20. "The Unforgettable Fire"- U2

I cannot remember exactly when I started listening to this album. Sure, I had heard of U2. In fact, the purchase of “U218 Singles” in 10^th grade was a big moment musically in high school. I listened to that album constantly, enjoying the pop sensibility exercised by the band throughout their career. I heard each track as a testament to the band’s ability to make great music no matter the decade.

I imagine that I first “ripped” this album from a copy belonging to a library. I think it occurred around 2010. I can remember listening to it during the summer of 2011, but I do not know if it started then. I guess along the way I  had absorbed the history of the album and the album's place in the discography of the band and became curious. I pieced together that the album followed three loud albums and that it came right before the big, breakout of “Joshua Tree.” I am sure I liked the idea that possibly it could have been a forgotten album, or at the very least, an overlooked one. For that quality is what I love about a lot of the music from the 80’s that I enjoy i.e. The Smiths and The Replacements.

At some point, it must have clicked, and I found myself drawn in by the opening drums and shimmering guitar of “A Sort of Homecoming.” A track full in instrumentation and Bono vocal range, it runs into the better known “Pride (In The Name ofLove)", which I first enjoyed as a part of the compilation and now hear in the context of the other U.S. themed tracks on the album. Throughout the album are numerous references to recent (at the time) American history and staples of the “American Dream.” Coming from the perspective of an Irish Band in the 80’s, I just find it fascinating that they found it so fascinating.

“Wire” is just fun. There are loud, almost industrial sounds on it. The song seems to pick up pace and slow down at moments. I love the opening lyric “Innocent, and in a sense I am.” I do not use that nearly enough but it shows that Bono can sing and wink at the same time. This playfulness would fully come out during the “Achtung Baby” era. Also, some of the grunts toward the end of the song foreshadow “Bullet The Blue Sky” on the album to come.

The song that is my absolute favorite is the title track. I have taken many a walk at night, during twilight to it, and gotten lost in the sky. I just think the playing on it is so beautiful. It is the kind of performance where I do not feel like I have the musical knowledge to talk about it properly. I won’t pretend to. I can only say that it remains one of my favorite things ever. I will listen to it independent of the album. Each time, the listening experience brings me peace. I feel a swelling of joy. It is something very special to me. I always try to put it on a mix CD or tell a friend about it.

From there on out and the second half of the album especially, the band shows off their ability to be artistically ambient. In many ways, the mood of the title track contains. It is a talent that I feel often is not highlighted enough when it comes to the band. Sure, folks marvel at their beginning, watch as they rise as a band in the late 80’s, only having to then reinvent themselves in the 90’s, redefine touring forever, and then permanently take their place in the hierarchy of modern music. 

For me, this is the period of U2 I feel I would have enjoyed the most if I were alive at the time. I find myself today drawn to a lot of music that sounds very similar. I think a lot of today’s alternative and college rock draws from this album, both consciously and unconsciously.

Ultimately, a lot this album remains a mystery for me. Despite my best attempts, I can never know what it was like to be a fan at the time. I have the knowledge of all that would come next, the full story, not just what happened up until this moment. Also, like I said, I find a lot of the sounds a mystery. I am simply left to allow them to have an affect on me. Much of Bono's singing is also hard to figure out.  And what is up with that album cover? Where does that place exist on Earth? 

All of this is why I come back each time. I am able to engage with the mystery once more, maybe solve some of it, but at the very least, have an enjoyable listening experience.