Best of 1990-2000: The INTERFERENCE REVIEWS

[Bono's shades]

My ranking: 4 stars out of 5.

The first disc is almost perfect. I'm not terribly bothered by the lyric change in Mysterious Ways or the fact they didn't include The Fly. I'm just thrilled that I can hear so many great U2 songs on one disc. I have a feeling I'm going to be listening to this CD a lot in the car on long road trips. I'm particularly happy that U2 gave us not just one brand-new song but two. I'm not totally sold on The Hands That Built America yet but I LOVE Electrical Storm. The remixes of Numb and Gone were great. The only major problem for me was the Discoteque remix. I didn't like the original that much in the first place, and I like the remix even less.

The B-sides disc was disappointing, especially compared to the incredible B-sides disc from the 1980s Best Of. A few of the remixes were good, but I would much rather have had Always, Big Girls Are The Best, Night and Day and Satellite of Love on there instead. And whose bright idea was it to include that God-awful remix of If God Will Send His Angels? I was also a little disappointed in North and South of the River. I'd never heard it before but I had heard so much about what a fantastic song that I guess I built up unrealistic expectations. I do like the lyrics, but the music itself simply didn't do that much for me. Maybe it will grow on me. Still, the B-sides disc is far from a total loss since it does have Lady With A Spinning Head, Salome and Happiness Is A Warm Gun, which all kick ass, plus the alternate version of ES (I actually like both versions almost equally).

The DVD bonus was mega-cool. The only problem was it left me hungry for more - but I guess that's the point since the whole purpose of the thing is to entice people into buying the full Best Of 1990-2000 DVD.

 

[SkeeK]

Here's the review I submitted to amazon.com:


As far as a Best Of, I think U2 have done a good job here. Of course many people will disagree vehemently. The tracks as chosen, will naturally not correspond with every fan's wish.. indeed many of my favourite songs from this era haven't been included (Please, Lemon, Fly for example.. though Fly is on the UK version). But the songs will give a good example of U2's output in the 90s. I think it's ridiculous to expect U2's choice of songs to correspond with what each individual fan expects.. that given, they have chosen both big hits, live favourites, and some songs that are just downright good but didn't get much exposure (Miss Sarejevo), to create an undeniably strong compilation of songs.

Also included are 2 fine new songs, and hey no one can argue with that, can they? Electrical Storm is a great tune, if somewhat formulaic.. but the Orbit mix emphasizes a great buildup and I dig it. Hands is very cinematic and very pretty.

The big point of contention here is the remixes of Discotheque, Numb, Gone, and Staring At The Sun. Some people will disagree with changing the songs and wish to hear the original versions they are so used to. Other people (me included) will just be interested to hear re-interpretations of great songs, and if the new Discotheque mix is pretty disappointing but the Gone mix rocks just like the live version of the song (my opinion) then so be it.

Of course much of what is here is simply regurgitation of what many fans already have on the albums... so this compilation is most useful to people relatively new or unfamiliar to the band, or those who just want to have everything.

The bonus CD is nice... not to many people's taste though because of the technoish remixes, and missing many B-Sides that probably should have been included, but hey it's sure better than nothing. The Bonus DVD has a live performance of Please that is almost worth the cost of the compilation alone.

Overall, while this is definately not for everybody, I think U2 has done a good job with this compilation of providing a lot of interesting material for a variety of people. They've done it in a way that will very likely [anger] a lot of passionate people, but recently I'm all the more excited to see U2 doing something a little unexpected (like including First Time)

 

[therulz]

well.....

I got it the first day it came out...gift from Marc (meow)..I wasn't impressed with the dvd included but I am a great fan of the best of CD's...the dvd reminded me a bit of an advertisement...but there is a lot of neat mix there and I love the vocals in The Hands that built America..maybe I would have to take you through the mountains with it craked to take note but the sound is totally out there....and Miss Sarajevo, just wondering..is that lilting cry in the "Hands" that trails off Bono >Pavarotti? I think he put more depth and emotion in that note! wow I actually preferrd the both songs to to electrical storm though I lean toward electronica. Best of both worlds U2 and electronica.

Has anyone heard the remix tunes on U2-'7'? There's a remix of beautiful day including a mix of the intro music from the U2.com site...peppy!!!! I like it...A LOT!

You know I will always love the older U2 tunes and the way they seem to make me think..and feel...but there is a lot of new great stuff in the band yet..of that I am sure. And I believe this is a playful introduction to it.

 

[jick]

Why Best Of 1990-2000 Sucks The Big One ...

The 90's was when U2 redefined themselves. The Fly was the single that led the way and let the world know that U2 had this transformantion. It gave us the new industrial sound, the distorted vocals, and one of U2's most unforgettable lines "every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration then sing about the grief." Unfortunately, The Fly was ommitted. Why?

The 90's represented the decade where U2 went beyond the confines of 4 musicians in one room. This is the decade where U2 had balls - they were willing to take on drum loops, synths, and even sampling! What does U2 do? They remix their more musically adventurous tracks (the POP songs and Numb) and the mixes have more of the 4 musicians in one room feel. In Edge's own words, the songs were remixed to be more reminiscent of how they were played live. This is such a flimsy excuse. We already have the live version of Gone from the Walk On single, the Best Buy CD and Hasta La Vista Baby. We already have Discotheque live in Hasta La Vista and the Beautiful Day. We don't care about a new mix to highlight 4 musicians in one room because that isn't what the 90's were about. For example, U2 didn't bother to remix Bad for the Best Of 1980-1990 to mimic the live setting more. We all know any live version of Bad beats the studio version. U2 didn't remix WOWY to add the stars verse either, so why remix the songs now? If the remixes were slight refinements then fine, but the remixes were substantial and took away the essence and character of the song in the 1990's context.

The omission of the Fly and the major song revisions and remixes, and the addition of two "slow" songs in Electrical Storm and Hands That Built America can really mislead the new U2 fan into what the 90's were all about. The turmoil, the irony, the industrial sound, the artistic pursuits -- they aren't represented as they should.

Instead, in this collection we see a U2 trying to sugar-coat what really happened in the 1990's. While The First Time is a great song, something like Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car or Lemon would have been more reflective of the 1990's. And there is no better 90's poster song than the Fly - all ommitted in favor of more mellow tracks. As for the less mellow tracks, they were remixed to make them lose their character.

The Best Of 1990-2000 sucks the big one. It does not represent U2 in the 1990's. It is more like a little boy trying to hide something from his mother. It is U2 trying to hide the real score of the 1990's. It's a good thing there is a DVD to be released. Now I am sure that will be a better addition to the collection.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5.

Cheers,

J