WAS's Awesome New Wave Song Of The Week #45: U2 - The Unforgettable Fire

Fresh on the heels of last weeks’ end-of-summer entry, this week we have a song that always reminds me of early autumn...

On Awesome Song #38 (Someone, Somewhere, In Summertime) way back in July, I dropped a reference that a similarly dreamy & ethereal song was coming up soon… as part of an entry featuring a New Waver known for having a golden touch like Messrs Clarke, Dolby and Moroder.  Well New Wave fans, the wait is over - here it is !

Somewhere between their interesting but rough early post-punk/rock albums and their later unlistenable work (after they turned into a bunch of lecturing narcissists) U2 went into the studio and made a fascinating record called The Unforgettable Fire.  TUF was unlike anything they made before or since  - it was the first record where they teamed with the legendary Brian Eno, a man with magical instincts and abilities.  On UF he used all of his studio tricks to create a lush, textural ambient sound - something he had vast experience in. In search of a new sound, U2 let him run with it, and the record IMO is their finest.  It showcases all of the best of what the band could do in subtle, talented and interesting ways… as opposed to the heavy-handed messianic clubbing they tended to default to later.  And the finest song on it, and this week’s Awesome Song, is the title track.  Dreamy and romantic, “The Unforgettable Fire” has that combination of vocals, instrumentation and yearning that makes so many songs of the era so great. The added touches of Eno on it is the icing on the cake that turned a great song into … a masterpiece!

Brian Eno didn’t just perform this miracle on U2 !  Hey, when you are a founder of Roxy Music, produce David Bowie’s best albums (The Berlin Trilogy), get covered by Bauhaus and invent the concept of tape delay, the odds are pretty good you can improve anyone’s game.  And this is exactly what happened when Eno teamed up with Talking Heads - his work with them included the absolutely visionary “Life During Wartime” - one of the best songs ever.  But in keeping with today’s theme, our bonus song is more mysterious, ethereal and “Eno-esque” …. off Remain In Light, enjoy “Crosseyed and Painless”!