U2 - War [Deluxe Edition]

Sadly, the bonus disc that accompanies War could not be called either fascinating or relevant. War is easily the best album of U2's first three records, but the album had very little in the way of noteworthy B-sides, and based on this reissue, there wasn't much in the vaults either. There's the amiably atmospheric but quite slight instrumental "Endless Deep"; there's the unreleased, seemingly unfinished "Angels Too Tied to the Ground," which has an intriguingly jazzy lilt; there's the "New Year's Day" B-side "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)," which is slight but appealingly energetic; there are live versions of "I Threw a Brick Through a Window/A Day Without Me" and "Fire." And then there are four remixes of "New Year's Day" and three remixes of "Two Hearts Beat as One" -- all released as B-sides, so it's nice to have them out for the sake of history and collectors, but none are great and the attempt to shoehorn this early earnest U2 into the club via Ferry Corsten's 12" extended mix on "New Year's Day" is just awkward. Read More