The best of U2
Reviews:
Exclusive Review from VH1
The question, when considering a greatest hits
album by a band as ingenious as U2, is why? Why, after a career
of stretching creative and musical limits, would they drop back
and release a greatest hits album, something they've
been reported as saying they wouldn't do?
In The Best of 1980-1990, all the
standby singles are present. And while the songs have the same
primal emotional
impact, nothing new is presented. Except for a re-mix of
"Sweetest Thing" which was originally supposed to be on
The Joshua Tree, but wasn't finished in time. It later
appeared as a B-side. I prefer the original. True, it's not as
polished, and doesn't include the new mix's ironic harmonies.
It's rougher, but more genuine in it's intensity and
gives the song a poignancy which is lost in the re-mix.
The release would have more variety if some of
U2's lesser-known hits were included. Songs like "One Tree
Hill",
"Redhill Mining Town", "Gloria" and
"40" are painfully not present.
Regardless, the epic scope of U2's music from
that era creates its own world. Compiling it like this with
time's
generous perspective allows us entrance into that world and our
memories in a different way.
Elizabeth Gariti
Notes:
Additional personnel: B.B. King (vocals,
guitar); Una O'Kane, Nicola Cleary, Aengus O'Connor, Nicholas
Milne (strings);
The Memphis Horns (horns); Joey Miskulin (organ); Benmont Tench
(keyboards); Ms. Bobbye Hall (percussion); Rebecca
Evans Russell, Phillis Duncan, Helen Duncan (background vocals).
Producers: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Steve Lillywhite, Jimmy Lovine.
Engineers include: Kevin Killen, Paul Thomas, Flood.
Digitally remastered by Arnie Acosta.
They burst onto the scene at the onset of the
'80s with a majestic, uplifting, earnest approach and a unique
textural sound that
endeared them to fans and critics alike. U2 spent the rest of the
decade growing up in public, solidifying their status as post-
punk icons, marrying the good intentions of old school
alternative rock with the epic sonic scale of classic '70s
rockers, never
sounding less than totally original and never pausing for a hits
compilation--until now. BEST OF offers a good representation
of the complex body of work that made the band a legend.
Fittingly, the album begins with the debut's
"I Will Follow" a statement of commitment to pursuing
truth and spirituality despite
continual and inevitable misgivings. "Desire" mates
Bono's lyrical fervor with a modified Bo Diddley beat to fine
effect. New
world meets old on the bluesy B.B. King collaboration "When
Love Comes to Town." Closing things out, "All I Want is
You" shows the moody, reflective side of the band, giving
Bono a chance to croon and the rest of the band to exhibit the
understated side of their instrumental might.