AMG Review of If God Will Send His Angels [US CD Single #1]

JT Griffith
All Music Guide

This CD single is the sixth from U2's 1997 album, Pop. It contains three non-LP tracks, including two studio songs and one live song. The studio tracks include an amazing re-recording of "Slow Dancing" with Willie Nelson on lead vocals. This song was originally released on the Stay (Faraway So Close) single in 1993. This version is nearly a minute longer and is much improved by Nelson's vocals, which remind the listener of Johnny Cash's on Zooropa. Legend has it that "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad" was written for Frank Sinatra and that Bono sang it to him late in Sinatra's life. It is a fine attempt at a Sinatra ballad. The live track here is perhaps the most stunning U2 has ever recorded. This version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was recorded live in war-torn Sarajevo, and demonstrates the universal appeal of U2's music and the political causes the band supports. This CD single offers a lot to different fans. Every U2 fan needs to hear the poignant "Sunday Bloody Sunday" here, and the two non-LP songs are rare gems.