The (early) U2 album I know the least, OCTOBER is studio album number two for Bono, the Edge, Adam and Larry. I quite like it whenever I listen to it, but it’s missing a decent single or two, and the fluffy-haired bleak album cover is fairly unappealing.
Bookended by BOY and WAR, it’s hard to not see this as the weakest of the three. That said, you can definitely hear them maturing, and leaving a bit of space in the songs – the tracks I Fall Down and Tomorrow are great examples – and doing something different with the arrangements than just full-on post-punk rockers.
Hearing this in 1981, I wouldn’t put any money on them becoming one of the biggest bands in the world; nor would I pick that they’d release two stone-cold classic singles on their next album in Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Years Day.
In fact, of all the bands in the world, I reckon their early fans would be the most pompous of all, delighting in telling everybody they know that they were a fan from the start. Imagine that, an overly-pompous fan of an overly-pompous band…
Hit: Fire
Hidden Gem: I Fall Down
Vinyl Stylus 