FARAWAY, SO CLOSE...


Manufacturer: Alternative Recordings Company
Catalog: ARC 005-6
Matrix: Disc 1: F.DISC ARC 005 1423-A
Disc 2: F.DISC ARC 006 3423-A
Barcode: None
Disc 1: (70:45)
Disc 2: (74:41)

Disc 1:
1. Mysterious Ways
2. One
3. She's A Mystery To Me
4. Until The End of the World
5. New Year's Day
6. Numb
7. Satellite of Love
8. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
9. I Will Follow
10. Redemption Song
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday
12. Bullet The Blue Sky
13. Running To Stand Still
14. Where The Streets Have No Name
15. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16. Video confessionals

Disc 2:
1. Mac Phisto's intro
2. Desire
3. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
4. With or Without You
5. Love Is Blindness
6. Can't Help Falling in Love
7. Silver Lining
8. The Speed of Life / The Magic Carpet
9. Stories For Boys
10. Trevor
11. Another Time, Another Place
12. Cartoon World
13. Jack In The Box
14. Shadows and Tall Trees
15. A Day Without Me
16. Twilight
17. Boy-Girl
18. Vincent

Source:
Disc 1, Disc 2 (1-6): July 7, 1993. Rome, Italy. Stadio Flaminio.
Disc 2 (7-18): February 26, 1980. Dublin, Ireland. National Stadium.

Sound Quality:
Disc 1, Disc 2 (1-6): Good to very good audience.
Disc 2 (7-18): Poor soundboard.

Comments:
The Zooropa show from Italy is good performance for an enthusiastic
audience, but the audience noise really ruins it. This is the last of
four shows that Pearl Jam opened for U2 (along with An Emotional Fish)
and Bono mentions them at one point. The real attraction of this package
are the Dublin tracks, which should be the main feature of the discs, not
bonus tracks! An embryonic U2 put on a great show for about 1000 fans
and friends in their home town, a full 8 months before the release of
"Boy". Many of the songs feature different lyrics than the ones we're
used to on their later releases. Disc 2 Track 7 is "11 O'Clock Tick
Tock" with different lyrics (it's listed as "11 O'Clock Tick Tock").
Track 10 is "Touch" with different lyrics. Track 16 features the
original lyrics as found on the 1980 "Another Day" B-side. Track 18 is
probably some kind of "inside joke", a short fragment of Don McLean's
"Vincent" (probably not the original, but I wouldn't know). The inlay
card calls it "The last non-deserved tribute to the Unforgettable Fire".
The title is not on the package, but is printed on the CDs themselves.
Very odd. The packaging is nice, featuring numerous pictures of the
band, both old and new (great one of very young Bono, The Edge, and
Larry on-stage). It includes a blurb about each show, and gives thanks
to a Mr. Brush for taping the Zooropa show. Not to be confused with the
other FARAWAY SO CLOSE, which has a very similar title!
This is the original pressing on this label.

Personal Comment:
Audience noises are indeed high. It's the bonustracks that make this boot worthwile. McPhisto's phonecall to Bettino Craxi, former Italian primeminister and now suspect in a corruption scandal is hilarious and one of the best prank calls of the tour.




© 1996 Bob Reck

1