There are songs that take you on a journey, that play with your imagination and whose lyrics resonate with the listener in different ways. In my opinion, this is the way songs are supposed to be. Whether they are about love, social issues, personal conflict or anything else, if they are done right, they can effectively send a message to the listener and THAT message stays.
These songs can be old, new or forgotten. In any category they fall into, it is up to the listener to discover or rediscover them. In a time when songs are measured by what peak position they reach in numerous charts and whether they are trending or not, the messages in the songs can be lost and listeners are taken with the beat instead. With so many “disposable songs” flooding the radio airwaves and shown non-stop on music channels, it does become an arduous task for the listener to select well. But there are songs that do “seep through the cracks” into the awareness of listeners and regardless of how old such songs may be – years may have passed and trends may have come and gone – for a good many reasons, some songs remain favorites for select listeners.
One of these songs I am speaking of is “Electrical Storm” by U2. I remember years ago hearing an excerpt of it being played in the radio. Though I never got its title then, the simple yet strong lyrics struck me, especially those lines from the chorus. One thing I knew for sure–it was definitely a U2 song! The voice of Bono is unmistakable. So my search went on to find that song. I practically bought every album of U2 to find it but to no avail. And only recently did I learn that it was an exclusive single and a new song included in their second greatest hits compilation released way back in 2002.
I finally found the song and watched the music video with it. The instrumentation–especially the guitar work– and when Bono was hitting the falsetto are all superb. The song has numerous versions, all good, but the original version is the best. I get myself lost in the brilliance of the song everytime I listen to its original version. It is one of the best U2 has ever produced with Bono at his very best and Edge’s atmospheric guitar work, magnificently unique. “Electrical Storm” is an incredible song with so many layers to dig through. I highly recommend listening to this song whether you are a fan of U2’s music or not. If you know good music, you wouldn’t ignore this one:
“You’re in my mind all of the time
I know that’s not enough
Well if the sky can crack, there must be some way back
For love and only love
Electrical Storm
Electrical Storm
Electrical Storm”