Another good music video partnership of U2 and frequent director collaborator Meiert Avis, the clip for "New Year's Day" takes advantage of the war sounding rhythms from the song's instruments to evoke European wars and conflicts as Bono and company perform the track on snowy fields interspersed with archive images of battles and war tanks.
The song was inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement and their opposition to the Communist regime and their ruling on the country. The unity of a movement and their strength against tyranny moved the early 1980's and hence the idea behind the music, though its video hits us with the battlegrounds of a different era, other regimes to be fought against. This visual translation of concepts work just fine.
While the music is truly great, one of the band's greatest hits, the clip isn't so appealing or interesting to look at. Very dated, with some poor editing transitions and a weird-looking mix of images with the U2 act going along with the old images. Gladly they didn't made Larry Mullen Jr install his drum-set uphill. He plays with one tin drum, a fitting image that evokes drummers on battlefield.
Avis and U2 went on with better videos in the years that followed, and this one is simply a fine and watchable event ,with the main appeal being the amazing song, the unforgettable keyboard motif, The Edge great guitar work and all. 8/10.
