4Play

Sept. 14, 2008

U2 - Boy (Original Recording Remastered/2008 Deluxe Edition) - Island
U2’s actual debut was an early EP called Three, but this was their first “official big-time” release on Island Records, which hit stores in 1980. This was also the album that produced U2’s first chart hit, “I Will Follow,” and that song, as well as the rest of the original disc, is here in its entirety on disc one, including the rollicking “Into the Heart,” “A Day Without Me,” and “Another Time, Another Place.” A second disc includes all three tracks from that aforementioned EP - the humorously amateurish “Boy/Girl,” and the original versions of “Out of Control” and “Stories for Boys,” as well as fan favorite “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” (the studio version - the more familiar live version can be found on the Under a Blood Red Sky album) and the Clash-influenced “Saturday Night.”


U2 - October (Original Recording Remastered/2008 Deluxe Edition) - Island
First, just take a gander at that crazy ‘80s hair. Oh, guys, how could you? Okay - so, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s focus on the music of U2’s sophomore album (1981), which takes on a darker, more introspective tone and showcases their band growth and lyrical depth. Disc 1 offers up the original set - “Gloria,” with its marching drums and Latin refrain, “Rejoice”’s confident attack, and of course the delicately mournful title track, “October,” a piano-based number that is a sharp and pretty contrast to the rest of the set. Disc 2, meanwhile, includes several of the aforementioned tracks as performed live at the Hammersmith Palais in London, plus several non-album tracks from their Richard Skinner BBC Session.


U2 - War (Original Recording Remastered/2008 Deluxe Edition) - Island
1983 saw the release of U2’s third album, the one that really solidified their position as one of the top bands of the ‘80s. This rerelease features 2 discs once again, with the original album on the first disc, including several legendary U2 songs, among them the political “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “New Year’s Day,” and the song they often used to close their concerts during this era, “40.” The deluxe edition’s second disc includes live tracks, several remixes of “New Year’s Day” and “Two Hearts Beat As One” by Kevorkian, Ferry Corsten, and Steve Lillywhite, and a few more obscure tracks - German B-side “Endless Deep,” punky UK B-Side “Treasure”; and a surprise bonus track, the previously unreleased “Angels Too Tied to the Ground.”



U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky (Live - Original Recording Remastered 2008) - Island
Also in 1983 was the release of U2’s first live album, in which U2 performs at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, a perfect backdrop for the huge sound they’d spent three years perfecting. It’s a short set, with only eight tracks, but it captures the band’s remarkable energy and charisma from that time, opening with “Gloria” from October and moving right into “11 O’Clock...,” “I Will Follow,” and B-side “Party Girl” - a super-catchy tune that shows U2’s more quirky side. After an anthemic performance of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and several other songs, the show wraps up with the entire crowd singing the chorus of U2’s traditional show-closer, “40.” It’s a far cry from their bombastic, big-budget arena shows of later years; but almost better, given its charming roughness and sincerity.