Lunar Boulevard

Alright, so now it's official: U2's Achtung Baby reissue won't be remastered. It's been a roller coaster ride trying to figure out what the deal is with this set and I'm beyond tired trying to sort it all out. While I'm sad that the album won't be getting a proper remaster, I'm at least glad that we finally have some closure and a definitive answer at this point. However, both The Edge and Steve Lillywhite have confirmed that some "sonic tweaking" was done to enhance the volume and touch up the sound. I'm hoping this doesn't mean they just made it louder, which would kill some of the dynamic range and take away from the sound and atmosphere that the record conjures so well. I'll agree that the album's volume needs to be turned up a bit and I'm confident that The Edge will know how far to take it. I guess that's better than nothing at this point. "Time is a train...."

This month marks the 30th anniversary of U2's sophomore album October. Released in October of 1981, it was plagued with difficulties and uncertainty for the young band. Despite the problems and questions that permeated their career at that point, October is anything but hopeless and it features a trademark that has been a part of U2's music since the beginning: optimism and faith, even in the darkest of times. Perhaps no U2 album drives that message home quite as frankly or directly as this one. I'll readily admit that this is a very personal and soothing album for me. In fact, I've labeled it as my "Don't Panic" record. I find a tremendous amount of comfort and strength from this release and I know other fans who will attest to it having that same effect on their lives as well. However, you'll find that most fans and critics are fairly dismissive of this album. They say it's rushed, unfocused, and lacking in complexity compared to most of the ba...

About a month back I wrote an editorial about how I was disappointed that it appeared that the anniversary re-release of U2's Achtung Baby wouldn't be remastered. A press release just announced that the album will in fact be remastered, which is a breath of fresh air for me. Granted, that still doesn't solve the problem of Zooropa not getting a remaster or separate release or that some of the extras are a bit underwhelming but it's a step in the right direction. I knew I could count on my favorite lads to come through and I'll have more about it when it comes out next month.