Who else here thinks October is better than Boy?

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No, I like Boy more than October. Not that I don't like October, but Boy is certainly better, as far as I'm concerned.

Yep, same. Boy is in my top three U2 albums; October rounds out the top four. October has some absolutely fantastic songs, but it has a couple of drops in quality (I Fall Down being a particularly weak song), while even Boy's weakest track, The Ocean, is pretty decent, and the average Boy song is simply better than the average October song. The fact that Boy is U2's only album to have the chance to be refined live prior to recording really shows; it benefits a hell of a lot from that.
 
on a positive note
i listened to the album yesterday and I finally enjoyed Is that all? quite a bit
it's a good song when you can get past that they ripped the riff of Electric Co

I agree completely. I have trouble understanding the bashing....I get the Electric Co riff thing, but, beyond that.....I don't know...I like it a lot. Maybe it's just that Edge's guitar on that song happens to be sublime to my ears. Oh well, it's all relative. I know people that love Babyface, so, yeah. :)
 
I like October more than Boy. A lot more, I might add. I know it's rougher around the edges lyrically, and Jerusalem is absolutely hilarious in places, but Edge's guitar playing is on another level. Bono's lack of preparation with the lyrics give them a mysterious feel, and he's in better vocal form than in Boy, where he sounds painfully young at times. Tomorrow and October are arguably deeper than anything on Boy, Gloria is a fantastic opener, Scarlet is a better closer (I will just pretend Is That All either doesn't exist or comes before it), and the production is sharper.
 
Difficult one....both albums rank just below the Big 4 for mine.

Boy has consistent brilliance throught, the only blemish being the average-y Another Time, Another Place and ElectriCo. Strong thematic consistency throughout, a concept album of sorts....and the beauty of The Ocean is overwhelming.

October is a more curious arrangement, obviously rushed, but with an charm that is irresistably rustic. Gloria is my favourite U2 song, while Brick, Fire, Stranger and Is That All? are criminally unerappreciated in my opinion. Is That All? especially, an incredible feeling that song gives me. There's more ambience to October which makes it a less accessible but an always intriguing album. A more interesting album than Boy in my opinion.

....and probably better.

1. Achtung
2. Joshua
3. PoP
4. Unforgettable
5. October
6. Boy
 
I think Boy is one of their three high points (Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby being the other two). Their songwriting was not yet as sophisticated as it would be later on, but even though the songs are somewhat simpler, this is not a bad thing. These songs are still very fine ones and quite inspired. Boy just seems to have a special quality that makes it different from their others (which I think partly carries over to October) - a kind of youthful energy permeates the album. October is more of a transition. Certain songs seem more akin to Boy, others seem to be trying to move more in the direction of the following 80's albums with mixed results. For this reason, even though I think October is still a great album, things just don't quite jell, and IMO it is the weakest of the 80's albums.
 
Tomorrow and Gloria are the only tracks on October that really jump out at me. :reject: Rejoice is pretty cool too, I guess, though, and the whole album flows together thematically and sonically very well. But not quite as well as Boy.

I need to listen to October again soon, though. It's been awhile.
 
By the way, my idea of the weakest cut from Boy is Shadows & Tall Trees. Only there does the album drag a little. I still like it though.
 
Despite the history behind it, I think October is a very complete album....it's Boy that sounds unpolished to these ears. I Fall Down, Gloria, Tomorrow, October, I Threw A Brick Through A Window & Fire are all U2 classics in my eyes and easily make my Top 50.
 
somebody I know, pretty big U2 fan, thinks Bullet is U2's best song.

I feel weird saying this, but I don't think the studio version of Bullet is the best version. I heard The Joshua Tree after hearing Bullet played live during the Pop Mart tour, and I was really disappointed in the studio version. I thought it lacked power.

A bit off topic. I still love The Joshua Tree, it's in my top four favorite U2 albums. And it's crazy to rank it as their second to worst album. :eek:
 
I do love October, all of the songs, and yeah I love I Fall Down and Is That All, a lot, but to me Boy is a youthful masterpiece.
 
I like them both equally. I listen to October more. In terms of single tracks, if I had to only take two tracks to a desert island for the rest of my days, An Cat Dubh / Into The Heart from Boy and Tomorrow from October would do the trick for me.
 
i really like both albums, but Boy gets the nod for me. An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart is the tiebreaker.
 
I think Boy is a substantially better, more inspired album. I have a sweet spot for Twilight, An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart, Out of Control, Another Time Another Place, A Day Without Me, and Electric Co. To those that say it is unpolished - it doesn't stand out to me, but that is part of the appeal of it. It's youthful exuberance and energy at its finest. October isn't bad, but there really are not many standout tracks for me. Gloria, I Threw a Brick, Fire, and Tomorrow are pretty good, but there is a lot of "ehhhhh" stuff in there too: Stranger in a Strange Land, Is That All?, Scarlet. I mean, I'll listen to it all, but Boy is way better.
 
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