October: Retrospecitve

[Lizard]

Gloria
Is that all
Stranger in a strange Land

I used to work not too far from one of the main border stations between East and West Germany. So whenever I am in this area I think of that song. I like the way Bono describes the young soldier with compassion - even though they had some inconveniences getting out of the bus during the night and so on. When you hear stories from other people who crossed the border at that time they hardly talk about the soldiers and what they looked like. They rather talk about how angry they were for having to stop that long and all the annoyance that caused.
It's a beautiful song.

[SwimmingSorrows]

Gloria, Tomorrow, October.  The rest of this album is a blur in my mind, besides I Threw a Brick.  I've only listened to the whole thing in order once.

[Rasmus]

My three favorite songs are (in order)

1. Tomorrow
2. October
3. Gloria

October was the U2 album I heard last after I became a fan. When I finally got it I didn't really like it although i felt the song October was really good. I didn't like the religous themes as they seemed much more over the top than they were on the later records - much more preachy and direct in an annoying way. I also found it inferior to Boy that I thought was a much more interesting album. Because of this and because I found most of the songs weaker than on the other albums I ranked it as my least favorite U2 album for a long time (that title now goes to NLOTH). Today I like it a bit more. I enjoy about half of the album while i still find the other half quite bad.

[welshguy77]

I threw a brick, Gloria and October are my three favourite songs from the album.  October is, has been, and probably always will be my least favourite U2 album.  I have not listened to it in a long while.

[Argo]

Listened to the album a couple of times. Had been a while. It actually holds up better than I remember. No stand out stuff other than perhaps Gloria but is actually a pretty consistent album, in a good way. Second half maybe not quite so strong but if this is the worst a band has to offer and as a second album, they are travelling pretty well.

[benpoke]

Honestly, one of my favourite u2 albums.  I love the looseness and the atmosphere; you're unlikely to come away singing too many of the songs but you feel like you've had an experience.

This was the first studio U2 album I got into, after listen to Under A Blood Red Sky for months.  I still love it now.  Also, as a drummer, I have to say that this album is Larry's best moment.

Favourite tracks:

* Rejoice (turn it up loud and image you're at one of the really early shows - it must have sounded like this)
* I Threw A Brick (incredibly use of dynamics, whether intentional or not.  The bit where it comes crashing back in to the final verse and chorus after the bleak middle 8 is like coming out of a dark tunnel into a crowd of friends)
* Scarlet (The Unforgettable Fire begins right here!)

[zoo adam]

Can quite happily chill out and listen to the whole album. No songs I have to skip.

It was already U2 trying something different. Very soon after Boy. A lot more piano, quieter and not as in you're face as Boy.

Some good work going on in most of the songs.

[Coop15879]

Gloria, October, I Threw a Brick.  My first U2 album was Under a Blood Red Sky.  I was in 8th grade, 1983, and hooked.  After saving some cash, I went and bought October and War on vinyl (still have and still play).  It only took me 30 or so years to truly appreciate October.  It typically was my least favorite record.  Perhaps due to nostalgia, I have developed a appreciation for the music on this album.  It always seemed the most "irish" album. 

[shineinthesummernight]

I became a fan in '83, too!  I was in college.

[benpoke]

I became a fan in 83 too!  I was six (but had a teenage sister and boyfriend who played Blood Red Sky constantly).

[shineinthesummernight]

Cool!  "Under a Blood Red Sky" was the first tape I bought too.  Loved it and wore it out!

[Luzita]

I also became a fan in ‘83, though I stopped following the band in the 90s and only came back recently. My first album was War — still my favorite.

I like October quite a lot. I'd say it's my 6th favorite U2 album, so in the top half. Favorite songs:

Gloria (one of their all-time greats)
Rejoice
I Fall Down (kind of a tie with Tomorrow)



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[shineinthesummernight]

"October" is in my top three, depending on the day!

[hollywoodswag]

October is an album that falls near the bottom of my U2 rankings, but I felt like there was promise on it. It has some of that punk feel of Boy, but I feel like it is a much more mellow album. My top three are actually the first three on the album. I like Gloria for its energy, and that riff is stellar. I Threw a Brick has a great heavy sound that reminds me of U2's answer to Ticket to Ride from a sound perspective, with a lot of power in spite of a slow tempo.

I skipped track two there for a second, though, because it deserves to be mentioned on its own. I Fall Down is without question one of my absolute favorite U2 songs, period. I feel like The Edge was doing with a piano what he would later do with a delay pedal. It's a great ambient, almost optimistic piano riff, and the guitar sits nicely behind the verses. The live version included on the deluxe edition is even more spectacular. I remember hearing it and hitting repeat over and over again. Over the years as great songs and improved production have kicked in, this song still stands above most of U2's catalogue.

[dirtdrybonesandstone]

Nice versions of two October classics:

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