THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE - U2

YEAR: 1984

LABEL: Island

TRACK LISTING: A Sort of Homecoming, Pride (In the Name of Love), Wire, The Unforgettable Fire, Promenade, 4th of July, Bad, Indian Summer Sky, Elvis Presley and America, MLK

IMPRESSIONS: This is definitely a Rustler record. Huge at the time of release, this is what brought U2 a major mainstream audience in the US. The following megahit album "THE JOSHUA TREE" may make people forget exactly how huge "THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE" was and frankly it's a better album than the later one. I love the song "Bad" but this is not the one I listen to; the definitive "Bad" is the live version on the "WIDE AWAKE IN AMERICA" EP. And also, what could give this album higher Rustler status than the fact that Cheeks and I once sang "MLK" at the top of our lungs in the backroom after closing time with the lights out promptly co-worker Quie to stick her head around the corner and call us weird! Impeccable credentials for ANY album, I'd say!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: A Sort of Homecoming, Pride (In the Name of Love), The Unforgettable Fire, Promenade, Bad, Indian Summer Sky, MLK

FACT SHEET: THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE is U2's fourth album. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois because the band wanted a more experimental, less "rock and roll" album then their previous "WAR". The album was recorded at Slane Castle and finished at Windmill Lane Studios. The title of the album comes from an art exhibit the band saw in Japan concerning the atomic bombing of Hiroshima called "The Unforgettable Fire". Two songs ("Pride" and "MLK") are about Martin Luther King Jr. The cover photograph is by my favourite photographer Sir Simon Marsden.