U2: the best of 1990-2000 & b-sides (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

as with all best-of type compilations, assuming you already have all the albums and unless they have something different to offer, what's the point right? so, as with their previous best-of compilation (1980-1990), u2 decided to make this a 2-cd set. so, for someone like me who already has all their stuff, i was really hoping for something to stand-out on the second cd.
the best of
all their main hits from the last decade are on the first cd. some of the songs have been redone (titled "new mix") but they essentially sound the same. they included a couple of nice choices including a personal favorite "miss sarajevo" (available on the passengers cd they did a while ago) and the william orbit mix of "electrical storm". a couple of rarer tracks are also included which help to vary-up the compilation. overall a decent set-list.
the b-sides
this cd is much more hit or miss. it consists of alternate selections you may not have heard before, plus some of their popular hits "remixed". the alternate selections are nice...i hadn't heard them before so it was a pleasant surprise. they even include a cover of the beatles "happiness is a warm gun".
the remixes are okay. (i usually don't like remixes because their often done so "aggressively" that the remix loses the essence of the original track.) some of the remixes were pretty awesome including "lady with the spinning head" and "salome".
but...
"even better than the real thing" got a techno-dance beat that almost worked, "numb" tried to get funky but failed, "if god will send his angels" was NOT a song that should have been remixed and "lemon" was just awful. i get the feeling that these mixes were thrown on the second cd just to justify the second cd's own existence!
bonus dvd
i guess for a short time, they're also including this bonus dvd (packaged in a separate cardboard sleeve) which has 4 videos on it. there is a live performance of "please" (?), a video for "beautiful day", a promo for (i think) an upcoming videos compilation, and lastly, some sort of video-remix-thing-a-ma-jig. cool enough for free.
overall, not a bad compilation if you don't already have their catalog, or if you're a completists like me. otherwise, try to audition it first.
i give this cd a "B-"
CD Details

 

[Gui A]

About the video for Please... It feels incomplete without Where The Streets Have No Name, as that usually followed in the Popmart concerts...
There's a Best-of DVD coming out Dec 3.
This bonus DVD is encoded in PCM 48/16
And if you thought those remixes were awful, you haven't heard the MOFO remixes.

 

[Tim Hoover]

I thought the whole thing was hit or miss. While I appreciate the effort put into remixing some songs, those remixes for the most part suck. "Gone" in particular sounds weak. I also felt the remix of "Salome" pales in comparison to the original.

On the positive side, I'm glad at the inclusion of the extended dance mix of "Lady with the Spinning Head" as the string breakdown is just great. "Happiness is a Warm Gun" comes from the "Last Night on Earth" single and is another gem.

I will also agree with Gui that "Please" feels incomplete without "Streets" following it. The segue between those two songs was astonishing...

 

[KeithH]

Ted, thanks for the comments. I am on the fence about getting this one, as I prefer U2's older material. Like you, I am not a big fan of remixes. It seems that the artists and mixing engineers go out of their way to make something different, and the end result is often something lousy. Just my opinion.
You said:

i guess for a short time, they're also including this bonus dvd (packaged in a separate cardboard sleeve) which has 4 videos on it.

I wonder how limited this bonus DVD will be. As you may know, the 1980-1990 release came out in two versions -- a single-disc release with the greatest hits from the period and a two-disc set with the B-sides disc included. The two-disc set was supposed to be limited. The package had a sticker to that effect. Well, the two-disc set came out several years ago, and it is readily available today. I see it in stores all the time. Actually, I wonder if the single-disc version is still available. I don't recall seeing it in a long time.

 

[Ted Lee]

I'm glad at the inclusion of the extended dance mix of "Lady with the Spinning Head"

that is definitely the stand-out track.

tbh, i knew i was in for trouble with those mixes when i saw all those stupid names. i mean, if you see something called the "ted lee razorkill underground mix"....you know you're in trouble...

 

[Ted Lee]

no problem keith...i hope you found the review useful.

I wonder how limited this bonus DVD will be.

yeah...i agree with you there too. these days, the word "limited edition" holds no water. everything is either a limited or special edition. yeah...if you call printing several million copies of something limited.
i still like the band and their original work still inspires me, so i can't really diss the band. it's just this compilation that failed.

 

[KeithH]

Ted said:

everything is either a limited or special edition. yeah...if you call printing several million copies of something limited.

Exactly.

Yeah, the new compilation doesn't excite me. The completist in me wants it, but there is a lot of music I will undoubtedly buy first.

 

[John Geelan]

I'm looking forward to a DVD of U2's great music videos from the Achtung Baby period. My vhs tape has bit the dust!

 

[Gui A]

I find it odd that almost all of the songs on cd1 that got 'new mixes' are from Pop... Discotheque, Gone, Staring at the sun... Kinda makes it seem like they weren't happy with how that record sounded.
And the Staring at the Sun new mix sounds like it's missing something from the start.

 

[Michael Gilliam]

I really enjoyed the DVD as I watched it last night. Great sound, and it definitely gets its job done in making me want the video collection due in December. I really enjoyed the live cut of "Please" even if it didn't have "Streets" following. I haven't listened to all of the CDs yet, so I can't comment there. Even though I have most of their music already, it's just hard to pass up a U2 disc.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

About the video for Please... It feels incomplete without Where The Streets Have No Name, as that usually followed in the Popmart concerts...

"Usually"? I don't think they EVER failed to segue the two during that tour.

What the set REALLY needs to be complete is the full "Miami"/"Bullet..."/"Please"/"Streets" sequence. That was easily the best part of the show. I'm still pissed that they dropped "Miami" - which worked a million times better live than on the record - especially since the official video reflects the "Miami"-free set. I'd kill for a good-looking video of the tour that includes "Miami" (especially if it came from early enough to feature the loud blasts during "Discotheque")...

 

[Gary Harris]

I'm not sure how it works in the States but the Canadian Ltd. editions are numbered. I've been checking around for someone to see what the lowest number I can find is (10,000 & something, so far) & have seen the numbers go as high as 300,000. Not really what I would call a Ltd Edition.

 

[Mark Lee]

After buying this set, I gotta say...."Eh." Quite a drop-off from the first decade's compilation, and rather than a true "Best Of" (that doesn't even include "Walk On" from their last album!), we get a hodge-podge of hits and one-off contributions from various other projects. Echoing what someone else said, for the completist, it serves a useful purpose (although the B-sides disc doesn't have the cover of Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" from the "One" single), but I'm underwhelmed. Haven't watched the bonus DVD yet, tho. Will it salvage this whole venture?

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

"even better than the real thing" got a techno-dance beat that almost worked,

Oh man, don't knock Paul Oakenfolds Perfecto mix, it is pretty awesome, IMHO of course.
May I recommend Last Night a DJ Saved my life to anyone interested in modern dance/club music. One of the later chapters, entitled something like The DJ as a superstar describes how Paul Oakenfold was given the chance to do a remix of a song, and how this remix turned to be not only a dance/club hit, but also outsold the original altogether. The name of the song? Well, ironically, it was Even better that the real thing
As for the rest of the remixes, I haven't heard them (yet).

 

[Ted Lee]

mikael -
i'm actually pretty familiar with oakenfold. i've got quite a few of his remixes and some of his compilation cd's. i do like the guy.
but, "even better than the real thing" is not a dance song. i suppose one can bop to it, but it's definitely not a selection that should be spinning on the wheels of steel.
that opening...with the electronic organy thing? ugh! at least i gave it an "almost worked" classification.
but as long as you dig it, then that's all that matters!

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Ted: thanks for the clarification, didn't mean to sound as if I was trying to educate you about Paul Oakenfold or modern dance music :b (but I do recommend Last Night A DJ Saved My Life to most people )
Your comments are quite valid, but I still think that Even better than the real thing works surprisingly well even as a dance song.
I am curious about the rest of the remixes, I have a CD-single of Discotheque with a number of remixes on it, some good, some not so good, so I really need to check out this compilation.
NP:U2: Even better than the real thing (perfecto remix by Paul Oakenfold ) Honest

 

[Ted Lee]

...didn't mean to sound as if I was trying to educate you...

no problem. tbh, i'm pretty sure you DO know more about dance music!
i don't remember if "discotheque" is on the 2nd cd or not. they have a 'new mix' on the 1st cd, but it wasn't significantly different than the radio edit...at least that i could tell.
if you do get a chance, please post your thoughts on the remixes. i'd be curious to hear your opinion.
type to ya later,
ted

 

[Angelo.M]

I think U2 dropped the ball on this second Greatest Hits package; well, I should modify that statment, because these sorts of releases always smell like something that the label puts together and requires as part of an artist's contractual obligation to put out a certain amount of product.

At any rate, I'll pass on this mish-mash of songs I already have, B-sides that I've heard and wish I hadn't, and remixes (Yuck; are we back in the 80's? It was bad enough when U2 went remix-crazy with their 'Propaganda' releases in the Zooropa era [Melon, Papaya, etc]).

What would have been great: a proper, multiple-CD live collection, maybe something along the lines of Springsteen's live boxed set. Why not document the long and winding concert trail, including some of the landmarks like 'Bad' at Live Aid, 'Maggie's Farm' at the first Amnesty Int'l, the reworked 'With or Without You' from PopMart, the acoustic 'Angel of Harlem' and 'Stay', etc and so on. U2 deserve a comprehensive live retrospective; let's hope we see one soon.

--AM

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Ted: I am listening to the album now, and with the exception of the Perfecto mix of Even better, I must say I agree with most of what you said in your first post. Lady with the spinning head really rocks, as does the Junk day mix of Dirty Day.
I have their previous collection including b-sides, since I don't have their early albums, but I doubt I'll buy this one, since I already have most of their albums and some CD-singles from this period.
All in all, a rather mixed bag, mostly for the completists.
But what I'd really like is a couple of live DVDs, Under a Blood red sky is one, and Zoo TV in Sydney, which I have on laser, is another...

 

[Ted Lee]

angelo - a totally agree. i think some of their best stuff is their more "quiet and introspecive" work...

All in all, a rather mixed bag,

groan! hey...is this thing on?