U2 -- Boy
7/10
The only thing I knew of Boy for the longest time was that it's lead-off track, "I Will Follow," was a great, high energy song. Chiming guitar, fast tempo, catchy chorus, and a strange sort of upbeat art-punk vibe. "Upbeat art-punk" doesn't make a lot of sense, but maybe that's early 80's U2's genre in a way.
Boy, the only U2 album released before the year I was born, isn't generally regarded among U2's best. I've heard "I Will Follow" on rock and classic rock stations throughout my lifetime, and I heard it on my U2 The Best of 1980–1990 in the latter part of high school. Eventually, at some point in the early 00's, my curiosity, plus an encouraging price point, helped add Boy to my music collection. While I do think it is one of U2's weaker efforts, Boy does have its merits.
But why is it weaker? I think that's pretty simple. U2 are just kids here, and relatively inexperienced musicians. They've got big ideas gesticulating, but don't really have the chops or experience to pull them off. Reports say this sort of proto-U2, if the prefix "proto" can be added to a band who have had the same four members on record every album they've ever released, couldn't even keep time, and that the producers had to do some tape-splicing to keep these 11-songs rhythms' consistent. With those things in mind, Boy is a surprisingly solid album!
"I Will Follow" kicks off the album with a sense of urgency, which continues into the more atmospheric and (obviously by the title) darker, "Twilight." The big ideas come quickly, as "An Cat Dubh," which isn't all that musically different from "Twilight," flows directly into the meditative, mostly instrumental, "Into the Heart." Experienced producer, Steve Lillywhite, adds some nice musical ornamentation into the songs to thicken U2's not-quite-yet-filled-out style (just like my grammar skills are not-quite-yet-filled-out). Honestly, if this opening suite of songs was just an EP, I'd be giving it an 8/10. However, there are seven more songs to go, and they don't quite hold interest as well as those first four. In truth, the latter half of Boy sort of drags on.
Again, I think this is because the band's skills and songwriting are obviously quite raw, and haven't yet come together. Boy is almost better for what it promises than what it delivers. Even frontman, Bono, hasn't quite got his lyrical style down, yet most definitely lays out some promising ideas. The whole "not quite filled out" aspect is really a theme here, as Bono sings quite often on Boy of the strange transition from adolescence to adulthood. The hook is that Bono this in more of a metaphysically emotional way, already starting to tap into that special something, but not quite yet getting more than a steady trickle out of that well.
For serious U2 fans, Boy is a must listen. It doesn't feature the band even close to realizing their full powers and potential, but the seeds, the dream, the promise is there. You can see the pulsing roots digging down to support everything that will follow. For the casual fan, "I Will Follow," by far the best thing Boy has to offer, is listen enough.
P.S.: When I reviewed the complete discography of one of my favorite bands, U2 peer, Echo and the Bunnymen, I included a "What U2 Were Doing At the Time" section at the end of each review. Ironically, in the Bunnymen's Heaven Up Here, released seven months after Boy, frontman, Ian McCulloch, sings the line "I'm walking in the rain/to celebrate this misery" and sounds like the coolest person who ever lived. On Boy, Bono sings "I'm calling in the rain/I'm playing teenage games" and sounds really earnest and lame. Unfortunately, it's just not possible for a coolness like the Bunnymen exuded in the early 80's to last forever (hey, I feel like "Nothing Lasts Forever" might just be one of their songs). By 1987, when U2 were reaching the first of many peaks, the Bunnymen were imploding. Still, what a great damn band.
1980 Island Records
1. I Will Follow 3:40
2. Twilight 4:22
3. An Cat Dubh 4:46
4. Into the Heart 3:27
5. Out of Control 4:12
6. Stories for Boys 3:04
7. The Ocean 1:34
8. A Day Without Me 3:12
9. Another Time, Another Place 4:31
10. The Electric Co. 4:47
11. Shadows and Tall Trees 5:13
P.S.: When I reviewed the complete discography of one of my favorite bands, U2 peer, Echo and the Bunnymen, I included a "What U2 Were Doing At the Time" section at the end of each review. Ironically, in the Bunnymen's Heaven Up Here, released seven months after Boy, frontman, Ian McCulloch, sings the line "I'm walking in the rain/to celebrate this misery" and sounds like the coolest person who ever lived. On Boy, Bono sings "I'm calling in the rain/I'm playing teenage games" and sounds really earnest and lame. Unfortunately, it's just not possible for a coolness like the Bunnymen exuded in the early 80's to last forever (hey, I feel like "Nothing Lasts Forever" might just be one of their songs). By 1987, when U2 were reaching the first of many peaks, the Bunnymen were imploding. Still, what a great damn band.
1980 Island Records
1. I Will Follow 3:40
2. Twilight 4:22
3. An Cat Dubh 4:46
4. Into the Heart 3:27
5. Out of Control 4:12
6. Stories for Boys 3:04
7. The Ocean 1:34
8. A Day Without Me 3:12
9. Another Time, Another Place 4:31
10. The Electric Co. 4:47
11. Shadows and Tall Trees 5:13
Comments