Bono has often described this album as being "out of focus" and that in itself defines its uniqueness. This album is U2 groping about in the dark and opening every door to find themselves. It is U2 dreaming out loud.

This album gave us many classic tracks. The stage anthem 'Pride (In The Name Of Love) was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr (as was the track 'MLK'- King's initials) and who can resist not screaming along to the "oh-oh-oh-oh" bit?

A major topic in this album was heroin ('Wire' as Bono says, is like a hypordermic needle) and the most outstanding track is the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful 'Bad' (Michael Jackson can only dream to write a song like this!).

Music and words so gorgeous it will move you to tears (and no I'm not giving you bullshit here). A very moving album... I love this album.

My Fave Tracks: Bad, Pride, MLK, The Unforgettable Fire, A Sort of Homecoming.

The Unforgettable Fire---A classic album. The title coming from the collection of photography in the Japanese Cultural Center that the band visited here in Chicago of 1983. Bono was inspired by the pictures and the horror that the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima went through.

The album is not totally out of focused-----it deals with so many subjects such as the continuation of war themes, heroin, religion, and daily life.. The album is very loose and trying to find a "new" sound.

In my opinion, it is very similar to Achtung Baby (minus the sexual imagery). It is also a turning point for the band as they discover something new in their sound of music!! Plus, it is also the first time that they worked with Anton Corbijn and Eno & Lanois... The Unforgettable Fire is definitely a breakthrough album because it addressed so many issues and started their political mission that still continues today!!!

Contributed by: Al Alcala

This album is amazing, but just to warn you: you might find yourself setting your cd player to repeat track four (the title track) and forget that there's other songs to the album!

UF is the only song that gives me SO MANY chills EVERY time i listen to it! i love the.. whats the word?? i almost want to say "ambience" to it! but please make sure you listen to track 7 plenty too, BAD! Bad gives me chills too especially at about 6:15 (maybe its 5:15) in the song when you can hear a really low distorted power chord on the guitar kick in out of nowhere!

U2 really knows EXACTLY what touches to add to everything and thats why they're so amazing! No one can miss Pride, every single person in the world has heard that song and Edge really rocks in it. I'm not too fond of Elvis Presley and America, as i always say, it seems like a time-filler! MLK isn't really a greatest hit either but it isn't meant to be and it serves its purpose and is a great lullaby! Girls seem to like MLK more than the guys (i can't figure out why!! hehe).

4th of July is boring to me except the fact that it's Edge! It sets the mood right for Bad, though, so i guess i'm glad they included it in the album. A Sort of Homecoming is great and one of U2's most underrated songs (next to Rejoice!).

Contributed by: Woodchuck

The Unforgettable Fire was really the beginning of U2 as we know them today. Their first collaboration with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois led to a much more textured sound. Whereas the sparsity of sound had dominated U2's first three albums, layers of strings and keyboards gave a much fuller tone to the songs.

The album also led to some experimentation from Eno and Lanois, in such disparate tunes as "4th of July" and "Elvis Presley and America." The band themselves also began to expand their musical horizons; Bono's lyrics strayed from the usual subjects of war and God to Martin Luther King (Pride and MLK) and drug addiction (Wire and Bad).

A SORT OF HOMECOMING: A terrific way to start an album. Excellent drumming from Larry Mullen. ***1/2

PRIDE (In The Name of Love): One of the all-time classic U2 songs. The Edge has that great solo in the middle of the song, and Bono's voice is off the charts. **** WIRE: An interesting song. The intro is almost metallic sounding, setting the tone of the song. With some of Bono's grunts and moans, this song would fit in with some of U2's modern work. ***

THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE: A good song, with one flaw. I've always found the effects in the middle of the song to be kind of dopey. Except for that, no problem. ***

PROMENADE: Okay song, but nothing special. A bit of a loose melody. **1/2

4TH OF JULY: I've heard all of the talk about how this tune "ties the album together" to quote the Edge, but it sounds like filler to me. *

BAD: U2's first great ballad. Most people prefer the live version from "Under a Blood Red Sky", but the album version gets it done for me as well. Besides, Bono rarely hits the "bird calls" during a live performance. ****

INDIAN SUMMER SKY: Good, solid track. ***

ELVIS PRESLEY AND AMERICA: The most controversial song on the album. Some love it, others hate it. I'm sort of on the fence with this one. If U2 had worked on this one a bit more, it could have been a classic, but it seems to go on for too long as is. **

MLK: A beautiful song, almost a lullaby. A good closer to the album. ***

Contributed by: Mark Polishuk

This record will always hold a special place with me, it's the first U2 album I ever bought, back in 1985. I saw Live Aid, and the ultimate performance of Bad, which is just a timeless song. It's a musically mature album, with complex musical arrangements, and Bono's deepest lyrics up to that point. 'Pride(In the Name of Love)' still gives me goosebumps when I hear it.

Contributed by: BonoMars

If you would like to contribute your opinion on this album, you can do so by e-mailing me. Please write in the subject box "The Unforgettable Fire". Thanks!