U2
Three

THE REVIEW

There are times that will never return. When Bono couldn't even imagine that twenty years later he would put aside his rock star role a little to save the whales, U2 released this first EP, with CBS... and it was 1979. It contains only 3 songs, two of which: Stories For Boys and Out Of Control would be revisited and reworked in the debut album. What we have here is a raw first step toward a uniqueness of sound and lyrics that the four just-of-age members had yet to find. Out Of Control is the manifesto of this period of drift, of rock and of the early U2; sounds of the time are blended without too much thought: Joy Division (in the subsequent album, "A Day Without Me" would represent Bono's reaction to Ian Curtis' suicide), Sex Pistols, Ramones at the forefront. And it's quite enjoyable to hear the Edge's Explorer fire off direct and genuine riffs, listen to the rhythmic part of Larry and Adam supporting the entire EP. Can Bono remain in the background on a U2 record? In 1979: yes. And it would never happen again.

Out Of Control was revisited during the 2000 tour, but it no longer had a reason to be, much like Daltrey and Townshend singing "I Wanna Die Before I Get Old" today: out of place. Three is "everything the Dublin band has left behind." Perhaps it would have been better not to forget.