Today marks the start of a new series of blogs here on Near St. Anne's and the Sea. For close to 35 years, I've been a massive U2 fan, and I have a sneaky suspicion that sooner, rather than later they will be releasing their 15th album. In anticipation of that momentous occasion, whenever it may be, I would like to spend a few posts counting down their previous 14 records from worst to first. When I say worst to first, it's a little like ranking your children (though in my case, I only have 1, so she's definitely #1). But you have to start somewhere, so today we start with #14 - October.
In the past, when bands were just getting started, they often spent months, if not years grinding it out on the live circuit, perfecting their sound. If they were afforded a record contract, they had years of their best material to put on that first album. Usually, the record companies would have expected a second album soon after the group toured their first record, and so it was more common than not for bands to struggle to match the artistry and sales of their first effort. This is certainly true of U2 and their second album, October. It is their weakest effort, by far, and yet it still has quite a few standout songs. But its weakness stems from the rushed nature of the writing, recording, and production of the record.
The recording of the album coincided with guitarist The Edge considering quitting the band as he struggled to reconcile his committed Christian faith with the rock 'n roll lifestyle. Thankfully, he and Bono decided to use their music as a vehicle for the expression of their faith, rather than a hinderance to it. Spiritual yearning is certainly evident in these songs, but gracefully the band managed to express their wrestling with God in a non-preachy or Bible-thumping way.
More than anything, October provided Island Records with its required second album, allowed the band to continue to tour and hone their craft, and laid the foundation for U2 to write and record some of rock music's best albums of all time in the mid to late 1980s.
U2, October - Released October 12, 1981
Album Charts - #17 Ireland, #11 UK, #104 US
Worldwide Sales to Date - 1.5 million
Singles - Fire, #4 Irish Chart, #35 UK Chart. Gloria, #10 Irish Chart, #55 UK Chart.
Standout Songs - Gloria, Tomorrow, October, Scarlet
Weakest Track - Is That All?
Hidden Gem - Scarlet
The record is certainly worth a listen, if only once a year at the start of the month of October. - Shay
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