Significant song

[Pero]

What is significant song, by which you could differentiate the time of making an album?
Like for an example:
I will follow
So, make a list for each album, one song per album.
Don't include the passengers

 

[Pero]

I'm trying to make a cd of only one song from each album, and i want a song that will be the best representative of that album, not because it's the best, because it fits in that time period.

 

[beLIEve]

Here's my list...

I'm trying to make a cd of only one song from each album, and i want a song that will be the best representative of that album, not because it's the best, because it fits in that time period.

OK. This is just MO, and it won't be a greatest hit album:

Boy - Out of Control
Oct - Gloria
War - Seconds
UF - Bad
JT - Streets
R&H - When Love comes to Town
AB - The Fly
Zoorapa - Numb
Pop - Mofo
ATYCLB - Walk On
HTDAAB - Vertigo

These are the songs that I think are most representative of the album/time period during U2's career. I know it's very subjective and debatable, but that's my first pass.

 

[beLIEve]

Re: Here's my list...

OK. This is just MO, and it won't be a greatest hit album:

Boy - Out of Control
Oct - Gloria
War - Seconds
UF - Bad
JT - Streets
R&H - When Love comes to Town
AB - The Fly
Zoorapa - Numb
Pop - Mofo
ATYCLB - Walk On
HTDAAB - Vertigo

These are the songs that I think are most representative of the album/time period during U2's career. I know it's very subjective and debatable, but that's my first pass.

Already need to make a change. HTDAAB's most representative song in terms of the album and tour theme is Miracle Drug, not Vertigo. So here's how that tracklist would look IMO:

Out of Control
Gloria
Seconds
Bad
Streets
When Love Comes to Town
The Fly
Numb
Mofo
Walk On
Miracle Drug

These are the songs that best represent the sounds (sometimes), mindset of the band at the time, any tours/themes, and the band's mood or atmosphere surrounding the particular album.

Now if I had to make a list of songs from every album that would be my FAVORITE, it would look like this (studio version):

Electric Co.
Tomorrow
New Year's Day
Unforgettable Fire
With or Without You
God Part II
Until the End of the World
Zooropa
Gone
Kite
Crumbs from your table

Just to show how U2 takes their songs to new levels when played live, I'll make one more list...one song from each album again...picking the best "live" song from that album.

I will follow
Gloria
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bad
Streets
All I want is You
Mysterious Ways
Stay
Please
In a little while
Love & Peace or Else

There is some overlap, although not as much as I would have expected, but this was a pretty tough exercise. It's pretty interesting, though, and I've turned your simple request into my own analysis. I couldn't help but rank the top 2-3 songs from each album for these three "tracklistings", which actually got me thinking about how I would "rank" all U2 songs, or like the "Top 50, from all albums, and then do the same thing for all the songs but for the live versions instead of studio cuts, and see how it all shakes out. I'm sure this has been done before here at Interference, and if someone takes the first stab at it, I'll gladly reply with the rankings IMO.

Sorry for so much extra, Pero, but I stand by my revised list as the songs "most representative" of each album/era/theme, which was also pretty difficult.

 

[impy13]

Representative:

Boy - I Will Follow
Oct - Gloria
War - New Year's Day
UF - A Sort of Homecoming
JT - Streets
R&H - Desire
AB - The Fly
Zooropa - Lemon or Numb
Pop - Discotheque
ATYCLB - Beautiful Day
HTDAAB - Miracle Drug

I should think that out better.

Favorite:

Boy - An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
Oct - With A Shout
War - New Year's Day
UF - A Sort of Homecoming
JT - Streets
R&H - All I Want Is You
AB - The Fly/UTEOTW/Acrobat (Too hard to pick)
Zooropa - Stay
Pop - Gone
ATYCLB - Beautiful Day
HTDAAB - Love and Peace or Else

 

[VertigoGal]

I Will Follow
Gloria
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride
Red Hill Mining Town
Angel of Harlem
The Fly
Zooropa
Mofo
Beautiful Day
Crumbs

I know Red Hill Mining Town's a stretch, but even though it wasn't a hit, I think it sort of represents that era...

 

[miss becky]

I Will Follow
Fire
Surrender
The Unforgettable Fire
Where the Streets Have No Name
When Love Comes To Town
The Fly
Numb
Discotheque
Beautiful Day
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own


The 80s albums were actually harder to pick songs...until TUF, there aren't many songs with that signature cheesy 80s synth sound. But Surrender has the backing vocal that pegs it as coming from that era.

The Fly and Numb are easy choices.

I had a tough time choosing between Discotheque and Mofo, but in the end I think Discotheque wins out.

The last two albums are just my conjecture. Since we are still living in this era, it's hard to say now what will be its signature sound.

 

[Aygo]

By its characteristic style of the album:

Out of control
I fall down
New Year's Day
Wire
In God's country
Hawkmoon 269
Even better than the real thing
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
Do you feel loved
Beautiful day
City of blinding lights

The already known song that bring us the album to our memory:

I will follow
Gloria
Sunday bloody sunday
Pride
Where the streets have no name
Desire
One
Stay (Faraway, so close!)
Discothèque
Beautiful day
Vertigo

 

[ultraviolet7]

I will follow
Gloria
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Unforgettable Fire
Streets
Desire
The Fly
Lemon
Mofo
Beautiful Day
Vertigo*

* I really don't think Vertigo is representative of HTDAAB stylistically but then no other track is as the album is so diverse. I chose it because it probably will be the song most people will associate this album with in the future.