OK, I just got to the computer now (past midnight). That means that my review of War will have to wait until tomorrow. It’s just too late and I need to go to bed… but give me props. I came in and logged didn’t I? YEEEEAAAAAH!
Day two of my countdown brings me to U2’s sophomore effort, October. To me October has one of U2’s best openings with Gloria, one of the most uplifting songs in their arsenal. This is the first of many songs with the band members searching… and with God at the center of the search. It is in this album where many of the Christian themes that people tie to U2 began, and it was written during a time when their searching was at its peak. I’ve read that it was during this time that they almost called it quits for a variety of reasons. It was also near the completion of this album that some of the lyrics and arrangements for this album were stolen, leaving the band members scrambling and improvising an album that they, from what I understand, were already struggling to finish. The result is interesting, and to me very easy to listen to, but it is definitely not among their best. Standouts in the album include Fire, Rejoice, and Tomorrow, all songs with religious undertones. I love the drums in I Threw a Brick Through a Window, as well as the lyrics. And the simplicity of the title track is something that they seem to try to recapture with at least one song on every album. It worked here, and it has continued to work on every ensuing album. The end of the album is week in my opinion with the last three tracks being less than motivating. Stranger in a Strange Land is boring. Scarlet is pleasant but repetitive, and Is That All? is just disposable. Having said that, I do like one part of Is That all? and that is the opening riff which became the opening to Electric Co. live in concert and susequently became known as The Cry. That riff is worth buying the entire CD for in my opinion. Must buy? Absolutely. But know that there are better… much better albums, from the boys from Dublin, starting with their next effort, War. I’ll be discussing it tomorrow. Hope you’re back to read about that one.
For what? Surely not one of my blogs. Last one came more than a month ago, I think… and to think, in that blog, I told you to “come back tomorrow” for my last blog. Tomorrow in God-speak maybe where a minute is as a millennium, or in my case a day is as a month. No, the two weeks I am referring to are the two weeks until U2 come out with their next album, and the one we’ve had to wait the longest amount of time for (4 1/2 loooooooong years). Speaking of a moment feeling like an eternity, any U2 fan will tell you that waiting so long can be torture. And you better believe our expectations are high!
Well, on the 3rd of March I will be buying their next album, No Line on the Horizon. So I’m taking this opportunity to go back and look at their eleven previous studio releases leading up to the big day. If nothing else this will force me to write and maybe get back into writing and staying away form that bottomless pit called Facebook (I now know what an alcoholic must feel like when a drink is put in front of him, because I feel it every time I sit in front of a computer… total helplessness!).
Before I get started I must say that I’m looking forward to hearing the 3rd track of the album, because I’ve noticed that most U2 albums are as strong as song #3. Don’t believe me? Let’s just look at what have been considered their greatest masterpieces until now, Joshua Tree and Achtung, Baby. The third songs on those two CDs respectively are With or Without You and One, by many considered to be 2 of the greatest five songs in their library. How about New Year’s Day on War? On the other side, there is Mofo on Pop, and Numb on Zooropa, both songs I like, but not to be confused with classics in any way. From everything I’ve read the third track on this album, Moment of Surrender, a 7 minute epic (for them anyway), easily the longest song they’ve recorded in the studio, is exactly what I’m hoping for, a classic in the making. And let’s hope that the rest of the CD follows as excellent along with track #3. I am really excited.
Now, on to U2’s first release, Boy. I guess the best way I can describe Boy is with a single word - Raw. It is a simple sound from a very young and inexperienced band who wore their hearts on their sleeves. They just wanted to rock, and went out and did so. For me, this is my favorite U2 guitar album. Edge played some great guitar solos on this album, something audibly missing on the majority of U2’s other releases. With the exception of one or two tracks on a few of their albums, Edge has stayed away from the lengthy solos since Boy. But on this CD, he goes off on songs like Twilight, Another Time, Another Place, and The Electric Co. And the simplicity of I will Follow can not be overstated. It is difficult to think that no one up until that moment had come up with something as obviously simple as its intro, still one of the most recognizable riffs in all of rock and roll still today. The themes are all related… all about being young and the anxiety of growing up… how typical and obvious for an album named Boy, huh? But, it all works. And if you’re wondering about track 3 on Boy, it’s a song called An Cat Dubh, which if I am correct was their longest track before Moment of Surrender. Is it a classic? Maybe not, but then again it’s a song released well before they hit it real big, so many people don’t know it too well. But give it a listen, and you’ll realize it’s a really solid song by a young and ambitious new band at the time. Overall a really solid album, that I recommend to all. By the way, this last statement may be one you may go tired of reading over the next few weeks. All right, that’s it for now. Let’s see if I come back tomorrow…
