July 11, 200817 yr Author http://www.hotpress.com/news/4665010.html U2 expand re-issue package 10 Jul 2008 U2 fans are going to have to do some serious shelling out over the next few weeks if they want to keep their collections up to date. Not only will Boy, War and October be available as separate deluxe CD reissues, but Amazon.com and Zavvi stores are both stocking a 6-disc box-set collection of all three, which comes with a bonus 18” x 24” poster of the chaps looking positively fresh-faced. http://i37.tinypic.com/nlbsy9.jpg There’s also room for a “fourth” album suggesting that a deluxe The Unforgettable Fire might be on its way shortly.
July 11, 200817 yr Author http://www.thequietus.com/articles/u2-reap...-andrew-mueller U2 Reappraised, by Andrew Mueller Andrew Mueller, July 9th, 2008 14:04 Now the biggest band in the world, it is easy to forget that U2 were once hardly any more popular than Crispy Ambulance or A Certain Ratio. Andrew Mueller looks back at the three albums that could have broken them but instead made them. For all that U2 are now – and, it feels, have been forever – immovable fixtures in the rock and roll pantheon, it is astonishing, especially in these impatient, one-strike-and-you’re-out-looking-for-a-real-job times, how long it took them to assemble a great album. Released between 1980 and 1983, their first three Steve Lillywhite-produced outings – now reissued with glossy booklets, chunky slipcases, essays by assorted luminaries, extra discs of extra stuff and endearingly wry liner notes by The Edge – are all flawed, at various measures between woefully and heroically. Though U2 were, we now know, only one more swing of the pick from striking gold, with 1984’s sumptuous Brian Eno-produced The Unforgettable Fire, they only occasionally sounded, on any of its predecessors, like they were entirely certain that they were prospecting in the right place. Boy, recorded when the band were barely out of their teens, certainly starts arrestingly. It’s telling that ‘I Will Follow’ is still, nearly 30 years later, a staple of U2’s live set – it’s their ‘High Voltage’, their ‘Satisfaction’, the template from which they wrought much of their subsequent catalogue. Everything that would ever inspire and infuriate millions is right there, right away: Edge’s screeching, effects-slathered guitar, Larry Mullen’s ferocious, propulsive drums, Adam Clayton’s (at this stage, anyway) Jah Wobble-ish bass, Bono’s frantic pleading for meaning, for redemption, for something to make sense. Almost anything would feel anti-climactic after such a spectacular opening, and indeed Boy does. ‘Out Of Control’ and ‘Stories For Boys’ are competent, post-punky tear-ups, and the Martin Hannett-produced non-album single, ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’, which appears on the bonus disc, is an intriguing hint of an alternative U2 history, but too much of Boy sounds like what it was: the desperate strivings of a desperately young group of whom too much was expected too soon, not least by themselves. The conventional wisdom about second albums – that you get your whole life to make your debut, then rather less to record a follow-up – has rarely rung truer than in the case of October. U2 acknowledge as much on this reissue. The sleeve notes by long-serving amanuensis Neil McCormick amount to one of the more damning reviews they’ve ever suffered: though acknowledging, correctly, that October is where U2’s signature sound really began to flourish, McCormick observes, equally astutely, that “It’s just a pity they barely have a proper song to hang all of this on.” U2 were a famously unhappy camp at this point, rent by the involvement of three members (Bono, Edge, Mullen) in a charismatic Christian sect, uncertain as regards whether the Lord considered what they were making a joyful noise. Only ‘Gloria’, its inherent pomposity paid off by its transcendent sincerity, stands on unquivering legs; all in all, October occupies a unique role in the U2 story as the only instance of them f***ing up by not being ambitious enough. The live tracks and BBC sessions on the bonus disc, however, recall a band capable of formidable furies, if only they could find a way to bottle them. War was the work of a band finally unashamed to admit that they wanted to be huge Which they did, in patches, on War. In a telling remark in his sleevenotes for last year’s 20th anniversary reissue of The Joshua Tree, Bono lamented the insular meekness of many of U2’s contemporaries, despairing of post-punk rock & roll as “starting to stare at its own shoes, with its gothic death cults and indie whingeing”. War was the work of a band finally unashamed to admit that they wanted to be huge – that they couldn’t, indeed, see the point of not being. On War, U2 set unabashedly about making a soundtrack for the times, and though it was undeniably a harbinger of ensuing hubris – Live Aid, Rattle & Hum, all that business with the white flag – it remains, on its own merits, a gripping postcard from a tense and paranoid age. ‘New Year’s Day’, ‘Like A Song’, ‘Two Hearts Beat As One’ are at least as claustrophobic as they are anthemic. It’s also too easily forgotten what a brave song ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ was, in this context. At a time when Northern Ireland’s Troubles had earned colossal international attention, and still further squalid glamour, with the IRA hunger strikes of 1981, faintly sympathetic Republican noises would have been easy and profitable things to make for an Irish band doing well in the United States (an understandably bewildered Larry Mullen once recalled that, at around this point, American audiences were throwing money onto U2’s stages, apparently intending that it be delivered to the IRA). ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, borne by Mullen’s martial drums, Edge’s unforgettable descending riff and the frenetic violin of Steve Wickham (later of The Waterboys), always introduced live with the admonishment “This is not a rebel song,” was sufficiently courageous to articulate the view of the Troubles held by a silent majority on both sides of Ireland’s border: approximately “Knock it off, the lot of you.” The song has, for that reason, proved remarkably adaptable: the solo version played by Edge at Sarajevo’s Kosevo stadium in September 1997, with a chorus of several thousand mournful Bosnian voices, is among the peak highlights of your correspondent’s gig-going experience. There is, of course, little reasoning with the legions whose temples throb and faces empurple at the mention of U2’s name, and I should know – I used to seethe among them, once. It was 1991’s Achtung Baby that sent me into the about-face which led, eventually, back to this trio, which I admire still for the same reasons that I admire the band who made them: they’re nakedly imperfect, unafraid of their confusions, and – in the very least pejorative sense of the word – trying.
July 12, 200817 yr Author Wonder how much this boxset will cost? Probebly hundreds :cry: Oh you can afford it I'm quite sure. Airline pilots are very well paid. -_-
July 15, 200817 yr Author http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/07/imeem-universal.html Imeem, Universal Roll Out U2 Remasters Online By Scott Thill July 15, 2008 The Edge reissued and remastered The Joshua Tree last year, stuffing it full of rarities and B-sides for good measure. This year, Boy, October and War underwent deluxe upgrades, the material fruits of which can be had on July 22. But if that's too long to wait for U2 nostalgia buffs, online music savior Imeem is streaming all three releases free of charge from the band's profile, starting...now! Here: http://www.imeem.com/u2music
July 15, 200817 yr Author http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/delu...D&dist=hppr Track listing on Boy 1. I Will Follow 2. Twilight 3. An Cat Dubh 4. Into The Heart 5. Out Of Control 6. Stories For Boys 7. The Ocean 8. A Day Without Me 9. Another Time, Another Place 10. The Electric Co. 11. Shadows And Tall Trees. Bonus Tracks for Boy: 1. I Will Follow (Previously Unreleased Mix) 2. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock 3. Touch 4. Speed Of Life (Previously Unreleased Track) 5. Saturday Night (Previously Unreleased Track) 6. Things To Make And Do 7. Out Of Control 8. Boy-Girl 9. Stories For Boys 10. Another Day 11. Twilight 12. Boy-Girl (Live at The Marquee, London) 13. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Live at The Marquee, London - Previously Unreleased Version) 14. Cartoon World (Live at The National Stadium, Dublin - Previously Unreleased Track) Track listing for October: 1. Gloria 2. I Fall Down 3. I Threw A Brick Through A Window 4. Rejoice 5. Fire 6. Tomorrow 7. October 8. With A Shout 9. Stranger In A Strange Land 10. Scarlet 11. Is That All Bonus Tracks for October: 1. Gloria (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 2. I Fall Down (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 3. I Threw A Brick Through A Window (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 4. Fire (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 5. October (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 6. With A Shout (Richard Skinner BBC Session) 7. Scarlet (Richard Skinner BBC Session) 8. I Threw A Brick Through A Window (Richard Skinner BBC Session) 9. A Celebration 10. J. Swallo 11. Trash, Trampoline And The Party Girl 12. I Will Follow (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 13. The Ocean (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 14. The Cry/Electric Co. (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 15. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 16. I Will Follow (Live From Hattem, Netherlands) 17. Tomorrow (Bono & Adam Clayton, Common Ground Remix Track listing for War: 1. Sunday Bloody Sunday 2. Seconds 3. New Year's Day 4. Like A Song... 5. Drowning Man 6. The Refugee 7. Two Hearts Beat As One 8. Red Light 9. Surrender 10. "40" Bonus Tracks for War: 1. Endless Deep 2. Angels Too Tied To The Ground (Previously Unreleased Track) 3. New Year's Day (7" single edit) 4. New Year's Day (USA Remix) 5. New Year's Day (Ferry Corsten Extended Vocal Mix) 6. New Year's Day (Ferry Corsten Vocal Radio Mix) 7. Two Hearts Beat As One (Long Mix) 8. Two Hearts Beat As One (USA Remix) 9. Two Hearts Beat As One (Club Version) 10. Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete The Chop)
July 15, 200817 yr Author From the Official Site http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=2238 'A Slap in the Face' Was how Bono described 'War', the band's third album, in 1983. In an extract from his liner notes for next week's release of the remastered edition, Niall Stokes recalls how the album set U2 apart from their contemporaries. 'War sounded a rallying cry against everything that was cynical, solipsistic and escapist. “It was a slap in the face,” Bono said to Hot Press not long after the album was released. “We wanted an album that would separate us from our contemporaries.” And it did: again produced by Steve Lillywhite after the band’s search for a different producer had run aground, for the most part War was a loud, aggressive, deliberately in your face rock opus that aimed to tackle the demons that stalked the planet head on. It opens with a huge, pounding machine-gun snare drum sound courtesy of Larry Mullen, announcing a record of quite extraordinary seriousness. “I can’t believe the news today,” Bono sings, and with those dramatic opening lines we are plunged straight into the heart of darkness. By any standards, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ is a big song, both in sound and in sentiment. It draws on two incidents in which Irish civilians were butchered indiscriminately by Her Majesty’s forces – the first in 1920 and the second in 1972 – and turns the emotional resonance of those outrageous acts of coercion into a plea for peace. “I won't heed the battle call,” Bono insists, “It puts my back up/ Puts my back up against the wall.” Imploring us to wipe those tears away, and in doing so to renounce violence, the song ends with a reference to the Christian ideal of redemption, striking a profoundly optimistic note in spite of the trenches, dug within our hearts… An extraordinary opening double whammy is completed by ‘Seconds’. At a time when the Soviet Union was engaged in imperialist expansion and the US was consigning the lessons of Vietnam to the dustbin of history and embarking on its own dubious interventionist military adventures, even before the Chernobyl disaster nuclear paranoia was an understandably ever-present state of mind and ‘Seconds’ captured it. With a thrumming acoustic intro, Adam Clayton’s staccato bass to the fore, and Edge on lead vocals, there is a well-nuanced pop feel to the track, but the theme is as far from radio fodder as you can get. “USSR, GDR/ London, New York, Peking,” Edge free associates, before concluding, “It's the puppets/ It's the puppets/ Who pull the strings.” Staring into the void, ironically this is U2’s best pop moment to date, one that was way ahead of its time too in the use of a sample from the 1982 TV movie Soldier Girls where others might have stuck a screaming guitar solo. ‘New Year’s Day’, the third track in, was another triumph. The opening piano riff is haunting, unforgettably so, and it sets things up beautifully for a song of love and longing, inspired first by Bono’s partner Ali, to whom he had recently been married, and also by the deeply disturbing political events in Poland that had led to the internment of Lech Walesa, and his separation from his wife, Danuta. For an album that was fashioned in an anti-pop frame of mind, War was curiously strong on pop virtues and thus it was no real surprise that ‘New Year’s Day’ – with its memorable melody, abundant hooks, inventive guitar and impressive emotional heft – provided the band with their first UK top 10 hit and also saw them debut on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song went on to become one of their most played live tracks of all time, a tribute both to its innate power and to the immense importance it holds for U2 fans, as the band’s crucial breakthrough single....' Extracted from the sleeve notes to the remastered edition of War, released worldwide on July 21st.
July 17, 200817 yr Author http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer...7553-qqqx=1.asp 17 July 2008 Bono and the dredge: ‘New’ U2 albums set to top charts By Conor Kane BUSY saving the world, feeding the starving and berating international leaders? Haven’t time to step into the studio to record some new music? Here’s a tip: Dredge up some work you did in the early days, add a few new sleeve notes and photos, and bang it out to the shops for those fans who just have to have every-thing you’ve ever released. Almost three decades after breaking into the music-buying consciousness, U2 still have that chart-topping wherewithal. And this time they didn’t even have to make any new music. Music-selling chain HMV said it expects U2’s remastered first three albums to knock “young” pretenders Coldplay off the number one spot after tomorrow’s release of the “new” editions. Boy, October and War have all been remastered from the original analogue tapes. According to HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo, the original sound will appeal to those seeking a sense of nostalgia for U2’s early years “but will no doubt introduce younger fans to a sound that kick-started their journey to international success”. Long-suffering completionists are also expected to snap up the remastered albums. Cynics should note the packaging on all three titles has been “restored and expanded, with new liner notes for each record, previously unseen photos and full lyrics”. It’s not the first time U2 have pulled off this trick. Last year they released a remastered version of The Joshua Tree, although some felt the only difference between it and the original was the few “previously unreleased” demos tacked on. HMV will offer limited edition U2 T-shirts with the “deluxe” editions, for fans “looking for some-thing extra”. After they’ve realised the something extra isn’t music.
July 17, 200817 yr Author Interesting article in The Sun with interview with Steve Lillywhite too http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...icle1437346.ece
July 17, 200817 yr Author http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/r...036;1232188.htm Music Review17 July 2008 23:55 BST U2: War Wednesday, 16 Jul 2008 08:26 U2 re-release War this week In a nutshell… Pre-stadium rock from the world's biggest band What's it all about? Along with debut Boy and sophomore effort October, War has been remastered by the band's guitarist The Edge. Each album has been re-issued in both a standard and deluxe edition, with the latter featuring rare and previously unreleased recordings that chart the group's early career before they grew the Joshua Tree and famously chopped it down in Berlin. Who's it by? Just some old Irish band. Apparently a few people may be familiar with their work, in which they wrote some of the most loved songs of the Eighties, spent the Nineties running away from themselves and rediscovered what they do best as the Noughties approached. They also turned in an excellent contribution to the soundtrack of a pretty bad Batman film, but let's not get side-tracked. The singer is now one of the most recognisable figures on the planet and almost as familiar as the guitarist's trademark sound. As for the bassist and drummer, one has dated supermodels and lived the rock star life, while the other still looks as youthful as he did from day one. Before all of that of course came this, their third album. After bursting out of the blocks on a wave of youthful vigour on Boy, the Irish band had stuttered with their muddled second album October. In order to repay the faith shown in them by growing legions of fans, the band knew they had to turn in something at least a little bit special on their third LP. Fortunately, they were on form this time, taking inspiration from the edgy political climate to get a bit of fire back into their bellies. As an example... "Broken bottles under children's feet/Bodies strewn across the dead end street/ But I won't heed the battle call/ It puts my back up, puts back up against the wall." – Sunday Bloody Sunday "I don't know which side I'm on/I don't know my right from left or my right from wrong." – Two Hearts Beat As One "So we are told this is the golden age/And gold is the reason for the wars we wage." – New Year's Day Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys Well, the album proved popular with fans across the UK, with it becoming the band's first ever number one LP. It also spawned their biggest single at that time in the anthemic New Year's Day. Critically the record was also well-received, but its praise was to pale in significance compared to what was to come from The Unforgettable Fire onwards. What the others say "The songs here stand up against anything on the Clash's London Calling in terms of sheer impact, and the fact that U2 can sweep the listener up in the same sort of enthusiastic romanticism that fuels the band's grand gestures is an impressive feat." - Rolling Stone So is it any good? Indeed! In tracks such as Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day, the band had arguably turned their best songs to date. The presence of two of those songs, as well as the much-loved 40, in setlists for the band's Vertigo tour shows that the tunes continue to resonate with the masses today. Sunday is a particularly vital sounding piece of work. The song's iconic drum groove and memorable riff, as well as the occasional acoustic guitar strums, show that the band had learnt something about dynamics long before they met later collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. In addition, some of the lesser known songs on the album also show a side to the band that many casual fans may not be aware of. The likes of Seconds and Red Light are built on grooves that would not be out of place on albums written by the UK's recent rash of post-punk-influenced indie groups. Surprisingly, the funky bassline and distorted, stabbing guitar work on Two Hearts Beat As One also sound like a pre-cursor to the band's darker sound on the likes of Achtung, Baby. Like A Song... also fizzes with a ton of youthful vigour and energy which the band would struggle to recreate nowadays. However, it's not all wine and roses. Drowning Man is a rather forgettable tune which is only notable for the harmonic guitar work. The Refugee is also a bit of a duffer, with its African-infused tribal groove making the band sound more like Adam and the Ants than Talking Heads. All in all though, the album is a brilliant effort and a fine prologue to the things to come. For anyone wanting to discover how the world's biggest band sounded before everyone paid attention, this album, along with the two other reissues, may prove interesting listening. 8/10 Rob Dixon
July 18, 200816 yr Author http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7511370.stm U2's producer reveals studio secrets Lillywhite has worked with U2 throughout their 28-year career Grammy award-winning producer Steve Lillywhite was the man behind the mixing desk for U2's first three albums. Along the way, the band transformed from cocky Irish upstarts into bona fide rock stars, eventually reaching number one with 1983's War. As the band release re-mastered versions of those early recordings, complete with bonus tracks and new artwork, Lillywhite recalls the tension, tedium and inspirations behind the recording sessions. Steve Lillywhite talks through the recording of four early U2 tracks BOY (1980) Debut album Boy reached number 52 in the UK charts U2's first album was recorded when the band were all under 21, and its title references their youthful naivety. It was originally going to be produced by Joy Division cohort Martin Hannett, but he dropped out after singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. I always remember on that first album, I was sitting at the mixing desk with the band behind me and suddenly I heard all this giggling. I turned around and suddenly they all went sheepish, shushing each other like teacher was looking at them. I think they would admit that, like all teenage boys, they hadn't lived long enough to acquire a personality… There wasn't much talking in the studio. It was quite serious. We recorded in a place called Windmill Lane in Dublin. It was great for traditional Irish music but no Irish rock band had recorded there. Thin Lizzy came to London to make their records. The Boomtown Rats didn't record in Ireland either. The band said Lillywhite was "like a children's TV presenter" So the studio crew were very surprised when I decided I wanted to record the drums out in the hallway by the receptionist, as there was this wonderful clattery sound I wanted to get. But that meant we couldn't record until the evening, because this girl was sat answering the phones all the day. Even then, we couldn't turn the ringer off the phone so occasionally it would go off mid-take. It was all pretty slapdash. But funnily enough, it's not unlike how the band still records. OCTOBER (1981) The Edge says U2 "had very few new songs of merit" going into the studio More low-key and introspective than its predecessor, October received mixed reviews from critics who were unimpressed with Bono's brooding. Recording sessions were overshadowed by concerns that the music industry was at odds with the singer's religious beliefs - and those of his bandmates Edge and Larry Mullen. Another setback came when a briefcase full of lyrics was stolen, forcing Bono to rewrite some of the songs. U2 could have gone two ways after Boy. They could have broken out and gone bigger - but in fact what they did was they shrunk a little bit. They were a little bit scared of the world, I think. Yes, there were Bibles dotted around the room during the recording. There was a fair amount of that. But I was so busy trying to pull teeth - trying to make an album - that it sort of washed over me. It was completely chaotic and mad in the studio and, obviously, Bono's lyrics being lost contributed to the atmosphere. I'm not sure whether any of those words would have been used on the album - only he knows that - but certainly it would have been a starting point. Bono has to sing these songs for two years on the road. He always says: "I'm a travelling salesman. I need to make sure my vacuum cleaner is the best vacuum cleaner there is" Steve Lillywhite But what came out was quite serene in a strange way. One song - Scarlet - only has one word: "Rejoice". People don't do songs like that any more. In the end, October wasn't a big record. After the rock and roll things they tickled on the first album, people were expecting something that was a bit more "rawk". What they got, in fact, was perhaps an indication of where the band would go later on in their career. The Joshua Tree was probably where they married the sensibilities of those first two albums and that was where they struck gold. WAR (1983) Bono wanted an album " that would separate us from our contemporaries" U2's third album saw them break through into the mainstream - even knocking Michael Jackson's Thriller off the top of the UK charts. Re-energised and re-focused, the band also gained a political edge with songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday. The band had been questioning whether their beliefs could coincide with their new experiences. And in the end it was their manager Paul McGuinness who sat down and said, "don't be so silly, you can have them both". In his sort of matter-of-fact way, he convinced them that the world would be better if they carried on making music. But I think we all realised that there'd been a step back with October and that, if we were going to go for it, we had to have the urgency of the first album. I remember Bono saying to The Edge, "don't be like The Edge. Be like Mick Jones from the Clash". Because Edge is like a scientist. He has the white coat on and pencils in his pocket. And I think what Bono wanted him to do was take off the white coat and put on the star-studded leather jacket. Lillywhite shares U2's Grammy for How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb Preceding the album, all the band had their first vacation in a long time. I went with Paul McGuinness and Adam to Tuscany. Edge was the only one who stayed at home. And he presented us with Sunday Bloody Sunday when we got back. And we just went, "wow, this is really good". I listened to the album the other day and certainly New Year's Day is a spectacular piece of work. It's sonically great, it's mature, and Edge's piano-playing - he's got such a great touch. And that bassline was Adam's finest moment. But it's funny, we didn't think of it as a single. It was one of the young interns in the studio who first said to me, "that song is brilliant". And we all went, "oh, really?" One of the strange things about that album is that we used Kid Creole's backing singers, the Coconuts. They just happened to be in Dublin on tour, so we hung out with them and they came in and sang on Surrender. So it was sort of random - this serious Irish rock band having the Coconuts on their album. But there's nothing U2 like better than a pretty woman. The new versions of Boy, October and War are released on 21 July by Island Records. Steve Lillywhite was talking to BBC News entertainment reporter Mark Savage.
July 19, 200816 yr U2 Deluxe Edition Box Set [Amazon.com Exclusive] [bOX SET] WWW.AMAZON.COM U2 (Artist) More about this product -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- List Price: $79.98 Price: $63.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details You Save: $15.99 (20%) Special Offers Available Pre-order Price Guarantee. Details This title will be released on July 29, 2008. Pre-order now! Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available. http://i34.tinypic.com/hv2q78.jpg Em !!!!!...Is it me...This boxset does not look as nice as The Joshua Tree one which is real special & a lot of thought put in to it.... :huh:...lots of CD's in it though...will have to think about it... :thinking: Edited July 19, 200816 yr by Scorpio
July 19, 200816 yr Author http://www.hotpress.com/news/4665010.html U2 expand re-issue package 10 Jul 2008 U2 fans are going to have to do some serious shelling out over the next few weeks if they want to keep their collections up to date. Not only will Boy, War and October be available as separate deluxe CD reissues, but Amazon.com and Zavvi stores are both stocking a 6-disc box-set collection of all three, which comes with a bonus 18” x 24” poster of the chaps looking positively fresh-faced. http://i37.tinypic.com/nlbsy9.jpg There’s also room for a “fourth” album suggesting that a deluxe The Unforgettable Fire might be on its way shortly. (How much does it cost on Amazon.co.uk? :unsure: Need to go look. )
July 19, 200816 yr Author http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertai...s-13912931.html U2 re-releases spark 'rip-off' claims Saturday, 19 July 2008 U2's first three albums are being re-released They are one of the richest bands on the planet, but it seems U2 still haven't found enough of the green stuff to keep them happy. The millionaire supergroup was last night accused of pulling a "con" by selling their fans re-packaged, re-mastered and re-released albums that are on offer for as much as €50. The band has just launched new versions of their first three classic albums: 'Boy', 'October' and 'War'. The albums are available in basic one-disc editions priced at €12.99, a "deluxe" two-disc set with "b-sides, live tracks and rarities" for €29.99, and a 'Boy' box set, which contains a "deluxe" CD and a t-shirt and costs €49.99. The three re-released U2 albums are also available on vinyl. And some of the "rarities" on the deluxe, second CDs are re-worked versions of old fan favourites. Of the 12 songs on the second disc of 'War', over half are remixes, with three new workings of 'Two Hearts Beat As One' and four of the classic 'New Year's Day'. Despite the fact that the band says all three albums have been re-mastered and brushed up from audio tapes that are over 25 years old, music fans yesterday criticised what they saw as the latest big-name music rip-off. "That's a rip-off, definitely a rip-off," said Jamie Farley, from Enniskillen. "I wouldn't buy it because it was a different version. If it was out years ago and I bought it then, I definitely wouldn't buy it now." And even die-hard fans were left disillusioned by what they saw as a new attempt at "cashing in" on old material. "Basically, I'm a bit disappointed because I think it's a con," said a "major" U2 fan who did not wish to be named. "As a big fan, I don't see what the point or the bonus is in buying it. I think it's a money spinner. Re-mastered means nothing, really," he continued. "I'm a musician and I make records; and re-mastered, to the average punter, means sweet FA. "If you're sitting in Windmill Lane studios and you have the speakers at full blare, of course you're going to hear a difference, but if you play it on the car stereo or at home, the average Joe won't know the difference." The original versions of the three albums were pulled from shelves earlier this year and the band have already released a re-mastered version of 'The Joshua Tree' -- the only copies of which left in stock in HMV on Grafton Street, Dublin, now sell for €40. "It's typical marketing," said Scheherezade Suria from Barcelona. "Most bands repackage the CDs and sell them off. I didn't know U2 did it but I'm not surprised." However, sales of the re-packaged albums were reported to be brisk at the Dublin store yesterday. "Combined, the three albums are our best seller today," said assistant manager Chris Keena. "That's the way a lot of artists are re-releasing stuff now. They release a greatest hits collection with an extra track."
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