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U2'S "WAR" IS GIVEN A TRULY FANTASTIC REMASTER - BUT DISC 2

Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 07/22/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"U2's third album was unleashed on an expectant world in 1983 and launched them as a genuine global phenomenon. This long overdue CD Remaster is released today, Monday 21 July 2008 in the UK and then 22 July 2008 in the USA and other territories. Also released today are "Boy", their 1980 debut and "October" their second album from 1981. The Edge has personally overseen the remastering of all of them utilizing the same team that brought us the amazing quality re-issue of "The Joshua Tree" last year.



DISCS:

Here in the UK, "War" (like the others) comes in no less than 4 physical variants. The single CD is a straightforward remaster with an extended and upgraded booklet (it's one of those new round corner jewel cases) and costs £10. The second is this issue - the 2CD Deluxe Version at £20 - the 2nd disc being the B-sides of singles and new previously unreleased mixes. The third variant is a Limited Edition containing the 2CD Deluxe Edition housed in a DVD sized card box with a T-Shirt of the album sleeve - it costs a frankly ludicrous £35 and is a waste of space and money in my book. Last is the humble 10-track LP - it's housed in a repro of the original gatefold sleeve and is pressed on 180 grams vinyl with upgraded liner notes - it costs £15 and is a limited edition. THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2CD DELUXE EDITION and the SINGLE DISC EDITION.



Here's the layout:

Disc 1 is the 10 track original album, issued March 1983 on Island ILPS 9733, remastered 2008 (42:11 minutes)



Disc 2 is the B-sides of 7" and 12" singles from Germany, the UK and the USA along with two later remixes of "New Year's Day" - all tracks remastered in 2008. It should also be noted that the CD lists 12 tracks, but the booklet lists only 11 - and in the wrong order! Looks like the track list was changed at the last minute, but the booklet wasn't upgraded to reflect this - a bit sloppy to say the least considering the expensive price of the 2disc set. Whether this is a mistake or a hidden track is unsaid, but the song not listed on the packaging is number two, "Angels Too Tied To The Ground" (59:29 minutes)



PACKAGING:

Housed in an outer hard card sleeve is a 36-page hardback booklet with lyrics, album history by noted writer NIALL STOKES, 7" singles pictured, photo outtakes from the videos and a detailed breakdown of the tracks on Disc 2. The 26-page single disc booklet is extended for the deluxe one by about 12 pages and there are informative notes by The Edge on how and why some of the B-sides were recorded. Both the single CD and 2CD set are picture discs with 2 members of the band on Disc 1 and the other 2 on Disc 2. A nice touch in the 2CD set is the way the card leaves that hold the CDs have slits at their base to let the disc slide out a fraction (it would have cut through anyway). It's a small thing, but nice attention to detail. The packaging is good (apart from that track list), and classily presented, but the best bit is the SOUND...



SOUND:

Remastered by ARNIE ACOSTA at Bernie Grundman Mastering, the tapes and remasters were also overseen by THE EDGE and the quality achieved is FANTASTIC! I've waited like most fans for over 20 years to hear "Seconds", "Drowning Man", "Surrender" and "40" in truly great sound quality and this re-issue delivers that in dollops. The drums are clear and loud, the guitars and keyboards passages leaping out of the speakers at you - the great guitar work given the muscle it needs - as I say - FANTASTIC STUFF. Fans will really delight to this.



EXTRAS:

The extras, however, are a very mixed bag. "Endless Deep" is the non-album B-side to the German and UK 7" singles of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and is a sort of a meandering instrumental - interesting but hardly great. "Angels Too Tied To The Ground" is much better though and new to me - it's got to be an outtake from the sessions - musically it sounds like a rehearsal for "New Year's Day". It's a fully formed song and would have made a great B-side - it's a superb little ditty - and without question one of the best surprises on here. Fans will eat this one up. Unfortunately, tracks 5 and 6 are - in my mind - absolute travesties. They're 1999 Ferry Corsten remixes of "New Year's Day" which sound like those endless crap versions that came off "Pop" CD singles - they're staggeringly inappropriate to an 1983 album and its unique sound. What were they thinking about - tagging these on here - they're so out of place as to be laughable? "Treasure..." is the B-side to the UK issue of "New Year's Day" while 10, 11 and 12 make up the 3 other songs on the UK double 7" pack of "New Year's Day". The live tracks are good, but not that well recorded. All in all, with 4 mixes of "New" and 3 mixes of "Two", Disc 2 is a very boring and disjointed experience. In truth, I doubt I'll be returning to these soon, despite their rarity value.



To sum up, Disc 1 is 10 out of 10, but Disc 2 is pushing 5.



"War" is a superb U2 album and still stands up to this day - and this great remaster has only reminded us of that. Shame that Disc 2 lets the side down somewhat. Fans will have to own the 2CD Deluxe Edition, while the casual buyer should opt for the single disc version instead. On its own, it's a superlative remastered reissue."

How did U2 get this one so wrong?

R. B. Sigler | Dallas | 07/22/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was really excited to have the first three U2 albums remastered with bonus tracks for the first time. These are my favorite U2 records (I am off the train after The Joshua Tree) and the b-sides, single only cuts and live tracks are nice to have in one package. So, how did the band screw up War's bonus material? By including some lame New Year's Day Ferry Corsten remixes instead of the original 12" versions. It's really nothing short of a slap in the face to the fans, whom i'm sure would like to have seen only original period songs included. October makes the same mistake by adding the Common Ground remix of Tomorrow, but that's a minor quibble. And while I know it would have been impossible to get ALL the War versions on the 2nd cd, it would have been in keeping with the spirit of the records to just play it straight. A five star record knocked down to three - what a shame....The other cds BOY **** and OCTOBER *****"

Five Stars but with reservations

R. St Pierre | Fairhaven MA | 07/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Call me a nitpicker, but I would still like to know why this remastered version isn't the same as the MFSL gold CD. I have that one as well, and unfortunately it's still the gold standard. I say unfortunately because it's so hard to come by without forking over a week's paycheck, and while I'm lucky enough to have it, it would have been nice to give everyone a chance to hear the album that way.



I just wish they would have put the full version of "Seconds" as is on the MFSL version. Original LP (and CD) pressings listed the song as 3:24, but that version never showed up til the Mobile Fidelity version came out. Also, the gold version's "Like A Song" is 5:00, while "New Year's Day" is 5:38 (four extra beats before Edge's solo in the middle of the song). Sounds trivial, but it raises the question, if the original master tapes were used for this version while Mobile Fidelity also claimed to use the original masters, why the discrepancy? There were timing errors on three other songs as well, so if you're looking for the 5-minute version of "Two Hearts..." or the 6-minute "Surrender", there's apparently no such animal.



But it's still a five star release and even though it might seem redundant to put ALL those remixes of "New Year's Day" and "Two Hearts Beat As One", I'd rather have everything out there for completists sake. I was lucky in 1987 to buy someone's U2 collection on 7-inch back to the U23 EP and even though the value on those singles might be diminished by these songs finally being available on CD, I don't care. If you enjoy the B-sides from these new remasters, wait until The Unforgettable Fire gets the deluxe treatment. I'd guess next year where it's the 25th anniversary."