I'm listening to the "Boy" album right now, and it sounds as great now as it did 25 years ago. I was also listening to "October" last night and that was just as great too. Man, they made some great Post-Punk/New Wave music before they sold out. I still like them now (anyone have tickets to their October shows in NY?), but I thought they were better when they were just these young lads from Dublin creating some fast, furious, energetic New Wave.

NWF said:

oh my look at how young they use to look!!! I love their early stuff too...hell i just love u2!!!!

I love how deep Bono's voice starts out in "With or Without You" and then it slowly rises as the song progresses, whew don't get me started!!!

I love the "Boy" album to pieces. Most of it is classic imo - I Will Follow, Out of Control, Twilight, An Cat Dubh, Stories For Boys, A Day Without Me, Electric Co. These are all great songs. Can't say the same for "October" as it's my least fave U2 album.

Oh and I like Bono's jacket in that first pic.

It was sooooo good in the beginning..... - Madonna

I honestly haven't liked U2 since The Joshua Tree. Boy is probably my favorite album of theirs.
[Edited 8/14/05 14:33pm]

VoicesCarry said:

Well, I like their 90's work best. But Boy still does it for me.

I actually wasn't feeling U2 too much before Joshua Tree, but "Gloria" from the October album is probably one of my Top 3 favorite U2 songs. That guitar line still makes me wanna be a rock star!
[Edited 8/16/05 7:56am]

i think their 90's stuff was their best work. october, odd as it may be since its their most religious record, is my least favorite. other than a handful of tracks, i rarely listen to it. boy, on the other hand, is a very cool record still. i would say its timeless rock n'roll.

achtung baby, zooropa, and pop still stand as my favorites (with how to dismantle an atomic bomb) but i think u2 are the best rock n'roll band of my lifetime, having never really released a bad record.

I love U2's early albums. I have all of U2's joints, but, their earlier stuff was paramount. My fave cut of their's from this period is without a doubt, "Two Hearts Beat As One". That song is killin'!

Of their early works, War and The Unforgettable Fire are tops with me. Brilliant stuff, and a great indicator of the talent these guys have.

I've enjoyed all the different phases of this band's career, but I do have a soft spot for the early, new wave days.

The Edge said recently on the Mojo Icon Awards that The Banshees were an influence on U2 in the early days. You don't hear that too often.

SassyBritches said:

Rare running into someone who thinks the whole of their 90's stuff is the best (Most acknowledge Achtung Baby and leave the rest alone). I think it's their most interesting work.

HobbesLeCute said:

i think its the last time they were a band of "artists" rather than a brand name band. that's not to knock the new record because. as you can see from my earlier post, i think "...atomic bomb" is in their top 5. i just think that they were onto something in the 90's and they got scared or bored or whatever. something happened that put them back on their old track. perhaps its for the best. maybe they would have stopped making music if they hadn't gone back to the "source." all i know is the spiritual journey that is contained on achtung, zooropa, and pop is brilliant. redemption and faith are best discussed when honesty is a key element. that trio of records is, at its core, as honest as boy, october, and war ever were.

SassyBritches said:

I like the raw energy of their earlier albums, and I really like "The Unforgettable Fire," but I really believe that "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby" were their finest albums. When they created "The Joshua Tree," the members of U2 truly realized their musical power, and it was the culmination of their journey from post-punk/new wave to big-time rock band. I think that their experiences with Live Aid and the Amnesty International tours opened up their musical horizons. They got a little too full of themselves with "Rattle and Hum" and even their fans thought that they were getting way too earnest to the point of preachiness. That led them to a brief hiatus and "Achtung Baby," which for them was a 180 degree turnaround from what they had been doing before. The grunge/alternative movement could have taken them down had they not made a bold direction change, but fortunately, their new sound fit in quite well with the times. "Zooropa" was an extension of "Achtung Baby" and was okay, but I think they tried to be too ironic with "Pop." It was meant to be a satirical dance/rock record, but a lot of fans did not get the joke. Nevertheless, there are some amazing tracks on that album. It also probably hurt that the grunge/alternative musical scene was flaming out at the time they released the album (which was released six months later than it was supposed to be, BTW) and being replaced by teen pop and boy bands.

SassyBritches said:

I think it's ironic that in the 90's once U2 started embracing more 'superficial' themes with their look, the videos, their tours, etc., the music became more personal. Before that, their music had a more political message, but with their 90's work you felt like you were getting to know who these guys were on an emotional, human level. A song like "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" or "One" could've never been written in the 80's.

Oh yes!! GLORIA, I WILL FOLLOW, SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY.


m

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Gomez, you are speaking the truth. I actually still dig their earlier stuff more b/c it was more edgy and Bono was less cocky/egotistic.

Hotlegs said:

What's up HOTLEGS!!!?????

Bono was less, how shall I say,.....GOD like.



m

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

That's a good thing? I like the bloated, grandstanding, world saving superhero Bono best, thank you.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

That's one way of putting Gomez. Hey! What's up with you?

Hotlegs said:

I'm recovering. I don't drink but I drank all day at Muse's house on Saturday. We had such a blast and she's so wonderful. Hope you can make one of the invasions.


M

And check out my new avatar.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Gomez, I glad to hear that you guys had a cool time. Unfortuntately, I couldn't make it. Perhaps, I will some of the other ones in the future.

I freakin' love Boy. When they sang "Electric Co." and "An Cat Dubh" during the Vertigo show I attended, I nearly wet myself. My favorite song from that album? "Out Of Control". Now if I could just find a damn single with "Mercy" on it!

jillybean said:

That's a wonderful, wonderful song. I hope they release it.

GangstaFam said:

Everyone says this. I've read the lyrics many a time and they are poignant and poetic. I know it was the B-side to "All Because Of You" somewhere. I hope it reaches the States soon. I'm seeing them when they come to Minnesota in September. I hear they've added "Bad" to some of the shows recently. Man, I am really excited. And totally fortunate. I hope to never take their talent for granted.

jillybean said:

I never knew that. I'll have to look for it. You can find it pretty easily online though.

GangstaFam said:

Actually, it wasn't. I think the only place "All Because of You" was released as a single proper was Canada. The Canadian B-side was the Jacknife Lee mix of Fast Cars.

Mercy hasn't been officially released yet. Supposedly, the band gave a fan a burnt copy of ...Atomic Bomb with Mercy on it. The girl posted it online, and voila, everyone got ahold of it.

Axchi696 said:

I didn't think it had been released yet. But it should be.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Interesting, because back in the day Bono took a whole lot of flack for being so outspoken politically and spiritually. I'd argue that he was far more "preachy" in the 80s than in the 90s. In fact, I think after the backlash from Rattle & Hum, he started to lighten up and poke fun at his image.