Classic '80s Music: U2's the Unforgettable Fire

U2 has been experimenting with their sound ever since the early '80s. Their most recent release, No Line on the Horizon, reminds me of The Unforgettable Fire, which came out in 1984. With War in 1983, U2 established themselves as an up and coming band. The Joshua Tree in 1987 made them the biggest band of the '80s. Stuck right in the middle was the great experimentation, The Unforgettable Fire, which in and of itself is classic '80s music.

The Unforgettable Fire was the first time the band worked with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, which explains the similarity in style to No Line on the Horizon. Eno and Lanois encouraged the band to seek a new, more artistic direction. U2's inspiration from post-atomic bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki led them to a more open, soaring sound with earthy undertones and lyrics a bit more subtle than in the past.

Out of The Unforgettable Fire came two classics: Pride (In the Name of Love) and Bad. Pride is an anthem celebrating great leaders throughout time like Jesus Christ (One man betrayed with a kiss), and Martin Luther King (Shot rings out in the Memphis sky, Free at last, they took your life, They could not take your pride).

Bad is the journey of a drug addict and the feeling of release (This desperation, dislocation, separation, condemnation, revelation, in temptation, isolation, desolation). It's often played in concert as a rambling, melodic interlude between the rock hits.

At the time of release, many critics thought The Unforgettable Fire was a disappointment after War, but the album has passed the test of time and is often considered a classic. Even more importantly, The Unforgettable Fire foreshadowed one of the top five albums of all time, The Joshua Tree. Without the successful experimentation of The Unforgettable Fire, U2 would not have gone done the path they did and become the reigning biggest band in the world for the past 20 years.

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