They all improved from this release. Larry’s drumming sounded more powerful and Edge would develop his trademark echo.
Three I haven't had a chance to listen to these tracks very much. I only became familiar with them through the 2008 CD release. Listening to them again now I'm pleasantly surprised how good these guys sound so early in their career. Bono is still finding himself; he's definitely earnest but needs to hone his craft some more. The band however are clicking. They've had at least a couple of years of playing together by this time, so they've obviously been finding their sound. This is reminiscent of that late 70's new wave style...ringing guitar, chunky rhythm. A really good start for the boys.
Yes, it's minimalist but to my ears they are more than competent enough on their instruments. I love the raw energy, and I actually prefer the sound here to the first album. Out of Control/Stories for Boys are Great, and that's the first time I ever heard Boy/Girl. I like this. A lot.
I don’t agree with this but Peter Hook has accused U2 a few time of ripping off Joy Division. Specifically he alleged Running To Stand Still was basically Atmosphere.
I definitely hear Joy Division on Three. Not so much vocally, of course, but the rest? Yeah, for sure.
your call, but i'm fairly certain bono has said multiple times that he was at least trying to emulate his vocal's after siouxsie's. i mean, i hear early banshees influence in these early u2 songs pretty loud and clear!
I love Three, so raw, and confident sounding. What they lack in execution is more than made up in exuberance. Out of Control is such a good song. This makes a nice supplement to Boy.
Not everybody has an I-Phone so it WAS optional for me. I downloaded on a computer BY CHOICE and I really appreciated it. The only issue I got with it was that one the tracks failed to be downloaded (while it was being downloaded there was an "error" and it just stopped) and I couldn't download it again for free as, technically, it had been downloaded once already... But I mean, people reacted to it like it was fascism. Complain about junk mail in your mailbox! There are many more things to complain about than getting a free U2 album you didn't ask for but can delete in a couple of clicks. It's like the Bono-bashing - I never understood it. What is so wrong about Bono compared to other rock stars? There are positive things to be said about the man. But he's just evil to many. As for the "Three EP", I love it It's raw, it's very amateurish still (I love that failed drum fill after the first verse), very punky. This band really worked their asses off to develop their sound and be TIGHT. When you hear them in 1978 and 1980 they're like two different bands. The EP is still rough and sloppy, the rythms are still frantic and all over the place, but in a very endearing manner. It also sounds very dry, the production (or lack of) is basic. No Martin Hannett or Steve Lillywhite yet! I like this TV appearance with a live vocal. The introduction cracks me up...just a bit too late Bono, maybe.
I was fortunate enough to see them before they hit the big time at the San Francisco civic center in 1984 I believe. Before the stadiums and the bigger than life image. Their latest release at the time I believe was either "War or "Rattle and Hum." Long time ago but I remember the show was awesome.
Apologies I'm going off memory here not looking anything up that I think they also had like a Mini EP titled correct me if I'm wrong "Under a Blood Red Sky"?
It followed the success of "War", it was a quick cash-in type of release. Still quite good and interesting and it featured two hard to get tracks at the time in their original form : "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" and "Party Girl". It's safe to say that most people were introduced to these two songs through the versions found on the "Under A Blood Red Sky" live EP/LP.
I like Three. It's a really fresh kind of release. I think we can't underestimate how rare it was for a baby-band of new wavers with big tunes and an accessible approach to come out of Dublin in 1978-79. That just didn't happen. I mean, can anyone name another big Irish band to appear between Thin Lizzy and Hothouse Flowers, for fifteen years? There was just nothing... oh, except for that U2 group which became the biggest such group in the world. U2 are of course mainly about the music, but I do think they also symbolize The New Ireland that began to appear in the 80s when the U2-generation started coming of age. The fact that the 4 members all met at Mount Temple school, which was non-denominational and allowed (even encouraged) the boys to rehearse rock music in its halls would have been an impossibility just five years earlier. In fact, two U2 members were born in England and one (Bono) is the product of a Catholic-Protestant marriage that was dangerous and frowned-upon in its time. The slightly-weird Christian group that three U2 members eventually joined (and all 4 were friendly with) was dead-set against "typical" Irish behavior like drinking alcohol, which they steadfastly avoided in the late 70s/early-80s (well, except for Adam). There was just a lot of "the new" about U2. Anyway, the Three EP: All three compositions are solid, and very impressive work considering the band could barely play instruments three years earlier when they formed, and had an average age of 18 (Larry was 17 when it was recorded). It's certainly rough and still slightly-amateurish in instrumental approach and recording technique, but the clarity of their message -- the communication, as Sam Phillips would have said -- is already all there. Bono talks a lot of nonsense about U2, but I think his comment about the early days was very apt when he said something like: "Lots of groups could play instruments really well and seemed to have it together more than we did, but they didn't have 'it' -- that special quality that the best groups have. We had nothing at all except 'it'." I certainly agree. Even in 1979, before the echo-sound that defined The Edge, before Lillywhite fine-tuned their sound, and before Larry was even totally committed to the group, the essential U2 vibe that marked them as future greats was very apparent. Speaking of Larry, his drumming does sound pretty weak on this, but his drums are also rather poorly recorded, I think. It's adequate, I guess, but pretty unimaginative stuff. (There was a period about 1978-79 when Larry was sort-of out of the group and they had some other drummers in. One label also offered to release a record by them on the condition that they kick Larry out of the band. They refused.) Adam was very weak in musical ability at this stage, but that choppy, chugging bass style worked very well for them this in this period, as it was in vogue with new wave guitar groups. Bono is just about all right, but obviously he hasn't found his own voice yet, still trying to sound like Siouxie Sioux. The Edge is the star of the show, maybe, and his guitar would really be at the center of their recordings up to about 1983-84 when Bono matched him in studio dominance. 'Out of Control' is fine, but it's hard to enjoy it now when the Boy track with Lillywhite is so much better. (I can't recall now, but I don't think the 1980 track has that slowed-down middle part, does it? That's odd.) 'Stories For Boys' is very good on Three and that's the one track here that I think might actually be preferable to the Boy version. It seems a tad faster, and it has a very wistful kind of joyful feeling about it, while on the album I find it feels more stately and serious. 'Boy/Girl' is a good one, too, but I can understand why it didn't quite make it onto the first studio album as other strong tracks were becoming available. Cool record. I wish I had one of those 1000 original copies....
And they didn't have that many older bands to look up to. They reached out to Phil Lynott asking for advice. I love that! I love Phil. And when he died, sadly, U2 was very big, although he didn't get to see "The Joshua Tree" zeitgeist.
I'd never heard three before. Very interesting. I like the raw sound - the production values are very much more in your face than Boy. Looking forward to this thread as it goes on. I had a girl friend (as opposed to a girlfriend) who had "I [heart] U2" painted into the racing stripes on her little coupe in college. She introduced me to old U2 (which wasn't THAT old at the time), and it stuck!
OK, I’ll jump in on this boat. I will say I wasn’t really exposed to U2’s early stuff until the Live Aid performance. It definitely caught my eye and I bought The Unforgettable Fire. Somehow, I remember learning to play I Will Follow, but I don’t remember owning Boy. I also loved Gloria, but also don’t remember October. I will have to look at my collection tomorrow. What I’m saying is I’ve never heard ‘3’ until now. So my reaction here is the first time hearing the songs. In Boy/Girl, I’m shocked at how many elements were already there, for such a young band. Pretty solid from all members. That’s intriguing because I thought interviews said that they barely knew how to play their instruments then, clearly not true. If I had heard it in its own time though, it probably wouldn’t have caught my attention. It’s frenetic, kind of like old Police. But the composition is a little piecemeal for me. (Agree that it’s mildly punk-esque.) I really didn’t like the live version someone posted (that is, my reaction on first viewing). I probably would have shrug it off as ‘poseurs’ - the grape eating and little kid thing was mildly odd. I don’t know the exact date of the live performance, but they look surprisingly road-savvy and comfortable with themselves. And in a retrospective, I’d have to give Bono credit for his continual ideas/attempt to connect with any crowd - one of the best frontmen in my collection. In a way, it kind of makes sense when you think of their fairly transparent approach in the early years.
That’s it! That was the 2nd U2 LP I owned: “Under a Blood Red Sky” and I learned I Will Follow and Gloria.
The U2 live album "Under a Blood Red Sky" is in my 10 desert island recordings. It is (to use a song title) glorious.
One thing early U2 had was quality in guitar hooks, and that goes for the songs on U2 3. I"m not saying they were necessarily impressive playing-wise; and I actually don't care too much about that; but they are definitely catchy and there's a certain constant creativity to the guitar that pleases my ear. The rhythm section is not that good, of course, and Bono's singing is impassioned but not all that impressive, but it runs on heart alone; but Edge's hooks, even without the delay and heavy echo of Lillywhite's production are solid. The passion and enthusiasm makes it all come over well.
The date (according to YouTube) is 5/15/81, in California Hall. Amazingly, the whole concert is on there, I watched it last night.
I dug out my old Three ep last night, which hasn’t seen the light of day in years. Despite what I said about Boy/Girl previously, I quite enjoyed it. I think it’s Bono’s vocals that let the side down on these recordings. Unfortunately, things get a lot worse for their next single before they get better.
