In no order.
- Best -
Kite (not much to say here - just gorgeous and it truly came alive in concert with the strummed acoustic outro and of course - the didgeridoo.)
Mercy '04 (the old magic...one of the few U2 songs of this century that is preserved before heavy-handed contrivance found a way to wash it out. And the only reason we have this version is because Bono leaked it out to a fan)
Fez/BB (Fez feels like a natural progression to the Road Not Taken exhibited by Stateless. To me, that was the fork in the road for U2. Moodier, atmospheric, contemplative U2 was left behind and they went down Bumper Sticker Street sometime after Stateless - but here 9 or 10 years later - I think we got a small glimpse of that moodier U2. Or - simply a glimpse of the alternate reality NLOTH, with more conceptual ideas and less Sexy Boots. )
Invisible (the first 70-80% is simply fantastic. It's a shame it wasn't a true lead single for an album release that wasn't bungled. Also, it's a shame it has no ending, and therefore had no real chance of being a song with staying power. Still - it's been a while since U2 had a song with a chorus that good - with the music and the lyrical theme melding and then exploding like that. This song is, to my mind, what Beautiful Day wanted to be - but BD had a great ending and fell into a culture that wanted/needed exactly that song. Whereas Invisible was doomed in a lot of ways from the outset, with many people refusing to give New U2 much chance at all - but it was so good even most fake snobs would have to admit it.)
Iris (I'm convinced Bono should do an album and sing about his mother the entire time. I Will Follow, Tomorrow, Mofo, Lemon, Iris...they're all great, I feel like U2 from 1999-2009 would have butchered this song but somehow it managed to stay in its form. That's a win for someone. I'm not even sure who the primary producer was. Credit them and the band. Anyway - I chose this track, barely, over a few other options on SOI - an album that has already aged better than NLOTH and was already better than HTDAAB and ATYCLB when it was released. Iris seems like the one that will stand the test of time)
Rounding out a top 15 in no order - Honorable Mentions: California, Every Breaking Wave, Song For Someone, No Line (title track), Beautiful Day, Smile, Vertigo, City of Blinding Lights, Xanax and Wine, Moment of Surrender.
- Worst -
Stuck In a Moment (acoustic it's good - on the album - SHIT warmed over)
Summer Rain (sure it's only a B-side, but it's also pretty much a 16-year-old-with-an-acoustic-and-a-drum-machine-writing
his-third-song-ever-and-wants-you-to-hear-it-because-he-thinks
it's-the-best-thing-ever-but-it's-totally-awful - kind of song. I'd rather hear Red Light on an endless loop. )
Stand Up Comedy (it sounds just like a parody but it isn't. Enough said)
In A Little While (It sounds like what folks on American Idol or The Voice think 'soul' is. Worse, Bono is singing with a bad voice in an era when he didn't really have a good voice to begin with. Cringeworthy begins to describe it.)
The Miracle - The basic chorus melody is not bad - and it has at least that one cool moment - (roughly 3:27-3:52) where the shit musical backing is replaced by something more sparse (atmospheric) and thus - actually decent. But the rest ain't there. The guitar is a turn off. And my musical background is fortified with metal, so it's not like I'm averse to distortion. It just evokes to me that dialed-up intro from that Hole song (with the riff written by Corgan) that itself was a gross throwback (those tones have evolved for a reason). I don't like Edge sounding like a generic guy that could have been backing fucking Demi Lovato with that preset "hard rock" tone. Almost every time he plays the electric but drops delay and/or reverb, or flange - he's average at best. I'm not talking technical playing, just the tone. It makes him totally unremarkable. And worst of all with this poop song - the oh-oh-ohs that seem forced into it - it makes it an insufferable slice of desperation.
Bonus choices - Elevation, Hands That Built, Grace, Crazy Tonight, Yahweh, Love and Peace, Boots, White As Snow, Cedarwood, Window In the Skies
10 Alternate Reality tracks I would love to hear.
1. Kite - A proper studio version of the live version with digeradoo.
2. Unknown Caller - with better chorus lyrics and better production. It needed to be more atmospheric and haunting. And with a more tight and powerful greek chorus that said something other than shit like "force quit - move to trash". I honestly think this song was a few core tweaks from being one of the 10 or 20 best songs they've ever written. As is, it's far too flawed.
3. Smile - fucking love this little throwaway gem. Like Mercy, reminds me of the "Luminous Times" U2 of old that could - seemingly - draw up a magical song practically from the ether or whatever. I'd like to hear a studio version with more polish and completed lyrical ideas
4. Some hybrid of Vertigo and Native Son that was a bit less cheesy than Vertigo and less raw and a different lyrical subject matter than Native Son. I'd want the punk and pop sensibility/musicality of the live versions of Vertigo, with the bridge and the chorus vocal pattern of Native Son.
5. When I Look At the World - with a better, more uplifting vocal take on the chorus. I've said it for 15+ years. That song was maybe a moderate hit single with a big classic Bono vocal "so I try to be like you..." Instead of sighing.
6. Raised By Wolves - with a less jarring, more flowing chorus. Such a propelling churn, great lyrical takes from Bono - it should explode UP and still be riding up and along as fast or even faster - something like Exit. Instead, it's a halting chorus that drops down and of course, actually draws some laughter from some - from me anyway with its screeched "RAISED!".
7. Beautiful Day - It's hard to be fair to this song. So I imagine an alternate reality where I'm not completely burnt on it - and Bono had his present voice on the track and not his '99/'00 voice.
8. Breathe - more like the beach clip structurally, in terms of the "born of sound" part being the walk-up to the chorus in all parts - and most DEFINITELY put in 4/4 time and out of the sleepy 3/4 waltz.
9. Magnificent - rearranged, with lots more dynamics instead of repeating over and over again. I'd axe that shit intro and look for something a bit strange that slowly morphs into a different (musically) first verse. I'd bury that fantastic chord progression until the first chorus. You climb up the hill (oh oh!) - only to keep hearing the same shit you heard when the song first kicked off. You've heard the whole song in the first 60 seconds and it still trudges on for like five minutes. Great core idea for a tune - wasted
10. Sometimes - Lillywhite isn't invited to this party - this is my alternate reality - and I'd want something resembling the alternate musically. More sedate and without that clunky acoustic accompaniment - a lone piano would have been my choice (w/bass and hats). But also with the explosive crescendo still in there. The whole song is too big as is on the album - and loses the intended drama when it crests. I'd want something more intimate that arose more seamlessly and even subtly - like the studio take of 'One' (though Bono barely raises his voice in that "Love is a Temple" crescendo) - I'm talking about how the song LIFTS so naturally without sounding like someone is hitting the BIG MOMENT button (like an APPLAUSE button). That is hard to do but that's exactly what the studio is for. Creating moments that sometimes can't be replicated. And that's okay.
Funny stuff. 
