U2 continues its "Season of Churn" by confirming rumors that Live at Red Rocks will make its DVD debut and that the "accompanying" live album Under a Blood Red Sky has been remastered for re-release.  Both the CD and the DVD will be available Sept. 29.

Let's start with the Live at Red Rocks film, originally released on VHS and now making its first appearance on DVD.  The show was filmed at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado on June 5, 1983 while the band was touring in support of War. The DVD will include five songs that were not part of the Red Rocks VHS release and a director's commentary.  Additionally, the video has been digitally cleaned up and the sound has been re-mixed in 5.1 surround.

The Under a Blood Red Sky album has been remastered, but that's about it.  It's the same 8-song sampler of tracks culled from three different War tour shows that it was when it was released in 1984. 

The CD and DVD will be sold separately; they'll also be sold together in a collector's edition.  I wonder if they'll charge $29.99 for it.  Never mind.

I must say I consider myself… disappointed.  I am excited about Red Rocks coming to DVD, but the way this re-release is a missed opportunity.  It's also a slap in the face to every sucker out there who paid $29.99 (or whatever you paid) for the deluxe edition of War.

Under a Blood Red Sky is eight songs from three shows.  That in and of itself is about as worthless a live album as you could conceive.  That's not even an album.  Let's start calling it what it is- this is an EP.  Meanwhile, you have the Red Rocks show.  It was 13 songs.  It's now 18. 

Let's look at some possible ways they could have gotten this right and given fans value for their money.  Let's backtrack just a moment and look at the U2 re-issues from last month, War in particular.  It was released with a "bonus" disc that had seven remixes of two songs.  Blood Red Sky is eight songs from the War tour.  If you weren't going to add anything special to the Blood Red Sky album, why not blow off the pointless remixes and make it the War bonus disc?  You could still slap the three or four other non-remix songs on to the end of it.