War (Deluxe Remastered - 2 CD)

Sadly, the bonus disc that accompanies War could not be called either fascinating or relevant. War is easily the best album of U2's first three records, but the album had very little in the way of noteworthy B-sides, and based on this reissue, there wasn't much in the vaults either. There's the amiably atmospheric but quite slight instrumental "Endless Deep"; there's the unreleased, seemingly unfinished "Angels Too Tied to the Ground," which has an intriguingly jazzy lilt; there's the "New Year's Day" B-side "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)," which is slight but appealingly energetic; there are live versions of "I Threw a Brick Through a Window/A Day Without Me" and "Fire." And then there are four remixes of "New Year's Day" and three remixes of "Two Hearts Beat as One" -- all released as B-sides, so it's nice to have them out for the sake of history and collectors, but none are great and the attempt to shoehorn this early earnest U2 into the club via Ferry Corsten's 12" extended mix on "New Year's Day" is just awkward. So, there's not much to dig into here -- only "Treasure" and maybe "Angels" qualify as must-hear tracks for diehards -- but it is still nice to finally have all these rarities reissued (and to have the albums proper remastered), as a band like U2 should have all its B-sides and stray tracks available, even if all this unheard music might not be among the group's best work. (All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Disc 1

1. Sunday Bloody Sunday 4:39
2. Seconds 3:11
3. New Year's Day 5:34
4. Like A Song... 4:47
5. Drowning Man 4:14
6. The Refugee 3:40
7. Two Hearts Beat As One 4:03
8. Red Light 3:46
9. Surrender 5:34
10. "40" 2:37

Disc 2

1. Endless Deep 2:57
2. Angels Too Tied To The Ground 3:34
3. New Year's Day 3:55
4. New Year's Day (USA Remix/Kevorkian Remix - Remastered) 4:30
5. New Year's Day (Vocal Extended Mix - Ferry Corsten Remix) 9:41
6. New Year's Day (Ferry Costen - Vocal Radio Mix) 4:36
7. Two Hearts Beat As One (Long Mix By Kevorkian - Remastered) 5:55
8. Two Hearts Beat As One (USA Remix by Kevorkian - Remastered) 4:23
9. Two Hearts Beat As One (Club Version - Steve Lillywhite Re-mix - Remastered) 5:42
10. Treasure (Whatever Happened To Pete The Chop) 3:23
11. I Threw A Brick Through A Window/A Day Without Me (Live from Werchter, Belgium July 1982 - Remastered) 6:57
12. Fire (Live from Werchter, Belgium, July 1982 - Remastered) 3:45