U3 Goat Boy 9 Chairman G 9

[rayge]

A U2 - The Unforgettable Fire

B United Future Organisation - My Foolish Dream

[oh oooh]

I was expecting something by U2 in this round. I like a fair bit of their stuff but was always left cold by this one - there's not really much there, it's all about the mood. Bono's vocal is hard to like too. I'd much rather hear something from the first album or Achtung Baby or Zooropa.

The other thing was OK but kind of tested my patience after a while. If the backing was less busy I could get into it. It sounds like traffic.

Marginally, and unenthusiastically

A

[bungo the mungo]

there are very few U2 songs i can tolerate and this isn't one of them.

not sure what B is all about. not a fan of mash-ups or over sampled songs.

ABSTAIN

[fearlessfreap]

B - Don’t like accordions but at least it’s Bono free

[DayoRemix]

I'll go Nu-Jazz with the trip-hopish undertones over the plaintiff bono boys..Might have had a better chance with an Achtung/Zooropa track..Vote B

[DarknessFish]

That production is so 80s it's wearing leg warmers and deely-boppers, and has just completed a Rubik's Cube in under a minute. No-one ever accused U2 of being understated, but those strings have just come in and started yelling for attention more than Bono, as it all goes a bit Bond-theme. Not something you'd listen to for pleasure, but there's something distinctive about 'em, for all their sins.

United Future Organisation is a completely new name to me, and I'm hoping the spoken word bit has been dropped. It feels a very BBC jazz festival kind of thing, the retro swingy vocal over a Brubeckian piano riff. I love a touch of accordion, though, makes me feel like getting me beret and cravat on. The vocals are kind of irritating, which is a shame, as the hip retro charm of the backing is quite pleasant.

B

[osgood]

Didn't mind A. I still have the album somewhere but didn't recall this track by the title. Better than the average U2 track in my view, not a bad pick.

But I liked B better. Didn't bother to check but it sounds like one of those contemporary things that put different ingredients in a shaker and sometimes it works. Could be much better without the pause in the middle and what came afterwards - i.e. being shorter. But I was pleased to listen to it.

B

[Sneelock]

I tried to scrub out my ears and listen to U2 with no judgement. Honest, I really did. My ear holes won’t have it. “We know this. Get it out of here”
I think the arrangement on B is very clever. The singer might be a little better than the song. My ears.didnt mind this one at all.

[toomanyhatz]

Figured I'd see U2 in this round somewhere - was hoping it would be in match U2, as I hope we all were - but I wish it was something else. I find it pretty hard to connect to this album outside of the singles, which are all overplayed. I agree another album should've been sourced. Probably any album.

B is from the 90s, isn't it? It screams '90s public radio play' just a little too loudly. I mean, I know I talk about my eclectic taste, but for me a lot of stuff like this keeps nudging you to make sure you catch how cool their record collection is. When it's a song's only reason to exist, I don't give a damn how well-versed you are in how many of my favorite genres. Nice moments, but the overall effect is too clever by half.

Don't like to abstain, but neither of these are compelling me very strongly in either direction. A, I guess.

[~ / % ? *]

A

[Deleted]

This is probably my favourite U2 song. I much prefer them when they're subtle and textured to the "anthemic" flag waving stuff. Some of the production, those fairlight stabs!, Are a little clunky now.
However B was a surprising delight, a right flirty number! Loved the piano and vocal which updated a kind of 60s vocal jazz with a real flair. The accordion is just the right side of quirky for me. Could do with some editing, but you can't have everything.

B

[fange]

Good match! I don't play much U2 any more but i have a soft spot for this record. Bono is right on the edge (arf) of his vocal range, but there's a plaintiveness there that works. B is lovely, especially the piano. The accordian is a touch grating, but it's a fun tune. I'll go with A, just.


A

[neige]

There's only a handful of U2 tracks I don't dislike, and this isn't one of them. Besides, I love the accordion!

B

[Reactionary Rage]

A is wonderful. It has a stately, panoramic grandeur I've always loved but it's combined with an ambient beauty in the production (the guitar touches, the synth washes, the string arrangement) that synthesise to create something rather otherwordly and beautiful. It's that U2 trick where they combine the "epic" and the intimate to create something almost celestial but full of romantic longing. And at 3.21 when Bono sings, "And if the mountains should crumble...." it's a real moment, like the sun peaking out from behind the storm clouds, the kind of moment that B can only dream about. Nice string arrangement too.

B is the kind of thing you'd hear in some dreadful underground jazz bar in the 90s with a barman called Pierre, a £25 charge at the door and a coke dealer in the toilet. A bleeding accordion? C'mon to fuck lads.

This place has really lost all sense of objective critical faculties.

A

[blue]

I think U2 were so hyped that they've come out on the other side. They're actively underrated these days. B might have been nicer with a sparser production but it's a bit of a cacophony as it is, and the voice is all over the place.

A