With their third album, 1983's War, U2 came together as a fully charged unit as the anthemic Sunday Bloody Sunday, New'Year's Day, Seconds, and 40 prepared the Irish quartet for worldwide arenas. Again, Steve Lillywhite works his producer's magic, keeping the band's raw, visceral energy intact while emphasizing their sonic palette's preference for imagistic guitar hooks. Bono had always aimed for a wide, sweeping, grandiose tone, but it's here where he matures into a singer who can carry the weight of his political and personal convictions. Thematically, it's a heavy album, handling the 1972 Bloody Sunday incident in Northern Ireland, the era of nuclear arms proliferation, and the suppression of the Solidarity movement in Poland. Yet, one doesn't have to be versed in world events to enjoy the passion the group brings to these songs. Two Hearts Beat As One works as both a grand gesture and as an intimate love song. Like A Song chimes with a furious undercurrent pushing it forward.
