Retro Reviews: U2: October

       I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 70s and start of the 80s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed classic albums. 

U2 – October (1981)

***

Producer: Steve Lillywhite

Musicians: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr, Vinnie Kilduff

Songs and music: Gloria, I Fall Down, I Threw a Brick Through a Window, Rejoyce, Fire, Tomorrow, October, With a Shout (Jerusalem), Stranger In a Strange Land, Scarlet, Is That All?

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    U2 is a post punk band that leans into the new wave sensibility, they have been highly praised for their debut Boy, and they press on with their second album, I am not certain if a fully agree with my peers adulation in certain respects, but they are shaping into a damn good band just on the result of this album. Producer Steve Lillywhite has added a certain ambient sheen to the recordings as he continues on with them. The Edge is an adequate enough guitar and piano player with an ability to work within his skills. The rhythm section of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr remain a steady team that works around their skills to make it work. Bono tends to be a little overwrought as a singer, but with his sincerity he makes it work mostly. Having raised all of these points, the punk ethos was never about virtuosity but the ability to connect with an audience, a trait that U2 has been able to achieve. But it’s not lost on me that their sound runs counter to the standards of other punks – we’ll get back to that in a moment.

    The album moves at a fairly brisk pace, while having some musical moments of real introspection. The opening number “Gloria” acts as this album’s “I Will Follow” single. The track fades in before the real fire steps, but the track is also their open declaration of faith. It has many of the characteristics one heard from the Boy, the open piano passages give it ethereal quality, before the closing anthem section gives it vibrancy. The Edge’s echo piano textures that open “I Fall Down”, as well as acoustic guitar changes the tone until big full band chorus sets in. This also helps to illustrate the critique from the punk scene. The band’s sound is designed for larger venues, theatres or arenas, not for the club scenes that Punk bands rely upon. Steve’s production adds to the drama of that larger scale. 

    “I Threw a Brick Through a Window”, within the band, has a full-throated sound, The Edge’s slide guitar moments seem tactical. Larry’s tribal drum fills keep this interesting. The lyrics seem a little rudimentary, but the guitar phrases keep it dark. “Rejoyce” drives the album forward, it just reinforces their declaration of faith, and probably one of the most insightful lyrics for the start of a decade full of uncertainty. “I Can’t Change the world, but I can change the world in me.” The next track, “Fire” manages to round out the first half.

    The side two opener, “Tomorrow” begins with Uileann Pipes and a Bobhran, with a bass and acoustic track sets up the tone until the full band settles in the second half. The fact that the band is openly Christian is interesting and unusual, but the other truth is the band is so Quintessentially Irish, it seems intrinsic they would use this as a feature on their music. The nearly instrumental piano piece “October” has a dark and somber tone with a brief lyric in the last moments, making this one of the most introspective and interesting pieces that have offered. Larry’s brisk drums and toms set up the mood for “With A Shout (Jerusalem)” offers hints of echo-based horns in a fairly common number. With “Stranger In A Strange Land” Edge’s short delay fills, and piano colorings allow the rhythm section to come through. Things are scaled back with “Scarlet” as a more freeform vamp off of the spirit of the prior track “Rejoyce”. The more vibrant “Is That All?” is an interesting album closer, with the interplay between Edge, Clayton, and Mullen is full swing. 

    The album cover seems to harken back to the designs of the early sixties and I find that curious and revealing that they would draw parallels to the past. The major drawback with the album is that the lyrics seem a little underdeveloped. This is a typical sophomore release from a good band finding its footing and not quite there yet. The quitter, introspective moments are what stood out for me and will probably keep me coming back. They sound like young players struggling to find their place in the world, the midst of our shifting sands.

I wouldn't say U2 are the great hope of the eighties, but they are an interesting band.