U2 - The Best Of 19902000 BSides (30 tracks) +Album Reviews

The Best Of U2.....Maybe, Maybe Not!

J. L. Braswell | Cullman, Alabama United States | 11/10/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is a nice disc presented in a nice package, but upon listening to the contents I was left feeling rather disappointed. I will say that the remastered sound is impressive, but why was so many popular favorites left off of this "Best Of" CD? Where is 'The Fly' from the Achtung Baby album, or 'Lemon' from the Zooropa album, or 'Please' from the POP album, or the emmy winning 'Walk On' from All That You Can't Leave Behind???? Why were none of the songs from the soundtrack The Million Dollar Hotel such as 'The Ground Beneath Her feet' or 'Stateless' included here? Puzzling exclusions to be sure. The new songs 'Electrical Storm' and 'The Hands That Built America' are worthy additions to U2's list of hits. I am always glad to get new releases from this band, and I wasn't disappointed. As for the songs that feature a "new mix" is concerned, my vote is split. I like the new version of 'Staring At The Sun', as well as the new mix of 'Discotheque' (actually, I cannot decide if it is better than the original, but it is definitely as good as). My favorite song on the POP album was 'Gone', and I simply do not like the new mix presented here. 'Numb' suffers the most from the new mixes. This version was abysmal and just plain noisy! Overall, I could have stood to get the original versions in place of the new mixes on this album. The B-Sides of this set is a different story. I have always been a fan of U2's great rock music, but have always been put off by their dance remixes. I simply am not a dance/techno music fan in any way. I was dismayed to see the track listing of this set several months ago. I could tell by the titles that lots of dance mixes would be included. This is unfortunate, considering all the wonderful rock versions that were available on countless CD singles. The B-Sides of the Best Of 1980 - 1990 was a wonderful collection of songs that sometimes surpassed anything released on their albums. No such luck here. U2's awesome rock renditions of 'Salome', 'The Lounge Fly', 'Where Did It All Go Wrong', 'Paint it Black', 'Fortunate Son', 'Lady With the Spinning Head', 'Satellite Of love', 'Night And Day', 'I've Got You Under My Skin' (Bono and Frank Sinatra), and 'Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad' are destined to never be made very public seeing that this once in a lifetime opportunity was squandered on dance mixes. Oh well, at *least* 'North And South Of The River', 'Summer Rain', 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun' and 'Your Blue Room' was included in all their glory. The B-Sides could have really rocked and appealed to more people had the right decisions been made. The Bonus DVD included here is also a mixed bag. For one, I was not expecting to recieve a mere promotional disc. At least this set wasn't ridiculously over-priced, or I would have been very upset at this bummer of a DVD. It includes four tracks only, the first being a seven minute "History Mix" featuing a barrage of U2 Footage from the past decade. The second track is a two and a half minute advertisment for the upcoming DVD which fails to even mention when it is going to be released. The third track is "The Live Mural Cut of *Please*", featuring a live performance which lasts five minutes. The last track is a video of 'Beautiful day' which features footage shot on location in France (not the version aired on VH-1 or M TV). The last two tracks are pretty good, while the first two are nothing but commercialism in a bag. Overall, this isn't a bad release, but it does fall way short of what could have been. It doesn't even contain a hidden bonus track! If you are a fan of the awesome U2 Best of 1980 - 1990, you may as well prepare yourself for a let down here. Don't expect this new album to be nearly as good as it (the best of 1980-1990) was because sadly, it is not."

U2 dodged a bullet in '97

Mike Castellanos | San Diego, CA | 11/25/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Can a band like U2 really get away with putting out compilation albums? Not really; the hardcore fans would never allow them to. There will always be complaints about compilations released by a band of this stature. They always center around the songs that were left off, particularly by those fans who feel this band owes them something. That's the equivalent of a hardcore fan going to see a band, and leaving disappointed because some "obscure album track that was never a hit" wasn't performed just for them. I remember going to PopMart in '97 and some guy next to me being bummed out because "Indian Summer Sky" wasn't on the setlist. Any complaints about this kind of petty thing is ultimately pointless.
What WAS left off were tracks that would have made sense in a compilation like this. The omission of "Please" is almost inexcusable, as the song was a centerpiece of the PopMart tour, much more than "Gone" or even "Staring At The Sun". Considering that the album version of "Please" was incomplete at the time of POP's release (listen to Bono's vocals on the album), we would have all had the definitive version of the song had this included the single version. Also interesting, even if included on the B-Sides cd, would have been "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" and the Clayton/Mullen rework of "Mission Impossible", if only for completists' sakes. Looking at the track list of this "Best of", it's obvious from the various different mixes and the omission of other big tracks ("Walk On", anyone?) that this compilation is intended almost solely for the longtime U2 fans. Any casual fan wanting to pick up the singles they've heard over the years would have been VERY disappointed, "Best of" apparently NOT the same as "Greatest Hits".
What is most alarming about this collection is the work that was done on the tracks off POP, released in 1997. After the album had been out, and considered by many to be a failure, it was revealed that one of the reasons the album was so odd was that with the PopMart tour booked, the album itself was released UNFINISHED just to meet the deadlines. As a result some of the tracks were deemed sub-par by some of the members of U2. If the remixes on here are supposed to be the definitive, COMPLETE versions of these songs, then thank god for the original versions. Who knows what damage an album full of this kind of thing would have done to their career. "Discotheque" and "Gone" sound even more unfinished than the POP versions. "Staring At The Sun", meanwhile, doesn't fare much better. The fact is that the original mix of these songs wasn't the problem the first time around. The songs themselves were the real issue. A thousand remixes couldn't make "Staring At The Sun" sound any less flat and uninspired than it already did. What would have worked better would have been the single versions of these tracks.
On the plus side, the new tracks are brilliant, particularly the gorgeous "Electrical Storm". U2 should consider William Orbit for their next album. He adds a warm, cinematic touch to the song, much like he did for the Madonna "Ray Of Light" album. For those fans who complain about having to get the "Best Of" CD just for two new tracks, the price is more than worth it for these two.
Even with the omissions and the detours, this album is full of brilliant songs that should be a great listen to anyone interested in listening to one of the great bands of all time daring its audience to "see colors that have never been seen, discover places no one else has been"."

One Shot of Happy, Two Shots of Sad

Thomas H. Ayers | Bowie, MD United States | 11/11/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This "Best of w/ B-Sides 1990-2000" collection is not as fulfilling as the "Best of w/ B-Sides 1980-1990" collection released two years ago, but it does contains some unique and obscure material worthy of your time and money. For those unfamiliar with U2's "Best of" sets, these are the creme of the singles crop, not the creme of the crop of all songs released on albums. If you want the BEST of U2, you will have to buy every album they've produced. If you want a good overview of the band's work, these are a good place to get acquainted; the 1990-2000 set is no exception.One Shot of Happy: This set boasts some of the best songs U2 produced in the last decade: "One", "Stay(Faraway, So Close", "Gone", and "Beautiful Day", among them. It also contains two NEW songs: "Electrical Storm", a song about a fracturing relationship that grows on you with each listen, and "The Hands That Built America", an evocative theme-song for "Gangs of New York" that is a cross between "Heartland" from Rattle and Hum and "Miss Sarajevo" from Passengers: Original Soundtracks. I bought this "Best of" collection for the two new songs, and I'm glad I did.Two Shot of Sad (Part One): I am not a fan of remixes. This set is 50% remixes, if you include the "new mix" versions of some of U2's hit singles. These remixes range from "what's the point" to "very interesting". I always preferred "Staring at the Sun (lab rat mix)" and "Lemon (perfecto mix)" of the remixes I have heard, but they were not included on the album. The "new mixes" are sometimes improvements on the originals, "Numb" a case in point.Two Shots of Sad (Part Two): I found the selection of the creme of the singles to be spotty, and I was NOT pleased with the paltry selection of B-side songs--I don't view remixes as being true B-sides, because they are simply reworkings of songs, not new ones. First, the singles. Where is "The Fly", "Lemon", "Please", "Mofo", "Walk On", and "Elevation"? In particular, "Mofo" always seemed to be the capstone to a trilogy of songs ("Discotheque", "Do You Feel Loved?", "Mofo") in "Pop", and to omit it is to lose the most powerful song in the set; shame, shame, shame. (Given that Bono has said that his whole life is in that song, why would U2 omit it?) "The First Time" was never a single, so it really doesn't belong in this set of "best of" singles; frankly, "The Hands That Built America" doesn't below here either for the same reason, though I'm glad it's here.Second, the B-sides. Forget the remixes. Where are the really good B-side songs, like "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad", "Always", and "Sunday Bloody Sunday (live from Sarajevo)"?
Where are "Holy Joe", "Pop Muzik", "Where Did It All Go Wrong",
"I'm Not Your Baby", and "Alex Descends Into Hell for a Bottle of Milk"? Maybe they aren't all great, but the B-sides on the 1980-1990 weren't all great either; I was still glad to have them. So, if you want all of those songs, you'll have to try to buy the CD singles.Summary: If you want the new songs and some interesting new takes on classic songs, buy this set. If you are a remix fan, buy this set. If you are new to this period of U2's music, buy this set. It doesn't contain all of the best of their singles, but it's a fine selection. If you only want LOTS of unusual B-sides that aren't simply remixes, then stay away and hunt down the CD singles. For me, this set was merely one shot of happy, two shots of sad. It should have been the other way around."

Compilation or "New" Album? A Bit of Both

Richard B. Luhrs | Jackson Heights, NY United States | 12/03/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The "Best Of..." label usually denotes a tiresomely obvious collection of an artist's most overplayed and/or overpurchased material, conveniently assembled for the car-stereo dilletante, with perhaps one or two new tracks tossed in to snare hardcore fans as well. U2's BEST OF 1990-2000, however, seems to be aimed primarily at the band's devotees, as it excludes nearly as many hits as it includes and offers up a wealth of remixes, non-album songs and new material to make up the shortfall. The result is something of a mixed bag, but one which should satisfy both light and heavy listeners for the most part. The 1991 classic ACHTUNG BABY is represented by four tracks - the vibrant love song "Even Better Than the Real Thing"; "Mysterious Ways" with its punchy danceability and singalong chorus; "One" (probably U2's most beautiful ballad) and the apocalyptically clever rocker

"Until the End of the World." All essential tracks, to be sure. 1993's ZOOROPA contributes its own haunting ballad, "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)," along with a tasteful and vocals-heavy remix of The Edge's showcase "Numb" and - as a pleasant surprise - the pretty but relatively obscure "The First Time." 1997's POP retains its place as U2's most misunderstood and underrated work, with all three of its included songs presented in new mixes. "Gone," my own personal favorite, gets stripped of many of the overdubbed effects and echoes which defined the brilliant album version, but retains its superheavy sound and spirit. "Discotheque" fares less well, losing about thirty seconds in length and too many guitar tracks to compete with the original. "Staring at the Sun" is the least-tampered-with of the three, still a nice medium-tempo track with just enough darkness to give it bite. As for the 2000 megahit ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND, only two of its songs - the Grammy-winning anthem

"Beautiful Day" and the pseudoinspirational "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get out Of" - make it onto this disc, which is quite a shock. Where's "Elevation"? Where's "Walk On"? For that matter, where's ZOOROPA's best-known track, "Lemon"? Not here. In their place we get a new song, "Electrical Storm," which has some catchy moments but doesn't sound like it's destined to become one of U2's classics; the curious "Miss Sarajevo," a droning number featuring an interlude by Luciano Pavarotti; and two soundtrack items - "The Hands That Built America" from "Gangs of New York" and "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," a strong rocker from 1995's "Batman Forever." As noted earlier, most of this material is of greater interest to U2 fans than dabblers, but that's okay; in the absence of a new album proper,this

"greatest hits plus" package fills the hole in effective if rather uneven fashion.

Which brings us, some two years later, to THE B-SIDES. As anyone conversant with U2's recorded output knows, the band's 1990s CD singles tended to focus more on remixes, extensions and other such exotic mutilations of the A-side than on genuine non-album backing tracks. That in itself is neither a good nor a bad thing; but while giving various big-name engineers and DJs a chance to play around with U2 tapes might result in some diverting dancefloor fantasias, it doesn't exactly make for essential listening. Nevertheless, tortured explorations of latterday U2 hits swallow up most of THE B-SIDES 1990-2000 at the expense of other uncollected songs which would undoubtedly be of greater interest to anyone not in the habit of hosting raves.

Anyway, to make a (sometimes very) long story short, "Even Better Than the Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)" is about as far from perfecto as I can imagine such a thing being, disemboweling this briliant song and dragging its innards out over nearly seven minutes of robot drums, girl singers and an ambience best described as a whole lotta nothin'. Conversely, "Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix)" is superfluous precisely because it varies so little from the original, which is still better. The same might be said of "Dirty Day (Junk Day Mix)" but for the fact that the original version isn't on the BEST OF disc, meaning this will have to do. On the other hand, "Numb" having already been rethought to good effect on the accompanying compilation, the aggravating "Gimme Some More Dignity Mix" is a perfect excuse to go and see whether the beer is cold yet, while "Lemon (Jeep Mix)" serves only to reaffirm one's shock at the exclusion of the brilliant album track from THE BEST OF 1990-2000. "Discotheque (Hexidecimal Mix)" is even less impressive than the deflated version on the anthology, but "If God Will Send His Angels (Big Yam Mix)" is at least as strong as the original POP track, leaving the song's structure intact behind a more adventurous soundstage.

Ironically, the most successful remixes on this collection are in fact those of a pair of non-LP tracks. The psychedelic opus "Lady With a Spinning Head," probably the greatest of all U2 B-sides in its original four-minute form, is only strengthened in this "Extended Dance Mix" by an extra two minutes of alternately punchy and paradisiac synthesizer inserts. "Salome," rather lacklustre in its initial incarnation, also gains something in its lengthier presentation here. A POP-era workout on the Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" stomps along agreeably, making one wish U2 had seen fit to stick some more examples of its small but interesting crop of 1990s covers onto this collection. Elsewhere, the "original" mix of "Electrical Storm" is arguably superior to the Wiliam Orbit rethink on THE BEST OF 1990-2000, but either version of this mediocre song would be more than sufficient without the other. "Summer Rain" almost sounds like a demo, and not a terribly promising one at that. "North and South of the River" is okay but no more, while the Passengers' Leonard Cohen tribute "Your Blue Room," though a beautiful song, is actually a bit of a cheat here since its initial appearance was not as a B-side but as an album track.

I'm not sure what inspired U2 to select these particular recordings, many of which must rank among the band's least accessible work, for inclusion in this compilation; but given the underrepresentation of ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND on the BEST OF disc, one is tempted to wonder if a conscious effort has been made here to reestablish U2's cutting-edge credibility in the wake of such an overtly (and successfully) mainstream release. Pure conjecture, of course - much like the remixes themselves. For avowed fans and the merely curious alike, however, all that really matters is that the great U2 B-sides package, like the great U2 hits collection, still has yet to be released."

Would have preferred the real thing

Alan | Boston, MA | 11/17/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In my view, the 1990's brought U2's best("Achtung Baby" from 1991) and worst ("Pop" from 1997) work. In-between were the
best ("Zooropa" from 1993) and worst (Passengers from 1995) throw-away albums by anyone in history. The decade closed
with the recording of "All That You Can't Leave Behind" which
is stuck somewhere in the middle of the good and bad listed above. The result is a wide variation from universally popular "One" and "Beautiful Day" to remixes of songs nobody really likes "Staring At The Sun" and the boring "Hands That Built America". The B-Sides are extended versions of songs that did not require that change "Lemon" and "If God Will Send In His Angels". Missing are "The Fly", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild
Horses", and the original "Lemon" on the A-Side while "Night
and Day" is a glaring omission on the B-sides.I was pleased to see the inclusion of "Until The End of the World" and "Miss Sarejevo" on the A-side and the redo of
"Dirty Day" on the B-side is brilliant. Another observation...I frequently dislike U2 songs not produced by the Lillywhite/Lanois/Eno/Flood team through the years. Willaim Orbit's Madonna-esque spin of "Electric Storm" kills that song. Everytime U2 works with Lanois/Eno, its compelling.
Stick with what works! Maybe we'll see Edge produce a U2 work
in the new decade-now that would be fun!

Overall I loved the 1990's U2, this collection does an average job of documenting one of the great bands in history second decade."

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