U2: October (1981)

U2's second effort has always been one of my favorite albums.

Though it's probably one of their least-acclaimed albums, OCTOBER is where it all began to come together for U2. The youthful exuberance they demonstrated on BOY was now a given, but for this, their second album, the conceptual end of things ... Full Description began to coalesce as well. The Edge had begun to expand his sonic palette, and the effects-heavy guitar approach that he would rely on for the next several years came to full fruition here. There's further development of the bold, anthemic approach that would come to characterize the band's arrangements, and the songwriting is just plain better. Most affecting, and indicative of the group's progress is the emotional epic "Gloria;" full of resounding major chords and throbbing rhythms, it's simultaneously an open admission of self-doubt and a call to arms to embrace life's uncertainties. This contrast is what makes OCTOBER, along with much of U2's early work, so effective.

Recorded at Windmill Lane, Dublin, Ireland in July and August 1981. Originally released on Island Records (90092).

Track Listing:
1. Gloria
2. I Fall Down
3. I Threw a Brick Through a Window
4. Rejoice
5. Fire
6. Tomorrow
7. October
8. With a Shout
9. Stranger in a Strange Land
10. Scarlet
11. Is That All?

Personal:
Bono (vocals)
The Edge (guitar, piano)
Adam Clayton (bass)
Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums)

Album description in italic courtesy cduniverse.com.