Kerry's Record Collection from A to Z with Commentary - Part U

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z|Compilations
Links Abbreviations:  Rolling Stone - RS, Trouser Press-TP, Punknet PN, Rough Guide-RG

Ultravox - Vienna - 1980 - This is the embodiment of the synth-pop new romantic movement of the 80s.  This title song and All Stood Still are the best here.

Ultravox - Lament - 1984 - More synth-pop.  This one produced two really good songs, One Small Day and Dancing With Tears in My Eyes.

U-Men - Stop Spinning - I can't quite remember this one.  I seem to remember that it was really noisy and pretty decent.  I will let you know when I get to it.

The Underlings - That Little Girl EP - I can't remember what this one sounds like.  I think it was English late 80s new wave.  I will update this later.

The Undertones - The Undertones - 1979 - Northern Ireland's The Undertones made stripped down bubblegum pop-punk with the distinctive voice of Feargal Sharkey on top of it.  This one had the really great Teenage Kicks, Jimmy Jimmy and Girls Don't Like It.

The Undertones - Hypnotised - 1980 - "More Songs About Chocolate and Girls" as they put it.  More great songs from them.  My favorite song of theirs, My Perfect Cousin.

The Undertones - Positive Touch - 1981 - They have added horns and piano and it fills out the sound and makes the songs more complex (compared to the three chord wonders of a few years before.)  Julie Ocean is a nice song off it.

The Undertones - All Wrapped Up - 1983 - Collects their singles from their career from the great early ones to their eventual evolution into a 60s soul style band.  It also includes their really great cover of the Chocolate Watch Band's Let's Talk About Girls.

Urge Overkill - Exit The Dragon - 1995 - Urge Overkill used to be pretty harsh, but not here. Most of this is pretty mellow, and not very much to my taste. I can't think of anything here that is very exciting.

U2 - Driving to Midnight Mass - 1979 - Really cool stuff from the beginning of U2.  The date says 1979, but it is probably earlier.  The Fool is their punk song (recorded 11/1/78).  Early versions of Out of Control, Another Time Another Place and Twilight.  Also, some poetry reading over musical background (the title track.) And some stuff that I have never seen anywhere else - Lost in the Silent Planet, Alone in the Light, and I Realized.

U2 - Out of Control/Stories For Boys/Boy\Girl - 1979 - A lot rougher mix than the later versions.  Really cool punky sort of stuff.

U2 - Boy - 1980 - Their first and by far my favorite.  Of course has the great songs, I Will Follow and Out of Control.  However, I would sell it all for that great transition part between An Cat Dubh and Into the Heart. When I listen to this now, it has everything that a band should be: energetic, lots of energy, and more concern about making great music rather than technically good music. And I love all the weird sounds that are on this (breaking glass, creaking hinges, or whatever else there is.)

U2 - 2 Sides Live - 1980 - A top quality live album from their first American tour.  All the great songs from Boy (some twice).  Some of this ended up as b-sides to some singles.

U2 - A Day Without Me/Things To Make and Do Single - 1980 - Early version of a song that will end up on Boy.  A little bit less produced than the album.

U2 - October - 1981 - This album doesn't have quite the intensity of the first one, but is does have some pretty good stuff like Gloria, Fire, and I Fall Down

U2 - Gloria/I Will Follow Single - 1981 - Single off their second album and a live version on the b-side.

U2 - Fire/J.Swallo Single - 1981 - Another single off October.

U2 - A Celebration/Trash, Trampoline, and the Party Girl Single - 1982 - A really good song that never ended up on an album and a silly b-side song that ended up in the live Red Rocks show.

U2 - Live Hammersmith Palais 1982 - 1982 - This is a really good live show with some great material. An early version of New Years Day and lots of classic stuff from their first two albums.

U2 - New Year's Day/Treasure/Fire/I Threw a Brick Through a Window/A Day Without Me 12" Single - A preview of their first big hit, a silly song and three live tracks.

U2 - War - 1983 - This is their first really big album, and in some ways, my least favorite of their albums.  There is good stuff like Sunday Bloody Sunday, Two Hearts Beat as One, and 40.

U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky - 1983 - This one upsets me sometimes.  I really wanted to go to this show (the Red Rocks part), but I didn't end up going for some reason.  I have a lot of friends who were there.  One even claims you can hear her yell 'I Love You Larry' in the quiet part in Party Girl.

U2 - Live At Red Rocks - 1983 - This is the audio from the video tape.  Really good show.

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire - 1984 - So starts the Brian Eno stage.  Very atmospheric album.  Lots of good stuff like Pride and Bad.

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire EP - 1985 - Some live stuff off the album and a couple of extra atmospheric songs like The Three Sunrises.

U2 - Wide Awake In America - 1985 - Couple of live things from the Unforgettable Fire tour.  Nice live version of Bad.

U2 - Amnesty International - 1985 - This was from the Amnesty International benefit concert.  Lots of their Wide Awake In America set with cool covers of Maggie's Farm, Cold Turkey and Help!.  Little Steven and others help out on the closer Sun City.

U2 / The Joshua Tree - 1987 - This is probably my second favorite one.  They finally rock again with stuff like Where the Streets Have No Name and Bullet the Blue Sky.

U2 / Where The Streets Have No Name 12" EP - Single from Joshua Tree and some additional leftovers like Silver and Gold and Sweetest Thing.

U2 - With Or Without You/Luminous Times/Walk to the Water Single - 1987 - A single off Joshua Tree.  You must have heard it.  It is nice to see them writing better stuff after the dry spell they had.

U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For/Spanish Eyes/Deep In the Heart Single - 1987 - Another single that you must have heard.

U2 - Achtung Baby - 1991 - Not my favorite, but it has some interesting things like Real Thing and Mysterious Ways.

U2 - Pop - 1997 - Interesting. They said they wanted it to sound like their instruments were broken.

U2 - The Best of 1980-1990 - 1998 - I have the two disc version (disc two has the b-sides). This one has a lot more from later in their career than the earlier stuff. Kind of disappointing in that way, but still nice to have lots of this stuff on a cd.

On to V Back Home

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Last Updated October 16, 1999