Maps of Music

War (1983)

Where the lyrics of War take you, and where it was really made.

The album's title came from a remark that war seemed to be the motif for 1982, and the record became U2's first number-one album in the UK by knocking Michael Jackson's Thriller off the top.

Key places

Recorded at Windmill Lane Studios (1983)

Recording site Windmill Lane Studios — The album was recorded from September to November 1982 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. It was the group's third consecutive album developed at this studio with producer Steve Lillywhite. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• War is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2.
• Produced by Steve Lillywhite and released on 28 February 1983 on Island Records.
• The album is regarded as U2's first overtly political album.
• The title stems from the band's perception of the world at the time.
• Musically harsher than the band's previous releases.

Background

• Bono described war as the motif for 1982 when explaining the title.
• The two earlier albums Boy and October centred on adolescence and spirituality.
• War focused on the physical aspects of warfare and its emotional after-effects.
• In August 1982, Bono and his wife Alison Hewson honeymooned in Jamaica.
• It has been noted that the honeymoon was not typical, as Bono reportedly worked on the lyrics for the upcoming album.
• The album went on to knock Michael Jackson's Thriller from the top of the UK charts.

Recording

• Recorded from September to November 1982 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin.
• It was the third consecutive album the band made at the studio with producer Steve Lillywhite.
• 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' grew out of a guitar riff and lyric written by the Edge in 1982.
• Larry Mullen Jr. first resisted a click track, but a chance meeting with Andy Newmark changed his mind.
• The studio version of '40' was recorded in the final hours of the sessions, with the Edge playing both guitar and bass.

Cover

• The boy on the cover is Peter Rowen, brother of Bono's friend Guggi.
• Instead of tanks and guns, the cover shows a child's face.
• Bono said war can also be a mental and emotional matter between people, not only a physical one.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976 by teenage pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive School.
• Members: Bono (lead vocals), the Edge (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Adam Clayton (bass), Larry Mullen Jr. (drums).
• The band was first named Feedback, then The Hype, and in March 1978 took the name U2.
• They won the Pop Group '78 talent contest in Limerick and signed with Island Records in 1980.

Career

• Debut album Boy (1980); War (1983) was their first UK number-one album.
• The Joshua Tree (1987) made them international stars and was their greatest critical and commercial success, selling about 25 million copies.
• The band reinvented their sound in the 1990s with Achtung Baby (1991) and the Zoo TV Tour.
• Their 2009–2011 360° Tour held records for the highest-grossing concert tour until 2019.
• In 2023 they released Songs of Surrender and began the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live residency at Sphere in Las Vegas.
• Estimated record sales: about 170 million worldwide; 22 Grammy Awards; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees (2005).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone: J. D. Considine praised the album's arrangements and balanced dynamics in a favourable review.
• Considine compared the songs' impact to The Clash's London Calling and said U2 sweep the listener up in enthusiastic romanticism.
• Dave Marsh said War did not match the chilling intensity of Boy, and that Lillywhite's production gave the guitars too little prominence.
• Marsh still called War a solid set and praised its passion and commitment.
• The Village Voice: Robert Christgau said the Edge becomes a tuneful guitarist by not soloing.
• The Boston Globe: Brett Milano called War an album of tension and conflict and found its only weakness in the acoustic songs closing each side.
• Miami Herald: Bill Ashton called it one of the year's best records and the band's most consistent album yet.
• Los Angeles Times: Terry Atkinson was disappointed by the gradual dissolution of the band's sound.
• NME: Gavin Martin compared the album to Boy and said War declines dramatically after the single 'New Year's Day'.
• Hot Press: Liam Mackey said War totally eclipses the band's first two albums.

Reappraisal

• The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004): J. D. Considine and Nathan Brackett said War made a musically richer and more varied album than October.
• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine viewed War as the first U2 album to achieve greatness.
• Pitchfork: Joe Tangari said the U2 we have known ever since arrived on War and the album still sounds vital.
• Simon Reynolds described the record as the one where the band turned pacifism itself into a crusade.

Records

• Debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the group's first UK number-one album.
• Certified gold in the UK by the BPI in April 1983.
• Charted on the UK Albums Chart for 148 weeks.
• Entered the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart at number 91 and peaked at number 12, the band's first gold album there.
• Sold 11 million copies in total.
• Placed sixth on The Village Voice's 1983 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.
• Ranked 223rd on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2012.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• A local violinist, Steve Wickham, approached the Edge at a bus stop and asked whether U2 needed a violin on their next album.
• Wickham's electric violin became the final instrumental contribution to 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' after half a day in the studio.
• Three tracks feature backing vocals by the Coconuts, of Kid Creole and the Coconuts.
• Adam Clayton had already left the studio when the band recorded '40', so the three remaining members recorded it quickly.
• The Italian Communist Party used a modified version of the cover design on a 1984 electoral campaign poster.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact