Nah.. It's just a typical 4- chords pop song with some nice arrangements. It is a nice enjoyable song, but not "one of the greatest songs ever written". U2 themselves have much better songs.
Agreed. It's a very unique and unusual track. Brilliant Bass line. And Edge's infinite guitar 🎸 is so odd it works really well with the basic track. The Joshua Tree is one ot greatest albums ever..... Classic U2 .
@@etainafuzz .... Of course it is subjective, but in my opinion Where The Streets Have No Names, from the same album (the Joshua Tree), is much better than With Or Without You. Form other albums, Bad, Sunday Bloody Sunday, All I Want Is You, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Ultraviolet, Love Is Blindness, One, and Stay (Far Away, So Close).
@@adb012 I would argue that WOWY follows the same template that Where the Streets Have No Name does and both are equally successful and great songs. Your other song mentions from other albums are quite interesting. There are songs that I personally wouldn't say are "far better" than WOWY. In my opinion, Ultraviolet, Bad, and maybe All I Want is You are the only songs from your list that I would say are at least equal to WOWY. It could be that I also do not agree on some of these because I have heard them so many times that I am a bit over them? That being said, I don't think I could ever be tired of WTSHNN despite hearing it at least (if not more) than any of the ones listed above that I have grown tired of. Live, it's a major highlight in their shows, which is probably why they have left it in their set almost every tour. I also agree in that it is subjective :)
@rigellion4719 for real one minute you're a teenager hanging out with friends and girls who we took for granted! Only to wake up to Grey hair medication and grandchildren standing right where you were in the past! The best part is that we made it through! So many unfortunate friends and family members never reached our destination!
My grandmother used to play this over and over. My grandfather had passed and she had no idea who U2 was but it touched her obviously. I remember walking in the living room and shed be just sit listening. Cool as a cucumber. She'd ask my uncle to play it. A classic. Rest in peace gramma see you on the other side ❤
Yes , my grandmother love this song too. She was in to gospel music but love this song would tell me and my cousin to play over and over on our road trip to see my great grandma her mother down south in Mississippi . We are from Chicago . Man them trips out there with was great,
@@deshunsmith7828What a long drive! But, that gave you lots of time to spend with her and make more memories of you with her. Grandmothers are special and I was fortunate that she and my grandfather lived just down the street.
for those that think u2 are big today...they were massive in 87...WOWU was in every bar, shopping center, resturant...and on MTV /FM radio on the hour...Few other bands penetratd the fabric of society the way they did in spring 87...record sold 15m copies in US alone...they were everywhere...RS, Time magazine, live aid, etc
Yes! I was a Freshman when it came out and lived the next town over from Joshua Tree, California. They actually came through our little town of Twentynine Palms and had their photo taken in front of The Harmony Motel. I can remember riding in our little pickup truck on a desert dirt road at night with my first bf and hearing the first few notes of this song the first time and it just grabbed you immediately.
💯 Born in 70, & the intro to Where The Streets Have No Name is so imprinted on my psyche I still go back to that year & that year's *feeling* for me when I hear it. To this day I can play the entire Joshua Tree album by memory in my head.
I nvr considered this song pop, it’s really a ballad , very haunting and melancholy. It’s a beautiful song that takes you somewhere in time a snapshot .
How a man of 26 that he was can write a song with such deep lyrics when he has only been in love once and is still with his first and only love, is astonishing, words and verses from a young man with much more experienced head came when he wrote that song.
He only experienced romantic love once.. but he had experienced the loss of his grandfather and his mother then passing away on his grandfather funeral (technically I believe her life didn’t literally ended immediately there - I think some hours or days after ; but what led to it started there) .. those are losses with tremendous impact and that formed who he waszz
Thank you Gavin Friday. With or Without You is my ultimate number 1 favourite song ever. Music is life and of all the songs I’ve heard over the years, nothing can top WOWY! It’s perfect. It’s gentle. It’s timeless.
Sorry, but there is no such thing as Best Song Ever(and, I DO LOVE it!). That's like saying-She's the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen,+ 6 months later there is a prettier one. Hey, WHENEVER Ihear this song on the radio, I crank it up to 10!
The final frame of this song with Bono on rhythm and Edge using that relay that he’s perfected is just absolute gold. I’ve listened a million times and it’s chilling.
I love this song! No matter what format (vinyl, cassette, CD, MP3, etc.) I insist on having With or Without You in my playlist. One of the best songs ever! Thank you Bono, The Edge, Adam, and Larry! ❤❤
My favorite song of all time and the Greatest Song ever written. The bass is like a hypnotizing heart beat that swells the soul with love, lust, and want. And Bono’s voice shares the pain and passion of wanting the person you love.
It had a heavy Disco beat. Just an awesome song and the original was perfection. You know Steve Perry always sounded better in concert but not these guys.
I think Gavin has been on salary ever since JT broke through. The man is probably on 200K a year no matter if u2 are playing or on a break. I did read that.
@@johnhayes7872 His health issues have contributed greatly. Does feel like it happened overnight. I'm so grateful he's still singing and talking to us!
U2 is my go to music when I'm troubled. I play them every night when I can't sleep, listening attentively to the lyrics until I fall asleep. This is one of my favorite songs, next to Unforgettable Fire , which I wish was longer, but I like alk of their songs! I was a teenager in the 80s, and will love their music still the end. What an honor these four Irish guys have gifted the world ! ❤ Thank you Edge, Bono, Adam and Larry!!! You are loved by so many!
I'm also not surprised to hear that Gavin had a hand in With or Without You. I once had a 20 minute conversation with Bono about how Gavin is one of the most underrated artists. Gavin is a genius and his own music is absolutely phenomenal!
Brilliant song, never thought it was pop. I personally find it very thought provoking on numerous levels considering whatever is going on in your life, you could relate it to different things. Thankyou U2.
My favorite U2 song, and group, since the 1st time I heard it when I was 9 years old in MI. I get to see them at the Sphere on 2/9....just shy of my 47th birthday. Love all of you and the amazing music you've brought into my life. 🙏
U2 is the most unique band ive ever came across muisc and i love how they are so unique and at that time sounded or looked like any bands and i appreciate this music from the early days up until now 2024 thank you U2
U2 is my favorite Band! I have been listening to them since the early 80s when I was a young teenager! I love the cranberries, Depeche Mode and the rest
I adore With Or Without You. It’s an amazingly wonderful song. I honestly couldn’t ever say what I love about it but it’s special to me, in a way I can’t describe.
I think he looks beautiful. Aging naturally is the most beautiful thing. And to choose to age naturally despite having the financial means to have cosmetic procedures but choosing not to have them makes him even more attractive.
He looks much older than he is. I'm the same age as him. None of my schoolmates look as old as him. Being a tax dodger takes a toll on your appearance.
I can still remember the dance floor the first time this was played, the day after it was released. Everyone just stood and couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Almost like the musical landscape changed with that song.
The outro to that song is one of my favorite outros of all time. Very melodic with a lot of harmonic layers. You almost don't want it to end or I wish there was an extended version of it.
With or with out you Is just such a gorgeous piece of music and all the different people who have done it , from choirs , to cellists etc . Usually others doing someone else's music never sounds as good . But I have heard quite a few different versions of it and it's always delightfully beautiful. This interview was interesting to here about it's creation. Thank you that was good to hear Bono talk about it .😊
Could have ended up sounding so different, one of my favourites along with red hill mining town, and Bad 😊absolutely loved Bono since i was 14 and still do ❤
Both those songs are really poignant for me as well as being brilliant songs. Red Hill Mining Town which was written about the Miners Strike which happened during 1984-85 and decimated towns like Barnsley where I grew up and Bad which was written about the drugs problem in Dublin where my family is from and where I’ve lived for the past 30 years. I’ve not always been U2’s biggest fan but when they get it right they get it right on the money, Running to Stand Still is another highlighting Dublin’s then drugs problem where Bono’s lyrics blow me away and as for his speech during the Sunday Bloody Sunday Rattle and Hum film, sheer goosebumps and spine tingling.
I was lucky enough to see the song performed life at the LA Coliseum during the Joshua Tree tour. That album, and Music for the Masses by Depeche Mode (whom I saw at the Rose Bowl) were the backing tracks for what was one of the best years of my life.
I'm was a 90s teenager, y'all understand, right... Im 49 now... so I was still in the youth band, going through the time. I first Listened to U2 at 1992, and i was like, what the heaven is this ....
I love that Bono has remained loyal to and supported Gavin Friday since the beginning. I believe they were childhood friends. Gavin Friday is a very underrated singer.
Certainly my favourite album, and probably the album with the most 'awesome' songs on it, but their earlier work was what I was weaned on and will always be their best work in my mind.