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| October | 
 enlarge | Artist: U2
Label: Island
Category: Music
List Price: $34.98
Buy New: $14.98
You Save: $20.00 (57%)
New (48) Used (13) from $13.29
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 8925
Format: Original Recording Remastered, Deluxe Edition
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 5.2 x 0.6
MPN: 001094802
UPC: 602517641938
EAN: 0602517641938
ASIN: B0013LPS9S
Release Date: July 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Gloria | | • | I Fall Down | | • | I Threw A Brick Through A Window | | • | Rejoice | | • | Fire | | • | Tomorrow | | • | October | | • | With A Shout | | • | Stranger In A Strange Land | | • | Scarlet | | • | Is That All |
Disc 2
| • | Gloria (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) | | • | I Fall Down (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) | | • | I Threw A Brick Through A Window (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) | | • | Fire (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) | | • | October (Live at Hammersmith Palais, London) | | • | With A Shout (Richard Skinner BBC Session) | | • | Scarlet (Richard Skinner BBC Session) | | • | I Threw A Brick Through A Window (Richard Skinner BBC Session) | | • | A Celebration | | • | J. Swallo | | • | Trash, Trampoline And The Party Girl | | • | I Will Follow (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) | | • | The Ocean (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) | | • | The Cry/Electric Co. (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) | | • | 11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Live at Paradise Theatre, Boston) | | • | I Will Follow (Live From Hattem, Netherlands) | | • | Tomorrow (Bono & Adam Clayton, Common Ground Remix) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
A standard CD and a bonus CD. Bonus CD includes b-sides, live tracks and rarities. Also includes a 32 page booklet with previously unseen photos, full lyrics, new liner notes by Neil McCormick, and explanatory notes on the bonus material by The Edge.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
A masterpiece finally gets its due July 23, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
A darker, more audacious effort than Boy, and comparatively less reaching than what War would go for, this is one of the better U2 albums in their catalog, the sound of which is now vastly improved thanks to a superior remastering effort. I distinctly remember this album being part of what seemed a powerful and rich triumverate, with Echo & The Bunnymen's "Heaven Up Here" and Psychedelic Furs' incredible "Talk Talk Talk". These 3 albums, it seemed at the time, were at the forefront of something distinct and special, steering punk away from the generic, emotionally direct path it had been on since its inception. It was now okay to be consciously creating "art". There was a piercing, post-punk sound around, The Jam was growing way beyond their borders, the sonic explorations of groups like Ski Patrol, Killing Joke, Adverts, Au Pairs, and the entire Batcave-pre-goth era (Sisters of Mercy, Sex Gang Children, Virgin Prunes which were somehow connected to U2) - that sort of thing - a new sound and October was an effort to lead it, quite typical of the confidence of this band, even with only one album under their belt. Played alongside Heaven Up Here and Talk Talk Talk, this makes perfect sense. Played alongside War and Joshua Tree, it is just as powerful.
The guitar exploration on tracks such as "I Threw A Brick", "Fire" (an amazing single at the time), and "Rejoice" showed a newfound aggressiveness that is completely at odds with what I have read about the recording of the album. These are not songs that find you (as on War) but ones you have to seek out, which may account for the reputation of it as difficult. I don't know how you can make this kind of reach-for-the-sky music in just your second LP, but the reach and grace of stuff like "Tomorrow" and "A Celebration" are the mark of a band with something special to say. I remember playing the second side of this LP over and over at the time, and still think it holds up gracefully.
The extra tracks here are well worth the extra price tag. A couple of dynamic live performances, the crucial single "A Celebration" (a precursor to War both lyrically and sonically), and "Trash Trampoline" in its pre-U2-Incorporated state. I can do without the Common Ground remix but I'm thinking big picture: it's great to see an album and single that were so important at the time get the overdue respect.
Don't forget this one July 22, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
October seems to be the album that gets the mildly positive reviews of U2's 80s albums. Critics loved U2 after "Boy" and on initial release thought this was a good album and compared it favorably to "Boy" but then as the decade went on, this one seemed to get slagged more and more. Not entirely fair. There are some telltale signs that this album wasn't all it could have been. The band doesn't seem all that happy with it 27 years on, the cover with brown print and tracklisting on the front looked haphazard, and, of course, "Sophomore slump". I think the music on this album is better than people remember. If you can remember what it might be like to hear U2 on college radio in the early 80s, or you were there for those small-club shows early on, you probably have a great appreciation for their progress through the 80s.
I jumped on board in 1987 with "The Joshua Tree", so I joined in when lots of others did, I guess. I can't claim to have been at any of those shows in Boston in 1980 or '81 (of course, I was just 12), but I do remember hearing "Gloria" on the radio and thought it was pretty cool. And in 1987, I requested "I Threw a Brick Through a Window" on UMass Dartmouth's radio station. For those five minutes, I felt what it must have been like to be a fan from the beginning. "The Joshua Tree" was #1, and U2 was no longer hip for college radio, but I wanted to hear this song. On the radio.
That's my standout track on this album, but then there's "October", "Tomorrow", "I Fall Down", "Stranger in a Strange Land". I think once "War" came out, this album suffered some backlash and it almost seems like they went from "Boy" to "War", and people forget this step. (And listen to "Rejoice" and then "New York" from almost 20 years later and notice how Bono sings the titles.) Give this album another chance, and by all means, listen to some of those bonus tracks! Again, they're young here, but "A Celebration" is a fun song and "J. Swallo" hints at some of the experimentation that you'll hear on The Unforgettable Fire reissue.
I guess "October" is a sensible title with all the wintry feeling of "War", (and the "New Year's Day" video where Larry's snare isn't in synch with the music) but I digress. This really is a great and underappreciated chapter in the U2 story.
Another Great U2 Album "October" August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This one is so far the second best remaster behind the first album. Excellent sound and highly recommended to fans as well as collectors. As with all the U2 material, had all the second CD material on vinyl. If your really looking for excellent U2 recordings, get this one and the first one as well. If you already have this on CD originally, it still a fine album but the second disc adds all the extra excitement.
Search out little site on the web "Judemac Forever" and drop us a visit.
My favorite month July 27, 2008
This was my least favorite U2 album originally when I was a kid just getting into them, like so many, after MTV started playing their rocking "Sunday Bloody Sunday" at Red Rocks music video. This album I think had a bit darker and deeper subject matter than their debut Boy (or U2 3). That might be why it took until I was a bit older to appreciate it, which I do and find myself continuing to go back to for great tracks like "Rejoice", "Scarlet", "October", and "Is That All?". It's awesome to get the rarities in proper form on this re-master now though. "A Celebration" is early U2 rarity at its best (though not so rare really if you watched the TBN Christian network's late night show Real Videos back in the day, then you would have seen this video in heavy rotation along with most of The Unforgettable Fire's videos and some of The Alarm's early stuff like "The Stand"). Classic.
 Brilliant remaster, excellent second CD, stratospheric price September 10, 2008
Having heard this disc at a friend's house, I can attest the sound is truly amazing. The remastering has been done expertly. The second disc is choice as well (though "Trash & Trampoline" has always been a throwaway song & 20-bit remastering can't change that; I'll bet there's an "inside" joke about that I'd love to hear).
I dock the set 1-star for an entirely non-musical reason...
(I MUST ASK THE OBVIOUS QUESTION: the technology to make these disc sound this good existed when they were first issued on CD, so WHY only NOW are we getting CDs of this audio quality? Answer: corporate greed. Something the band has little to do with, obviously. So I'm not taking the Boyz to task, but the greedy record company punks who not only overcharge us but then call us thieves and tell us that ripping tracks for our iPods is a crime! [Steve Jobs must've loved hearing that!])
I just wish these sets weren't so bloody expensive. While U2 out-takes and "B"-sides (back when there was were such things -- dating myself, I know) have usually been of very high quality, I hardly think putting them on a CD justifies these very high prices. I admit I did dig in and spend $50 for "The Joshua Tree" "Deluxe" package, but it includes a DVD concert video, whereas these sets don't. But I've always considered "Joshua Tree" to be the pinnacle of U2's artistic achievement; with the exception of a few tracks (e.g. "Desire", "Mysterious Ways", "Beautiful Day") they have never again reached that level (after all this was the album that led Rolling Stone to call U2 the "Band of the 80s" and the album, the album of the 80s; admittedly Rolling Stone--quite justifiably--isn't taken seriously for their criticism, I mean look at their abysmal treatment of Rush over the DECADES!!).
But the four pre-Tree discs were also outstanding, each disc getting better and better. And perhaps the precipitous decline in quality following "Tree" is understandable. How much brilliance can one artist (or group thereof) be expected to create in one lifetime? Thus "Zooropa", "Pop Mart" and other blatantly, rock-by-numbers albums were inevitable. One almost gets the feelings the albums were recorded simply as an excuse to tour. Personally, I wish they'd just tour and leave the utterly forgettable music unwritten and unrecorded. As it stands, they are backloading their legacy with throwaway discs that will never be considered in the same league (or even the "same ******* sport", to quote Quentin Tarantino) as their first five masterpieces.
But, getting back to my theme: guys, come on!, lower the prices. You pay ZERO income tax on your artistic earnings and you can't need the money (even Imelda Marcos couldn't spend that much money). Your label obviously WANTS it, but surely you're in a position to dictate terms.
I paid $200+ for two back-of-the-arena loge seats three years ago. And I've owned all of their albums up to "Rattle & Hum" inclusive (I even have the unfairly maligned movie of the same name on HD-DVD, which sounds and looks absolutely gorgeous).
So, lower the prices, take smaller bites and remember, not all of us are willing to burn up our credit cards to complete our collections.
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