U2, The #17 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Four

 (Continued from Part Three)

 

This song represents a breakthrough not only for the album but for U2 in general.  They had hoped to draw inspiration from the falling of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany after defeating Communism.  But the members struggled and this great song was all they had to show for their efforts in Berlin.  But they were once again inspired and finished the album back in Ireland.  "It was a pivotal song in the recording of the album, the first breakthrough in what was an extremely difficult set of sessions," The Edge said to Q magazine in September, 2005.  "One" also topped the Singles charts in Canada and Ireland.

 "Even Better Than The Real Thing" got as high as #3 in Canada and Ireland but only #32 in the U.S., yet another underrated song from U2.  The band won MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video.

"Salome" refers to the Biblical story where King Herod asked a dancer, Salome, if he could give her a present.  She requested the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

"Lady With The Spinning Head" was originally a demo that was much more productive than first thought.  As The Edge explained in U2 by U2:

     There was a song called "Lady With The Spinning 

     Head" which we were really struggling with.  It 

     eventually ended up as a B-Side.  But we tried and

     failed to develop it so many times.  It actually 

     spawned three different songs, "The Fly",

     "Ultraviolet (Light My Way" and "Zoo Station".  If 

     you listen to "Lady With The Spinning Head", you 

     will hear elements of all of those songs.

Bono wrote "Love Is Blindness" on piano while the group was recording the album Rattle and Hum in 1988. 

 

The title of "Zoo Station" is from Zoo Bahnhof, a train station in Berlin where the underground portion of the U2 line begins.  The group went to the Berlin Zoo after arriving in Berlin to record the album and the theme reappeared on the group's next album, Zooropa.

"Until The End Of The World" is a conversation between Judas and Jesus, whom Judas betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.

 "Acrobat" finds Bono acknowledging inadequacies, something he and the band intentionally set out to do on this album.  Bono dedicated the song to Delmore Schwartz, who inspired the track with his works, including In Dreams Begin Responsibilities.

 Achtung Baby earned U2 a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and they were nominated for Album of the Year.  “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” is another of U2's most popular songs among fans.

The Zoo TV tour was an elaborate production which satirized television and its blurring of news, entertainment and home shopping.  In 1993, U2 signed a six-album contract with Island Records/PolyGram.  At the time, the newspaper The Los Angeles Times estimated the deal to be worth $60 million, making U2 the highest-paid Rock group in history.

 

U2 recorded "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" for the movie Faraway, So Close!, which scored a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.  The group recorded the album Zooropa during a break in the Zoo TV tour.  

 

U2 continued to break ground with Country legend Johnny Cash singing lead vocals on "The Wanderer".

 Zooropa was a unanimous #1 album throughout the world and generated two million in sales in the U.S.  U2 earned a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance for their work on the album.  "Dirty Day" is about the relationship between a father and son, and there is a lot of Bono's Dad in the tune.  His father often gave him fatherly Irish sayings such as "I don't know you and you don't know the half of it" and "No blood is thicker than ink." 

 

The titles of songs that didn't make the album are featured on the cover.  "Zooropa" includes snippets of advertisements from companies such as Colgate, Daz, and Fairy Liquid.  The German phrase "Vorsprung durch technik", which opens the song, is an Audi slogan which means "Lead through technology."

 

"The First Time" is about losing your faith.  "I hadn't lost my faith but I'm very sympathetic to people who have the courage not to believe," Bono said.  "I've seen a lot of people around me be so badly abused by religion they feel they just can't go there any more, which is a shame."

When U2 finished their Zoo TV tour, they had performed before 5.3 million people and they won their seventh Grammy for Best Music Video, Long Form for Zoo TV:  Live from Sydney. 

More more incredible music from U2 still upcoming, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!

U2, The #17 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

Performances recorded during the tour were mixed with nine studio tracks recorded at the famous Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and released as the double album Rattle and Hum.  The album topped charts throughout the world except Sweden, where it reached #2, and France, where it peaked at #8.  "Desire" burned to the top in the U.K., Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.  A Gold single, the song hit the Top 10 in every major country except France.

 "Desire" earned U2 Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and the group earned Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, both for the Rattle and Hum album as well as the song "When Love Comes To Town", their collaboration with B.B. King.  Their video for "When Love Comes To Town" won an MTV VMA. 

 "Angel Of Harlem" hit #1 in New Zealand and #3 in Ireland and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.

 "Angel Of Harlem" and "Desire" are the songs the casual fan associates with the live album, but there are many other great tracks.  "A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel" is the flip side of the former.

 

"All I Want Is You" was released as a single in some countries, and hit #2 in Australia and #4 in the U.K.  String arrangements were provided by Van Dyke Parks.

 

The original version of this song was sung by Bono backed by Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones for the anti-Apartheid album Sun City.  It was written about being poor and being controlled by selfish people in Africa who only want to fatten their own bank accounts, though it of course took on a new meaning when Donald Trump did the same in the United States.  The Edge provides a great guitar solo at the end of "Silver And Gold".

 

Bono wrote this after taking a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana to visit Lanois.  He mentions Route 66 and several other points of reference in "Heartland".  "The song is full of little bits of travelogue from my journal," Bono said.

 

This song is about John Boyle O'Reilly, leader of an 1848 uprising in Ireland after the Great Famine.  He was banished to Australia after the incident.  "Van Dieman's Land" was the name given the Australian state of Tasmania.  British convicts were shipped there.  

 

Bob Dylan played the Hammond organ on "Hawkmoon 269".  The "269" in the title is the number of mixes it took the band to get it right.

Rattle and Hum has sold over 14 million copies throughout the world, but the members of U2 were dissatisfied with their live performances.  Mullen said later that "We were the biggest, but we weren't the best."

When the group began recording of their next album in Berlin, they faced a conflict, with Bono and the Edge wanting to alter the group's sound to more reflect the electronic dance music popular at the time, while Clayton and Mullen preferred the sound that the group was famous for.  The differences nearly caused the group to break up until "One" was rewritten to the satisfaction of everyone.  U2 returned to Dublin in 1991 to finish work on the album.

 

The group released the album Achtung Baby later in the year.  "The Fly" did well in Europe and reached #6 in Canada.  It also spurred Bono to adopt The Fly as his onstage character and wear large sunglasses and black leather during the Zoo TV tour.  

 

The album was darker than previous efforts and included influences from alternative rock, dance and industrial music.  Achtung Baby has gone over eight million in sales in the United States and 18 million total.  It was a Top 5 album in every major country in the world, thanks to great songs like this one, which had a bit of a tough time being created until magic happened.  

The group was jamming to a tune by only Clayton's bass part was making headway.  When The Edge began using the Korg A3 effects unit, "Mysterious Ways" was born, and it rose to #1 in Canada and Ireland and was a Top 10 smash in nearly every country in the world.

Much more to come from this important and amazing group!

The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era Checklist: #20-100

We hope you are enjoying The Top 100 Artists* special!  The best way to listen to it is to listen to each song by each artist, one immediately after the other, the way it was first presented on radio.  Everyone's tastes are different, but it is readily apparent from listening to the great array of songs that each of these artists have had amazing careers.  Here is our handy checklist to make it easy to catch up on superstars you may have missed:

Prelude:

#102-- Dan Fogelberg, Part One

Dan Fogelberg, Part Two

Dan Fogelberg, Part Three

Dan Fogelberg, Part Four

#101--Christina Aguilera

The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era:

#100--Tom Petty

#99--Platters

#98--Coldplay

#97--Beyonce

#96--Alicia Keys

#95--America

#94--Four Tops

#93--Dionne Warwick

#92--Tina Turner

#91--Kool & the Gang, Part One

Kool & the Gang, Part Two

#90--John Lennon

#89--Commodores

#88--Police

#87--Eric Clapton, Part One

Eric Clapton, Part Two

#86--Metallica, Part One

Metallica, Part Two

#85--Def Leppard

#84--Cars

#83--Jackson Browne, Part One

Jackson Browne, Part Two

Jackson Browne, Part Three

#82--Van Halen, Part One

Van Halen, Part Two

#81--Styx, Part One

Styx, Part Two

#80--Huey Lewis & the News

#79--Diana Ross

#78--Cher

#77--Electric Light Orchestra, Part One

ELO, Part Two

#76--Heart, Part One

Heart, Part Two

#75--Michael Bolton, Part One

Michael Bolton, Part Two

#74--Boyz II Men

#73--AC/DC, Part One

AC/DC, Part Two

#72--Paul Simon, Part One

Paul Simon, Part Two

#71--Usher, Part One

Usher, Part Two

#70.  Hall & Oates, Part One

        Hall & Oates, Part Two

#69.  Jackson Five

#68.  Gloria Estefan, Part One

         Gloria Estefan, Part Two

#67.  Doors, Part One

         Doors, Part Two

#66.  Earth, Wind & Fire, Part One

         Earth, Wind & Fire, Part Two

#65.  Taylor Swift, Part One

         Taylor Swift, Part Two

         Taylor Swift, Part Three

#64.  Everly Brothers, Part One

         Everly Brothers, Part Two

#63.  Moody Blues, Part One

         Moody Blues, Part Two

#62.  Bon Jovi, Part One

         Bon Jovi, Part Two

#61.  Rihanna, Part One

         Rihanna, Part Two

         Rihanna, Part Three

#60.  Genesis, Part One

         Genesis, Part Two

#59.  Doobie Brothers, Part One

         Doobie Brothers, Part Two

#58.  Aerosmith, Part One

         Aerosmith, Part Two

#57.  Four Seasons, Part One

         Four Seasons, Part Two

#56.  Santana, Part One

         Santana, Part Two

#55.  George Michael, Part One

         George Michael, Part Two

         George Michael, Part Three

#54.  Pink Floyd, Part One

         Pink Floyd, Part Two

         Pink Floyd, Part Three

#53.  Garth Brooks, Part One

         Garth Brooks, Part Two

         Garth Brooks, Part Three

#52.  Three Dog Night, Part One

         Three Dog Night, Part Two

#51.  Queen, Part One

         Queen, Part Two

         Queen, Part Three

#50.  Paul McCartney & Wings, Part One

          Paul McCartney & Wings, Part Two

#49.   ABBA, Part One

          ABBA, Part Two

          ABBA, Part Three

#48.  Bryan Adams, Part One

         Bryan Adams, Part Two

#47.  John Mellencamp, Part One

         John Mellencamp, Part Two

         John Mellencamp, Part Three

         John Mellencamp, Part Four

#46.  James Taylor, Part One

         James Taylor, Part Two

         James Taylor, Part Three

#45.  Prince, Part One

         Prince, Part Two

         Prince, Part Three

#44.  Barry Manilow, Part One

         Barry Manilow, Part Two

         Barry Manilow, Part Three

         Barry Manilow, Part Four

#43.  Who, Part One

         Who, Part Two

         Who, Part Three

#42.  Lionel Richie, Part One

         Lionel Richie, Part Two

#41.  Temptations, Part One

         Temptations, Part Two

         Temptations, Part Three

#40.  Donna Summer, Part One

         Donna Summer, Part Two

         Donna Summer, Part Three

#39.  Frank Sinatra, Part One

         Frank Sinatra, Part Two

         Frank Sinatra, Part Three

         Frank Sinatra, Part Four

         Frank Sinatra, Part Five

#38.  Journey, Part One

         Journey, Part Two

         Journey, Part Three

         Journey, Part Four

#37.  Foreigner, Part One

         Foreigner, Part Two

         Foreigner, Part Three

#36.  Olivia Newton-John, Part One

         Olivia Newton-John, Part Two

         Olivia Newton-John, Part Three

#35.  Janet Jackson, Part One

         Janet Jackson, Part Two

         Janet Jackson, Part Three

#34.  Marvin Gaye, Part One

         Marvin Gaye, Part Two

         Marvin Gaye, Part Three

#33.  Phil Collins, Part One

         Phil Collins, Part Two

         Phil Collins, Part Three

#32.  Kenny Rogers, Part One

         Kenny Rogers, Part Two

#31.  John Denver, Part One

         John Denver, Part Two

         John Denver, Part Three

#30.  Bob Seger, Part One

         Bob Seger, Part Two

         Bob Seger, Part Three

         Bob Seger, Part Four

#29.  Bob Dylan, Part One

         Bob Dylan, Part Two

         Bob Dylan, Part Three

         Bob Dylan, Part Four

#28.  Rod Stewart, Part One

         Rod Stewart, Part Two

         Rod Stewart, Part Three

         Rod Stewart, Part Four

#27.  Bruce Springsteen, Part One

         Bruce Springsteen, Part Two

         Bruce Springsteen, Part Three

         Bruce Springsteen, Part Four

#26.  Aretha Franklin, Part One

         Aretha Franklin, Part Two

         Aretha Franklin, Part Three

         Aretha Franklin, Part Four

#25.  Supremes, Part One

         Supremes, Part Two

#24.  Linda Ronstadt, Part One

         Linda Ronstadt, Part Two

         Linda Ronstadt, Part Three

         Linda Ronstadt, Part Four

#23.  Led Zeppelin, Part One

         Led Zeppelin, Part Two

         Led Zeppelin, Part Three

#22.  Simon & Garfunkel, Part One

         Simon & Garfunkel, Part Two

         Simon & Garfunkel, Part Three

#21.  Neil Diamond, Part One

         Neil Diamond, Part Two

         Neil Diamond, Part Three

         Neil Diamond, Part Four

#20.  Barbra Streisand, Part One

         Barbra Streisand, Part Two

         Barbra Streisand, Part Three

         Barbra Streisand, Part Four