U2 Album Discoveries

[boosterjuice]

I was reading imogen's thread about being jealous of newer U2 fans for discovering back albums for the first time.

I was a new fan back in 98. I made an impluse CD purchase and decided to get the best of 80s. From there, the rest is history. Over the course of the next 18 months, I went on to purchase the rest of U2's albums. Here is a list of my album purchases and how they impacted me.

1. Best of the 80s: This collection will always hold a special place for me because it was my first U2 Cd. I listened to it non-stop for months.

2. Achtung Baby: I was deceived. I thought that I had all of the good U2 songs on my best of disc. I didn't think that they made and decent music in 90s. I heard this in a friends car and asked him if I could borrow the CD. This is the point where I became a "U2ite".

3. POP: I loved POP, it was one of my first U2 albums. I hurts my feelings how people bash it so much on here.

4. WAR: Great.

5. BOY: Just good.

6. OCTOBER: This album displayed the spiritual side of U2 to me. Because of understanding this ablum, I was able to relisten to the other albums and see deeper spiritual lyrics.

7. Zooropa: This album was huge let down for me. I now understand the artistical credibility of it, but at the time, I disliked Zooropa. I have grown to respect it but it is still my least favourite U2 album.

8. Joshua Tree: By this time, I knew that JT was considered U2's best album. I didn't buy it immediately because I thought that most of the songs on the best of the 80's were from Joshua Tree. I was wrong.

9. Unforgettable Fire: Another solid album.

10. Rattle & Hum: I held off purchasing this album last because I heard that it wasn't very good and that there were a lot of live renditions of past songs. This album was one of the biggest surprises to me. Heartland is one of my favourite songs.


Well, that is pretty much how I discovered U2. I've been a diehard fan ever since.
For the newer fans:
1. What was your first U2 album?
2. What order did you discover U2's catalog?

 

[AquariumDrinker]

I got into them in fall/winter '96.

First album: Joshua Tree

Then I got them in chronological order till POP. After that I think it was UF, War, ATYCLB, Boy, October, and of course, HTDAAB.

The only one that I liked instantly as a whole was Achtung Baby, but as I dove deeper into it, it got even better.

Zooropa was their worst based on my initial reaction, but now I think it's one of their best.

 

[AEON]

What a great post! I love to hear when people came to hear to be U2 fans!

For me, it was 1983 - the live video for Sunday Bloody Sunday on MTV! Finally there was a band that didn't have pink hair and wasn't Def Leppard!

 

[Aardvark747]

My time came, through Discotheque.....then with the Pop release.

 

[jick]

3. POP: I loved POP, it was one of my first U2 albums. I hurts my feelings how people bash it so much on here.

It may hurt your feelings how people bash POP, but all those POP bashers also had their feelings hurt when they felt U2 betrayed their fans and everything they stood for by recording such an unlikeable album. Before your diss the POP bashers, try to put yourself in their shoes for a while also and try to feel the betrayal, the anguish, the sleepness nights, the hurt, the pain and the anxiety having to deal with the nightmare that U2 had recorded something like that. Before, I couldn't quite understand the POP bashers but now that I try to put things in perspective and put myself in their shoes for a bit - I can kinda see where they are coming from.

Cheers,

J

 

[TheFlyOnTheWall]

Re: Re: U2 Album Discoveries

It may hurt your feelings how people bash POP, but all those POP bashers also had their feelings hurt when they felt U2 betrayed their fans and everything they stood for by recording such an unlikeable album. Before your diss the POP bashers, try to put yourself in their shoes for a while also and try to feel the betrayal, the anguish, the sleepness nights, the hurt, the pain and the anxiety having to deal with the nightmare that U2 had recorded something like that. Before, I couldn't quite understand the POP bashers but now that I try to put things in perspective and put myself in their shoes for a bit - I can kinda see where they are coming from.

Cheers,

J

I can feel a little something of that with the help of HTDAAB...

 

[Aardvark747]

Re: Re: U2 Album Discoveries

Before your diss the POP bashers, try to put yourself in their shoes for a while also and try to feel the betrayal, the anguish, the sleepness nights

Cheers,

J

....sleepless nights? Are you sure?! That would seem a little extreme were it to be true..

 

[innocent_eyes]

Jick, just so you know, he/she never dissed the POP bashers!
Can't people just agree on musical differences and personal preference.......wow

 

[The OOTS]

no ATYCLB on your list ??

 

[miss becky]

Achtung Baby came first. (Which is right where it belongs.)

Then I worked backward, getting each album in reverse order. The only one I skipped was WAIA, getting that last.

Since AB, I have bought each new album on the day it came out. I would always go to the music store on my lunch hour from work. However, with HTDAAB, I actually called in sick to work, so I could be first in line at Best Buy, and then listen to it all day long.

 

[lmjhitman]

For me, I was 14 and it was "Rattle and Hum". We talked our Industrial Arts teacher into letting us go across the street to rent a movie to watch in class. "Rattle and Hum" had just come out so we got that. We watched it and I was blown away! The live performances were incredible - my favourite performance of 'Streets', to this day. At the time, I knew and liked most of the songs, but I hadn't realized that they were all by the same band. I was pretty much converted at that point. (Plus the drummer was hot!)

One of the highlights of discovering their back catalogue - I was on the bus one Monday morning going to university on my 18th birthday. I was listening to 'Boy' for the first time on my Discman, and heard Bono singing "Monday morning, eighteen years are dawning..." (Now that I look at it, is that lyric even right? Well, that's what I heard.) Anyway, it was kind of a cool moment.

Don't let the POP bashers grind you down! I think the band would be happy that you enjoy it!

 

[lmjhitman]

Re: Re: U2 Album Discoveries

Before your diss the POP bashers, try to put yourself in their shoes for a while also and try to feel the betrayal, the anguish, the sleepness nights, the hurt, the pain and the anxiety having to deal with the nightmare that U2 had recorded something like that.

 

[Eric G]

I bought most of the U2 albums in 2000-2001. I bought Joshua Tree in 1996, because of the first 3 songs on the album, but other than Bullet The Blue Sky and In God's Country, the rest of the album just didn't do it for me. I can't believe I'm saying this now, because now I think the whole album is brilliant. I got Best of 1980-1990 when that came out, and then that was it for awhile. I liked U2, but I wasn't a diehard fan.

Then in 2000, I bought ATYCLB. Again, I liked it, but I wasn't overwhelmed by it.

But then, I bought Achtung Baby in November 2000, and that was the one that finally got me really interested in the band. That album is still my all time favorite album, not just of U2's, but my favorite album period.

After that, I kept buying the rest of the albums, and then I saw them twice on the Elevation tour.

 

[gareth brown]

Jick, just so you know, he/she never dissed the POP bashers!
Can't people just agree on musical differences and personal preference.......wow

At this place...?! I don't bloody think so...!

 

[grbounds]

i traded my uncle the Mario 64 nintendo game for Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree, because I liked One and With or Without You (the songs they played on the radio). Within a few months i was forever hooked. i hated pop and zooropa when i first got them, but now theyre among my favorites.

 

[trevgreg]

1. What was your first U2 album?
Achtung Baby. A risk for me back when I did, but I bought if for Mysterious Ways on a similar "impulse CD purchase". Then I discovered One was on there, along with the other songs I discovered one by one over time.

2. What order did you discover U2's catalog?

Let's see....

1. Achtung Baby

2. All That You Can't Leave Behind

3. Zooropa

4. The Joshua Tree (This and Zooropa could be interchanged... I can't remember which came first).

5. Best of 1980-1990

6. Pop

7. Best of 1990-2000

8. Rattle and Hum

9. War

10. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

I still have Boy, October, and The Unforgettable Fire left to buy (yes, I know, bad fan, lol.....)

 

[Pero]

So, you askedfor my story. Here it is:
I knew With or without you and One from when i was a little kid.
I was 11 when ATYCLB came out and i loved Beautiful Day, but i thought that was it from that album, because every artist makes 1 or 2 songs from each album, so i hated Stuck(now i love it) because there was just too much U2 on mtv. And you could say that i was stupid kid.
Then Elevation-love it, that's where i decided to buy ATYCLB. Then came Walk on and Kite-in love with them
I went to study some German in Graz, Austria. There i've met a guy(who is a member of this forum, djerdap is his nickname)
who has all of U2 songs at home in Zagreb. I asked him to give me them. And rest is history.
Here are my ratings:
1.Boy-everything is just the same, i fell asleep
2.October-hated it,but i still love to hear some songs
3.War-great
4.The Unforgettable Fire-better, just i would expell instrumental songs
5.Joshua Tree-with every hearing is better
6.Rattle-hate it(has good version of All along the Watchtower and Pride)
7.Achtung Baby-no words to describe my chatarsic feeling i get when i hear it
8.Zooropa-different, but very good
9.Pop-very, very good
10.All that you can't leave behind-boring at the end

I just got HTDAAB so i don't know. It's good by now.
That's it.

 

[firstlove]

I have a rather pathetic story for when it comes to first knowing of U2. well, to begin, I used to be completely obsessed with Harry Potter, and in detail, with Daniel Radcliffe. (two very different kinds of obsession). once, when I was scouring the official HP website, I found out that Daniel liked U2. I not knowing a single thing about U2, decided to check them out. I downloaded a random U2 song off of Morpheus (when I used to have it, I know, bad music fan). It was Walk On. Since, I've been hooked. my first actual CD purchase was U27. by the way, I haven't heard one person mention that they have it, I bought it at Target. it had summer rain, always, big girls are best and, beautiful day(a techno remix), elevation(the mix played before the concert), stuck in a moment, and walk on. I loved it and couldnt stop playing it. then it just escalated from there! then I bought:
1.best of 90-00, deluxe version. with the b-sides and mini-DVD (enjoyed it very much, and it opened my eyes, so to speak, to all of the 90's stuff)
2.War (love it, especially Like a Song)
3.October (I was at a very spiritual time in my life, so it resonates very much with how i feel)
4.best of 80-90 (like falling in love all over again, especially over Bad, i was going through a relationship I wanted to get out of, and it really spoke to me)
5.Boy (I love it's rebelliousness!)
6.rattle and hum (helter skelter is awesome! my first U2 concert viewing expierience)
7.U2 go home (i love the unforgettable fire documentary!, and the concert, of course!)

 

[firstlove]

oops, forgot, HTDAAB between rattle & hum, and go home!

 

[jcool]

1. Unforgettable Fire - first u2 album that I bought in cassette, I always thought there was something wrong with the sound. I kept adjusting my treble.

2. Zooropa - The first time I heard it, I thought it was the worst album they ever done. Sold it to my friend. Few Months, later, I heard the STAy on the radio, Could not get it out from my head. Bought it again, listen to it, and now is a masterpiece.

3. Rattle and Hum - The critics hated the album, but i adore it, I don't much about rocknroll music at that timel, So the album was the textbook for loving other bands.

 

[tennispunk]

The first U2 album I bought was "Boy" I think in 1998. A good friend who was somewhat older kept telling me U2 was the greatest band ever and how could I not own any of their albums--I was mostly listening to punk and ska at the time. I still mostly listen to punk & ska, and U2 is my major exception, they are unquestionably my favorite band. Anyway, I didn't really dig "Boy" all that much and was like "eh" until I heard Elevation when that single came out. I know some people have said that Elevation didn't click with them until they saw it live, but that song hit me immediately and I bought ATYCLB. So I guess the order of albums for me was:

1. "Boy" - at the time, my reaction was 'whatever.' Now I rather enjoy the album.
2. ATYCLB - loved everything through 'Wild Honey,' except 'Stuck in a Moment' and that song still makes me cringe.
3. The Joshua Tree- and so began the obsession.....
4. AB -
5. Zooropa - alternative and stunning lyrics and has been my favorite album since
6. Pop - DANCE! I love music best when it makes me move
7. The Unforgettable Fire - 'Bad.' 'nuff said.
8. Best of 1980-1990 - I got a taste of the B sides, especially The Sweetest Thing, awesome! and also Sunday Bloody Sunday which made me buy
9. War - at times my 2nd favorite album, but that ranking tends to fluctuate between this, JT, and AB
10. October........boo
11. Rattle & Hum.....Desire & All I Want Is You made it worth it, but I immediately hated the covers and my opinion hasn't changed.
12. Best of 1990-2000....By this time I had read a lot about the band and was listening to them constantly, and I was pissed that they left off The Fly. I still am. WTF?
13. HTDAAB. Still fantastic after all these years. And *this* time I'm not missing them on tour. Fuck no!

somewhere in there I also bought Under a Blood Red Sky & Wide Awake In America...don't remember where. From buying ATYCLB to R&H happened within about 8 months or so. CD buying is like a substance abuse problem for me.

 

[boosterjuice]

Re: Re: U2 Album Discoveries

It may hurt your feelings how people bash POP, but all those POP bashers also had their feelings hurt when they felt U2 betrayed their fans and everything they stood for by recording such an unlikeable album. Before your diss the POP bashers, try to put yourself in their shoes for a while also and try to feel the betrayal, the anguish, the sleepness nights, the hurt, the pain and the anxiety having to deal with the nightmare that U2 had recorded something like that. Before, I couldn't quite understand the POP bashers but now that I try to put things in perspective and put myself in their shoes for a bit - I can kinda see where they are coming from.

Cheers,

J

JICK, I was NOT dissing anyone! I was just letting people know that because POP was one of the first albums I discovered, it holds a special significance to me. Ease up a bit!

 

[nurse chrissi]

Like most here - it was Achtung Baby - it was so fresh and different and U2 basically expoded worldwide around the time Achtung Baby and Zooropa - I progressed in reverse order buying up every CD until I hit Boy in about 12 months - every since then I've bought each new u2 album the day it was released - I've never been disappointed in their work - I was just glad to take the trip with them
But Achtung Baby is my favorite - it is an album that I can put on and listen to each and every song without feeling the urge to skip over certain songs. It's my "you can only take one CD to the desert island CD"

 

[TheBrush]

HI ALL!!!!
fan since 2000
First album was ATYCLB

Order of discovery
1. ATYCLB
2. Achtung
3. Boy
4. Pop
5. Zooropa
6. JT
7. Zooropa
8. War
9. October
10. Rattle
11. UF
12. the one with the song on TV, you know, the target commercial.......damn....its on the tip of my tongue

 

[U2utah2U]

Nice thread. I always like seeing how younger fans get into U2. I was introduced to U2 by a friend in November 1992. He has AB, R&H and JT. I loved it. I joined Columbia House and ordered those discs. That was in 9th grade.

ZOOROPA - I bought Zooropa the day it came out the next year and thought it was the most brilliant thing I had ever heard. Stay, the most straightforward song on there, was actually my least favorite track until I heard the acoustic version.

OTHER STUFF - I bought the Sydney video, the AB video collection all of the singles to AB, R&H and JT (two of which were stolen). My 1st bootleg was the Dublin 93 show and I paid $35. I can't tell you how many tape copies I made for friends in high school. They loved it.

CAPTIVE - A friend bought this for me for Christmas '94. I love it.

BOY / WAR / UF / UABRS / WAIA- I'm pretty sure I bought these all the same day or at least around the same time. I bought these during my sophmore year in high school. I'm proud to say that I introduced U2 to about dozens of people, many of which are still die-hard fans.

PASSENGERS - Okay, if you don't have this album--go and buy it. It is an amazing musical experiment. Some of my favorite groove tracks are from this.

POP - I was in Chile for a two year mission for my church when Pop came out. I heard snipets of it in Chile but since we weren't really supposed to listen to popular music I did't get the full experience until March 99 when I came home. I immediately liked some songs and hated others (Miami, Mansion). It took a while to grow on me but now I love it. They were so ahead of their time. (I still had my brother buy it for me the day it came out.)

Every other album I have bought the day it came out. ATYCLB was amazing from the 1st listen. HTDAAB took a few spins to grow on me but the tracks are strong.

I've never really gotten into the Best of's. I've just bought them to be a completist. It is interesting to see fans whose first intro to U2 were the Best of discs. I'll give 'em a spin this week.

Okay, back to cleaning the bathroom. Merry Christmas and happy listening.

 

[ravenette]

The album that got me into U2 was R&H, then UABRS.....

U2 were the band that opened up a whole new world of music to me - everything from The Velvet Underground to Depeche Mode - I'm not kidding!