U2 - Live “Under a Blood Red Sky” CD and DVD Review

Posted by Jesse Coy on 09.30.2008

The album is reissued with a DVD of the '83 tour set in Red Rocks, Colorado. Find out what else is left to be said about this classic performance from a music junkie who owned not a single U2 album prior to this.

U2
Live “Under a Blood Red Sky”
September 2008
Universal-Island Records Ltd.

The Music Junkie Who Owned Not a Single U2 Release
Don’t groan too much when you read this (if you’re a big U2 fan). Because I understand that an understandable response when seeing such a confession might be, “then why the hell is he reviewing this classic live U2 release?” Yet if anyone’s thinking that, you have to bear in mind that it’s highly unlikely I don’t have some awareness of U2, from what’s on the radio to what’s sporadically on the news about U2 or Bono. It seems like there’s always some world saving involved somewhere.

What perfect timing for this, too, because I literally received it a day after seeing for the first time the ‘07 South Park episode where an interesting theory was floated as to Bono’s origins. Okay… lighten up any U2 fans who don’t feel it appropriate that I mention that.

The fact of the matter is, despite not owning a single U2 album until now, I am quite familiar with their material, because my ex had quite a few of their albums, and since I’m a discographer, I went on to help her complete the U2 catalogue. She had a sort of holy trinity of bands, which was the Cure, Depeche Mode, and U2. There were others she liked, but those were the big three. And of those three, U2 was the only group I would’ve probably picked up at some point had my ex and I never met.

Now, you music collectors out there, follow with me. Some of you may know what I’m talking about or may have had a similar experience.

Here’s how the debate went with regards to my much beloved CD collection, and the CD’s in her collection. There were a couple bands that overlapped (I had them in my collection and she had them in her collection before we met). One or two of them, she had albums that I didn’t have. When she saw me pick one of those albums up, she asked, “Why are you getting that? I already haven’t it.”

Exactly… you have it. It’s not mine. You have to respect the behavior of a collector. So I bought a few albums on the sly. We may have been married, but my collection did not become hers, nor was hers mine. Nine years later, she’s gone, but my collection remains. So in marriage, I never bought a U2 album. Out of marriage, it registered on my list… especially earlier U2 material.

Live “Under a Blood Red Sky” The CD
Containing 8 tracks and clocking in at a little over 35 minutes, a constant complaint was that it wasn’t all inclusive, so with this DVD inclusion, many fans might be satisfied. And to be entirely honest, I like the fact that no extra tracks were tacked onto the original CD, a practice all too common in the record industry. In essence, either the label or U2 or both played fair here. If you only want the music on CD and not DVD, you probably already have the CD, and you’re not missing anything. If you want a DVD of a fuller concert from whence this material came, you got it here, with an extra copy of the original CD to boot.

What else could I or should I say about this one that fans don’t already know? Probably not much. I like the fact that it has some nice symmetry with regards to the band’s first few releases. The quality and energy are great. Some even prefer some of these live versions over their studio counterparts. And there’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” a great song. Speaking of which, here’s something past reviewers likely did not include in any review of this release. Since most everything has been covered already, I’ll give you something a little different.


We Must Hear “Sunday Bloody Sunday” on This Trip
April ‘06
We were maybe going to stop in Sligo, because that’s where one branch of my family was from, but after reading the description and considering its size, I figured maybe we should just go to Donegal, which was much smaller and further along the way. Outside of Sligo, though, we did stop at Yeats’ grave, because Shirleen had spotted the marker, and it was right there. That was an interesting graveyard. After that, it didn’t take us long to reach Donegal.

Tried the Donegal hostel, but they’d just rented out a double, and only had one left. But the lady did recommend a bed and breakfast right across from the castle. The view there was great, by the way. We were on the second floor, and the castle was right across the street from us. Drinking a Guinness in Belfast right now. But then, we went right out to eat. Had a hot coffee with vodka or rum (I forget). Anyway, I got buzzed. Walking back to the bed and breakfast, we heard music. It was a cover band, playing an American tune. Shirleen said, “why would they play that and not U2?” What’s the next song? “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” U2… funny, and it was a total moment. Had fun, drinking Bulmer’s.

No… it was actually “With or Without You,” which isn’t relevant to this release, but the rest is taken directly from my journal of an ‘06 visit to Ireland and Northern Ireland.


Live “Under a Blood Red Sky” The DVD
I’ll be the first one to say that in general I don’t rush out to pick up live concert releases on DVD. Give me a collection of all of a band’s music video output on DVD, and I’m there for that. But live concerts? Unless I was actually at the show, I’m not doing back flips for those.

There are some exceptions, or more specifically, this is an interesting case. First, I rather like the fact that you can compare some of the tracks from the CD (only a few were taken from this Red Rocks performance) (only “Gloria” and “Party Girl,” to be specific) with the DVD. And I like that it’s bundled in with the CD. Of course, if I had the CD before this, I might be a little annoyed over a reissue with an extra goodie like this.

Here’s the other huge thing about this… I’ve been to Red Rocks before.

Been there one time, and it’s the second best, coolest venue in all of the U.S. (what’s the first? that’s the Gorge in Washington state). So just seeing the venue, which hasn’t changed much in the fourteen years from this show to the one I saw there (‘06, Nine Inch Nails and the Bauhaus), besides the fact that the show has a very incredible, surreal feel to it (this U2 show). It’s overcast. There’s drizzle. It’s light precipitation, and apparently some chill to the air… you can see the breath of the musicians.

Hey, man… they’re from Ireland. You should expect they’d bring that weather with them.

All 8 tracks from the CD are represented on the DVD (though only those two CD tracks were from this same show) (the rest are from the same tour, though). You have double the amount of songs and double the volume with the DVD. What about the actual DVD? Well, first, the venue becomes as much a star as the actual band, and that’s cool. Not being a huge U2 follower, two things immediately strike me. First, as was indicative of the era, Bono sports one massive mullet. Secondly, BOY… after only three albums, does he not exude the confidence that U2 would become the super group that it became? Was he holding a leprechaun hostage or something?

No… the entire band is in top form. That’s quite obvious. They’re hungry and they’re charged. This live concert documents that. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” is for sure a favorite, and as the song begins, the flames ignite in the light rain throughout Red Rocks. It’s awesome imagery. Before that, you have “Seconds,” and I noticed in the concert the guitarist singing at the beginning. Mention U2 to me, of course Bono comes to mind. The rest of the musicians, I’d be hard pressed (couldn’t do it) to name them. But now I know one… the guitarist. So he’s the Edge?

I’m gonna call him David Evans, and call the singer Paul Hewson. Try that on for size.

Critics before me have already said all there is to say about both the CD and performance contained here on the DVD. What else can I add? I can tell you that it's the first time this is being released on DVD. I can tell you that several tracks are DVD only tracks (5 of them), including “Twilight,” “Two Hearts Beat As One,” “Out of Control,” and “Into the Heart.” I can tell you that seeing the DVD would make me want to get the band’s early releases. I can tell you that U2 and Red Rocks both do a phenomenal job, with some assist from imported Irish weather conditions.

And that’s all, folks.

The 411: Okay, for as much fun and poking around at the band as I might have done, I can certainly see the appeal and strong following that the band garnered early on, and the energy the exuded. This, both the CD and DVD, clearly documents that. What you have is some awesome material via a band on their prime during one of their particular phases of evolution. In other words, fun stuff...

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]