Average Rating: 
Rating:  - U2 for World Peace!
There's a real energy and vibe to this album that transcends most of what passed for rock and roll in the 80's. U2 has always had it all: a contientous, pro-peace lead singer who just happens to have a voice that would shine in any world-renowned choir, searing and creative guitars by The Edge, tight drumming by ace Larry Mullen Jr. and, best of all, A+ rated songs worth shouting about forever.It's very anti-war and keyed up from the beginning on such classic well-knowns as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day," two songs that really broke the way and established this up-and-coming band in the early 80's, eventually putting them in the major leagues of rock and roll. But it's not all energetic anthems by a long shot on "War." For instance, "Seconds" is a pretty sparse and simple song, yet it's packed with undeniable melodicism and campfire sing-a-long type lyrics. From the sounds of even the first three songs, you can tell "War" is a very special album, everyone definitely clicking on all cylinders. If it's your first time hearing it, don't worry, it's like candy for the ears. "War" features one outstanding tune after another: the highly melodious "Like a Song," the beautiful and touching "Drowning Man," the beat-heavy and jungle-esque "Refugee," and the romantic likes of "Two Hearts Beat as One" and "Red Light." Some of these songs may even be sugar-coated too much, although that can be deceiving. Make no mistake, "War" mostly contains lyrically dark themes that are simply overshadowed by the upbeat, bouncy music which often sounds joyous and free with abandonment. These songs ring out like heartfelt musical poetry, and there's definitely a touch of religious hopefulness, amid the likes of war and mutiny. "Surrender" stands out as one of the best unreleased U2 songs ever - a waiting radio hit that never was. No less than a stirring guitar chime leads off and ends the awesome and strangely reflective song. "40" is a closing hymnal-like song, a truly beautiful and fitting way to end an album put out for the sake of peace worldwide. It almost makes one forget the nine rousing songs that proceeded it. What U2 sacrifice for future imagination's sake on "War," they more than make up for with ten great, lasting songs. These guys are in a class by themselves, no matter what decade it is.
Rating: - War & Peace
War is a sensational album that has already become a classic in the annals of rock music. There's not a bad cut on this album and I highly recommended it to all U2 fans. Here is a summary and an evaluation of each song on this album: ·Sunday Bloody Sunday: For all the airplay this song has received over the years, it's still a good song that has something of a timeless quality to it. This is one of U2's signature songs that not only cries for help but also offers hope. Grade: B
·Seconds: An apocalyptic piece that features an evocative rhythm section from Mullen and Clayton. Good vocal by Edge. Grade: B+
·New Year's Day: Another song that has apocalyptic overtones. Features a screeching guitar, driving bass, a razor-sharp acoustic piano and an in-your-face vocal performance from Bono. Great anthem, great song. Grade: A
·Like A Song: Larry Mullen hits the drums with full intensity and Edge's guitar will scorch your speakers on this one. An intense song that features a hard-hitting bass and a passionate vocal performance from Bono. Score: B+
·Drowning Man: A haunting yet pensive number that uses an electric violin to convey the mood here. Like many of U2's songs, this one includes a passage from Scripture (in this case, Isaiah) to underscore its message. Grade: A
·The Refugee: A political commentary on the plight of a Latin American refugee. Larry Mullen's drum work dominates this piece. Good vocal performance from Bono. Grade: B
·Two Hearts (Beat As One): The second single from this album. Nice guitar work from Edge and Bono's scat-like singing make this one of the more distinctive cuts on the album. Grade: B
·Red Light: One of my favorite cuts on this disc. The combination of background vocal harmonies, solid guitar work from Edge and the hearty sounds of a trumpet makes this one of U2's most atypical songs. Grade: A
·Surrender: Edge dominates this song with his usual guitar prowess. Also features a resounding bass from Adam Clayton and solid drum work from Larry Mullen. Bono's vocals are solid as usual and the background vocals enhance the song's tempo. Note: As I understand it, the Martin Scorsese film, Taxi Driver, was the inspiration for this song. Grade: A+
·"40": Psalm 40 was the inspiration for this piece. Although conflict and emptiness are the main themes of this album, U2 ends it on a positive note by asserting that there is always hope. Nice acoustic guitar work complemented by a restrained rhythm section. Grade: A
Rating: - A little raw, but still a classic..
If I had to single out one album in U2's history as the defining moment as a band, it would be War. The reason is simple this album saw them break away from being 4 guys who were just another in a long list of part Punk and Part New Age bamd, and established U2 as a unique band. The songs are largely political, Bono's voice has always been their, Larry delivered some hard hitting drums, and Edge and Adams produced some memorable tunes as well.
This album was also important as the band was struggling with religion and the fact that the band wasn't showing signs of being a big success. Then Edge was hit with a moment of inspiration and wrote the guitar part for "Sunday Bloody Sunday". Fitting since that track would set the mood for the whole album which is simple, an idealistic young rock band lashing out at a world content to divide and destroy itself. The album has no stand out tracks, but is just a great overall album. Sunday Bloody Sunday- For those who don't know the name is reference to an event in which British guards opened fire on protesters in Northern Ireland back in 1972. That said the song isn't so much about Bloody Sunday itself as the never ending cycle of violence it set off that is still carried out today in Northern Ireland. It pleas for non-violence in the North, while also pointing out how nobody seems to care with the "Its true we are immune/ when fact is fiction and TV reality/ And today the millions cry.. we eat and drink while tommorow they die." 10/10 Seconds- I really like this song, and when you think about what happening in the world today the "In an Apartment above times square" lyric is chilling. The song is very dark humor really its about the danger of weapons of mass destructions. 10/10 New Years Day- Very good bass part in this track. I heard it was about something in Poland, but its basic premise is reconciliation and unification so it can be applied to many events. 9/10 Like a Song- Lyrically this is the best of the political songs on this album. It sounds like an outcry against partisan violence, or violence in general. I would venture to guess this was a more angry outcry against the violence in Northern Ireland. 10/10 Drowning Man- This is a little break from that angry at the world songs, a mellow song that shows how far U2's ability with softer songs has come since their early days, not really that good at all. 5/10 The Refugee- "Another high energy song, about well a Refugee, whos husband goes to war" and "whos mother say one day shes gonna live in Americaaaa.... in America". A little on the short sidae but still good. 8.5/10 Two Hearts Beat as One- Despite attempts to read more into it, it sounds like another Northern Ireland refference at times, and taking into account Bono wrote this on his honeymoon I think this is just a love song; a somewhat mediocre one at that. 7/10 Red Light- The female voice in the back is a little haunting, but this song like Drowning Man reflects the bands difficulty with soft songs at this time. 6.5/10 Surrender- How this song escaped radio is beyond me, this would have been the bands break out single had it been. Very smooth song documenting a woman fed up with her place in society searching for meaning. So maybe I was a little hard on them about there soft song ability as this is well done. 10/10 40- this track is a very good type of track to close this album with. The echoing lines of "How long.." are a more scaled down version of what the band has been saying about the divided nature of the world through the whole album. 9/10
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