DISCONNECT
Manufacturer: Moonraker
Catalog: MOONRAKER 247/48
Matrix Disc 1: MOONRAKER 247
Matrix Disc 2: MOONRAKER 248
Barcode: 5 401997 247448
Complete Show: Yes
Format: 2CD
Released: 1997
Disc 1: (68:22)
Disc 2: (64:35)
From: Mike B, Fredrik Alkdal, Michael Cheah
silver CD --> EAC (secure) --> WAV --> mkw 0.97 --> SHNs
Disc 1:
1. Pop Muzik Intro [5:49]
2. Mofo [4:35]
3. I Will Follow [2:43]
4. Gone [4:46]
5. Even Better Than The Real Thing [4:01]
6. Last Night On Earth [6:26]
7. Until The End Of The World [4:57]
8. New Year's Day [5:00]
9. Pride (In The Name Of Love) [5:35]
10. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For[3:46]
11. Stand By Me [1:17]
12. All I Want Is You [3:50]
13. Staring At The Sun [5:30]
14. Sunday Bloody Sunday (Edge on vocals and acoustic guitar) [3:41]
15. Bullet The Blue Sky (includes I Want To Live In America) [6:26]
Disc 2:
1. Please [7:46]
2. Where The Streets Have No Name [8:06]
3. Lemon (Perfecto Mix) Intermission [5:03]
4. Discotheque (includes Life During Wartime) [7:15]
5. If You Wear That Velvet Dress [3:35]
6. With Or Without You [5:35]
7. Miss Sarajevo (with Brian Eno) [6:36]
8. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me [6:18]
9. Mysterious Ways [6:16]
10. One [5:45]
11. Unchained Melody [2:20]
Source:
September 23, 1997. Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegowina. Kosovo Stadium.
Sound Quality:
Good to very good stereo broadcast.
Comments:
One of the better shows from the PopMart Tour. Bono's voice cracks up a bit,
but the band makes up for it. This is one of the nicest bootleg I've seen;
it's almost perfect! The concert is very emotional. You definitely feel that
playing Sarajevo was very important to the band. Highlights include "Gone,"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Where The Streets Have No Name," "Miss Sarejevo,"
and "One." This is the best version of "One" I've ever heard; Edge's guitar
is blistering and Bono's speech in the end ("To be united is a great thing,
but to respect differences perhaps an even greater thing. So for the city of
the future, Sarajevo! City of the Future! Sarajevo! City of the Future!")
always gives me goose bumps! Bono's voice breaks after about 6 songs, but it
holds up through the show except for "With Or Without You," when he really
struggles. The whole band plays incredibly well, and Bono makes up for his
lack of voice with emotion and intensity. You really feel for him, because
you can tell how frustrating it is for him not to be able to give Sarajevo
his best. The crowd helps him out though; singing along with (and for) Bono
when he can't throughout the entire show. In fact, determination and the
crowd's generosity end up creating an atmosphere probably more intense than
it otherwise would have been. This is a beautiful concert and will definitely
stand as one of the most memorable in U2's career. This CD has front and back
inserts. The liner notes feature a Reuters report of the event, with a brief
history on Bono's promise to go perform there and complete '97 PopMart tour
dates. The booklets features lots of Pop-era pictures. Clever use of colors
and design makes this 16-page booklet well worth looking. Both CD's have cool
graphics on them. The packaging is extremely well done, it might as well have
been an official release. Considerable time has been spent on layout, graphics,
text and photos. It really is beautiful. At Sarajevo, Bono may have lost his
voice mid-way through, but U2 have found theirs. Relying on a bedrock of older
concert pleasers, The Edge's guitar shines through and Larry Mullen drums even
sound heavier. As Bono predicted after the lame start of the Pop Mart tour, U2
need a warm up period to get their act together and this evening's song selection
bears that out. They've strategically placed all their new 'Pop' sounds in-between
old songs. Opening the show with a recording of "Pop Muzik" segueing into their
live rendition of "Mofo" then hotfooting to the safety of "I Will Follow" gives
the new songs a foundation. "Staring At The Sun," the best tune on 'Pop,' is
played acoustically to emphasize melody and is then followed immediately by an
acoustic version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," with The Edge singing and playing
it solo. The crowd enthusiastically joins in. The other high point of is when
Bono sings snippets of Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime" (with a terribly
relevant lyric "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin'
around") inside U2's "Discotheque" makes an immediate connection with the crowd.
And when the show slacks with a tediously slow "If You Wear That Velvet Dress"
from the new album, U2 know how to salvage proceedings when The Edge's guitar
lines lead into "With Or Without You." They also come away from Sarajevo with
their rep intact but probably less wealthy than before. U2 spent $1 million
to set up their mega show far he Bosnians and charged low ticket prices to
attract the 50,000 crowd. Bono has been using U2 concerts as far back as the
Mac Phisto (Zooropa) shows to attack the West for failing to stop the Bosnian
war. When he tells the crowd he wrote "Miss Sarajevo" for them, they scream
gratefulness. PopMart has been about caricaturing the commercialism that's
prevalent in pop by being a megahype itself and finally U2 have managed to
stand inside that market and yet to be untainted. At least their rock 'n'
roll attitude is intact, if their new music is less exciting. When they close
the show with "One." U2 are at their bravest ("Have you come here for
forgiveness?... Have you come here to play Jesus?") making clear their
uncertainty, but also connecting with their Christian roots. It's a reminder
that their music has always stood for something. Whoever chose the title for
this bootleg has shown that bootleggers can get straight to the heart of the
matter. Throughout their recent shows, U2 have been fighting to stay relevant
and DISCONNECT is anything but about their failure to communicate. The way
DISCONNECT has been recorded, with the crowd noise always engaging in the
mix, makes this a happening event despite Bono's voice breaking at times.
Probably the most relevant U2 gig in recent times and the one to get for a
taste of PopMart '97. A nice bootleg.
This is the original pressing on this label.