A song from War, the third album released by U2, has been praised by fans for being a “mile” ahead of the rest of the songs.
Praise for the standout song came after a post to the r/U2 subreddit saw fans discuss their favourite tracks from the album. A fan asked: “Favourite song off of War?” While results were not unanimous, a listener who suggested New Year’s Day was praised for their choice. Other fans believe it is the standout song from War, with the song pairing well with other tracks, according to U2 fans. One user wrote: “By a mile. It’s not that the rest of the album isn’t great, but New Year’s Day is one of the band’s best tracks.”
Another added: “It pairs especially nicely with Until the End of the World live.” A third wrote: “That, or with October (from Under a Blood Red Sky). Song pairings aside, New Year’s Day was praised by other fans as being a gateway into listening to more work from the band.
One user wrote: “New Years Day. That was THE song that opened the gates to U2 as a phenomenon back in 1983 for me at the age of eighteen. I’ve been a fan ever since. I can literally remember where I was, who I was with, and asking, ‘who sings that song?'”
Another user shared: “I turned fourteen that spring, and I knew of the few prior U2 songs we got on the radio, but New Year’s Day got me hooked. That video with the snow and horses was so good, too. The song will always remind me of winter. Top ten song of all time for me, any genre for sure. Won’t ever tire of it.”
A third recalled the snowy video which accompanied the release of New Year’s Day, adding: “No question, it’s New Year’s Day. That wintery video on horseback along with a kick ass song elevated them in a huge way.”
Further praise for the song was seen in the comments, with one user even suggesting they could listen to it for hours at a time. They wrote: “Basic answer probably but, New Year’s Day. I could listen to it on repeat for hours. Days even.”
Another war track, Sunday Bloody Sunday, nearly led to the premature end of the band, with The Edge threatening to quit over the song. Writing in his book, Surrender, Bono confirmed tensions in the studio around the creation of the song.
Bono wrote: “Looking for a reason to stay in the Band, Edge had begun the bitter contemplation that would become Sunday Bloody Sunday, taking himself to a place where music might suggest another kind of world that, according to our church group, Shalom, was broken and needed mending.
“Edge wanted the band to sing about ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, troubles that were causing so much pain in our country and over in the U.K., where an IRA bombing campaign was under way.”
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
