U2

BEST OF U2-1980-90

Good collection, but a bit deficient

Review Score:

(8/10)
For the casual fan, this is a fairly good collection of U2 singles from the 1980s. If you would like to explore this era further, I recommend the following records (in order of priority): (1) 'The Joshua Tree' (1987); (2) 'Under a Blood Red Sky' (1983); (3) 'Rattle & Hum' (1988); (4) 'War' (1983); and (5) 'The Unforgettable Fire' (1984).

For the diehard fans, it should be noted that there are a few glaring omissions here (see "*" below), including no singles from 'October' (1981) (only the hidden track at the very end - "October"). Second, with this running order, the songs don't seem to fit together. That said, I would have included the following (in roughly chronological order, which sounds suprisingly coherent):
*1. "11 'O Clock Tick Tock" (4:30)
2. "I Will Follow" (3:31)
*3. "Gloria" (4:13)
4. "New Year's Day" (5:38)
*5. "Two Hearts Beat As One" (4:03)
6. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (4:38)
7. "Pride (in the Name of Love)" (3:51)
8. "The Unforgettable Fire" (4:56)
9. "Bad" (5:50)
10. "With or Without You" (4:56)
11. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (4:37)
12. "Where the Streets Have No Name" (5:36)
*13. "In God's Country" (2:57)
14. "Desire" (2:58)
15. "Angel of Harlem" (3:31)
16. "When Love Comes to Town" (4:17)
17. "All I Want Is You" [Single Edit] (4:40)
18. "Sweetest Thing" [Single Mix] (3:03)

All of these songs would have fit on a single CD (clocking in at less than 78 minutes) and would have represented a more comprehensive and coherent compilation of the 1980s. Those tracks added would be gems like the pre-LP 1980 single "11 'O Clock Tick Tock" (which was included in the live set throughout the 1980s), "Gloria" (the best single from the 'October'), "Two Hearts Beat As One" (one of their best early pop songs from 'War'), and 'In God's Country' (a successful single from 'The Joshua Tree' and a nice segway into 'Rattle & Hum' material, which was so acutely inspired by American music).

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