U2 - The Best of 1990-2000 [Deluxe Limited Edition w/ Bonus DVD] Music

Average Rating:

I'm going to focus mainly on Disc 1. Disc 2 is great and some of the cuts will be familiar from the Melon CD for those who have that.

In looking at the track listing of both discs, I was much more looking forward to hearing disc 1 and the "new recordings" that U2 worked on in producing this album. (This was not the case when I got the 80-90 Best of). The AB tracks (Real Thing, MW, One, UTEOTW) sound incredible. They have been remastered brilliantly and MW really booms your sub. The William Orbit mix of Electrical Storm is brilliant, but I would think the original should have been on this disc (it is on disc 2 confusing enough). The most pleasing change to hear is the new mix of Gone. That song just kicks some major [...]and you can see that their live performances of this song has affected this recording. The other 2 Pop songs (Disco, SATS) are well done, but I'm still not sure if I like the original recordings better. The more I listen to the new mix of Disco, though, the better it gets. The other new song (The Hands That Built America) has a bit of a different pace to it, but the song will grow on you. Look for that song early next year with Martin Scorcese's 'Gangs of New York' film.

As far as the order of songs, ES into BD is a perfect combination, the trio of One, Miss Sarajevo, and Stay are beautiful and Gone into UTEOTW is absolutely rocking. And ending with a song like 'The First Time' is a refreshing ending. Its a beautiful song that most people in America have probably not heard much of.

I have two disappointments. If you are going to include songs from ATYCLB, then where is Walk On? Also, the omission of 'The Fly' is devastating. That song not only personified Bono and the attitud of the early 90's, but was their first release off of AB. At least a hidden track, like they got in the UK, would have been nice.

Overall, I would say that this is a must to get for any casual music fan and if you are a U2 fan and reading this...why are you reading this...go get it...now...NOW!!!

Dream out loud...

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.

I'm giving the 2-disc set five stars because it is simply hard to beat and includes truly great stuff. I can't complain about any of the songs, as they're all great, and the remixes are more than welcome ('Gone' and 'Discotheque' never sounded better). U2 coulda/shoulda thrown in 'The Fly,' 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet,' "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad' and 'Night and Day' for good measure, but why gripe?

The dance stuff on Disc 2 is, for the most part, incredible - 'Salome' is hypnotic, and the new version of 'Lemon' is almost better than the (original) real thing. Both versions of Electrical Storm ROCK and 'The Hands That Built America' points the way to U2's future.

Words don't do this collection justice. How best to explain U2's longevity? Check out this CD and the answer will reveal itself.