I'm so glad you mentioned Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums), they are so great and get very little recognition. I love The Fly, it was a bit of a departure from their previous music with its more industrial sound. I thought it was incredible when it came out! And you're right, U2 have many different sides and sounds and it's great to see these reactions to songs picked at random, it's always a surprise when you give us U2!
Achtung Baby! is a fascinating album. It's such a dark, heavy record that's rife with conflict, betrayal, lustful hedonism and sin, yet it was brilliantly packaged in the flashy artifice of Fly shades, leather cyberpunk clothes and 100-foot ZooTV video screens. These are all great songs; there's actually an early cut of Who's Going to Ride Your Wild Horses on the Kindergarten Achtung baby! album (a collection of songs from that era where they were still in the process of being created - in this case, I think that early version is even better... and you can hear traces of lyrics that wouldn't show up until years later in other songs - it is fascinating that they essentially don't waste lyrics). The Fly is one of my favorite U2 songs. Imagine it's late 1991 and you're a hard core fan of Joshua-tree era U2. You know - the stern looking desert pilgrims, singing American-influenced rhythm and blues mixed with anthemic socially-conscious nuwave rock. And suddenly you see this video. It was a very major shock to the system; NOBODY was doing what they were doing here. This was an era of grunge music exploding onto the scene while other mega acts like Guns n Roses and Metallica toured the world. I think besides looking for a new direction, bono was reading a lot of CS Lewis. He was a friend of Oscar Wylde and a Christian author (his most famous work was the Chronicles of Narnia). Anyway, Bono was into one of his books called the Screwtape Letters. In a nutshell, it's an epistolary novel (meaning, it was a book arranged as a narrative from a series of letters) where there is a minor administrative demon in Hell (named Screwtape) who is trying to provide advice to his nephew on how to better corrupt the souls of men. Essentially, it is recommended that a person should sample the various types of temptations and sin to better understand how to employ them against mankind. Achtung Baby, especially the Fly leans heavily into this idea. (You can even see in the cartoon video for Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me, that Bono is reading the Screwtape letters while walking the streets of Gotham). The Fly (and yes, the Fly was a bit of a trickster character that Bono came up with - sort of a good guy, but maybe not; the Mr. MacPhisto Character from the Lemon video is the Fly after he succumbs to evil, gets old, fat and moves to Vegas to perform as a lounge crooner... Hilarious since that's essentially present-day Bono ; ) is the character that volunteers to visit hell to note all the evils there - but actually finds out that, well, he kind of likes it there ! (He's the guy calling you on the phone "I gotta go, I'm running out of change". He discovers all kinds of dark truths and while the threat of damnation is real - God DAMN it's fun wrapping the night around you and submitting to your most base desires ! Too much is not enough indeed. The contrast and ironies that are so prevalent on his album are on full display here with some of Bono's most interesting lyrics "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet a thief; all kill their inspiration, then sing about their grief" is one of my favorites. Add in my favorite solo from Edge, well, ever (it's so sonically interesting; he, Eno and Lanois came up with something special here) and it's no surprise they released this as their lead single from that album. They willingly smashed their own mythos at the peak of their popularity, rebuilt it from the ground up and it resulted in a legendary album (AND tour - I can't wait to see how they mark this album and ZooTV at the new Las Vegas Sphere venue). As always, this was a great and thoughtful review. Thanks for your time and effort, I really did enjoy it !
Ahhhh, U2, one of the greatest bands of all-time. The Fly (1991) kicked off U2's most artistically creative, inventive and adventurous decade. Their album Achtung Baby was so different from anything they'd done before. To me it's a masterpiece from beginning to end. Their Zoo TV tour, which promoted Achtung Baby and (on later legs of the tour) their follow up album Zooropa was so fresh and groundbreaking for its time. I still have The Fly on 7" vinyl. Here in the UK it went straight into the charts at number 1, breaking the 16 week run at the top by Bryan Adams' Everything I Do I Do It For You! Achtung did divide some fans, I think depending on which side of the pond you're on. In the US The Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum albums, with their American rock and blues influences and themes were more popular. Then U2 come back in 1991 with a very European album with German industrial rock sounds and very differing themes (primarily recorded in Berlin just after the fall of the Wall and collapse of the Iron Curtain) that some fans weren't happy with the huge shift in sound and style. I think it was the best thing they could have done though to not run the risk of starting to sound stale. It was like a reinvention. They really went all out with experimentation in the 90's and to me it's their greatest era by far. It's a shame that their 1997 album POP wasn't as successful in some quarters because it lead them to becoming more of a conventional rock band since the 2000's. Still some great songs were to come, of course, but for me nothing as exciting as their 80's and 90's output. So glad you're doing these U2 reactions, I love your comments. :)
The Unforgettable Fire is a masterpiece, the song and the album. Haha, people used to wonder why I preferred to walk home from the pub with my walkman. Just lost in this music. The Fly changed my life. I dove into the re-invention and rebuilt myself from the shoes up! Hahahaha!
The Fly was truly ground breaking at the time and represented a massive shift away from what they were doing previously. Amazing guitar solo in it in addition to the insane bass you mentioned ;)
The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby to of the greatest albums ever made... Funny that the same band made them and funny that they sound so different from each other
Bono was playing a character, you were right. The character was called the fly The Fly was a Bono persona at Zoo TV; a character intended to represent the stereotypical rock star, wearing wrap-around shades with a full leather outfit, and carrying himself with exaggerated, sexual mannerisms. The other vocals you hear in the chorus is the edge the guitar player. For their first 25 years they covered so many ranges of music. Changed from album to album , moving with the times and changing their image. See angel of Harlem and the fly came next . Unbelievable reinvention. Great review . Keep the u2 reviews coming 👍
There is so much to love about U2’s work. What I always appreciate is artists who keep inventing themselves and choose and change their directions. As a result there are always fans who feel that a band has lost its ‘true’ direction whereas I feel it may be more a case of that you and the band have gone in separate directions. I love lyrics and artist who can tell stories. Bono writes most of the songs and his lyrics have a poetical and philosophical quality to them which I love. With his soulful voice he makes you hear and feel the stories. You might appreciate their music even more if you have their lyrics at hand or even read beforehand. However some people are not really into the lyrics and that is just fine of course. The Edge is not a flashy guitar player but is so good at creating an atmosphere and a feeling and adding layers upon layers to that. The combination with the lyrics is for me a golden combination. Keep it on!
Some ideias for part 4: Two Hearts Beat as One, Red Hill Mining Town, Until The End Of the World, Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, The Blackout. :)
There we go - another astonishing handful from the greatest band It Has Been Decided that nobody's allowed to like, although statistically speaking everybody in the western world must have at least five of their albums by now. (I once came home unexpectedly and found the cat hiding a copy of Achtung Baby.) Keep going, PMD, dozens to go yet!
I love this comment so much, U2 have been my favourite band forever and I have countless copies of AB dotted around my house. Two on vinyl and god knows how many on CD/cassette.
Been following u2 for 40 plus years, and you picked some of my all time favourite songs here. Great choice!! I love your take and your reactions are perfect.
I think the live performance of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses is better than the studio version, but I just think the imagery created by the lyrics along with the vocals, drums (which I think I remember as being more prominent than in this video), and the guitar work just sold it to me. So glad you included The Fly as well, I don't think I've seen anyone else react to that, and it reminds me just how experimental and groundbreaking U2 were back in the day. It also reminds me that at this time there were lots of different bands, genres, and artists not all just seemingly doubt the same thing, which I find it the case today.
Great reactiions! Love the chaotic energy and beat of "Vertigo." If there is ever a U2 episode 4, you should check out their hit songs "Beautiful Day," "Desire" and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (which Bono was inspired to write after INXS's Michael Hutchens' tragic passing).
Recently delving into U2 on TH-cam and loving it. Always really liked them as most my age did but growing up in the 90s they were always around and it's easy to take for granted how amazing they actually are. I guess they weren't so much the trendy band for teenagers in the late 90's. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses was always one of my favourites when I was a kid - I still love it even though I would still find it hard to explain the lyrics! Thank you!❤️ I'd never seen the video before. This is the first reaction I've seen too it (and I've been watching a lot lately!). I adore Bono's voice and he's such a cool guy have fallen in love all over again!😆 I saw them in concert in 2005 they were amazing of course but its so long ago I wish I could remember it more now!! Wish I'd had my smart phone to take photos/videos back then!!
I heard The Fly before I ever saw the video. I played it and played it and played it and played it and played it...... I must have melted the tape as I kept repeating it in the car over and over, day after day, week after week. It WAS the song that introduced 90s U2. Its sonic rasp and whine and drift and sneer and drone and rage and cool and snake and tiger just had me spellbound. And of course, Bono just purring in the background, never raising his voice (a big departure from what came before). Breathy, like Eastwood. The thing was that my mind imagined the video before I saw it. The video could only be what it was. The song demands the imagery. A perfect melt of sound and image. There have been wonderful live renditions of this song, but this album version still oozes class. Raw, jagged even stilted in ways. Defiantly difficult and yet sublimely beautiful.
Try An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart live at Red Rocks. You can listen to the two songs separately, but they are meant to be played back to back and on the album they run into each other...which is something they do with it live in a brilliant way. I say do the one at Red Rocks because it was during the era in which those two songs were originally released. Absolutely brilliant to hear and see them perform
I think watching various U2 songs from different albums is probably the best way to wrap your head around their vast catalog. I wore out my War cassette on my Walkman, so to hear The Unforgettable Fire was a major change in their sound, but I loved it.
This band with out doubt tried to be like Elvis in perfecting the sound range with every track they recorded,its no secret the conscience can sometimes be a pest,brilliant line,U2 WAT A BAND there so brilliant as there experience has come from the 70s late 70s
Great reaction as always.. Go listen start to end to Achtung Baby... then do it again.. and again and you will be a massive U2 fan.. album is a masterpiece. Plus you get to hear the Studio version of Wild Horses. And you are dead on.. The Fly is a character Bono played.. well done.. Another thing down the line you should do is watch the whole Zoo TV Sydney Concert... You would love it!
You have a "Live Performance" Series. That is perfect for U2. They are one of, if not the greatest live act. They've pioneered many aspects and technologies in the concert space (first use of a B Stage for any concert, is one example, including all the technology needing to make it happen). Some great live acts are masters of spectacle. Some are great with crowd interaction. Some have charismatic and/or iconic frontmen. Some are theatrical. Some are bombastic. Some are naked and intimate. U2 are masters of ALL of that. They are far superior live than recorded. And they have at least all time 2 classic albums, so that is pretty crazy, that you can top albums that are already lauded as masterpieces.
“Who’s gonna ride your wild horses” is a radio mix version and is different from the original album version. The album version is more haunting and doesn’t have the backing strings overlay.
I’m a very casual U2 fan in that I know a couple of singles but clearly nowhere near enough because I only knew 1 of the songs in this vid. I need to check them out properly!
Thank you for your review, and look forward to more, especially when you approach their first 3 albums as you will see the huge influence their music in 1980-83 had on these videos, especially Vertigo and The Fly. The Unforgettable Fire was the earliest track here, which was the album after they had a radical change of style, due to the influence of musician and their producer Eno (from early Roxy Music fame).
Every part of The Fly is incredible - the guitar, the bass, the drums, THE LYRICS! "It's no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest / It's no secret ambition bites the nails of success / Every artist is a canibal / Every poet is a thief / All kill for inspiration, then sing about the grief." LOVE IT! I suspect you're going to be amazed by their live performances - as incredible as their album recordings are, they're even better live. Some suggestions for live performances - Bad (Live Aid, 1985), Please (MTV VMAs, 1997), Where the Streets Have No Name (NBA Halftime Show, 2001), Mysterious Ways (ZooTV live from Sydney, 1993). Thanks for doing these videos! Achtung Baby came out when I was in high school, and I've been a huge fan ever since, and it's so fun watching you listening to these incredible songs for the first time.
Love “The Fly.” I cannot shake the temptation of saying it would be ludicrous to not react to the live version of “The Fly” in Boston for your next U2 live video reactions. It changed the way I listened to music and you can never go wrong with Bono being Bono. Thanks for these reaction videos! Achtung Baby and Zooropa are the albums that changed U2. ZooTV is of course the live concerts in 1992-93 where U2 reached their peak in my strong opinion. Don’t shy away from these albums and certainly not from the video I requested above.
Back when Bono were so young that he had the long black hair,i thought he and Michael Hutchence were related at one point. Theyr faces are not super alike,i will be the first to admit it nowadays,much later on. But Bonos face looked so "smooth"/younger then Michaels,so i guess i imagined him being a little brother or something. Then again,when Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode had long hair,he reminded me of Bono AND Michael,so i quickly experienced that it was just wishful thinking,and that this was very much the common style amongst theese 3 back then,and also amongst alot of people in that era. I always found it extra charming with cousins etc that all did the same thing. Thats why i love bands like The Veronicas,Kings Of Leon and so on,where everyone is sisters,brothers and/or related in general on some level. Of all theese,Whos gonna ride your wild horses,Vertigo and The Fly is amongst my favourites,where the buzzin Fly and Vertigo fights over the top spot. The Fly is more versatile then Vertigo,but Vertigo on the other hand be all out "in your face" rock sound. Im glad you hear and acknowledge Adam Claytons marvelous bass. He tends to get alot of stick from other bands supporters or other bands members. And some of them might have a point,he might not be one of the worlds best bassplayers. But dont discredit him either,on The Fly and especially in New Years Day he makes thoose songs his,with his big ..... sloppy.... *hears hysterical laughter from the channel owner* WHAT?! I was talking about his BASS,mmmkay!😆Anyhow,Adam doesnt get the credit from many wich he deserves. He is a solid bassplayer,he might not be as out there as many other bass players,he might not do alot of extra stuff with his bass guitar. BUT,you can always count on him to make that bass sound GOOD! And besides,he is in one of the worlds biggest bands that has ever existed for a reason,so i call jealousy on alot of the smack talk. What i love about Adam and especially The Edge,is that they will make theyr guitars sound exactly like a fly (the fly),like bombs and warfare,chaos in general (sunday bloody sunday) and so on. They somehow capture the sounds we combine with all theese things perfectly through how they play theyr instruments. Still waiting with a smile until the day you stumble across U2 - Numb. One of theyr most under appreciated songs in regards to not only reactions,but song recommendations in general. It will take you with complete surprise,thats all im saying lol.
11:10 it can take some people up to 15 years to fall in love with such a complex track. Listen to it over and over again. Listen to its performances live. Zoo TV. Innocence and Experience tour. Berlin 2018.
Hi the most surprising thing i found was i thought you were more into relaxing music from the 80s and 90s me a mix of music but then from the late 60s to the early 80s keep up the good work and enjoy
Hello Bryson, unsurprisingly I love your latest "4 video mini-deep into U2", ep. 3, I believe! Agree with you completely on the pleasurable sonic, instrumentality of awesomeness throughout "Unforgettable Fire", where Bono's voice seems like an equivalent but remarkable instrument, rendering its lyrical content a more embracing abode. Also, you described and interpreted U2's "The Fly" quite brilliantly, and true - Bono did have a character/persona called The Fly during U2's ZooTV tour in the early 90's; dressed all in black, large black sunglasses, his embodiment was of a mischievous egocentric rock-star. As for "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" which is personally one of my favourites, however did not create that type of mesmerizing connection with you personally (which is perfectly okay lol), and "Verigo" - just a fun, guitar crunching rock 'n 'roll track, will love it always. Thanks again Bryson for another wonderful video, will be watching you again very soon, my friend. Finally... *Watch More Bryson!*
@@PancakeMarshmallowDude- Always welcome! Oh, and live U2, that is going to be stellar! U2 is definitely known as one of the best live bands over the last three decades. U2's "Mofo", which is a captivating sensory explosion of a track in itself, was the opening song on their "Popmart' tour in '97 - and it is U2 in *beast mode.* Just a small suggestion. Have a great week Bryson!
Hello, Bryson, dear! Here I go! I must say The Unforgettable Fire is one of my most favourites. For me, is brilliant. Hilariously, Who’s gonna (…) is also one of my favs🤣!!! Talking about Vertigo…you need to watch some live show in a latin country. The 1, 2, 3, 14, and Bono calling for ¨a spanish lesson¨ and the people mass jumping and shouting is demential! (in Buenos Aires, they were at Estadio La Plata in 2011). One more time, I LOVE your reactions!!! Other official videos to watch: Electrical Storm (aka Larry Mullen Jr appreciation video!), Original of the Species, Staring at the sun, Peace, If God will sed his angels, Gloria, I will follow, A celebration, Ordinary Love
4 song formats (best music idea on TH-cam) from fab bands. Requests: Roxette - Bon Jovi - Fleetwood Mac - Heart - Prince. You usually pick quality artists anyway so look forward to future music 🎶🎧😎🙏
U2’s first 4 or 5 albums are by far their best period. Rattle and Hum has a few good songs and they rebounded with Achtung Baby which was another great album, but they drove off the Cliff with Zooropa. I bought it listened to it, tried to like it. Just couldn’t do it.
This is live- Do not technically a music video- But I believe, it’s the best version of this song, which is one of their very best The Edge, one of the members, really shines in the backup vocals and crushes the guitar -it’s a fabulous performance I hope you enjoy whatever or not you review it (You’ll love the lights) And it’s best LOUD (intro is soft -then be ready) th-cam.com/video/TUD4CQT33w4/w-d-xo.html
The conceit of "The Fly" is this idea of a guy making a call from hell on a pay phone. U2 did a lot of that more idea driven rather than story driven stuff back in the day - and made better music for it IMO.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
The Unforgettable Fire album is 40 years old this year. Came out in 1983. I was 16. Song and album still sounds great in 2023.
I'm so glad you mentioned Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums), they are so great and get very little recognition. I love The Fly, it was a bit of a departure from their previous music with its more industrial sound. I thought it was incredible when it came out! And you're right, U2 have many different sides and sounds and it's great to see these reactions to songs picked at random, it's always a surprise when you give us U2!
The Unforgettable Fire is in their top 3 of all time. Absolutely AMAZING track
Still sounds great after 40 years......came out in '83 if I'm not mistaken
The unforgettable fire is a musical masterpiece 1st time i heard that track i was hooked
Achtung Baby! is a fascinating album. It's such a dark, heavy record that's rife with conflict, betrayal, lustful hedonism and sin, yet it was brilliantly packaged in the flashy artifice of Fly shades, leather cyberpunk clothes and 100-foot ZooTV video screens. These are all great songs; there's actually an early cut of Who's Going to Ride Your Wild Horses on the Kindergarten Achtung baby! album (a collection of songs from that era where they were still in the process of being created - in this case, I think that early version is even better... and you can hear traces of lyrics that wouldn't show up until years later in other songs - it is fascinating that they essentially don't waste lyrics).
The Fly is one of my favorite U2 songs. Imagine it's late 1991 and you're a hard core fan of Joshua-tree era U2. You know - the stern looking desert pilgrims, singing American-influenced rhythm and blues mixed with anthemic socially-conscious nuwave rock. And suddenly you see this video. It was a very major shock to the system; NOBODY was doing what they were doing here. This was an era of grunge music exploding onto the scene while other mega acts like Guns n Roses and Metallica toured the world. I think besides looking for a new direction, bono was reading a lot of CS Lewis. He was a friend of Oscar Wylde and a Christian author (his most famous work was the Chronicles of Narnia). Anyway, Bono was into one of his books called the Screwtape Letters. In a nutshell, it's an epistolary novel (meaning, it was a book arranged as a narrative from a series of letters) where there is a minor administrative demon in Hell (named Screwtape) who is trying to provide advice to his nephew on how to better corrupt the souls of men. Essentially, it is recommended that a person should sample the various types of temptations and sin to better understand how to employ them against mankind. Achtung Baby, especially the Fly leans heavily into this idea. (You can even see in the cartoon video for Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me, that Bono is reading the Screwtape letters while walking the streets of Gotham).
The Fly (and yes, the Fly was a bit of a trickster character that Bono came up with - sort of a good guy, but maybe not; the Mr. MacPhisto Character from the Lemon video is the Fly after he succumbs to evil, gets old, fat and moves to Vegas to perform as a lounge crooner... Hilarious since that's essentially present-day Bono ; ) is the character that volunteers to visit hell to note all the evils there - but actually finds out that, well, he kind of likes it there ! (He's the guy calling you on the phone "I gotta go, I'm running out of change". He discovers all kinds of dark truths and while the threat of damnation is real - God DAMN it's fun wrapping the night around you and submitting to your most base desires ! Too much is not enough indeed.
The contrast and ironies that are so prevalent on his album are on full display here with some of Bono's most interesting lyrics "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet a thief; all kill their inspiration, then sing about their grief" is one of my favorites. Add in my favorite solo from Edge, well, ever (it's so sonically interesting; he, Eno and Lanois came up with something special here) and it's no surprise they released this as their lead single from that album. They willingly smashed their own mythos at the peak of their popularity, rebuilt it from the ground up and it resulted in a legendary album (AND tour - I can't wait to see how they mark this album and ZooTV at the new Las Vegas Sphere venue).
As always, this was a great and thoughtful review. Thanks for your time and effort, I really did enjoy it !
Thank you so much for watching, and for the info!!
Ahhhh, U2, one of the greatest bands of all-time. The Fly (1991) kicked off U2's most artistically creative, inventive and adventurous decade. Their album Achtung Baby was so different from anything they'd done before. To me it's a masterpiece from beginning to end. Their Zoo TV tour, which promoted Achtung Baby and (on later legs of the tour) their follow up album Zooropa was so fresh and groundbreaking for its time. I still have The Fly on 7" vinyl. Here in the UK it went straight into the charts at number 1, breaking the 16 week run at the top by Bryan Adams' Everything I Do I Do It For You! Achtung did divide some fans, I think depending on which side of the pond you're on. In the US The Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum albums, with their American rock and blues influences and themes were more popular. Then U2 come back in 1991 with a very European album with German industrial rock sounds and very differing themes (primarily recorded in Berlin just after the fall of the Wall and collapse of the Iron Curtain) that some fans weren't happy with the huge shift in sound and style. I think it was the best thing they could have done though to not run the risk of starting to sound stale. It was like a reinvention. They really went all out with experimentation in the 90's and to me it's their greatest era by far. It's a shame that their 1997 album POP wasn't as successful in some quarters because it lead them to becoming more of a conventional rock band since the 2000's. Still some great songs were to come, of course, but for me nothing as exciting as their 80's and 90's output. So glad you're doing these U2 reactions, I love your comments. :)
Thank you so much!!
I truly believe if you listen to U2 version of Night and Day, you could see what was evolving
The Unforgettable Fire is a masterpiece, the song and the album. Haha, people used to wonder why I preferred to walk home from the pub with my walkman. Just lost in this music. The Fly changed my life. I dove into the re-invention and rebuilt myself from the shoes up! Hahahaha!
The Fly was truly ground breaking at the time and represented a massive shift away from what they were doing previously. Amazing guitar solo in it in addition to the insane bass you mentioned ;)
The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby to of the greatest albums ever made... Funny that the same band made them and funny that they sound so different from each other
My Favorite band of all time!
I love your reactions! I love when people recognize how Amazing U2 is! 🇮🇪💚🧡
Thank you so much!!
Bono was playing a character, you were right. The character was called the fly
The Fly was a Bono persona at Zoo TV; a character intended to represent the stereotypical rock star, wearing wrap-around shades with a full leather outfit, and carrying himself with exaggerated, sexual mannerisms.
The other vocals you hear in the chorus is the edge the guitar player.
For their first 25 years they covered so many ranges of music. Changed from album to album , moving with the times and changing their image.
See angel of Harlem and the fly came next . Unbelievable reinvention.
Great review . Keep the u2 reviews coming 👍
Lĺ
Actually it’s Bono singing the high parts on the album but the Edge sings it live as Bono can’t do both parts at once :)
There is so much to love about U2’s work. What I always appreciate is artists who keep inventing themselves and choose and change their directions. As a result there are always fans who feel that a band has lost its ‘true’ direction whereas I feel it may be more a case of that you and the band have gone in separate directions.
I love lyrics and artist who can tell stories. Bono writes most of the songs and his lyrics have a poetical and philosophical quality to them which I love. With his soulful voice he makes you hear and feel the stories. You might appreciate their music even more if you have their lyrics at hand or even read beforehand. However some people are not really into the lyrics and that is just fine of course.
The Edge is not a flashy guitar player but is so good at creating an atmosphere and a feeling and adding layers upon layers to that. The combination with the lyrics is for me a golden combination.
Keep it on!
Some ideias for part 4: Two Hearts Beat as One, Red Hill Mining Town, Until The End Of the World, Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, The Blackout. :)
There we go - another astonishing handful from the greatest band It Has Been Decided that nobody's allowed to like, although statistically speaking everybody in the western world must have at least five of their albums by now. (I once came home unexpectedly and found the cat hiding a copy of Achtung Baby.) Keep going, PMD, dozens to go yet!
I love this comment so much, U2 have been my favourite band forever and I have countless copies of AB dotted around my house. Two on vinyl and god knows how many on CD/cassette.
Acthung Baby is the best album of the modern rock. Awesome!!
Been following u2 for 40 plus years, and you picked some of my all time favourite songs here. Great choice!!
I love your take and your reactions are perfect.
Thank you very much!
I think the live performance of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses is better than the studio version, but I just think the imagery created by the lyrics along with the vocals, drums (which I think I remember as being more prominent than in this video), and the guitar work just sold it to me. So glad you included The Fly as well, I don't think I've seen anyone else react to that, and it reminds me just how experimental and groundbreaking U2 were back in the day. It also reminds me that at this time there were lots of different bands, genres, and artists not all just seemingly doubt the same thing, which I find it the case today.
Great reactiions! Love the chaotic energy and beat of "Vertigo." If there is ever a U2 episode 4, you should check out their hit songs "Beautiful Day," "Desire" and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (which Bono was inspired to write after INXS's Michael Hutchens' tragic passing).
Recently delving into U2 on TH-cam and loving it. Always really liked them as most my age did but growing up in the 90s they were always around and it's easy to take for granted how amazing they actually are. I guess they weren't so much the trendy band for teenagers in the late 90's. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses was always one of my favourites when I was a kid - I still love it even though I would still find it hard to explain the lyrics! Thank you!❤️ I'd never seen the video before. This is the first reaction I've seen too it (and I've been watching a lot lately!). I adore Bono's voice and he's such a cool guy have fallen in love all over again!😆 I saw them in concert in 2005 they were amazing of course but its so long ago I wish I could remember it more now!! Wish I'd had my smart phone to take photos/videos back then!!
Thank you so much for watching! ♥️
I heard The Fly before I ever saw the video. I played it and played it and played it and played it and played it...... I must have melted the tape as I kept repeating it in the car over and over, day after day, week after week. It WAS the song that introduced 90s U2. Its sonic rasp and whine and drift and sneer and drone and rage and cool and snake and tiger just had me spellbound. And of course, Bono just purring in the background, never raising his voice (a big departure from what came before). Breathy, like Eastwood. The thing was that my mind imagined the video before I saw it. The video could only be what it was. The song demands the imagery. A perfect melt of sound and image.
There have been wonderful live renditions of this song, but this album version still oozes class. Raw, jagged even stilted in ways. Defiantly difficult and yet sublimely beautiful.
This series your doing is becoming something I’m starting to look forward to a lot! U2 will always be my fav band! Subbed!
Thank you!!
Try An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart live at Red Rocks. You can listen to the two songs separately, but they are meant to be played back to back and on the album they run into each other...which is something they do with it live in a brilliant way. I say do the one at Red Rocks because it was during the era in which those two songs were originally released. Absolutely brilliant to hear and see them perform
I think watching various U2 songs from different albums is probably the best way to wrap your head around their vast catalog.
I wore out my War cassette on my Walkman, so to hear The Unforgettable Fire was a major change in their sound, but I loved it.
This band with out doubt tried to be like Elvis in perfecting the sound range with every track they recorded,its no secret the conscience can sometimes be a pest,brilliant line,U2 WAT A BAND there so brilliant as there experience has come from the 70s late 70s
Great reaction as always.. Go listen start to end to Achtung Baby... then do it again.. and again and you will be a massive U2 fan.. album is a masterpiece. Plus you get to hear the Studio version of Wild Horses. And you are dead on.. The Fly is a character Bono played.. well done.. Another thing down the line you should do is watch the whole Zoo TV Sydney Concert... You would love it!
You have a "Live Performance" Series. That is perfect for U2. They are one of, if not the greatest live act. They've pioneered many aspects and technologies in the concert space (first use of a B Stage for any concert, is one example, including all the technology needing to make it happen). Some great live acts are masters of spectacle. Some are great with crowd interaction. Some have charismatic and/or iconic frontmen. Some are theatrical. Some are bombastic. Some are naked and intimate.
U2 are masters of ALL of that. They are far superior live than recorded. And they have at least all time 2 classic albums, so that is pretty crazy, that you can top albums that are already lauded as masterpieces.
My favourite U2 album.
(and I was more into Simple Minds, at least until Forbes dropped out.
“Who’s gonna ride your wild horses” is a radio mix version and is different from the original album version. The album version is more haunting and doesn’t have the backing strings overlay.
Hello buddy awesome 4 videos and tunes by favourite is vertigo luv it live epic 👏👍 yes and U2 are fantastic brilliant awesome amazing band 👍👌
I’m a very casual U2 fan in that I know a couple of singles but clearly nowhere near enough because I only knew 1 of the songs in this vid. I need to check them out properly!
Unforgettable Fire took inspiration from Art drawn by those who went through the Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bombs.
Thank you for your review, and look forward to more, especially when you approach their first 3 albums as you will see the huge influence their music in 1980-83 had on these videos, especially Vertigo and The Fly.
The Unforgettable Fire was the earliest track here, which was the album after they had a radical change of style, due to the influence of musician and their producer Eno (from early Roxy Music fame).
Every part of The Fly is incredible - the guitar, the bass, the drums, THE LYRICS! "It's no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest / It's no secret ambition bites the nails of success / Every artist is a canibal / Every poet is a thief / All kill for inspiration, then sing about the grief." LOVE IT! I suspect you're going to be amazed by their live performances - as incredible as their album recordings are, they're even better live. Some suggestions for live performances - Bad (Live Aid, 1985), Please (MTV VMAs, 1997), Where the Streets Have No Name (NBA Halftime Show, 2001), Mysterious Ways (ZooTV live from Sydney, 1993). Thanks for doing these videos! Achtung Baby came out when I was in high school, and I've been a huge fan ever since, and it's so fun watching you listening to these incredible songs for the first time.
With out fail Please from the VMA, totally blew everyone away, after boy and girl bands lip sync
Yesss. Appreciated from this old Irishman. Thanks. You’ve made my evening. TUNES!
Thank you for watching! 😊
Your reaction on The Fly was gold 😂 reminds me when I was teenager listening for the first time ooohh that solo fu**** brilliant!
😂
If you love The Fly, you're gonna love Numb, the song, the bass AND the video. I'm looking forward to that. Cheers, great reaction, as usual.
Thank you!
I love all their catalogue but I have to admit the Unforgettable Fire album is my all time fave and Live under a Blood Red Sky - live at Red Rocks.
The Unforgettable Fire is my favorite U2 song. You are gonna love this journey. I can't wait to travel with you.❤
analysis spot on. Thank you. From a lifelong U2 fan. Ace pal.
Always good to see the bass getting some love and attention.
Love “The Fly.” I cannot shake the temptation of saying it would be ludicrous to not react to the live version of “The Fly” in Boston for your next U2 live video reactions. It changed the way I listened to music and you can never go wrong with Bono being Bono. Thanks for these reaction videos! Achtung Baby and Zooropa are the albums that changed U2. ZooTV is of course the live concerts in 1992-93 where U2 reached their peak in my strong opinion. Don’t shy away from these albums and certainly not from the video I requested above.
Loving this series as well. Great reaction, as usual. Your commentary is usually spot on.
Thank you!!
Back when Bono were so young that he had the long black hair,i thought he and Michael Hutchence were related at one point. Theyr faces are not super alike,i will be the first to admit it nowadays,much later on. But Bonos face looked so "smooth"/younger then Michaels,so i guess i imagined him being a little brother or something. Then again,when Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode had long hair,he reminded me of Bono AND Michael,so i quickly experienced that it was just wishful thinking,and that this was very much the common style amongst theese 3 back then,and also amongst alot of people in that era. I always found it extra charming with cousins etc that all did the same thing. Thats why i love bands like The Veronicas,Kings Of Leon and so on,where everyone is sisters,brothers and/or related in general on some level.
Of all theese,Whos gonna ride your wild horses,Vertigo and The Fly is amongst my favourites,where the buzzin Fly and Vertigo fights over the top spot. The Fly is more versatile then Vertigo,but Vertigo on the other hand be all out "in your face" rock sound. Im glad you hear and acknowledge Adam Claytons marvelous bass. He tends to get alot of stick from other bands supporters or other bands members. And some of them might have a point,he might not be one of the worlds best bassplayers. But dont discredit him either,on The Fly and especially in New Years Day he makes thoose songs his,with his big ..... sloppy.... *hears hysterical laughter from the channel owner* WHAT?! I was talking about his BASS,mmmkay!😆Anyhow,Adam doesnt get the credit from many wich he deserves. He is a solid bassplayer,he might not be as out there as many other bass players,he might not do alot of extra stuff with his bass guitar. BUT,you can always count on him to make that bass sound GOOD! And besides,he is in one of the worlds biggest bands that has ever existed for a reason,so i call jealousy on alot of the smack talk.
What i love about Adam and especially The Edge,is that they will make theyr guitars sound exactly like a fly (the fly),like bombs and warfare,chaos in general (sunday bloody sunday) and so on. They somehow capture the sounds we combine with all theese things perfectly through how they play theyr instruments.
Still waiting with a smile until the day you stumble across U2 - Numb. One of theyr most under appreciated songs in regards to not only reactions,but song recommendations in general. It will take you with complete surprise,thats all im saying lol.
P. cake BONO is the KING of voice...........NOBODY can do what he do
How cool these guys are. My favorite bands of all times ! Lovely reaction
excellent stuff!!! all brilliant
11:10 it can take some people up to 15 years to fall in love with such a complex track. Listen to it over and over again. Listen to its performances live. Zoo TV. Innocence and Experience tour. Berlin 2018.
Hi the most surprising thing i found was i thought you were more into relaxing music from the 80s and 90s me a mix of music but then from the late 60s to the early 80s keep up the good work and enjoy
Hello Bryson, unsurprisingly I love your latest "4 video mini-deep into U2", ep. 3, I believe! Agree with you completely on the pleasurable sonic, instrumentality of awesomeness throughout "Unforgettable Fire", where Bono's voice seems like an equivalent but remarkable instrument, rendering its lyrical content a more embracing abode. Also, you described and interpreted U2's "The Fly" quite brilliantly, and true - Bono did have a character/persona called The Fly during U2's ZooTV tour in the early 90's; dressed all in black, large black sunglasses, his embodiment was of a mischievous egocentric rock-star. As for "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" which is personally one of my favourites, however did not create that type of mesmerizing connection with you personally (which is perfectly okay lol), and "Verigo" - just a fun, guitar crunching rock 'n 'roll track, will love it always.
Thanks again Bryson for another wonderful video, will be watching you again very soon, my friend. Finally... *Watch More Bryson!*
Thanks again for a wonderful response! Live performances are up next. 😊
@@PancakeMarshmallowDude- Always welcome! Oh, and live U2, that is going to be stellar! U2 is definitely known as one of the best live bands over the last three decades. U2's "Mofo", which is a captivating sensory explosion of a track in itself, was the opening song on their "Popmart' tour in '97 - and it is U2 in *beast mode.* Just a small suggestion. Have a great week Bryson!
Hello, Bryson, dear!
Here I go!
I must say The Unforgettable Fire is one of my most favourites. For me, is brilliant. Hilariously, Who’s gonna (…) is also one of my favs🤣!!! Talking about Vertigo…you need to watch some live show in a latin country. The 1, 2, 3, 14, and Bono calling for ¨a spanish lesson¨ and the people mass jumping and shouting is demential! (in Buenos Aires, they were at Estadio La Plata in 2011).
One more time, I LOVE your reactions!!!
Other official videos to watch: Electrical Storm (aka Larry Mullen Jr appreciation video!), Original of the Species, Staring at the sun, Peace, If God will sed his angels, Gloria, I will follow, A celebration, Ordinary Love
Hello! 😊
I love it!! ❤️❤️ You should watch :
U2 electrical Storm oficial video
U2 staring at the sun
U2 walk on
U2 original of species
‘Unforgettable Fire’ written after the band had seen an art exhibit completed by Japanese children following the Hiroshima atomic bombing.
Man, i recommend you to react at "Foals" clips. You will like it.
Man , umfurgtebul fire ❤amazing
When are you doing more Girls Aloud and Sugababes?
love it
4 song formats (best music idea on TH-cam) from fab bands.
Requests: Roxette - Bon Jovi - Fleetwood Mac - Heart - Prince.
You usually pick quality artists anyway so look forward to future music 🎶🎧😎🙏
th-cam.com/video/qaoJXKujquI/w-d-xo.html
@@PancakeMarshmallowDude Brilliant - his voice is shot now (old age is a thief) but some prime Bon Jovi choices right there 👍🙏
U2’s first 4 or 5 albums are by far their best period. Rattle and Hum has a few good songs and they rebounded with Achtung Baby which was another great album, but they drove off the Cliff with Zooropa. I bought it listened to it, tried to like it. Just couldn’t do it.
Vertigo is a tuuuune
This is live-
Do not technically a music video-
But I believe, it’s the best version of this song, which is one of their very best
The Edge, one of the members, really shines in the backup vocals and crushes the guitar -it’s a fabulous performance
I hope you enjoy whatever or not you review it
(You’ll love the lights)
And it’s best LOUD (intro is soft -then be ready)
th-cam.com/video/TUD4CQT33w4/w-d-xo.html
It’s also my personal favorite of theirs
It’s pretty emotional even for U2 who loves to tell a story
The conceit of "The Fly" is this idea of a guy making a call from hell on a pay phone. U2 did a lot of that more idea driven rather than story driven stuff back in the day - and made better music for it IMO.
The Unforgettable Fire is one of my favourites!