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“Music is the soundtrack of our lives,” Dick Clark once quipped. There is no doubt that we all have songs and albums that we remember as being significant for any number of reasons over the course of our lives. Whether it be pop, rock, blues, country, jazz, classical and, yes, even rap, these tunes evoke fond memories and stay with us forever.
I have created a list of what I consider to be my favourite albums over my lifetime. It is influenced by the era I grew up in and would likely be considered primarily a “classic rock” list. I certainly would not expect anyone to agree wholeheartedly with my list, but chances are that one or two of these entries might make your list as well.
War was the third studio album released by Irish rock band U2 in February 1983. It is their first overtly political album, in part because of songs like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year Day”. The War Tour started in February 1983 and lasted until November of that year. Their June 5 1983 concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater was singled out by Rolling Stone as on of the “50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll”. The show was recorded for the concert video Live at Red Rocks and was one of several concerts from the tour captured on their live album Under a Blood Red Sky.
I was fortunate enough to see U2 in Ottawa in 1985 and took my son to see them in Montreal in 2011. Both concerts rank in the top ten I’ve ever seen.