ERRRRDAY_LIKE_SUNDAY:
“DROWNING MAN” closes out side-one of @u2 monumental 1983 album ‘War’ & it does so in ear opening non-Anglo fashion. As a late teen, this was the song that truly brought me into the genius orbit of the Irish group. I had heard plenty of U2 growing up in a “classic rock” house, including the massive hits from the same LP, but it wasn’t until I heard this particular track that I viewed them as something other than a colossal hit-maker. Today, it’s difficult to see U2 as anything other than the fully formed & all encompassing PRODUCT that they are, but fuck all that, they serve as a litmus test for yours truly (along with REM) that if you can’t at least admit to their brilliance/impact...I can’t really fuck w/ your ass. So yea, “Drowning Man” is a haunting spectacle, playing up just the proper amount of Middle Eastern flavor, Edged strums & violin flourish which Bono wraps his wrenching vocal around, serving as fully realized piece that would be further fleshed out on The Joshua Tree et al. Take my hand, You know I’ll be there if you can, I’ll cross the sky for your love...
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