•
Rating: THE REVIEW
1976-1979.
Imagine yourself in Dublin, in the heart of the punk era... the street, the Mount Temple School, the dominating Catholic religion, the girls, the death of your own mother, the gray sky, pubs filled with smoke, the bombings, the IRA, solitary returns home, the fate leading you to continue school and play music, not abandoning it for college due to an exam you didn't take.
1980: Imagine being only twenty years old in a recording studio, with a producer five years older than you, Steve Lillywhite (already producer for Siouxsie and the Banshees), and take everything you've experienced and turn it into an album, with the emblematic title "Boy". You will have the most charismatic and dramatic debut ever. Front and center is The Edge's guitar: few notes, reverb, delay, and a style already unmistakable. An incredibly inspired Bono with a voice to develop, shaken by his mother's death. The rhythmic freshness of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen. It kicks off with the opening of "I Will Follow", dedicated to Bono's mother (If you go away, I will follow you), "Twilight" or the loss of innocence, "An Cat Dubh" and "Into the Heart", with dark bass progressions and guitar plots. "Out Of Control" (U2's first single, already present in the hard-to-find U2 Three in demo version) meaning being 18 and feeling lonely and adrift. "Stories for Boys", a heart attack of drums. The delicacy and synthesis of "The Ocean", takes us far away to the tribute to Ian Curtis of Joy Division, who passed away just months ago with "A Day Without Me", featuring a memorable riff. Then "Another Time, Another Place" and the psychedelic garage power of "The Electric Co.". It concludes with the melancholy and the martial drumming of "Shadows and Tall Trees" very Cure-like, where Bono visually describes his emblematic return home.
Forget about One, With or Without You, and fall in love with these U2. The most sincere. The most naive. The most passionate. No nihilism of the era, just the desire to tell of life, death, striking at the heart.
Loading comments slowly
Summary by Bot
This review delves into U2's debut album 'Boy,' highlighting its raw energy and emotional depth rooted in the punk culture of 1970s Dublin. It praises The Edge's distinctive guitar style and Bono's heartfelt vocals. The album is presented as youthful, sincere, and passionate, marked by themes of loss and life struggles. Essential tracks like 'I Will Follow' and 'A Day Without Me' demonstrate the band's early potential. The review encourages listeners to appreciate this authentic early U2 work over their later hits.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976 by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. Rising from post‑punk roots to global fame, they fused atmospheric guitar textures with anthemic songwriting and ambitious tours such as Zoo TV and U2 360°.129 Reviews
Other reviews
By stargazer
The album shows all the group’s innocence, which makes this album fresh and truly enjoyable, far from the overproduction that characterized their last mediocre albums.
If you only know the more bourgeois U2, I strongly recommend catching up on their early albums (all those from the ’80s are beautiful).
By Ocean
‘Boy’ is globally superior to ‘War’ in musical quality, even without its famous hits.
If Edge had focused more on technique than delay effects, he could have become a great guitarist.
By claudio carpentieri
'Boy' is the exemplary mirror of a band of four twenty-year-olds who voluntarily threw themselves into the music world, proposing an embryonic musical idea matured in the punk era.
Steve Lillywhite’s meticulous production allows the four’s musical personality to emerge naturally, blending new wave and traditional folk in primis.
By abc
Boy is an immature, dirty, disturbing album... It has the scent of that sweet and desperate late 70s Post-Punk that is always a pleasure to listen to.
This is Boy, a powerful, energetic, reflective, and genuine album that showcases the complex simplicity of the group.
