Search - U2 :: Best of 1990-00

The Best of 1990-2002?

S. Tidmore | Coker, Alabama United States | 11/21/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In 1991, U2 returned to the music industry with the phenomenal album Achtung Baby. While this release brought them back to their original status as amazing musicians, U2 would soon enter its low point with the releases of their hugely disappointing albums Zooropa and Pop. Fortunately, after the failure of these two strange albums they came back to their senses and recorded the more "normal" album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. Before I criticize them, I would first like to say that I am very proud of U2 for still managing to create a memorable cd with only four albums, only half of which were successful.



Now on to the criticism. First, the thing that angers me most about this cd is, like with The Best of 1980-1990's release of "The Sweetest Thing," they cheated with the songs. "Electrical Storm" and "The Hands That Built America" were both released in 2002, which means that they shouldn't be here. It's not that the songs are bad it's just that I wish they had saved them for a possible Best of 2000-2010. Next, while the song selection here is far superior to the Best of 1980-1990, there are still several flaws, which I will address later. Also, many of the remixed songs on the A-side should have appeared in their original versions. Last, to put it lightly, the B-sides SUCK!!!!!! Here's what they should have done to make this "deluxe edition" a little more desirable. For the singles, they should have made more room by transferring "Electrical Storm," "Miss Sarajevo," "The Hands That Built America," and "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the B-sides. Since all of these songs were released on either movie soundtracks or their own singles and not one of the four albums, I don't believe they should belong on the A-side. This not only would massively improve the B-sides, but also allow them to put in four missing songs. The songs I would insert would be "Walk On," "Please," "If God Will Send His Angels," and "Lemon," since many U2 fans unfortunately like this song. Also, the A-side lasts for about 72 minutes, so they could have added one more, which I would have choosen to be "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses." Next, "Gone," "Discotheque," and "Staring at the Sun" should have appeared in their original versions; however, the remix of "Numb" is more than welcomed here. That takes care of the A-side and now for the B-side. As I mentioned above, move the four "non-album" songs over here and add the songs "Always," "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," "Paint it Black," "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad," one of the remixes of "The Fly," and "Where Did it All Go Wrong" to the cd. Next, in order to fit all these on here some of the remixes need to go. I would suggest removing the remixes of "Dirty Day," "Numb," "If God Will Send His Angels," "Lemon," and "Discotheque." It also wouldn't kill them to remove the studio version of "Electrical Storm" since the William Orbit Mix is much better and still captures the essence of the song. The remixes of "Even Better Than the Real Thing" and "Mysterious Ways" are actually quite good and deserve to stay on here along with "Happiness is a Warm Gun," "Salome," and "Lady With the Spinning Head."



Like with their previous Best of cd, U2 created an album for "unexperienced" fans only. The big differences between the two Best of cds are the first decade had much better music and the B-sides from the first decade are actually worth the extra mula. I would recommend this cd only to people who just want the basic essientials of U2's later years. However, if anyone wants to truly experience The Best of 1990-2000, I recommend just buying the four albums, or at least Achtung Baby.





Here's how I'd list the tracks.



The A-side



1. Even Better Than The Real Thing

2. Mysterious Ways

3. Beautiful Day

4. If God Will Send His Angels

5. One

6. Lemon

7. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)

8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of

9. Gone (Original Version)

10. Until The End Of The World

11. Please

12. Discotheque (Original Version)

13. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

14. Staring At The Sun (Original Version)

15. Numb (New Mix)

16. The First Time

17. Walk On



The B-side



1. Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix)

2. Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad

3. Summer Rain

4. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix)

5. North and South Of The River

6. Your Blue Room

7. Miss Sarajevo

8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The Gun Mix)

9. Salome (Zooromancer Remix)

10. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

11. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)

12. The Fly (Any Remix)

13. Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix)

14. Paint It Black

15. Where Did It All Go Wrong

16. The Hands That Built America

17. The Ground Beneath Her Feet

18. Always

"