The members of The Beatles and U2 were (are) hungry souls who grew (grow) internally through the process of making music, to repeat themselves means stagnation or even disintegration for them. At this point in both careers the effort to evolve their songwriting and sonic techniques becomes tangible in their music. This transition marks a moment after which both bands, due to their willingness to change, delivered fresh albums: Help and Unforgettable Fire.

By the time of “Beatles for Sale” The Beatles already had the bug for experimenting in the studio but couldn’t fully do it due to an extremely tight and tiring schedule. It is in “Help” when we are clearly able to differentiate from their previous work and have the first glimpse into the sonic experimentation and lyrical introspection that was to come in the following albums. Help is the sound of renovation, and the same could be said about The Unforgettable Fire.

Feeling confident after the success of “Under a Blood Red Sky”, U2 decided to change their three-time Album producer, Steve Lilywhite, and convince Brian Eno to work with them in their next album. “The Unforgettable Fire” was a complete sonic surprise, a risky change of direction –against much advice - which proved to be right, and set the tone for U2’s ability to reinvent themselves in the future.

But coming out of a moment of a crisis is never achieved alone. An exterior help is needed and the openness to receive it is critical to a successful conclusion of that crisis. The Beatles and U2 received all sorts of external assistance in achieving their progress, like the ones George Martin or Brian Eno provided, which in nature is creative and technological. But the soul search assistance, the one that guides and motivates the search for the essential within, was provided at this point, in both careers, in big part by Bob Dylan’s presence, which took concrete form in face to face meetings at key moments: the 1964 marijuana initiation encounter in a New York Hotel of Dylan and The Beatles, and the 1984 Interview for The Hot Press in which Bono questioned Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. Dylan’s Influence acted as a wall of consciousness that assured both bands a correct aiming for their art. For The Beatles it was Dylan’s example of going within to find meaningful lines and express inner reality, as opposed to the simple superficiality of their songs up to that point. For U2 it meant an awakening towards traditional Irish and American music, which pre-determined much of their course for their next three albums.