U2. Boy (1980)

Boy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980.

The album was preceded by the single "I Will Follow". The single was a hit on college radio and established a buzz surrounding the group's debut. The song was widely perceived as a religious song, affirming the band's Christian faith, though this has never been confirmed or denied. The song, along with the album, also focuses on Bono's childhood and the loss of his mother at the age of 14.

Originally, Joy Division producer Martin Hannett (who also produced U2's 11 O'Clock Tick Tock single) was supposed to produce U2's debut album, but was too distraught after the suicide of Ian Curtis. Boy was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin with Steve Lillywhite producing. Some of the songs, including "An Cat Dubh" and "The Ocean", were written and recorded in the studio. Many of the songs were taken from the band's 40-song repertoire at the time, including "Stories for Boys", "Out of Control", and "Twilight". The Edge recorded all the songs using his natural stained Gibson Explorer.

The album has overtones of sexuality, leading to its enthusiastic acceptance in American gay clubs shortly after its release. Bono commented on this phenomenon, saying "First of all we started out and made Boy, which is a sexual LP, and we changed the cover in America to stop any concern there might be about paedophilia and the like, because it was our first album. But import copies got in and, as you know, in America a lot of music is broken in gay clubs and so we had a gay audience, a lot of people who were convinced the music was specifically for them. So there was a misconception if you like."

The final track on the album, "Shadows and Tall Trees", gives a nod to William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies; it shares its name with a chapter from the book.

Boy's highest position on the Billboard 200 was #63, but after the success of U2's later material, it re-entered the American charts for a lengthier spell. In the United Kingdom it reached #52. "I Will Follow" peaked at #20 on the Mainstream Rock charts.

Despite criticisms of their live shows as predictable and Bono using "too much echo", these early live shows nevertheless helped demonstrate U2's potential, as critics noted that Bono was a very "charismatic" and "passionate" showman, reminiscent of a young Rod Stewart. Boy is the only U2 album from which every song (as well as every B-side) has been performed live at least once.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 417 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track Listing

All songs written by U2, lyrics by Bono.

1. "I Will Follow" – 3:36
2. "Twilight" – 4:22
3. "An Cat Dubh" – 6:21
4. "Into the Heart" – 1:53
5. "Out of Control" – 4:13
6. "Stories for Boys" – 3:02
7. "The Ocean" – 1:34
8. "A Day Without Me" – 3:14
9. "Another Time, Another Place" – 4:34
10. "The Electric Co." – 4:48
11. "Shadows and Tall Trees" – 4:36

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U2. Achtung Baby (1991)

Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on 19 November 1991. The album arrived nearly two years after lead vocalist Bono announced the band would have to "go away and dream it all up again", following the mixed response to 1988's Rattle and Hum.

The album marks a dramatic change in the band's sound, taking on electronic influences in the rhythms, denser, more detailed production, and more guitar effects, as well as darker and more personal lyrical content. The effect reflected the textures of then-emergent techno and electronic music, as well as the innovations of younger alternative rock groups such as My Bloody Valentine and the trippy dance-rock fusions of the Madchester groups contemporary to the early 90s. The results were considerably more adventurous and less traditionally rock-based than their previous efforts, and Achtung Baby is one of U2's best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums.

On the Billboard Music Charts (North America), Achtung Baby topped the Billboard 200 chart. It won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Rolling Stone magazine

declared that U2 had "proven that the same penchant for epic musical and verbal gestures that leads many artists to self-parody can, in more inspired hands, fuel the unforgettable fire that defines great rock & roll."

The album is frequently cited as one of the greatest in rock history. In 19

98 Q magazine readers voted Achtung Baby the 15th greatest album of all time; in 2001 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 65. Also in 2003, Q declared its third track, "One", "the greatest recorded song of all time". In 2003, the album was ranked number 62 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was voted #11 on Spin's "Best Albums of the Last 25 Years" list.

Track Listing

The music was credited to U2, with words written specifically by Bono and the Edge.

1. "Zoo Station" – 4:36
2. "Even Better Than the Real Thing" – 3:41
3. "One" – 4:36
4. "Until the End of the World" – 4:39
5. "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" – 5:16
6. "So Cruel" – 5:49
7. "The Fly" – 4:29
8. "Mysterious Ways" – 4:04
9. "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World" – 3:53
10. "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" – 5:31
11. "Acrobat" – 4:30
12. "Love Is Blindness" – 4:23

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U2. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the commercially successful and critically acclaimed eleventh studio album by Irish rock band U2, released in November 2004.

U2 lead singer Bono described the album as "our first rock album. It's taken us twenty years or whatever it is, but this is our first rock album." Although not a concept album in the traditional sense, most of the music on the record deals with the world at the crossroads of its existence. Love and war, peace and harmony, and approaching death are themes of the album.

The album was produced by Steve Lillywhite, with others involved in the production including Flood, Jacknife Lee, Nellee Hooper, Chris Thomas, Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, and Carl Glanville.

Track Listing

Music by U2, lyrics by Bono except "Vertigo", "Love and Peace or Else" and "Yahweh" (words by Bono and the Edge).

1. "Vertigo" – 3:11
2. "Miracle Drug" – 3:54
3. "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" – 5:08
4. "Love and Peace or Else" – 4:48
5. "City of Blinding Lights" – 5:47
6. "All Because of You" – 3:34
7. "A Man and a Woman" – 4:30
8. "Crumbs from Your Table" – 5:03
9. "One Step Closer" – 3:48
10. "Original of the Species" – 4:41
11. "Yahweh" – 4:22
12. "Fast Cars" – 3:44

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U2. All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)

All That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by the Irish rock band U2, released in 2000 by Island Records in the UK and Interscope Records in the U.S. The album was ranked by Rolling Stone as the 139th greatest album of all time.

Both "Beautiful Day" and "Walk On" scored the prestigious Grammy Award for Record of the Year in consecutive years (Beautiful Day in 2001 and Walk On in 2002), thus making All That You Can't Leave Behind the only album ever to have two singles score Record of the Year for two consecutive years. The album also netted the Best Rock Album award in 2002, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation" in 2001 and 2002, respectively, Song of the Year for "Beautiful Day" in 2001, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of."

Track Listing

Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono (except "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Kite" and "When I Look at the World" lyrics by Bono and The Edge; lyrics for "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" by Salman Rushdie).

1. "Beautiful Day"
2. "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
3. "Elevation"
4. "Walk On"
5. "Kite"
6. "In a Little While"
7. "Wild Honey"
8. "Peace on Earth"
9. "When I Look at the World"
10. "New York"
11. "Grace"
12. "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" (UK bonus track)

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U2. The Joshua Tree (1987)

The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on March 9, 1987 on Island Records. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The album was massively successful. It has often been praised by music critics as the band's best album and one of the best rock albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 26 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The Joshua Tree won the Album of the Year award at the Grammy Awards of 1988.

Track Listing

Music by U2, lyrics by Bono.

1. "Where the Streets Have No Name" – 5:37
2. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" – 4:37
3. "With or Without You" – 4:56
4. "Bullet the Blue Sky" – 4:32
5. "Running to Stand Still" – 4:18
6. "Red Hill Mining Town" – 4:52
7. "In God's Country" – 2:57
8. "Trip Through Your Wires" – 3:32
9. "One Tree Hill" – 5:23
10. "Exit" – 4:13
11. "Mothers of the Disappeared" – 5:14

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