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October

u2 - October Audio CD

A fair review of the u2 "October" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all u2 reviews here, or go back to the u2 tabs.

Band: u2
Title: October
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-07-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Gloria 2: I Fall Down 3: I Threw A Brick Through A Window 4: Rejoice 5: Fire 6: Tomorrow 7: October 8: With A Shout 9: Stranger In A Strange Land 10: Scarlet 11: Is That All 12: Gloria (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 13: I Fall Down (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 14: I Threw A Brick Through A Window (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 15: Fire (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 16: October (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) 17: With A Shout (Richard Skinner BBC Session) 18: Scarlet (Richard Skinner BBC Session) 19: I Threw A Brick Through A Window (Richard Skinner BBC Session) 20: A Celebration 21: J. Swallo 22: Trash, Trampoline And The Party Girl 23: I Will Follow (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 24: The Ocean (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 25: The Cry/Electric Co. (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 26: 11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) 27: I Will Follow (Live From Hattem, Netherlands) 28: Tomorrow (Bono & Adam Clayton, Common Ground Remix)

Excellent Deluxe Edition - A Review of the Bonus Disk
BOY is a fantastic debut, but I'm more likely to reach for OCTOBER when choosing a U2 record to hear. OCTOBER is one of U2's least highly regarded albums but it's a personal favorite of mine and I consider it to be one of their best.

For many reasons (not enough new songs, Bono's stolen lyric book, intra-band tension), this was a difficult album for U2 to make yet it manages to be a step forward for the band, as most of their albums are. The sound on OCTOBER is harder, more forceful, more skillfully played - more rockin'. Edge flexes his sonic delay effects and Bono, largely improvising in the studio, pours out his heart to deliver some of his most passionate, soul-stirring vocal performances ever. Every group member rocks and Larry Mullin Jr. lays down some of his heaviest, most complicated drum parts on record. To my mind, this album is essential U2.

Disk 2:

Every Deluxe CD edition from U2 thus far is superior in quality and OCTOBER is no exception. There's an excellent essay about how the album came together that makes a very good case for its greatness. The rare pictures, covers of the single releases and notes from the Edge are all stellar. The bonus CD is heavy on live versions and they're all top notch with excellent sound (The Edge himself supervised the Deluxe edition remasters). I would've liked to hear live versions of "Stranger In A Strange Land" along with a few other favorites, but everything here is a real treat for true U2 fans.

Breakdown:

tracks 1-5 recorded live at Hammersmith Palais, 1982 --

These early recordings are hungry, revealing the desperation of a band struggling to be heard and the inner turmoil inherent in these songs. Bono isn't always reliably in control of his voice but he's passionate as ever and the audience is very enthusiastic. The crowd participation on "October" in particular is remarkable. Bono delays singing the opening line as members of the crowd can be heard jumping the gun! Bono's voice can be very uplifting but he's never been afraid to expose his negative feelings either. ****3/4

tracks 6-8 BBC Studio recordings recorded 9-3-81 --

6) "With A Shout" - a tuneful, very powerful version featuring some of my all-time favorite U2 drum parts. *****

7) "Scarlet" - beautiful simplicity. *****

8) "I Threw A Brick Through A Window" - another killer OCTOBER cut, full of angular guitars and some effective sonic touches. Excellent take. *****

9) "A Celebration" - I've always loved the "get up and go" of this track - it's very raw and off-the-cuff. It's a pure pop song, a celebration of independence. I love the way Bono thumbs his nose at some of the more negative aspects of life as he rallies his followers: "And you . . . can go there too!" Quite different from just about anything else the band recorded. ****1/2

10) "J. Swallo" - a really cool sounding studio experiment - believe it or not, this could be considered to be a sort of proto-trip-hop groove considering the way the beat was slowed down in the studio. I love this sort of mysterious, atmospheric song that U2 do so well - some of my absolute favorite U2 cuts ("Walk To The Water," "Deep In The Heart") have a similar feel. A very cool, unique sounding B-side. ****1/4

11) "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" - without a doubt this is one of their strangest, most unique recordings. Bono's warbling voice sounds unhinged and the mix is murky and mysterious. Improvised in the studio in under an hour's time, it's become a U2 classic. *****

tracks 12-15 recorded live at the Paradise Theater, Boston, March 6, 1981 --

12) "I Will Follow" - I had this B-side on vinyl back in the day and it's a truly electric performance. After bidding the crowd a rousing goodnight, Bono implores, "Up on your feet! Up off your feet!" - it's hard to believe anyone was sitting down by the end of this concert. *****

13) "Ocean" - a gorgeous version, the guitar notes are resonant and lush. *****

14) "Cry/ Electric Co. " - "Cry" became a fantastic live intro to this scorcher from BOY. Intense - one hell of a rock n' roll hoedown! ****1/2

15) "11 O'clock Tick Tock" - a confident, muscular take, Bono belting out "la la la's" at the top of his lungs toward the end of the song. *****

16) "I Will Follow" - live May 14, 1982, Hattem, Holland. Good version but maybe a little road weary. ****

17) "Tomorrow (Common Ground Remix)" - this remix was done in 1996 about when trip-hop was peaking and it definitely has that slinky, dark and sexy trip-hop sound. The original is more cutting with rawer emotion but this is a worthy reinterpretation. Adam Clayton and Bono did this remix with Donal Lunny on bouzouki, bodhran and keyboards and Sharon Shannon on accordion. Cool, but not as good as the original. ****.

U2 - In Transition
To be honest, I have never been an especially big fan of the first three albums. As a longtime U2 fan, having started to listen to them as far back as 1983, I realize this review will put me at odds with many U2 fans. While I like them, I merely find them interesting. Let me explain philosophically that I really don't care for mythologizing Rock bands or Musicians. For example, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Zeppelin have become so mythologized, it has become almost impossible for many to fairly assess the merit of their music, in each case, however great it might be overall, each has been `hit and miss' with their catalogue. U2 suffers from the same kind of mythologizing at this point. To not be intellectually honest, and admit that any band or artist has their strength and weaknesses, is actually a disservice to that band from their fan base.

U2 faced the challenge that many bands face when following up their debut, the difficult 2nd album, the sophomore slump. Neil McCormick correctly points out the following set of problems in his essay, an album of music fragments, half finished songs, inarticulate lyrics in some cases with an overt Religious theme. Live jams and experimental noddeling could be U2's asset, but it could also be a liability as well. The best songs, the ones that sounded the most focused, we're the ones they had already performed live, such as "I Fall Down" and "Fire". That isn't to say there's not some inspiring moments here, "Gloria", in what one would assume is praise to a woman is actually a celebration of faith. In spite of the fact that the drum pattern on "I Threw a brick" feels a little self conscious, a nod to the rhythm's of some other UK new wave bands of the time, "Brick" is fairly interesting.

"Tomorrow" is one of the more stunning tracks with its use of the Oillean Pipes, and the track precludes the ambient textures the band would use with Eno. The Piano piece, "October" is another stunning track to come out of such a young band. The album becomes spotty with the remaining tracks, "Shout, Stranger, Scarlet," and "Is That All?" These tracks illustrate the problem I noted in my previous review with parts of "Boy", a lack of song craft with songs that are left feeling like nothing more than blueprints, and this doesn't always make compelling listening.

Now onto disc two which is the real treat for any completist, personally I have had a longtime fascination with U2's B-sides. The live tracks from "October" solve some of the problems with the studio tracks, they are more focused. This is also true to a degree with the BBC Session tracks as well. The three B sides are rather interesting. "A Celebration" is an excellent song, and a pointer to what the band would do with the "War" album. "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" became a standard of their live sets during this early part of their career. While not a great song, the use of the keyboards hints at the ambient textures they would go into later. "J. Swallow" is an interesting experiment. The live tracks from The Boston Paradise Theatre are great. I can't say the live track of "I Will Follow" from Hattem seems all that essential, and the alternative recording of "Tomorrow" from the Common Ground album is merely interesting and not vital.

The sound of these remasters is an improvement from prior CD editions and welcomed. Credit really has to be given for the wonderful packaging, Neil McCormick's essay is a slight improvement over Paul Morley's essay (Boy), The Edge's comments are also interesting, lyrics and rare photos are included. This reissue is an ideal model for how CD reissues should be handled in the future, should be of note to other compilation producers, although some fans will beg to differ about what might have been overlooked.
.

Much-needed remastering for autumn sounds
The earlier CDs suffered from the same syndrome that so many discs did---that flatter sound of analog tapes released on digital format without tinkering that so many albums had. Finally, U2 got around the releasing deluxe versions of their albums, complete with 10,000 super-bit mega remastering, which was long overdue for the material recorded on analog (pretty much their whole 80s catalog).

October is probably one of the least-cited U2 albums, and the fanatics find that shameful. It was admittedly rushed, and Bono famously had his songwriting notebook stolen during the making (it was actually recently returned) and so he had to slap some words together, etc, etc. But it sounds better than that. The production is a bit warmer and deeper than Boy---U2 is a band heavily influenced by the producer on all its studio albums. There's an almost muddy, gray quality to the sound on October, making it sounds a lot like. . . the month of October, when the weather really changes, the leaves start falling, and the sky seems to get whiter. I think the awful album cover (which was not originally intended) does not do justice to the sound inside. . . imagine something more like the muted tones of the early 80s Cure albums, and that would be a better fit.

Regardless, this is still a very solid album, and certainly moodier than the energetic Boy. In those 'post-punk' days, U2 was already departing from their peers and going for something less cool. How many bands were singing lines in latin (Gloria)? Or singing 'rejoice' over and over (Scarlet)? Or singing about. . . Jerusalem (With A Shout). Or how about a title like I Threw A Brick Through A Window? Yes, Bono was sculpting what would be perhaps the most formidable mullet of the 80s, and he soon starting waving white flags and climbing the lighting rigs during shows, but if you just sit back and listen to the music and the songs here, it's very good rock. Still amazing, though, that the Chameleons, who also had Steve Lilywhite production, never made it big though they were releasing more polished material at the same time. (Early material is collected on The Fan And the Bellowes).

The remastering is good, and necessary. The bonus disc isn't bad, either. If you've been a U2 fanatic and at all into bootlegs, you likely own some of this material. There are some real plusses, like the BBC tracks finally released in their best quality compared to bootlegs (includes the only live performance of Scarlet). If you love complete shows, then the random addition of dates and venues can be maddening, but for song selection, this is good material for the fan. Again, you may have The Paradise tracks as it was widely bootlegged from '81, and the b-sides like J Swallow and Trash, Trampoline and The Party Girl are likely familiar.

All in all, I think the retail on these U2 remasters is way too high (compared with other bands releasing their deluxo versions) for the material that you get. The booklets are pretty good, and the bonus material is welcome just because it's (finally) the 'official' releases (and usually) the best quality. This should be way cheaper, and should have more material, considering a) it's U2, and b) fanatics probably own most of it. Nevertheless, recommended on a sale, or for the fan who wants to hear these albums in remastered glory.

amazing start
amzing start for this group, this is a masterpiece in all the extension of the word.

Boy's ugly sister?
To sum it up, I must tell you that I wasn't very impressed. I got to U2 through Under a Blood Red Sky and only after that did I look out for the first three albums. Not that they weren't good, but because the best songs were already on the live album and they sounded better.
But of the three albums it was October that I liked best. So I was quite surprised to know that this album was a bit under-appreciated, considered a miss-step sandwiched between Boy and War.

Boy was a wild, rawer album, but October introduced a wider scope to U2s music. True some lyrics seem a bit sketchy, but the rest is just as good as anything on Boy.

Like Boy, October kicks off with a raise-your-arms-to-the-air anthem: "Gloria" stands as tall as "I Will Follow" and both songs are the only indisputable classic on each album. The rest of the album balances between rockers that somehow try to break from the mould left by Boy and a handful of lovely mellower tunes that sound a bit 4AD. "I Fall Down" adds the piano to the U2 palette; "I Threw A Brick Through A Window" marches through some odd rhythm patterns; "Rejoice" rocks harder then anything on Boy. However it is the mellower side of October that truly brings some novelty to U2. "October" (the song), "Scarlet" and "Tomorrow" may be considered a bit underdeveloped but they shine like little pearls among the band's wall of sound, and they are the reason why October is quite special. The sonic landscapes U2 worked on these gems would echo on latter songs like "New Year's Day" or albums like The Unforgettable Fire. It may not be fully accomplished but October is a major stepping stone for what was to come.

In fact I think that the major problem with October was BAD COVER DESIGN. Bad photo, bad models (where the hell is Bono looking at?), even bad lettering, and most of all, dreadful styling. The band looks unease and dressed like a mix of A Flock Of Seagulls and The Chameleons (great band, by the way). A cover like this doesn't really shine between Boy's and War's beautiful black and white close ups. So there you have it.

As for this Deluxe edition, it is beautifully and carefully packaged with some interesting words to read and lots of photos. There are a few photos from the same session that are even worse, but hey, that's history! And for the first time on cd the sound is excellent.

The 2nd cd is basically live versions of some songs that sound very-much-the-same-but-better than the studio versions. And there is "Celebration" and the studio version of "Party Girl". On the down side, you get two virtually similar live renditions of "I Will Follow" that don't bring anything new to the version on Under A Blood Red Sky.

If you are a fan, buy it. If not, stick to the single CD version.

You can see a complete list of all u2 discography, or go back to the u2 tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.