The debut album from the now monstrous Irish band, Boy is a rather respectable album. It's definitely not as polished as their other albums, which can be a good and bad thing. The good: it's pure raw emotion that you can hear in Bono's voice. The bad: it's a little less organized than all the others but that's expected of a debut album, especially one conceived in 1980. The biggest problem with the record is that Bono's voice is so monotone that any intended melody refuses to come through. When it comes to his more heartbreaking songs, it makes sense but the album overall is about sex. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that a monotone voice is not very sensual.
Rating: Download
U2's "October"; Rock; Island Records
Oh, the dreaded second album! Many bands hit a sophomore slump and it seems as if U2 is one of those bands. October is not bad by any standards, but most U2 albums tend to be a hit or miss and this one is a miss. One thing that is very evident is that Adam Clayton, the bassist, has gotten better, or at least changed his style, since the first record. He fuses together playing with his fingers with slap & pop, usually associated with funk music, on Gloria. But this doesn't distract from the ruling. I suppose what attributed to the ordinariness is that Bono's lyrics were stolen right before the recording session, so he had to remember the lyrics or make them up. I wonder how much better the album would have been if the lyrics were more powerful. The music still would have been nothing to write home about, though.
Rating: Throw Away
Side note: I cannot wait until Wednesday when I get to review the Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum.
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