U2
October

"I believe that great music has the potential to both capture the time in which it was made and go beyond it. Also films, advertising, photographs... time is essential." (Bono Vox - Rolling Stone, 1985).

One of the aspects often referred to when talking about U2 is certainly the religious one. The Edge, along with Bono Vox and Larry Mullen Jr., regularly attended the religious group Shalom, facing (and resolving) an unideal internal situation within the band. Meanwhile, music had become a real job for the four young men who a priori rejected that image of a "band that talks about God" which the fans easily perceived; a situation that led them to reconsider being part of a rock band, which might imply conduct that does not align with the moral righteousness of a devout believer. Despite the agnostic positions of Adam Clayton and manager Paul McGuinness, it was agreed just prior to recording the second album that within the group and its entourage, no form of excessive conduct would be tolerated, prohibiting the use of drugs, groupies, and even violent conduct by the bodyguards, as well as excessive costs for tickets and t-shirts.

For the Irish, the period was not the best, with The Edge's crisis (... not knowing whether to stay in the band ...), and the theft of the famous suitcase (... containing not just $300.00 but also the lyrics for the follow-up to "Boy", which was to be called "Scarlet" ...), not helping to improve the artistic path the band had undertaken.

The album opens with the fervor of "Gloria", which faithfully reflects the complexity of the unhappy situations recently faced by the band. It's an impeccable song whose notes can drag along with the evocative lyrics reaching the zenith of religiosity in the chorus suitably recited in Latin ("Gloria - In te domine - Gloria - Exultate - Gloria - Gloria - Gloria - Oh, Lord, Loosen my lips = ... Oh, Lord, loosen my lips"). A soft piano allows "I Fall Down" to diffuse into the air, through musicality that reveals the influences endured during the writing phase from that prolific wave of sounds epitomized by the versatile Elvis Costello or the genius Joe Jackson. Anger and inner feelings find a perfect outlet valve with "I Threw A Brick Through A Window", where The Edge's ability to characterize with simplicity each single verse makes him an elegant protagonist. The album's release was preceded by "Fire" (a perfect link to the debut album), which despite developing in a predictable sequence of chords, manages to naturally combine intensity and passion, putting into music a spiritual component that is uncommon. The marks of religious fervor leave an even more evident sign with "With A Shout (Jerusalem)", where the crucifixion of Christ is narrated solemnly, tempered by that musical irreverence that had represented the new lifeblood just a few years before. The evocative atmosphere of "Tomorrow" (the uillean pipes audible are by Vincent Kilduff) brings to ears the boundless compositional talent that can take hold, perhaps giving birth, in the opinion of the writer, to the most extraordinary song of the entire work, where the initial sobriety assumes a rhythmic progression that becomes an effortless mutation.

An album that never gives way to compositional uncertainty, crossing a musical path characterized by a sharp sound, called upon to bond with the feeling of simplicity that has helped make the traditional Irish folk vibrations fascinating and worthy of interest.

Affirming the diverse creative fertility are the sprightly "Rejoice" (initially baptized as "Night Fright" first and "Father Is An Elephant" later), where the sharp and echoing sequence of notes plucked by The Edge, advances and progresses in continuous growth and without respite. The title-track - with a piano accompanying a tender autumnal poetry - conversely shows itself to be touching and perhaps one of the best expressive trials that finds a limit in its excessive brevity, leaving to the bewildering "Stranger In A Strange Land", with a clear psyc As if modeling themselves after psychedelic approach, to blend perfectly with the fundamental rhythmic motor led and fueled by Larry and Adam, even more essential than usual. The air of relaxation breathes in the almost instrumental "Scarlet", almost acting as a prelude to the closing vivacity of "Is That All?" which, more than simulating a moral legacy on the opportunity of the apparent contradiction between faith and musician, reveals itself as an exhortation for the listener to go well beyond the emotional influence created by the immediate enjoyment of music (Oh to sing this song makes me happy - I'm not happy with you - Oh to sing this song makes me dance - Is that all? - Is that all? - Is that all?).

"October" (the cover of which portrays the band near the port of Dublin) underwent a very difficult journey, even if at the time of its release it had a greater number of expectations to satisfy than its predecessor had. We are faced with a work far from fashionable, whose strength is represented precisely by music that, paired with resolute lyrics, manages to explore even those unseen coves where contradictory feelings like love and despair can coexist. Another brick that will help rise from the underground and will be fundamental for worldwide conquest.

[The deluxe edition besides offering a remastered version of the original album, contains a second disc with another hour of significantly quality music. We find some appealing BBC Sessions ("With A Shout", "Scarlet" and "I Threw A Brick Through A Window"), not to mention the almost unreachable until now "J Swallow", "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" and "The Ocean" (from the live performance on March 6, 1981 held at Paradise in Boston) which together were available only on the twelve-inch (and only later on CD!) of "Fire". For many, it is also an opportunity to give due value to the discursive "A Celebration" released on 45 rpm and never included on LP (only the compilation "Rare Rock Collection" for Rock Against AIDS from 1987 can boast such a record), but never so loved by the band].