Emotionally and sonically raw, it’s widely considered U2's first politically-oriented album, mostly due to “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day”, as well as the record’s title itself. But despite scathing initial reviews in the UK (where it eventually dethroned Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ from the top spot on the charts) it became their first album to go gold in the US, while performances from the subsequent tour cemented their reputation as a live band to be reckoned with.
A 25th anniversary remastered edition notwithstanding, time has been kinder critically than sonically to this one, which is just as well.
Released February 28, 1983.
