Why does nobody mention this as one of their greatest albums?
Sort of Homecoming, Wire, Bad, Indian Summer Sky, Unforgettable Fire, and Pride In the Name of Love.
The Best songs they have ever written.
atlantamoi
09-11-04, 03:53 PM
I don't think it's underrated, but probably diminished in stature since the Joshua Tree came after it. "Bad" is one their best... no doubt.
Hollowgen
09-11-04, 06:42 PM
in all honesty, it probably doesn't get mentioned as one of the best because it really isn't their "best". it's certainly not the worst.
Brain Stew
09-12-04, 01:01 AM
It's not underrated. It's not their best album, that title goes to Achtung Baby.
bardevious
09-12-04, 02:22 PM
No one mentions it as one of their greatest albums because it isn't.
I recall that a book chronicling the 50 Worst Rock Albums of all time was released several years ago. "The Unforgetable Fire" was one of the albums in that book.
While I certainly don't agree with that characterization, I think this album does suffer by comparison to U2's other work. It has some off the hook material (Bad, A Sort of Homecoming, Wire), but taken as a whole, I don't think it stacks up to War, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and everything post-Achtung (with the exception of that Passengers thing).
Hiro11
09-12-04, 05:02 PM
Yes, it's truly underrated, IMO.
Side A is my favorite side of any U2 disc, it's fantastic begining to end. Elvis Presley and America almost destroys the otherwise terrific side B, but doesn't.
J-Dubya
09-12-04, 10:48 PM
I love this album, I rank it among their best. Bad is one of the best songs ever, though I prefer the live version.
Ky-Fi
09-13-04, 12:11 PM
Well, I think it's underrated, as this is my #1 favorite album of all time. To me, U2's noble, Christian, socially/spiritually concious vibe can get a little heavy handed and preachy at times, but when it's put in a more abstract, unfocused, experimental context, it works MUCH better, IMO. Similarly, I also love October. Although that one is clearly their most overtly Christian album, there's just so much space and moodiness--I just love that ethereal vibe.
With their first four albums, they just seemed so adventurous and going in such a unique, individualistic direction. Although I like a lot of their later music, to me it seems like they started THINKING too much about what they were trying to do, ond often ended up getting overwhelmed by their influences---"let's do American roots music, let's do industrial". The whole ZooTV thing was really kind of bloated and silly, IMO. Gang of Four had a song called "5:45", and some of the lyrics were
At a quarter to six, I watch the news
Guerilla war struggle is the new entertainment
The corpse is the new personality
The idea that we're being overwhelmed by media images to the point of it becoming desensitizing is a valid artistic point---but it's something you write a song about, not something you base 3 years of your career on. Yes Bono, you can change the channel on a giant TV and instantly switch from an infomercial to Jerry Springer to war in Yugoslavia-----I GET IT!! :)
But anyways, I'll always love Unforgettable Fire----I could listen to Indian Summer Sky about a million times in a row and not get sick of it.
tofu
09-13-04, 12:46 PM
I think it's just overlooked since it came after War and before Joshua Tree. I still like it though
wendersfan
09-13-04, 02:00 PM
I don't think it's a very good album. Some decent songs, but very transitional. But truth be told, the only U2 albums I really like are Boy, October, and Achtung Baby...
cfmartin3
09-13-04, 07:02 PM
Originally posted by J-Dubya
Bad is one of the best songs ever, though I prefer the live version.
I agree, and feel the same about "A Sort of Homecoming". Superior live versions of some of the better tunes point out how the record might have been better.
That said, certainly not one of the 50 worst (don't the Rolling Stones have about 50 albums?)
shaggy
09-15-04, 02:48 AM
UF has some of the best songs ever written, however, pride, bad, sort of homecoming, uf, are all way better live.
Gil Jawetz
09-15-04, 05:27 PM
I was under the impression that it was considered one of their best. I certainly feel that way. Incredible, beautiful album, from beginning to end.
slop101
09-15-04, 06:10 PM
UF is my personal favorite U2 album - but it gets knocked around by critics for being far too pretentious. They thought they were too big for their britches - which the grew into by Joshua Tree.
And yes, it could have been recorded and engineered much better - the production is fine, but it's recording is a victim of '80s technology.
Buy: