Click to return to Dave’s Music Database home page.

Released: October 2, 1984

Rating: 4.198 (average of 22 ratings)


Genre: alternative rock


Quotable: --


Album Tracks:

  1. A Sort of Homecoming [5:28]
  2. Pride (In the Name of Love) [3:49]
  3. Wire [4:19]
  4. The Unforgettable Fire [4:55]
  5. Promenade [2:34]
  6. 4th of July [2:14]
  7. Bad [6:08]
  8. Indian Summer Sky [4:19]
  9. Elvis Presley and America [6:22]
  10. MLK [2:32]
All songs written by U2.


Total Running Time: 42:19


Sales:

sales in U.S. only 3 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated 600,000
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 8.5 million


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 12
peak on U.K. album chart 1 2


Singles/Hit Songs:

  • Pride (In the Name of Love) (9/15/84) #33 US, #3 UK, #2 AR
  • Wire (12/8/84) #31 AR
  • A Sort of Homecoming (4/13/85) #45 AR
  • The Unforgettable Fire (5/4/85) #6 UK
  • Bad (live) (8/24/85) #19 AR


Awards:

Rated one of the top 1000 albums of all time by Dave’s Music Database. Click to learn more.


The Unforgettable Fire
U2
Review:
“In many ways, U2 took their fondness for sonic bombast as far as it could go on War, so it isn't a complete surprise that they chose to explore the intricacies of the Edge's layered, effects-laden guitar on the follow-up, The Unforgettable Fire. Working with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, U2 created a dark, near-hallucinatory series of interlocking soundscapes that are occasionally punctuated by recognizable songs and melodies. In such a setting, the band both flourishes and flounders, creating some of their greatest music, as well as some of their worst. Elvis Presley and America may well be Bono's most embarrassing attempt at poetry, yet it is redeemed by the chilling and wonderful Bad, a two-chord elegy for an addict that is stunning in its control and mastery. Similarly, the wet, shimmering textures of the title track, the charging A Sort of Homecoming, and the surging Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute Pride (In the Name of Love) are all remarkable, ranking among U2's very best music, making the missteps that clutter the remainder of the album somewhat forgivable” (Erlewine).


Review Source(s):


Related DMDB Links:

Previous Album: War (1983) previous live album: Under a Blood Red Sky (1983) U2’s DMDB page Next Album: The Joshua Tree (1987)


Last updated January 26, 2009.