I hope that all of you in the States had a happy Thanksgiving this past week. If you are not in America, I hope that your week was pleasant and happy. I’ve been writing these U2101 articles for a while now, and to be honest, I’ve started having a bit of trouble coming up with songs to write about. That’s not because there are so few songs that I have left to talk about, although I have covered most of U2’s studio tracks.  The problem is that I simply can’t remember what songs I have written about and which songs I have not. So, in order to get an article written about each and every song that U2 has recorded in the studio, I am starting, this week, with the songs from Boy that I have not written about. When I’m done with Boy, I will move on to October, and so on. There are several albums that I’ve already covered in their entirety, so I predict that by the end of 2019 I will have written an article on each and every U2 studio song. Who knows what I will write about then? We’ll find out together.

Anyway, working on Boy, the first song that caught my eye that I haven’t already covered is “Another Time, Another Place.” This baby is a great, hard-driving rock song with aggressive performances from all four members of the band. I especially enjoy the vigorous bass during the verses, and Larry’s and Bono’s assertive performances following the guitar solo. There’s an extra little verse in there, with just about a minute left in the song, where the singer and the drummer are positively kicking butt. Bono is singing some Bongolese that I’ve never  been able to decipher, but which sounds fantastic all  the same, while Larry is pounding on the snare to great effect. Even though the “words” that Bono is singing don’t have any meaning, as far as I can make out, it still makes for an effective climax to the song, with lots of emotion and passion, hallmarks of U2’s music throughout their career.

I think  that the song, from a lyrical standpoint, is simply about the young singer’s loneliness. He wakes up alone, after dreaming about his girl, and thinks that she is so far away that she might as well be living in another world altogether. Not a terribly original idea for a song, but it is executed so powerfully that I’m willing to forgive that.

“Another Time, Another Place” was a staple of the shows during U2’s early days, going as far back as early 1979, and up through the Boy and October tours. Since then, sadly, the song hasn’t been played even once in front of an audience. When looking for something from those early days, U2 seem to go for either “I Will Follow,” “Out of Control,” or “Electric Co,” all fantastic songs, I admit, but why not mix it up a little more and try one of the forgotten songs from Boy? I think that “Another Time, Another Place” would go over very well with the U2 faithful. It is no more obscure than “Electric Co,” and it has plenty of energy to get the crowd jumping. I think that even casual fans would get a kick out of it, so, Adam, Larry, Edge, and Bono, please consider reviving “Another Time, Another Place” for whatever the next tour is. It would be a highlight, I’m sure.