Boy [Island; 1980]
U2 hit the ground running with their debut, waiting absolutely no time to release their first grand album, packed to the brim with an 8 minute rock epic and unforgettable soaring melodies. You don’t often hear much about Boy - except (maybe) for the opening track “I Will Follow” that re-appears in their first greatest hits compilation – and that’s unfortunate because it’s just as immediate as War, their third and often considered most energetic album.
But here’s why you don’t hear about Boy: it’s not hosted by big enough hits unlike War and every U2 album thereafter (and even if they don’t, the band will be too popular for the albums to fly this low off the radar again). It was also too rock and naive for punk but also too lo-fi for rock. As such, you don’t know what to make of it, not really, but goddamn it sounds good. There aren’t many choruses here, the emphasis is often on the song progression and development, giving Boy enough density to warrant a few serious listen-throughs.
The band had already gotten a grip around the sound that they would be known for throughought the 80s: Edge’s chiming guitar, Mullen and Clayton’s underappreciated rhtyhm section, and Bono’s passionate vocals. It’s a good start… nay, a great start, but not an essential listen. U2 could have skipped Boy and its successor, October to start with War and they would still be the same band we know today. If you want War before War was War, listen to Boy, otherwise move along.
8.2/10