thriller (album)|Thriller]]'' from the top of the charts to become the band's first #1 album in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. {{RS500|221}} ==History== U2 began recording ''War'' on {{start date|1982|5|17}}. The band took a break soon after as newlyweds [[Bono]] and [[Alison Hewson|Ali]] honeymooned in [[Jamaica]]. It has been noted that it was not a typical honeymoon, as Bono reportedly worked on the lyrics for the upcoming album. To showcase and test the new songs in a live setting, U2 embarked on a "Pre-War Tour" during the month of {{start date|1982|12}} <ref> {{cite web|url=http://u2tours.com/find.src?TOUR=Pre-War&Concert=&x=11&y=9 |title=U2 tour details |date=2000-01-01 |accessdate=2008-02-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://podcast.atu2.com/index.php?post_id=312271 |title=@U2 Podcast, Edition 4-2 "The @U2 Warcast |date=2008-02-29 |accessdate=2008-02-29}}</ref>. The album opens with "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday (song)|Sunday Bloody Sunday]]", an ardent protest song and already a departure from the themes of innocence and spirituality displayed on the group's first two albums. Stemming from a guitar riff and lyric written by The Edge in 1982, the song describes the horror felt by an observer of [[The Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]], specifically [[Bloody Sunday (1972)]]. Early versions of the song opened with the line ''Don't talk to me about the rights of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]], [[Ulster Defence Association|UDA]]''.<ref name=U2-by-U2>{{cite book|last=U2|authorlink=U2|coauthors=McCormick, N.|title=U2 by U2|date=[[2006-09-26]]|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|location=New York|id=ISBN 0-06-077675-7|pages=135–139}}</ref> "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is considered to be among the greatest political [[protest song]]s,<ref>{{cite video|people=VH1 Editors|year=2004|title=VH1's 25 Greatest Political Protest Songs|url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/68962/episode_countdown.jhtml|medium=Television series|publisher=VH1 television}}</ref> and has remained a staple of U2's live concerts for 25 years.<ref>{{cite web|last=U2-Vertigo-Tour.com|url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/song11.html|title=U2 on Tour - played songs: Sunday Bloody Sunday|accessdate=2008-03-07}}</ref> In many live shows, such as the performance recorded for their ''[[Under a Blood Red Sky]]'' video, [[Bono]] stated that "this is not a rebel song". In interviews, he's stated that it's a positive protest song about things we can't forget but should. Originally written about the [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|1972 Bloody Sunday]] incident in which 14 [[Ireland|Irish]] protesters were shot and killed in [[Derry]], [[Northern Ireland]] by the [[British Parachute Regiment]], the song has been applied to other conflicts in the years since, most notably during the performance at a [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]], [[Colorado]] show in 1987. This version was eventually included in the film ''[[Rattle and Hum]]''. Before the song, Bono referred to the previous day's [[Remembrance Day Bombing|bombing]] in [[Enniskillen]], Northern Ireland and directed angry and controversial comments towards Irish-born Americans "talking to me about the resistance; the revolution back home...fuck the revolution...''" "Seconds" is a song about the imminence of nuclear catastrophe, and the possibility that Armageddon could occur by an accident.<ref name="ITH">{{cite book |last=Stokes |first=Niall |authorlink=Niall Stokes |title=U2: Into the Heart - The Stories Behind Every Song |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press |location=New York |date=2005 |isbn=1-56025-765-2}}</ref> The track contains a clip from the 1982 documentary ''[[Soldier Girls]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=891 |title=Seconds by U2 |publisher=Songfacts.com |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The Edge sings the first two stanzas, making it one of only three occasions where he sings lead vocals.<ref name="ITH" /> "[[New Year's Day (song)|New Year's Day]]" was released in {{start date|1983|1}} as the lead single from the album. The single reached the top ten in the UK, and was the first release by the band to reach the [[Billboard Hot 100]]. The song is about the Polish solidarity movement, although its origin was as a love song from Bono to his wife, [[Ali Hewson]].<ref name="ITH" /> In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' placed it as the 427th greatest song of all time.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |work=Rolling Stone |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=2004-12-09 |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/5 |accessdate=2008-03-12}}</ref> The song remains a staple of the band's live set, and is their third most frequently performed song behind "[[I Will Follow]]" and "[[Pride (In the Name of Love)]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=All songs U2 ever played in concert |publisher=U2-vertigo-tour.com |url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/most-played-songs-no-snippets.html |accessdate=2008-03-12}}</ref> "Like a Song..." was intended as a message to those who believed that the band was too worthy, sincere, and not "punk" enough.<ref name="ITH" /> Bono speculated that the song's punk attitude would have made more sense in the 1950's and 1960's, as opposed to the "dressing up" of the genre in the early 1980's.<ref name="ITH" /> "Like a Song..." was only played live once.<ref>{{cite web |title=Like a Song |publisher=U2-vertigo-tour.com |url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/Like_A_Song-s228.html |accessdate=2008-03-12}}</ref> ''War'' was the first album in which Mullen used a [[click track]] to stay in time.<ref name=larryinterview83>{{cite web |url=http://u2_interviews.tripod.com/id18.html |title=Larry Mullen Interview |date=April 1, 1983 |publisher=White Lucy |accessdate=2007-11-06}}</ref> Mullen said of the album in a 1983 interview, "I think the drumming has always been pretty simple, I don't think it needs to be flashy. For War I use a click track, something I haven't used before, it's a way of keeping time in my headphones. When I listened to the music in time with the click track I knew I had to bring it down to the real basics. Hopefully for the next LP it will be more complicated, I'll move on. I think of it as a musical progression for myself because I learned a lot recording this album, just about my own style and that's what I wanted to do. I think there is a definite style on War where there isn't on the previous albums."<ref name=larryinterview83 /> In 1989, ''War'' was ranked #40 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". {{RS500|221}} There are several reasons as to why the album was called ''War''. In a 1982 interview, Bono said that the album was called ''War'' because "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."<ref name="NME 83" /> Guitarist [[The Edge]] said of the name, "It's a heavy title. It's blunt. It's not something that's safe, so it could backfire. It's the sort of subject matter that people can really take a dislike to. But we wanted to take a more dangerous course, fly a bit closer to the wind, so I think the title is appropriate."<ref name="NME 83" /> ==Style== {{sound sample box align left| }} {{multi-listen start|Audio sample of:}} {{multi-listen item|filename=U2 Sunday Bloody Sunday.ogg|title="Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1983)|description=The opening thirty seconds of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," featuring the martial drumbeat, raw guitar, and bleak lyrics.|format=[[Ogg]]}} {{multi-listen end}} {{sample box end}} "Sunday Bloody Sunday" introduces the album with a startling, military-esque [[drums|drum]] beat by [[Larry Mullen, Jr.]], a fuming solo by [[The Edge]] that segues into [[staccato]] bursts reminiscent of machine gun fire, and pointed lyrical couplets such as: "And today the millions cry / We eat and drink while tomorrow they die." The album as a whole is more direct than the ambient ''Boy'' and ''October''. Bono said in 1983, {{cquote|A lot of the songs on our last album were quite abstract, but ''War'' is intentionally more direct, more specific. But you can still take the title on a lot of different levels. We're not only interested in the physical aspects of war. The emotional effects are just as important, 'the trenches dug within our hearts'. People have become numb to violence. Watching the television, it's hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction. One minute you see something being shot on ''The Professionals'', and the next you see someone falling through a window after being shot on the news. One is fiction and one is real life, but we're becoming so used to the fiction that we become numb to the real thing. War could be the story of a broken home, a family at war. Instead of putting tanks and guns on the cover, we've put a child's face. War can also be a mental thing, an emotional thing between loves. It doesn't have to be a physical thing.<ref name="NME 83" />}} Other songs concern topics such as [[nuclear proliferation]] ("Seconds") and [[prostitution]] ("Red Light"). Moreover, The Edge makes his debut as a lead vocalist on "Seconds". The mood grows progressively more bleak as the album continues&mdash;despite some balance provided by songs such as "[[Two Hearts Beat As One]]", a simple love song (though often associated with the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in [[Ireland]]), and "[[New Year's Day (song)|New Year's Day]]" (about the 1981 [[Solidarity#Martial law (1981-1983)|suppression of Solidarity]] in Poland), which works as both a political song and a love song&mdash;until climaxing with the coda of "Surrender" and finally ending with the hushed hymn "[[40 (song)|40]]". Arguably, the sound is much harsher than that of the band's other albums, with the possible exception of ''[[Achtung Baby]]''. A major reason for this is that The Edge uses far less [[Delay (audio effect)|delay]] and [[Echo (phenomenon)|echo]] than in previous and subsequent works. This album became U2's first #1 album in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], supplanting [[Michael Jackson|Michael Jackson's]] ''[[Thriller (album)|Thriller]]'' at the top of the charts. On "40", which takes its name from the fortieth [[Book of Psalms|Psalm]] in the [[Bible]], the Edge plays bass and [[Adam Clayton]] plays guitar, a reversal of their normal roles. In subsequent live performances they play each others' instruments. ==Album cover== The boy on the cover is Peter Rowan (brother of Bono's friend, Guggi). He also appears on the covers of ''[[Boy (album)|Boy]]'', ''[[Three (EP)|Three]]'', ''[[The Best of 1980–1990]]'', and ''[[The Complete U2#Early Demos|Early Demos]]''. ==Track listing== All songs written by U2. <!--Please do not link any of the songs in the tracklist below to their articles. Linking conventions state to only link once per article, and the songs are linked both above and below in the "Main article' headings --> # "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday (song)|Sunday Bloody Sunday]]", – 4:40 # "Seconds" – 3:10 # "[[New Year's Day (song)|New Year's Day]]" – 5:35 # "Like a Song..." – 4:46 # "[[Drowning Man (song)|Drowning Man]]" – 4:14 # "The Refugee" – 3:40 <small>''produced by [[Bill Whelan]]''</small> # "[[Two Hearts Beat as One]]" – 4:03 # "Red Light" – 3:46 # "[[Surrender (U2 song)|Surrender]]" – 5:34 # "[[40 (song)|40]]" – 2:35 "New Year's Day" and "Two Hearts Beat as One" were released as singles internationally. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "40" were also released as singles in [[Germany]]. In 1993, [[Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab]] remastered the album and released it as a special gold [[CD]]. This edition has slightly different running times: most notably, "Seconds" runs 3:22, adding 11.5 seconds in the break section (beginning at approx. 2:03), while "Like a Song..." runs 5:00, extending the playout section (beginning at approx. 4:45). Later in 1983, the band released ''[[Under a Blood Red Sky]]'' (named after a lyric in "New Year's Day"), a live document of this album's associated [[War Tour]]. ===2008 remastered edition=== Following the remastered re-release of ''[[The Joshua Tree]]'' in 2007, it was rumoured that the band would also remaster and re-release ''War'', along with the albums ''[[Boy (album)|Boy]]'', and ''[[October (album)|October]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Futterman |first=Erica |title=News Ticker: Ozzfest, Pete Townshend, U2, Dr. Dre |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=English |date=2008-02-11 |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/02/11/ticker/ |accessdate=2008-03-12}}</ref> This was confirmed by U2.com on {{start date|2008|4|9}}.<ref name="Remaster">{{cite web |url=http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=2216 |title=Boy, October, War: Remastered |publisher=U2.com |date={{start date|2008|4|9}} |accessdate=2008-04-09}}</ref> The remastered album is scheduled for release on July 21, and will be released in three different formats.<ref name="Remaster" /> '''1. Standard format''': A single CD with re-mastered audio and restored packaging. Includes a 16 page booklet featuring previously unseen photos, full lyrics and new liner notes by Niall Stokes. The 10-tracks match the previous release of the album. '''2. Deluxe format''': A standard CD (as above) and a bonus CD. Bonus CD includes b-sides, live tracks and rarities. Also includes a 32 page booklet with previously unseen photos, full lyrics, new liner notes by Niall Stokes, and explanatory notes on the bonus material by The Edge. Tracklisting of bonus CD: # "Endless Deep" # "Angels Too Tied to the Ground" (Previously Unreleased Track) # "New Year's Day" (7" single edit) # "New Year's Day" (USA Mix) # "New Year's Day" ([[Ferry Corsten]] Extended Vocal Mix) # "New Year's Day" (Ferry Corsten Vocal Radio Mix) # "Two Hearts Beat As One" (Long Mix) # "Two Hearts Beat As One" (USA Mix) # "Two Hearts Beat As One" (Club Version) # "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)" '''3. Vinyl format''': A single album re-mastered version on 180gram vinyl with restored packaging. ==Chart positions and sales== ===Album=== {|class="wikitable" ! Country ! Peak position ! Certification ! Sales |- | Brazil | | Gold | 50,000+ |- | Canada | | 3x Platinum <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=1&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25u2%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=81&csearch=20&nextprev=1 |title=U2 album sales |publisher=Canadian Recording Industry Association |accessdate=2008-03-07}}</ref> | 300,000- |- | France | | 2x Platinum <ref>[http://www.disqueenfrance.com/certifications/album.asp?forme_certif=13&annee=11 Disque En France]</ref> | 600,000+ |- | Germany | | Gold <ref>[http://www.ifpi.de/wirtschaft/gpergebnis.php?txtSuche=u2&strAktion=suche&Abschicken=Suche+Gold-%2FPlatin-Verleihungen+und+Jazz-Award IFPI Germany]</ref> | 100,000+ |- | Netherlands | | Gold <ref>[http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60461&formposted=no&pagenr=1 IFPI Germany]</ref> | 40,000+ |- | Switzerland | | Gold <ref>[http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=u2+wer IFPI Switzerland]</ref> | 25,000+ |- | United Kingdom | 1 | 2x Platinum <ref>[http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=5234 BPI]</ref> | 600,000+ |- | United States | 12 | 4x Platinum | 4,000,000+ |- |} ===Singles=== {|class="wikitable" ! Year ! Single ! Chart ! Position |- | 1983 | "New Year's Day" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 2 |- | 1983 | "Sunday Bloody Sunday" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 7 |- | 1983 | "Two Hearts Beat As One" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 12 |- | 1983 | "Surrender" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 27 |- |} ==Personnel== *[[Bono]] – [[lead vocals]], [[guitar|additional guitar]] *[[The Edge]] – [[electric guitar|guitar]], [[piano]], [[lap steel]], [[backing vocals]], lead vocals on "Seconds," bass guitar on "40" *[[Adam Clayton]] – [[bass guitar|bass]], guitar on "40" *[[Larry Mullen Jr.]] – [[drums]] ===Additional personnel=== *[[Kenny Fradley]] – [[trumpet]] *[[Steve Wickham]] – [[electric violin]] on "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Drowning Man" *[[Cheryl Poirier]], [[Adriana Kaegi]], [[Taryn Hagey]], [[Jessica Felton]] – backing vocals on "Like A Song...", "Red Light", and "Surrender" ==See also== *[[U2 discography]] ==References== {{reflist}} {{U2}} [[Category:U2 albums]] [[Category:1983 albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite]] [[Category:Island Records albums]] [[de:War (Album)]] [[es:War (álbum de U2)]] [[eu:War]] [[fr:War (album)]] [[it:War (album U2)]] [[lv:War (albums)]] [[hu:War]] [[nl:War (U2)]] [[ja:WAR (アルバム)]] [[no:War]] [[pl:War (album)]] [[pt:War (álbum)]] [[ru:War (альбом)]] [[sr:War (албум)]] [[fi:War]] [[sv:War (musikalbum)]]