Reviewed by John Cheek

"We don't sound like any other group. Our songs are different - they hold emotions of a spiritual nature." The lack of a new U2 long-player - now scheduled for 2nd March - has ensured renewed interest in last year's remastered, reissued first three albums. Although it's hard to believe, there was a time when U2's peers weren't Oasis, R.E.M. or the Stones; 'Boy' comes from an era when The Blades and Protex featured among their contemporaries as Dublin's finest debuted amidst the mod revival and where Blondie, Talking Heads and The Clash were expected to clean-up the decade. 'Boy' is testimony to U2's longevity and to how relevant they sounded in 1980. As those latter artists got high on "experimentation", U2 were in the vanguard of post-punk and the sad beauty of things like "The Ocean" threatened to mask the sheer innocence and naivety, not just of the lyrics but the sonic landscapes of "I Will Follow" and "Out Of Control". Remastered, they yield a new freshness as four teenagers grapple with adolescent feelings towards relationships, spirituality and adult life. Containing the most interesting bonus CD of the three, there's 1978's "Street Missions" - a song I'd only heard previously on a rare, bootleg tape. Well worth investigating.