Reggie Thee Dog
Blue Crack Addict
Interesting article...The Ripple Effect: Musical Martyrs - The Vilified Albums - U2 -October
This guy has some mad love for October...
This guy has some mad love for October...
Martyred Albums - October
- Thread starter Reggie Thee Dog
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
thelaj
Refugee
(emphasis mine)
Oh dear
Rattle & Hum anyone?
October was my mother's favourite U2 album until NLOTH came along
Maybe the problem with October is that it is sandwiched between two really good albums...
Salome
you are what you is
the problem with October is that the last couple songs just don't really do it
it's part magic though
it's part magic though
Zoots
Blue Crack Supplier
Is That All is a killer track with wicked bass and drumming! Scarlet is beautifully minimalistic and atmospheric! I don't know.. I love this album!
Bono's shades
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I can't help but like someone who will defend October that passionately, but most people I know who aren't die-hard U2 fans don't even know October exists, and those who are familiar with it and don't care for it tend to say stuff like, "Oh, well, they were still young and trying to find themselves, second-album syndrome," etc., etc. Rattle and Hum and Pop on the other hand, were both extremely high-profile and attacked pretty brutally (and unfairly, IMHO) by the media.
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
I think I've been clear over the years about my willingness to fight anyone, U2 fan or not, if they rip October.
And when I say fight, I mean you can name the:
Weaponry involved, if any
The altitude at which we'll fight (if on land)
Whether we fight on land or sea
Are we allowed rest periods
Is it to the death
Whether the use of wizardry is allowed
None of it really matters to me, as, I'm just that passionate about the album and just that versatile of a fighter.
And when I say fight, I mean you can name the:
Weaponry involved, if any
The altitude at which we'll fight (if on land)
Whether we fight on land or sea
Are we allowed rest periods
Is it to the death
Whether the use of wizardry is allowed
None of it really matters to me, as, I'm just that passionate about the album and just that versatile of a fighter.
Tommy WM
War Child
Is That All is a killer track with wicked bass and drumming! Scarlet is beautifully minimalistic and atmospheric! I don't know.. I love this album!
I know what you mean...Scarlet always does it for me too. I Fall Down, Tomorrow & Gloria...anybody who thinks this is a weak album is bonkers!
Rob33
Rock n' Roll Doggie
^ Yeah....I never understood the October hate....I think it's a pretty great album 
cobl04
45:33
do you like Stranger in a Strange Land? Or am I seriously the only person on Earth who likes it...
Rob33
Rock n' Roll Doggie
do you like Stranger in a Strange Land? Or am I seriously the only person on Earth who likes it...
I absolutely love this song.
An Cat Gav
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I've started to love the tracks that I used to think of as weak, Is That All? and With A Shout. For me now the weakest track is Fire. I'd rank October and NLOTH around the same, in the middle of the U2 album chart.
I think this writer (of a poorly edited article with punctuation errors) is a bit up his own ass with this -- I don't know any U2 fan who has October and says they hate it. I know lots of fans who just love the early stuff, in general, including October.
What could be said about October's status amongst U2 albums of the 80s and 90s is that it -- along with Pop, and even Boy to a lesser extent -- are the ones that casual U2 and rock fans in general don't own and don't care about. Which is fine. If I were recommending a handful of U2 albums to a U2-virgin, I wouldn't recommend October. That doesn't mean it sucks.
In short, much ado about nothing.
What could be said about October's status amongst U2 albums of the 80s and 90s is that it -- along with Pop, and even Boy to a lesser extent -- are the ones that casual U2 and rock fans in general don't own and don't care about. Which is fine. If I were recommending a handful of U2 albums to a U2-virgin, I wouldn't recommend October. That doesn't mean it sucks.
In short, much ado about nothing.
djerdap
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2004
- Messages
- 7,613
I love October and I appreciate the guy's enthusiasm for it, but did he miss the mark on Tomorrow or what? Such a shallow way of interpreting it.
Saracene
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I don't really think that October is vilified, it's more that it's simply ignored.
Psymon1968
The Fly
.But not only is October a stunning album in it's own right, but if it wasn't for the strides the band made with October there would have been no War, which is easily the best album the band have done (news flash, it isn't Joshua Tree).
Why doesn't he just add a so nah at the end of the comment about the Joshua Tree.Very mature and articulate i don't think
Why doesn't he just add a so nah at the end of the comment about the Joshua Tree.Very mature and articulate i don't think
Some albums that I think have been -- at one time or another, not necessarily now -- unfairy denigrated (I'm not sure "martyred" is the right word -- what's the cause for martyrdom?):
Paul McCartney -- McCartney (1970) and Ram (1971): I prefer the rustic former to the latter, but back in the day these were considered rural, family, right-wing crap by the rock intelligentsia... in retrospect, they're probably the best albums he ever made.
Van Morrison -- Common One (1982?): Had a bunch of instrumental, spiritual stuff that scared people, but it was all solid and groundbreaking.
Michael Jackson -- Bad: Okay, it sold 30 million or whatever, but it's always gotten something of a bad rap. As far as pop of the mid- to late-80s goes, this is pretty damn good.
Stone Roses -- Second Coming: Because they only had two proper albums and the first one was a stone-cold classic, it's easy to put this one down in comparison. But it's actually rather great, with stunning musicianship that puts all other 'Britpop' bands to shame... just really uneven.
U2 -- Pop: U2 remain every pop critic's easiest target, and with this one they joyfully stuck their heads under the guillotine. It's not their finest record as it's compromised by some muddled production and the weight of expectation on it (and their own bloated self-importance, it must be said), but it is an album of great songs... just somewhat under-realized.
Paul McCartney -- McCartney (1970) and Ram (1971): I prefer the rustic former to the latter, but back in the day these were considered rural, family, right-wing crap by the rock intelligentsia... in retrospect, they're probably the best albums he ever made.
Van Morrison -- Common One (1982?): Had a bunch of instrumental, spiritual stuff that scared people, but it was all solid and groundbreaking.
Michael Jackson -- Bad: Okay, it sold 30 million or whatever, but it's always gotten something of a bad rap. As far as pop of the mid- to late-80s goes, this is pretty damn good.
Stone Roses -- Second Coming: Because they only had two proper albums and the first one was a stone-cold classic, it's easy to put this one down in comparison. But it's actually rather great, with stunning musicianship that puts all other 'Britpop' bands to shame... just really uneven.
U2 -- Pop: U2 remain every pop critic's easiest target, and with this one they joyfully stuck their heads under the guillotine. It's not their finest record as it's compromised by some muddled production and the weight of expectation on it (and their own bloated self-importance, it must be said), but it is an album of great songs... just somewhat under-realized.
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
Only when it's called The Cry, Is That All is U2's biggest fail in my mind
quiltybones
The Fly
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2008
- Messages
- 34
I agree with the writer of the article that I Threw A Brick Through A Window is the best track on October.
cobl04
45:33
i tend to agree with the crowd who think that it's a good, if somewhat misguided song and it's worthwhile because it really shows obviously all the frustration that was circling at the time with that religious stuff, etc...
Max_theHitman
Refugee
You want the truth?
You want the truth?
Do You want the truth?
You can't handle the truth!
October
My mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get
You want the truth?
Do You want the truth?
You can't handle the truth!
October
My mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
The movie is a masterpiece of pomposity. There's no way any other band on earth could have done something that fucking ridiculous and still have been backed by a major studio. I love it.
I love October, first bought it as a tape in Gibraltar in July 1983 and listened to it alot that summer it and War.. then got them both on vinyl.. Is That All? yes not a highpoint but the rest is a really good/great 10 track album, Stranger, Scarlet, October, IFD are my highlights and generally it is far from poor... they've not done an entire "bad move" album I think, sure songs here and there but not a whole record..
Also should mention J.Swallo, a great track too...
Also should mention J.Swallo, a great track too...
Heh... best comment of the week.
I love the Rattle & Hum studio cuts. If only they'd released those as an album, and then had Joanou just film their concerts for a U2-live video, without the cinema pretensions of the feature film.
Am I buggin' you?
True.
October is sandwiched between the charming debut and a more developed songwriting on the third album, while Pop had the difficult task of following the Zoo TV/AB success.
Rattle and Hum though - they can do better than that.
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Zoots
Blue Crack Supplier
R&H 
Similar threads
