Select tracklisting for a defining U2 hits album

[Airseven]

Some combination of greatest hits and a complete representation of the band.

But only 12 tracks.

1 - Where The Streets Have No Name
2 - I Will Follow
3 - With Or Without You
4 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
5 - Pride
6 - Bad
7 - New Year's Day
8 - Desire
9 - One
10 - Beautiful Day
11 - Mysterious Ways
12 - Vertigo

 

[mikal]

it all depends on your audience. if it were for me, maybe 2 or 3 of those songs would be on there.

 

[Airseven]

it all depends on your audience. if it were for me, maybe 2 or 3 of those songs would be on there.

So what is your tracklisting then?

I obviously leaned toward a defining greatest hits album. Which was challenging having to cut songs like Gloria, 40, Discotheque, etc.

 

[mikal]

For me:

1. Zooropa
2. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
3. No Line On The Horizon
4. With Or Without You
5. Where The Streets Have No Name
6. Lemon
7. The Fly
8. Until The End Of The World
9. New Year's Day
10. Discotheque
11. Moment Of Surrender
12. Bad

 

[Airseven]

For me:

1. Zooropa
2. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
3. No Line On The Horizon
4. With Or Without You
5. Where The Streets Have No Name
6. Lemon
7. The Fly
8. Until The End Of The World
9. New Year's Day
10. Discotheque
11. Moment Of Surrender
12. Bad

Very cool. I like that a lot.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

My list wasnt "hits"...ill come back to it

 

[zooropop40]

1. Zooropa
2. Electrical Storm
3. Lemon
4. The Fly
5. Where the streets have no name
6. Mysterious ways
7. One
8. Gone
9. Bad
10. The unforgettable fire
11. Until the end of the world
12. Moment of surrender

 

[TheEdge25]

I'd say that any greatest hits CD put out by U2 would definitely include Streets, One, Beautiful Day, and With or Without You.

But this would be one aimed at a U2 listener with my tastes:

1-Where The Streets Have No Name
2-Moment of Surrender
3-Mysterious Ways
4-Beautiful Day
5-With or Without You
6-Discotheque
7-Sunday Bloody Sunday
8-One
9-Bad
10-Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
11-Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
12-No Line On The Horizon

 

[Catman]

I made a list on my itunes prior to opening this thread... but didn't stick to the 12-track rule, but rather what the band could put on a single CD's worth. This is what I came up with...

1) I Will Follow
2) Sunday Bloody Sunday
3) New Year's Day (single edit)
4) Pride
5) Bad
6) Where the Streets Have No Name (single edit... sadly)
7) I Still Haven't Found...
8) With or Without You
9) Desire
10) The Fly
11) Mysterious Ways
12) One
13) Numb
14) Stay
15) Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
16) The Sweetest Thing
17) Beautiful Day
18) Vertigo


I think this is a solid enough CD for the masses. I tried to keep half 80's/ half 90's+


but no way can I make a 12-track cd...

 

[gareth brown]

okay well we made it 4 lists before someone decided not to stick to the one rule, as usual haha - why can't you cut it down to 12? You think no-one else had trouble cutting from their list? That's the fun of it, being brutal with your choices.

 

[gareth brown]

I originally made a list of a 'key' track off each album in chronological order but it sucked. So here's an album I think could work well. God knows I would want people to look past nearly all of these and go for tracks like Zooropa, Lemon, Acrobat etc. but when you're talking a 'hits' album, you obviously have to leave them out

Side One
1. Pride
2. No Line On The Horizon
3. Sunday Bloody Sunday
4. Stay
5. The Fly
6. Bad

Side Two
7. Where The Streets Have No Name
8. I Will Follow
9. Vertigo
10. The Sweetest Thing
11. Beautiful Day
12. With Or Without You

Think there's a reasonable flow to it?

Bonus B-sides Disc
Side One
1. The Three Sunrises
2. Are You Gonna Wait Forever?
3. Your Blue Room
4. Holy Joe
5. Things To Make And Do
6. Love Comes Tumbling

Side Two
1. Lady With The Spinning Head
2. Spanish Eyes
3. Bass Trap
4. Big Girls Are Best
5. Salome
6. Endless Deep

 

[kingofsorrow]

11 o'clock tick tock
gloria
new years days
unforgettable fire
with or without you
all i want is you
mysterious ways
lemon
last night on earth
beautiful day
all because of you
magnificent

 

[medley]

01-SBS
02-New Year's Day
03-With Or Without You
04-WTSHNN
05-TUF
06-Stay
07-Vertigo
08-Beautiful Day
09-One
10-Mysterious Ways
11-HMTMKMKM
12-Moment Of Surrender

 

[Screwtape2]

I do not believe U2 is a singles band so greatest hits are not truly reflective of the band.

What I did was break the 12 songs into what I see as the three biggest categories of U2's songs: Experimentation, Sketches & Political/Social Commentary. I think these are U2's defining traits.

Experimentation
1. Zooropa
2. Mofo
3. The Fly
4. Lemon

Sketches
5. Fez-Being Born
6. Walk To The Water
7. The Unforgettable Fire
8. Promenade

Politics/Social Commentary
9. Please
10. New Year’s Day
11. Bullet The Blue Sky
12. Cedars of Lebanon

 

[Catman]

I do not believe U2 is a singles band so greatest hits are not truly reflective of the band.

What I did was break the 12 songs into what I see as the three biggest categories of U2's songs: Experimentation, Sketches & Political/Social Commentary. I think these are U2's defining traits.

Experimentation
1. Zooropa
2. Mofo
3. The Fly
4. Lemon

Sketches
5. Fez-Being Born
6. Walk To The Water
7. The Unforgettable Fire
8. Promenade

Politics/Social Commentary
9. Please
10. New Year’s Day
11. Bullet The Blue Sky
12. Cedars of Lebanon

I like what you did there! I think I might revise my list and do the same later (much to the delight of gareth )

 

[popacrobat]

if we're looking for hits/songs people would recognize and love etc then mine would look something like this for the general public:

1- beautiful day
2- mysterious ways
3- new year's day
4- magnificent
5- miss sarajevo
6- one
7- pride
8- with or without you
9- where the streets have no name
10- vertigo
11- city of blinding lights
12- bad

 

[xtrmx]

1. I Will Follow
2. New Year's Day
3. Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
4. Where the streets have no name
5. With or Without you / Unforgettable Fire
6. Ultraviolet
7. The Fly
8. Gone
9. Beautiful Day
10. City of Blinding Lights
11. Magnificent
12. Bad

 

[thelaj]

I think 12 songs is a bit short for a greatest hits, but here is what I think it would be:

01. Where The Streets Have No Name
02. Beautiful Day
03. Vertigo
04. Pride (In The Name of Love)
05. Sunday Bloody Sunday
06. Desire
07. Mysterious Ways
08. City of Blinding Lights
09. New Year's Day
10. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
11. With or Without You
12. One

 

[Salome]

01. A Sort Of Homecoming
02. I Still haven't found what I'm looking for
03. Moment of Surrender
04. Beautiful Day
05. The Unforgettable Fire
06. With or Without You
07. Heartland
08. The Fly
09. Where the streets have no name
10. Pride
11. New Year's Day
12. All I want is You

 

[Casamares]

1. Where the streets have no name
2. I still haven't found what I'm looking for
3. Pride
4. With or without you
5. Sunday bloody sunday
6. New Year's day
7. One
8. Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me
9. I will follow
10. Beatiful day
11. Elevation
12. Magnificent

 

[TheEdge25]

To be honest, I really dont think anything from POP or Zooropa would be included in a Greatest Hits list. The only ones I can think of that may make it would be Stay, Discotheque, Gone, and maybe Please and Lemon. But for the most part, I'd say a greatest hits would include these songs for sure:

-Streets
-One
-Beautiful Dau
-Vertigo
-Pride
-I Will Follow
-WOWY
-Bad

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

if we're looking for hits/songs people would recognize and love etc then mine would look something like this for the general public:

1- beautiful day
2- mysterious ways
3- new year's day
4- magnificent
5- miss sarajevo
6- one
7- pride
8- with or without you
9- where the streets have no name
10- vertigo
11- city of blinding lights
12- bad

Nobody in the general public would recognize Magnificent. That thing was a complete flop of a single. You think people would recognize Magnificent and Miss Sarajevo over I Still Haven't Found and Sunday Bloody Sunday (which are both missing from your list)? Not a chance. Those are both radio staples and straight-up rock classics.

Honestly, the already existing U218 is not a bad place to start, if you're talking about "defining hits" in the band's career. I'm going to make my list based on the idea of "hits" and what people would recognize. From U218, obviously you can leave off the two tacked on songs (WITS and the Green Day abomination). And you can exclude Elevation, SYCMIOYO, Walk On. None of those were really all that huge or still receive a lot of radio airplay. Stuck and Sweetest Thing are on the border.

I'd go with (in chronological order):

1. I Will Follow
2. Sunday Bloody Sunday
3. New Year's Day
4. Pride
5. Where The Streets Have No Name
6. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
7. With Or Without You
9. Desire
10. Mysterious Ways
11. One
12. Beautiful Day
13. Vertigo


The hardest thing here is having to leave off Bad but, honestly, it doesn't fit my silly and arbitrary criteria. And I know the OP asked for only 12, but I decided to do 13 because it's a great number and just...because.

 

[kevink]

For the masses:

1. Sunday Bloody Sunday
2. New Years Day
3. Pride (In the Name of Love)
4. With or Without You
5. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
6. Where the Steets Have No Name
7. One
8. Mysterious Ways
9. Sweetest Thing
10. Beautiful Day
11. Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of
12. Vertigo

For myself:

1. Drowning Man
2. The Unforgettable Fire
3. Bullet the Blue Sky
4. Running to Stand Still
5. Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World
6. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
7. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
8. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
9. Gone
10. Elevation
11. In a Little While
12. Moment of Surrender

 

[tsweeney]

1. Bad
2. Out of Control
3. Zoo Station
4. City of Blinding Lights
5. So Cruel
6. Kite
7. Where The Streets Have No Name
8. Mofo
9.With Or Without You
10.Moment of Surrender
11.All I Want Is You
12."40"

 

[65980]

The top 12 "hits" or whatever is too predictable to even bother with, but how about the top 12 for my friend's cat?

1. An Cat Dubh
2. I Crawl Down
3. I Threw a Dog Through a Window
4. Drowning Cat
5. They Still Haven't Found What I'm Chewing On
6. Mothers of the Disappeared Litters
7. Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the Feline
8. Stay (Faraway from my food bowl)
9. Some Dogs are Better Than Others
10. Do You Feel Rubbed?
11. If You Wear that Velvet Collar
12. Wake Up Dead Owner

 

[Casamares]

The top 12 "hits" or whatever is too predictable to even bother with, but how about the top 12 for my friend's cat?

1. An Cat Dubh
2. I Crawl Down
3. I Threw a Dog Through a Window
4. Drowning Cat
5. They Still Haven't Found What I'm Chewing On
6. Mothers of the Disappeared Litters
7. Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the Feline
8. Stay (Faraway from my food bowl)
9. Some Dogs are Better Than Others
10. Do You Feel Rubbed?
11. If You Wear that Velvet Collar
12. Wake Up Dead Owner

 

[U2girl]

Nobody in the general public would recognize Magnificent. That thing was a complete flop of a single. You think people would recognize Magnificent and Miss Sarajevo over I Still Haven't Found and Sunday Bloody Sunday (which are both missing from your list)? Not a chance. Those are both radio staples and straight-up rock classics.

Honestly, the already existing U218 is not a bad place to start, if you're talking about "defining hits" in the band's career. I'm going to make my list based on the idea of "hits" and what people would recognize. From U218, obviously you can leave off the two tacked on songs (WITS and the Green Day abomination). And you can exclude Elevation, SYCMIOYO, Walk On. None of those were really all that huge or still receive a lot of radio airplay. Stuck and Sweetest Thing are on the border.

I'd go with (in chronological order):

1. I Will Follow
2. Sunday Bloody Sunday
3. New Year's Day
4. Pride
5. Where The Streets Have No Name
6. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
7. With Or Without You
9. Desire
10. Mysterious Ways
11. One
12. Beautiful Day
13. Vertigo


The hardest thing here is having to leave off Bad but, honestly, it doesn't fit my silly and arbitrary criteria. And I know the OP asked for only 12, but I decided to do 13 because it's a great number and just...because.

U218 needed only to drop S. Thing (already on a Best of) and 2 of the ATYCLB songs and Bomb songs not called Vertigo, and insert IWF, Gloria, Discotheque and the Batman song instead.

 

[Catman]

I'm actually happy U218 acknowledged Sweetest Thing. Sure, it didn't have the most magnificent chart run upon its release, nor does the band give it a slot on any of their tours (but for good reason... it's kind of a bore live), but a surprisingly large amount of people are familiar with the tune. Probably the 3rd/ 4th most recognizable U2 song of the 90's...

And if the only reason for not wanting S. Thing on U218 is because it was already on a greatest hits, well, so were a lot of the songs on the cd

 

[nathan1977]

Things to Make and Do
Viva Davidoff
The Father and His Wife The Spirit
Bass Trap
60 Seconds in Kingdom Come
Ito Okashi
America
4th of July
Boomerang I
Endless Deep
J. Swallo
Some Days Are Better Than Others

Wait - did I miss the point of this? Least likely songs to go on a U2 Greatest Hits album, right?

 

[prbiker15]

The top 12 "hits" or whatever is too predictable to even bother with, but how about the top 12 for my friend's cat?

1. An Cat Dubh
2. I Crawl Down
3. I Threw a Dog Through a Window
4. Drowning Cat
5. They Still Haven't Found What I'm Chewing On
6. Mothers of the Disappeared Litters
7. Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the Feline
8. Stay (Faraway from my food bowl)
9. Some Dogs are Better Than Others
10. Do You Feel Rubbed?
11. If You Wear that Velvet Collar
12. Wake Up Dead Owner

Win.