U2 Celebrating War's 40th Anniversary With Special RSD Release

Keavin Wiggins | 02-17-2023

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U2 will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of their third studio album, "War", with the special "Two Hearts Beat As One" / "Sunday Bloody Sunday," limited edition 4-track EP on Record Store Day, April 22nd.

The special release will include the original studio versions of the songs that were singles from the album in 1983, as well as "reimagined" renditions that will be included on their forthcoming "Songs Of Surrender" collection that will be released on March 17th.

Special for RSD, the limited-edition 12" EP will be pressed on 180g heavyweight white vinyl, and will also include an exclusive poster with an illustration by frontman Bono.

"Two Hearts Beat As One" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" were both originally released as singles on March 21st, 1983, in different countries as the second single from the "War" album.

"War" arrived on February 28th of that year and overtook Michael Jackson's blockbuster "Thriller" album, to claim the No. 1 spot on the UK charts (the band's first chart topper in the country).

The new reimaged versions of the two tracks are among the 40 songs that will appear on "Songs Of Surrender", their new collection curated and produced by guitarist Edge, that features re-recorded and reimaged versions of some of their most loved tracks.

Some of the new recordings will feature new arrangements and others will arrive with different lyrics. The Edge said of the project, "Music allows you to time travel, and we became curious to find out what it would be like to bring our early songs back with us to the present day and give them the benefit, or otherwise, of a 21st century reimagining.

"What started out as an experiment quickly developed into a personal obsession as so many of our songs yielded to a new interpretation. Intimacy replaced post punk urgency. New tempos, new keys, and in some cases new chords and new lyrics arrived. A great song, it turns out is kind of indestructible.

"The process of selecting which songs to revisit started with a series of demos. I looked at how a song would hang together if all but the bare essential elements were taken away. The other main aim was to find ways to bring intimacy into the songs, as most of them were originally written with live concert performance in mind.

"Reviewing these sketch recordings with producer Bob Ezrin, it was very easy to see the ones that worked straight off the bat and those that needed more work. We all got into the sensibility of less is more."

The 40 newly recorded tracks are collected together under each of the four bandmember names across four separate 'albums'. The Edge explains, "Hearing the songs interact, and finding the running orders for the four albums was really thrilling; finding the surprising segues, getting a chance to DJ. Once we had four distinct albums it was easy to see who would be the figurehead for each one."

12" EP Info:
• 4 track 12" EP, cut at 45 rpm
• 180g white vinyl, housed in plain white poly-lined inners
• Single sleeve outer
• Features exclusive 600x600m poster on gloss art paper

Tracklist:
SIDE A:
1. Two Hearts Beat As One (War Mix)
2. Sunday Bloody Sunday (War Mix)

SIDE B:
1. Two Hearts Beat As One (Songs of Surrender Mix)
2. Sunday Bloody Sunday (Songs of Surrender Mix)