I'm probably wrong on this one but I always assumed its length and categorisation as a "Mini-LP" (and low pricing) may have had something to do with chart rules? Mini-LP - Wikipedia
Probably true! However, I think Conny Plank, in a similar way to Martin Hannett, would have possibly tried to impose a "sound" on U2 and he sensed that Bono was possibly not "pliable" enough for him ?
I think the reason is the band had all their profits from the War Tour invested in the live film and they needed to get profile for the live U2 experience. Selling a live mini-LP at about half the cost of a regular LP would help recoup costs, make more money, fill an option in the contract, and raise their profile. I think it was more of a commercial decision when the band had a live reputation but weren't huge, rather than an artistic one. I think if War had been worse than October and not had those three big singles, the band would likely have had Under A Blood Red Sky as their last gasp. If that had failed, and War had no big singles in it, it's likely the band may have folded and been dropped and probably reformed about 10-20 years ago for occasional "playing Boy-in-full" tours at 2,000 capacity venues.
I'm a big U2 from about 82 onwards,started off with C90 with Boy and Octover..played it to death. My first U2 gig was on the day that War was released..skipped school to buy the picture disc album and then went to see them that night at the Edinburgh Playhouse. 16 year old. Amazing gig but 18 months later the Unforgettable Fire gig at the same venue was the one - the one concert I wish I could re-live more than any. October is my favourite out of the first 3 albums. Pretty sure that initial copies of October came with a free 7 " inch of I Will Follow. The radio broadcast of the short pre-War tour was great.. Live on Radio 1 and first time I heard New Years Day. December 82 I think. I subscribed to the U2 fan club/newsletter around 1982. Still got some somewhere but can't remember the name of them. Later on they turned into the Propoganda magazine but that was a bit shiny fof me.
Here’s what I think happened: First, the 7” and 12” of New Year’s Day are released in January before the album came out. The 7” is heavily edited but is interesting for its own reason: the “I will be with you again” refrain is repeated during the fade out. In this context, the 12” is clearly the “long version” because it’s the full length track. Next, War is released in February, and sometime in between the single and the album (as U2 has done numerous times over the years) they had some 2nd thoughts about their final edit of the song and went back to remove those two seconds before the guitar solo. This edited version is what ended upon the album. At least it was when I bought it back in 1983. Why remove those two seconds? Because it improves the song! Without those two seconds, the guitar solo always catches me off-guard and surprises me when it starts. With those two seconds, the song “hangs” for a moment while we wait for the guitar solo to begin. It’s subtle, but it really does improve the song. The MFSL release of War in 1993 was the first time the slightly longer version from the 12” was released on the album. That same MFSL release also had slightly longer versions of Seconds and Like A Song. This has happened with other bands’ releases on MFSL too. They claim to always work from the master tapes, and sometimes what that means is that MFSL has a master tape from the band’s vault, not the record label vault, and sometimes there are differences in the contents of those tapes. In the case of War, U2 had a master tape that they were prepared to release to Island, but at the last second they made slight edits to three tracks before submitting the album. So the master tape that Island used had slightly shortened version of those three tracks, but the tape that U2 retained and later lent to MFSL has the longer versions. Naturally, when they remastered War as part of the reissue campaign they put back the two seconds. For my car listening pleasure I keep those two seconds out.
I've never heard of October coming with a free "I will follow" - maybe it was a record store promotion? I used to have a tape of the 1984 Edinburgh Playhouse gig. This and the Glasgow Barrowlands ones were the highlights of the UK Winter 1984 tour. The Scottish u2 crowd were always the best (which i found in the 1987 gigs at the SECC and Murrayfield) Yes, the fan club pre "Propaganda" used to be called "World Service Magazine". I used to have them (years ago) and they were very fanzine-like and straight off a photocopier. However, they had loads of great interviews with the band and news nuggets you couldn't get anywhere else. "Propaganda" was more glossy and colourful (which meant that the band actually lost money producing it) but it felt more "distant" and corporate. Here are what the original magazines looked like : ..:: U2 Books and Magazines - Stories for Boys - by U2 Wanderer.Org ::..
Under A Blood Red Sky Definitely worth having for the definitive versions of 11 O’Clock Tick Tock, The Electric Co (with The Cry intro) and Party Girl. Also, the VHS introduced me to Clannad’s “Theme From Harry’s Game”, so that was very worthwhile as well. I didn’t buy UABRS when it came out, but I had taped it from a friend. Later, after owning the CD for about 5 years I was out driving one night when a Chicago radio station was playing the album in its entirety. Imagine my surprise when, in the midst of an album whose every note I was familiar with, during Electric Co. Bono went into the “la la la in America” and “Send in the Clowns” routine. This was not on my album! I realized what must have happened and went out to some used record shops the next day and found the unedited vinyl LP.
Bad is the key to me for the Wide Awake release I referenced earlier. The second time I saw the band, Bad was BY FAR the highlight of the evening - although it was a terrific show all around
The album was released mid price before Xmas 1983. One of you guys may have mentioned this, but according to a book I have, the actual mini album only featured two tracks recorded from Red Rocks -Gloria and Party Girl (about Edge’s girlfriend). The rest of the tracks were recorded at Lorelei, Germany (apart from 11 O’ Clock, Tick Tock which is from Orpheum theatre, Boston, as the band felt they were on better form. This was also the first album U2 produced by Jimmy Lovine (also later produced Rattle & Hum).
War / Under A Blood Red Sky: During the promotional cycle for War and subsequent UABRS, I finally became aware of the band for the first time. I didn't have MTV back then and was largely a "top 40" and "album rock" (more like, "classic rock") radio listener at the time who slowly gravitated to what was being played on the developing alternative and college radio formats of the day. I purchased these on vinyl in '84. War made a huge impression on me, having only been familiar with NYD & SBS, and today it would still hover near a top-5 U2 album, if I were to list 'em. Of the first three though, I give a slight nod to Boy for the sheer propulsive-ness of their youth. Oddly, despite how young and "new" they sound, Boy has held up slightly better than War for me over the years. UABRS: What might have been, as I've lived in Denver most of my life. As I said, I was slow to come around to the band during this time frame. I have friends clearly visible in the video for this show...friends I would meet in 1985. As it turns out, I was away for most of the summer of '83 anyway, including the date of this concert. Oh well. There's no going back, but at least I would quickly rectify seeing U2 in concert.
Bingo! "New Years Day" was almost certainly "album version attempt #1" (12-inch single) and "final album version, really!" (War). I prefer the MFSL for sound quality so am always hearing the extra measure, and it's not quite right to my ears. Still have the other as a part of my library though.
I had a full size album cover in my freshman dorm room, and it was stolen at some point during spring quarter...
After seeing the video for SBS at Red Rocks on MTV I realized for the first time the live power of U2, the energy. Also, a concert (any concert) at Red Rocks is on my bucket list.
I just watched the DVD probably for the first time since it came out. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Did the original VHS version have ‘send in the clowns’ as per that clip? I can’t remember. Like the Cd vs Vinyl it’s a horrible edit.
I seem to remember that some of U2's Red Rocks was shown on the UK'S Channel 4 music show The Tube. From what I remember the last show of the 1st season mid 1983. Big Country and perhaps Simple Minds were on the same show. Or wax it Echo& the Bunnymen? 4 bands that were linked together at the the time. At least in my ears they were..
At the risk of "micromanaging", I want to put this out there: I think we stay a day on Under a Blood Red Sky and move on. Frankly, things have been kind of hectic in my life or I'd have curated this thread a bit better. I like things to keep moving with good conversation and interest. I think there's only so much that can be expounded upon by a live release and a video of said release (albeit different). Still, most live releases in my other threads got a cursory look and it was on to another studio release. I don't want it to feel like I have my foot on the gas, but I feel there's so much to explore here. I want to keep going and, for my own discipline, I think it's important we get to The Unforgettable Fire pretty quickly. Anyone that is opposed, please say so. All opinions will be accounted, thought about, and roundly discarded by yours truly
So I have this stack of records, most from my high school days that I am integrating into my current vinyl collection. The aforementioned crackly copy of War was in this stack which is to be integrated into the trash can. Right behind it is my copy of Under A Blood Red Sky. This one fortunately sounds terrific and the cover is in outstanding shape. Will be a nice addition indeed. Bonus that this has the full version of The Electric Co. As for the music, I am struck by how much more familiar this album is when compared with October and Boy. Not that I don't know those albums but I clearly played UABRS way more (but not as much as my trusty War cassette). The energy in these performances is breathtaking. If Gloria is a 10/10 on October (which it is for me), this version is an 11. Speaking of 11 (O'Clock Tick Tock), I distinctly remember the allure of the non-album songs which I didn't have to search out. Surprised that I didn't go on a massive b-side hunt thereafter but those were the days, you have to pick your battles in high school and I proved to be content with U2 albums, for the most part. Hard to call this a live album, it says mini-LP on the label (way before the completely unrelated mini-LP CD sleeve would become a thing). The songs are cherry-picked and it ends as it gets started. Still, UABRS served its purpose and did it well. I think it cemented my fandom which has not deserted me to this day, fading only once but I quickly came back into the light...but that is a story for another day. Fun fact: I've had the 2008 expanded version on my shelf since it came out and I have yet to watch the DVD. Need to fix that soon!
Unforgettable Fire is a really interesting one, and I can understand the eagerness to get there. I'm fine with it.
The mini-album. Whether Paul McGuiness or the bands idea.... the whole Red Rocks, Under A Blood Red Sky thing was a masterful piece of management. Get out an album at 35 mins, make it a mini-lp, so the price is reduced, and young folk with limited funds can still buy it. Make a concert video, make it available for home purchase, but also let tv networks show it, freely, or at a small price..... If you play well and your songs are any good, you will be the biggest band in the world by the end of it. And so it was US figures The mini ep sold 3 million War sold 4 million Boy and October both sold 1 million and I think all the albums up to and including All That You Can't Leave Behind have gone platinum. U2 in 83/84 captured most of the world's imagination and it took a long time for them to move out of that zone .... a long time. Some good singles and some decent exposure had built a base, but the overwhelming impact of this "mini-lp" shot the band into the superstar league, and it was a beautiful bit of management that was backed by some great, career defiining performances. In 1983, by the time this was released, I was 15 years old, and I knew a lot of music by that stage, by precious little about the industry. To me the mini-lp was perfect, and about the same length as a lot of full length albums I had. I didn't feel it was too short until I saw the movie. More importantly though, it was an age, much like what we have now, where folks commonly stated that new bands just couldn't play live, they weren't real bands etc etc ... This worked in U2's favour and they showed they could play live, they showed they were a real band, and everybody saw, because they made it all very accessible.
I kinda feel like @Parachute Woman on UABRS and this phase in general. And to @GodShifter’s comment, I just have nothing to add on this. It was a great foray for me into U2, but I too generally dislike live recordings. I do have a question for you who have seen them (around the period of UABRS): how was the live sound? Was it great, typical, or lousy? In later years, I would think of U2 as quality sound production, but not sure what it was like back then. So...?
As for 'Under A Blood Red Sky', to this day I don't know why they didn't go with a full proper double LP release A 35 min LP ... whereas they were playing 90 min sets at the time I specially love Loreley concert. 5 songs out of the 8 selected for the LP were taken from that concert. I don't know why they haven't released it in full in more than 35 years The multitracks exist. Listen to the mix on video vs the LP. It was clearly remixed. The guitar sounds clearer and louder on the LP They were one of the greatest live bands, and 'Under A Blood Red Sky' doesn't show that in full
To me it was adrenaline plus. It reached deep inside you and you felt connected to the guys singing the songs. It wasn't "ok the band is up there, and they are playing well". ... there was a connection, and ultimately a feeling of belonging, that was greatly increased by Bono, and the way he does his thing. I know Bono annoys folks or whatever, but if you were in the crowds in 84, you felt like he was singing all this stuff to you and your friends ... hard to explain that better, for me I would have been too young to care too much about the technical aspects of the sound, but I thought it sounded great, and the band played really well.
