"Boy" Fucking Rocks

[namkcuR]

The title says it all.

I've been listening to 'Boy' a lot the past few days, for the first time in a while, with earphones(via IPod) no less, and it seems that I forgot how good it is. Every song is great. I really do think it's one of the great debut rock records ever. And they were only 18!

What strikes me the most about this record though, is Edge. I have this fear that a lot of kids today that are getting into U2 with ATYCLB and Bomb, and then listening to Joshua and Achtung, don't understand just how good Edge is. I am not in any way slighting Edge's performances on any of the aforementioned records - he is GREAT on all of them - but he's playing with a different style and more importantly a different philosophy on those records. It's the minimalist thing we all know and love. But on 'Boy', perhaps for the only time in his career, he really lets loose and plays tight, fast, hard, hot, ass-kicking riffs and solos for the entire album. The 'I Will Follow' riff. The 'Twilight' riff. The riff and various solos in 'Out Of Control'. The solos in 'A Day Without Me'. The extended solo in 'Another Time Another Place'(from 2:43-3:23) is INCREDIBLE. The solos in 'The Electric Co.' are infinitely -worthy. And the outro of 'The Electric. Co' is one of those momennts that makes you say 'This is what rock music sounds like when it's done right'. If that outro doesn't send chills up and down your spine, you just don't like rock music.

And Edge was 18 when he recorded all of this stuff and played it on a nightly basis(It's amazing enough that all of U2 recorded the album when they were 18)! The point his, his technical skills and talent didn't go away when U2 recorded TUF(and he started the minimalist thing). If anything he could probably play technical solos quite a bit better today than he did in 1980. But he has chosen and continues to choose not to. I really believe that he hasn't played guitar the way he did on Boy, since Boy. Not on record at least. So I think a lot of kids getting into U2 this decade and with U2's bigger commercial classics(Joshua, Achtung) aren't really realizing just how good Edge is. Like I said before, his performances on record are still great, just in a different style. IMO, the closest Edge got to the way he played on 'Boy', on any of Joshua/Achtung/ATYCLB/Bomb, was on Bullet/Exit/EBTTRT/UTEOTW/The Fly/Acrobat/Vertigo/ABOY.

Anyway, Edge wasn't the only one kicking ass on 'Boy'. They all did. And as a result, Boy kicks my ass.

Boy

Edge

Edge on Boy

 

[If you shout...]

Preach on.

 

[VertigoGal]

Another Time, Another Place-->Electric Co-->Shadows and Tall Trees is pretty amazing, and it's some awesome guitar even if it's not technically impossible or anything.

It is true that most kids today will hear Beautiful Day or Sometimes or even the album versions of One or Still Haven't Found, and assume U2 isn't a guitar-oriented band. Which I guess they aren't in some ways, but they do have some more guitar-heavy songs & of course the live performances that people just don't hear.

 

[Tiger Edge]

5 star post!

Love Boy. Looooooooooooooove Boy.

 

[GibsonGirl]

I love Boy too, but my opinions on The Edge's originality during that period have been tarnished somewhat by hearing what other post-punk guitarists were doing before him. He basically just added a little bit of delay to an already established sound. Seeing Edge talking about how he took such a radically "different" perspective to the guitar during the early years makes him sound, frankly, a tad bit hypocritical.

 

[Hot Bono]

Boy ROCKS! Just think about what most kids are out doing at 17, 18.... and these boys were creating something beautiful... AMAZING!

 

[thefly418]

i agree 100%.....lots of people underrated this album and always disagree when i say its one of their top 3 or 4 albums.......like you said, basically every song is great

 

[MrBrau1]

The 4th greatest U2 record

 

[imogen]

I cannot agree more. My second favourite album after Achtung Baby, and Out of Control is my favourite U2 song.

I too am amazed that they were so young and able to produce an album of that quality... amazing

 

[dudeman]

good call. i agree, an epic debut. and larry plays his fucking soul out.
also agree about the edge's technical ability. we get a hell of a glimpse at this 18 year old. don't underestimate what he did in his 'minimalist' period. listen to the guitar solo in the outtro of 'one tree hill', or how he used delay to write the guitar line from 'bad'. no one has ever used that effect like that.
and anyone who wants to hear what the man can do, listen to the rotterdam 1/10/90 concert recording of 'desire'. holy god of rock, batman...

 

[AtomicBono]

Boy amazes me. I Will Follow has always been one of my favourite U2 songs, and Vertigo tour has really made me appreciate The Electric Co. I can't believe they did that record when they were 18. As a 17 year old guitarist, Boy is a huge inspiration to me. There's no way I'll be making music that good when I'm 18, but I'll try, and I'll try with the same ambition and energy U2 did.

Edge is brilliant on the record, but you know what really stands out to me? The rhythm section. They may be "technically" not good, but I think Adam and Larry sound fantastic on Boy! So much energy, and Larry especially really has this unique drumming style. U2 are one of the few bands that really make me pay attention to the drums.

Boy

 

[ozeeko]

"An Cat Dubh" is the shiznit. And "A Day Without Me" is one of the best recordings of all time. Somehow Edge takes the cheesiest sounding guitar effect and makes it cool!

 

[lazarus]

There's not much minimal about Zoo Station, Acrobat, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Ultraviolet. I think The Edge just prefers not to wank on every song. That way you appreciate it more when he does rock out. Bullet the Blue Sky is more powerful because aside from the aforementioned end of One Tree Hill, it's the only time on JT that he cuts loose.

Same thing on Zooropa. That Beatlesque fuzz solo on Somedays is so great partly because it's one of the few parts on Zooropa that aren't "clean" and processed. And Dirty Day...I don't think I even need to mention how that kills. And of course on POP, it's all a big party until the end of Last Night and Earth and Gone come to eat your children. The "car chase" solo of Miami, and the pleading wail of Please.

I prefer it when he saves himself for more unique moments of guitar glory like these. Having said that, Boy is a very impressive display of fireworks, even if it's not as groundbreaking as some would like to believe. I'm glad Gibson Girl brought that up. I mean, it's hard to listen to Television's Marquee Moon, recorded a few years before Boy, and be too impressed by what Edge was doing.

 

[AtomicBono]

"An Cat Dubh" is the shiznit.

An Cat Dubh-->Into the Heart was very ambitious for a debut album, I think. And they pulled it off well. Again, Vertigo Tour really helped me appreciate it.

There's a definite Television influence in U2's early work, but I think Edge had his own distinctive style. Mainly with the delay and his fondness of harmonics. Also, I didn't note any four minute solos in Boy, can't say the same for Marquee Moon

 

[Zoots]

Now I want to get Marquee Moon.

 

[ntalwar]

I love Boy too, but my opinions on The Edge's originality during that period have been tarnished somewhat by hearing what other post-punk guitarists were doing before him. He basically just added a little bit of delay to an already established sound. Seeing Edge talking about how he took such a radically "different" perspective to the guitar during the early years makes him sound, frankly, a tad bit hypocritical.

I'm not sure that Edge's originality should be measured by the amount of effort it took to create a new sound. The fact is that he took a risky break from the established path and created a successful guitar style. To a non-guitarist, it does sound radically different.

 

[dudeman]

There's not much minimal about Zoo Station, Acrobat, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Ultraviolet. I think The Edge just prefers not to wank on every song. That way you appreciate it more when he does rock out. Bullet the Blue Sky is more powerful because aside from the aforementioned end of One Tree Hill, it's the only time on JT that he cuts loose.

Same thing on Zooropa. That Beatlesque fuzz solo on Somedays is so great partly because it's one of the few parts on Zooropa that aren't "clean" and processed. And Dirty Day...I don't think I even need to mention how that kills. And of course on POP, it's all a big party until the end of Last Night and Earth and Gone come to eat your children. The "car chase" solo of Miami, and the pleading wail of Please.

I prefer it when he saves himself for more unique moments of guitar glory like these. Having said that, Boy is a very impressive display of fireworks, even if it's not as groundbreaking as some would like to believe. I'm glad Gibson Girl brought that up. I mean, it's hard to listen to Television's Marquee Moon, recorded a few years before Boy, and be too impressed by what Edge was doing.

i think you're right on, really well said.
but i don't think listening to Marquee Moon makes me unimpressed by what the edge was doing. Listening to Marquee Moon makes me really, really fucking impressed with what Tom Verlaine was doing! but it doesn't rub any turds on what the edge created for Boy.
nevertheless, great post. i love it when LNOE and Gone come to devour my children!

 

[thelaj]

listen to the rotterdam 1/10/90 concert recording of 'desire'. holy god of rock, batman...

Do you have this song? I am interested in hearing it. I am used to the "soft" popmart and elevation tour version which were rather dissapointing. They need to be doing the hollywood mix of desire live!

 

[dudeman]

Do you have this song? I am interested in hearing it. I am used to the "soft" popmart and elevation tour version which were rather dissapointing. They need to be doing the hollywood mix of desire live!

no way dude.
this is the original arrangement, with a mega-extended super guitar solo.
i'll post a link tomorrow am when i get home from work.
leave your email or check back in 12 hours or so.
it's worth it.

 

[thelaj]

i'll be here

 

[Smilla]

Does anyone else think that there is a lot of "Boy" on
Interpol's "Antics"? (which is not a bad thing)

 

[chickadee]

I adore Boy as well, it's fab and if it was released today I tell ya, it'd be getting all these critics in a state! Honestly, I think it's far superior to a lot being released these days and it's such a brilliant debut, it was years ahead of its time and it doesn't sound dated at all to me. I love the An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart/Out Of Control little trio, it works so well, and they're just little geniuses! Lol!

As for Edge, the man is just a legend, no question. So much of his work is just incredible. I think when it comes to sheer creativity and 'thinking outside the box' no one can touch Edge.

 

[karls77]

Does anyone else think that there is a lot of "Boy" on
Interpol's "Antics"? (which is not a bad thing)

You're not the only one, I hear it too. On a side note, I was listening to "Turn on the Brights Lights" the other day and could hear bit of UF (the album sound as a whole) influence.

 

[dudeman]

i'll be here

hey man, here's that performance of desire.
the date is 1/10/90 - Rotterdam. one of the most amazing performances of the era. the whole show is worth tracking down if you've never heard it.
nevertheless, the edge rocks it out thunder rock god-style.
enjoy
http://s49.ysi.com/d.aspx?id=1JZ0SE1MJHEZD386TYJMCKRTS9

 

[GibsonGirl]

I mean, it's hard to listen to Television's Marquee Moon, recorded a few years before Boy, and be too impressed by what Edge was doing.

Exactly. It's also difficult to listen to Echo And The Bunnymen's Crocodiles, which was also released in 1980 (but many months before Boy was.)

Will Sergeant of the Bunnymen was guilty, like The Edge (and most post-punk guitarists), of reproducing the style Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd perfected in the late 70s. But, curiously, Sergeant used delay with some of the songs on the Bunnymen's debut. If you listen to U2's demos, pre-Crocodiles and pre-Boy, Edge used no delay for the most part. In fact, Edge's style was at its most "Verlaine-ish" during that period. Sergeant's sporadic delay on Crocodiles was a shorter delay than the delay Edge used on Boy, but it was there nonetheless. Seriously, listen to the guitar (AND BASS) in songs like "Monkeys," "Crocodiles," or "Rescue." Then compare those songs to any song on Boy. It's so blatant, it's painful.

Early U2 was a lot less original than people would like to believe. Musically (and yes, even vocally) I think they were nothing more than an amalgamation of Television and Echo & The Bunnymen. The only difference between the bands in the period of 1980-1983 was in the passion of the lead singer. Bono's singing was a lot more passionate than Verlaine's or McCulloch's. Other than that...it's hard for me to hear the difference.

 

[GibsonGirl]

I think when it comes to sheer creativity and 'thinking outside the box' no one can touch Edge.

If you're also referring to Edge's early work, then yeah, people could and did touch Edge. There was absolutely nothing original about the guitar work in U2's first three albums. Now, Edge obviously came up with some mind-blowing and very original stuff later on in his career. But Boy - War? Not at all.

 

[Numb1075]

Edge owns Boy
Adam - October
Larry - War

 

[prisz25]

BOY is amazing! I absolutely love this album one of the few that I can listen to all the way through!
Shadows and Tall Trees

 

[ZeroDude]

If you're also referring to Edge's early work, then yeah, people could and did touch Edge. There was absolutely nothing original about the guitar work in U2's first three albums. Now, Edge obviously came up with some mind-blowing and very original stuff later on in his career. But Boy - War? Not at all.

The difference between Edge and Verlaine is that Edge cut the bullshit, playing in a far more rhythmically aware fashion, although in all honesty before “Boy” Edge was a very different player, the solo in “The Fool” actually sounds a lot like Jimmy Page.

On the other hand though “The Unforgettable Fire” is where "The Edge" became a real legend in my eyes/ ears for that matter.

 

[ntalwar]

Edge's guitar on Boy really stands out and gets in your face, which I like. It is a guitar-centric album - just listen to the first 10-15 seconds on almost every song. There is a huge wall of guitar sound coming through there. It is almost as guitar dominant as Van Halen I.

IMO, the guitars in Television and Echo and the Bunnymen were more of an equal instrument to the other sounds and did not stand out as much.