Whatever I write here isn’t going to convince those non-believers. U2 split the divide, which is ironic given their geographical origins, and you have already made your mind up about them. I get that.
But what is on show here is more experimentation, more variation, more than a few nuggets of a band finding their way. They found their destination and good luck to them – some people are happier on the beach than in the mountains. But before they got there, you get the likes of ‘Gloria’ and ‘I threw a brick’ which trips over the rocks, dips a toe and bashes your head before you get there. Not so much classics, just songs not dominated by ‘The Edge’ before he ‘couldn’t find what he was looking for’.
Sure, you may not hear many of these tracks at any of their live shows nowadays, but isn’t that the point of discovery? They were destined to be big. Take a listen to an LP recorded before that happened. You might be surprised. I was.
