rediscovering old U2

[ozeeko]

While my favorite albums tend to be the obvious masterpieces (JT, AB, UF) and the obvious "experiments" (Zooropa, POP)...I gotta say their pre-Eno albums certainly showcased a unique guitar sound, one that was both visceral and ethereal.

Just listen to the foreboding tones of the OCTOBER album. What a scary, Gregorianesque (i just invented that), haunting, ghostly yet punkish presence Edge's instrument holds there. "Rejoice" doesn't need many lyrics to tell you this is a band and singer trying to hold on to their faith in the midst of chaos.

Has there ever been a guitarist that captures teenage confusion and sexual frustration better than Edge does in BOY? "An Cat Dubh" is like the first sexual encounter...awkward, stimulating and vaguely humiliating. "A Day Without Me" is the audio equivilent of a teenage loner's suicidal thoughts...the cheap echo box serving as his final futile attempts to reconnect with the world, each riff and thought hopelessly disappearing into the void. "I Will Follow" is an emotional crisis...that you can dance to!

Even their earlier earlier stuff (Boy/Girl, 11 O'clock) packs a punch!

While I prefer their later albums to the first 3, I gotta say there was something lost along the way as they matured. An emotional rawness.

That being said, JT is still my fave album, for completely different reasons. But I just wanted to give props to the early stuff.

 

[AnCatKatie]

I'm totally biased towards 'old U2', probably because of the sheer unfiltered emotion...even though they certainly mature and improve as musicians later on and the albums I've been listening to over and over lately (Joshua Tree, Rattle & Hum, Achtung Baby, mainly) are late 80s-early 90s.

For example, October seems unfinished, unpolished, and is mostly at the bottom of album rankings. For some reason, though, I find myself listening to it over and over; like Unforgettable Fire, it has some sonically sparse tracks, however the good songs on October are amazing; Edge is just figuring out a huge new ringing guitar sound, Bono sings in it with unfathomable energy, somehow getting everything across despite the lyrics, and the whole thing is just so fresh and exciting. There's something visceral about that album for me.

With Boy, for me, it's all the emotion, but mainly it's the lyrics and concepts. Both working together. I keep thinking what an easy album it might be to make—how simple it seems—and then I remember Edge still has a unique sound back then, and that's not even counting the painful energetic confusion the album has. Somehow it makes growing up not seem really like any of the usual descriptions. Boy seems more unique and emotionally presence.

These two albums are both on the surface 'simpler', 'easier', more basic musically. But there's just something about them..

I'm assuming this thread isn't also about War, but a lot of the sort of energy in Boy and October coalesce eventually into War and in a way they're similar, even though all 3 albums vary hugely in style. War has a better grasp of lyrics and concepts connecting to the world outside (Boy being personal and about internal struggle, October about faith); it's expressing the ideas better. The concepts in each song flow together much like in Boy. For the most part I can't listen to War full through, though it's a brilliant album, because it makes the pain of emotional or physical war so real. It's also an album that does its job well.

 

[U2387]

While my favorite albums tend to be the obvious masterpieces (JT, AB, UF) and the obvious "experiments" (Zooropa, POP)...I gotta say their pre-Eno albums certainly showcased a unique guitar sound, one that was both visceral and ethereal.

Just listen to the foreboding tones of the OCTOBER album. What a scary, Gregorianesque (i just invented that), haunting, ghostly yet punkish presence Edge's instrument holds there. "Rejoice" doesn't need many lyrics to tell you this is a band and singer trying to hold on to their faith in the midst of chaos.

Has there ever been a guitarist that captures teenage confusion and sexual frustration better than Edge does in BOY? "An Cat Dubh" is like the first sexual encounter...awkward, stimulating and vaguely humiliating. "A Day Without Me" is the audio equivilent of a teenage loner's suicidal thoughts...the cheap echo box serving as his final futile attempts to reconnect with the world, each riff and thought hopelessly disappearing into the void. "I Will Follow" is an emotional crisis...that you can dance to!

Even their earlier earlier stuff (Boy/Girl, 11 O'clock) packs a punch!

While I prefer their later albums to the first 3, I gotta say there was something lost along the way as they matured. An emotional rawness.

That being said, JT is still my fave album, for completely different reasons. But I just wanted to give props to the early stuff.

Agreed 100%!

I love the 1st 3 albums and rate War as a masterpiece and Boy as a near masterpiece.

October is just as you describe- it fits perfectly in this era but there is also some "otherness" about it that makes it uniquely great!

I am not one of them, but I know a lot of people who only listen to early day U2 and think they completely lost it after War.

 

[AnCatKatie]

I am not one of them, but I know a lot of people who only listen to early day U2 and think they completely lost it after War.

Huh. While I do prefer pre-War U2, I can't imagine not listening to the rest. They grow so much as a band. Like JT isn't my favorite album but it gives me chills down my spine nonetheless. Some amazing stuff happens after War.

 

[ozeeko]

I was about to start talking about WAR but then backed off because it seems like that was the moment the songwriting started to become more polished, a bit more professional. The hooks were wellcrafted, and the lyrics were finally being thoughtout by Bono. Whereas the earlier stuff sounds like it was all about the sound, Bono himself being another instrument thrown in. There's a definite change between October and War, whereas I always felt October and Boy were linked.

WAR stands on its own though. Edge probably never sounded so beautifully abrasive. There's something dirty and ugly about it...and it suits the theme. It's less echoey, less spacey...it's just like him standing in the room with you and blaring a loud riff directly into your ear, no escape from the sound.

WAR is awesome. But I do stand by my belief that it was the beginning of something (U2 becoming rock stars, U2 becoming men?) whereas BOY and OCTOBER sound like boys exploring a secret sound they just discovered.

 

[AnCatKatie]

I agree, Boy and October seem a separate sort of era than War almost. I think there might be a little of Boy in War, though, and some of the drums and singing style, strange as it seems, translated from October into War...weirdly complicated, like how Unforgettable Fire's type of singing reminds me a little more of the quieter War tracks than October...but yeah. This is definitely a Boy/October thread, methinks.

 

[ozeeko]

It doesn't have to be strictly Boy/October...we can talk about War. Hell, we just did. LOL

 

[AnCatKatie]

Yeah, oops XD

Though I could deeeefinitely talk about those two all day.

 

[bonocomet]

October was actually my favorite U2 album for a long time, and I still think it's amazing. And Boy is just fantastic. I agree with everything in your first post (ozeeko).

 

[ozeeko]

Me too

I don't start threads too often, but it's funny...I haven't listened to these albums in the longest time...suddenly you get the urge and it's still there, still awesome. Conjuring up images of my youth, when U2 was the only band that mattered to me.

Isn't music the best?

 

[AnCatKatie]

October was actually my favorite U2 album for a long time, and I still think it's amazing.

That's certainly heartening. I've found...what, 2? maybe 3? people who seriously love October on here. It's a bit on the unpopular side.

Boy's my personal favorite. What can I say, it's the album that made me fall in love with this band...it just made so much sense.

 

[bonocomet]

Agreed 100%!

I love the 1st 3 albums and rate War as a masterpiece and Boy as a near masterpiece.

Gotta say I agree with what you said about Boy. I've always considered it one of their masterpieces, considering it was their first and they were just boys when they made it. (I actually like Boy and October both more than War)

 

[ozeeko]

LOL just wanted to say the "me too" was in response to AnCatKatie's comment about how she could talk about BOY/OCTOBER all day, not me too as in I agree with myself also. Bad timing.

 

[bonocomet]

LOL just wanted to say the "me too" was in response to AnCatKatie's comment about how she could talk about BOY/OCTOBER all day, not me too as in I agree with myself also. Bad timing.

I know, that's why I added your name to my post, but it still looks funny. Oh well, it's good to agree with yourself too.

 

[AnCatKatie]

(I actually like Boy and October both more than War)

Me too (oh hey it's another interestingly timed me too XD) War's just a little much for me. The seriously political/emotionally heavy tracks are so much at once, though they're good (Like A Song, for example, sets me on edge)...some of the songs on that album have a sort of optimism but for the most part not. If not so... could have been close to my favorite album

 

[bonocomet]

Me too (oh hey it's another interestingly timed me too XD) War's just a little much for me. The seriously political/emotionally heavy tracks are so much at once, though they're good (Like A Song, for example, sets me on edge)...some of the songs on that album have a sort of optimism but for the most part not. If not so... could have been close to my favorite album

War is a great album, but for some reason I've never really connected with it like I have almost every other album of theirs! I've always been a little hesitant to tell people it probably ranks as one of my lowest U2 albums, (IF I ranked them, which I can't ) because I know it's such a highly regarded album, and deservedly so! Which says so much about this band! LoL!

 

[AnCatKatie]

This might just be me, but it seems more distant than a lot of the other albums. It's severely emotionally intense and heartwrenching and deals with big themes, but it's a lot less personal than, say, Boy, which kind of made War lose something, to me.

Definitely not on my lowest (I think I have either ATYCLB or NLOTH there...I forget) I feel bad because actually my main reason for not liking War is because it's so heavy.

That said, Surrender feels like a misplaced track in my generalization because it gets a specific focus (Sadie) and seems to be slightly more personal than the other tracks. Drowning Man comes close to that too. But maybe it's just so general an album because of dealing with huge war themes, and it was a necessary thing to lose...U2 had to grow up and take on the world. Makes sense.

 

[ozeeko]

Another thought...I think BOY and OCTOBER had a very singular sound. It was all U2. WAR was where they started branching off and trying new things. As a result, there were some misteps (The Refugee, Red Light), but that's common among young bands branching out for the first time. Btw, I find both those songs to be highly entertaining, quite fun listens. I wouldn't say they were great songs, or even good, but entertaining nonetheless. But WAR's high points make up for that.

I ranked WAR higher than Boy the other day. I think I got that wrong.

 

[bonocomet]

That's why I've given up ranking U2. It's a very emotional thing, and though some albums are just solidly in higher places for me, sometimes the others just have their days, or years for that matter, and I really can't make up my mind. But back to the early albums. I agree with what you said ozeeko about the Boy/October connection. And with what you both said about War being the change when they branched out. It wasn't a bad change, because there are some amazing songs on there, but as a whole, I think Boy and October are really fantastic. As much as I love them, and their sound though, I agree it was time for them to move on and change, as they always did. It's what makes U2 great.

 

[ozeeko]

Yea I def agree. And it's understandable why they would want to change course after WAR. The emotional rawness reached its apex.

 

[flybabe]

War and October have to be my two favorite older albums. Those two albums were the start of something great. I like the feeling that War produces because it isn't fake and there was true emotions poured into it. October and War are both great to listen to during the end of a autumn day.