HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Maja/U2girl with Devlin Smith
Throughout its career, U2 has created an impressive archive of B-sides through collaborations with other artists, cover versions and salvaging tracks from recording sessions. Some of these songs have found their way into the band's live set while others exist simply on tape or disc. Regardless, these tracks have found their way into the hearts of U2 fans.
Covers
U2 has covered many other bands, common for new and young bands but not necessarily for ones that have already achieved worldwide fame. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Everly Brothers, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley are a few of the artists to whose music U2 has added its personal touch while still maintaining the work's original integrity. Some of the band's best-loved covers are The Righteous Brother's ?Unchained Melody? and '60s classic ?Everlasting Love,? both more rocking and energetic than the originals. Elvis' ?Can?t Help Falling In Love? is another fan favorite, getting the live treatment during the Zoo TV tour. For ?Night and Day? U2 turned a Sinatra Big Band number into a haunting, dark song about obsession.
Collaborations
U2 has collaborated with many other musicians to create several of its B-sides. ?Slow Dancing? (the B-side to "If God Would Send His Angels") with was written for and performed by Willie Nelson. ?North and South of the River? (B-side to "Staring at the Sun") with written with Irish folk singer Christy Moore.
Sister Songs
U2 has an incredibly original and unique sound, but there were occasions where songs would be clearly inspired by another idea they had at the time. For example, ?Lady With the Spinning Head? is very similar in its sound to ?The Fly,? ?Salome? is a sister song to ?Zoo Station,? and ?Always? is observably the early stage of the song that would become ?Beautiful Day.?
A-Side Quality
Some of U2's B-sides effortlessly rival their album material. ?The Joshua Tree? B-sides, including "Walk to the Water" and the original version of "Sweetest Thing" could easily have been A-sides, Bono once saying in an interview those [songs] fit with the album, as ?The Joshua Tree? was intended to be a double album in its early stages. Later songs like ?Summer Rain? and ?Always? could have easily joined ?All That You Can't Leave Behind? on its formal release.
Live
While U2 does not play B-sides very often live, the ones that have made the set list have proven to be quite popular with the fans through the years. From the band's early years on into the Elevation tour, ?Party Girl? is frequently played and greatly enjoyed by audiences. During the ?Joshua Tree? period, the band featured ?Silver and Gold,? it's live version on "Rattle & Hum" with Bono shouting "I don't mean to bug ya" probably better known than the studio version. ?Spanish Eyes,? a love song most likely inspired by Bono's wife Ali, was also part of the "Joshua Tree"-era set and was played at The Edge's 40th birthday concert in Barcelona during Elevation. Also interesting to hear was Lou Reed's ?Satellite of Love,? its theme of obsessive love fitting seamlessly with much of ?Achtung Baby? material on the ZooTV tour. Most recently, on the last tour, U2 played a re-worked B-side ?The Sweetest Thing? featuring, for the first time, Bono on the piano. It was well received and presumably will be included in future live sets.
Throughout its career, U2 has created an impressive archive of B-sides through collaborations with other artists, cover versions and salvaging tracks from recording sessions. Some of these songs have found their way into the band's live set while others exist simply on tape or disc. Regardless, these tracks have found their way into the hearts of U2 fans.
Covers
U2 has covered many other bands, common for new and young bands but not necessarily for ones that have already achieved worldwide fame. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Everly Brothers, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley are a few of the artists to whose music U2 has added its personal touch while still maintaining the work's original integrity. Some of the band's best-loved covers are The Righteous Brother's ?Unchained Melody? and '60s classic ?Everlasting Love,? both more rocking and energetic than the originals. Elvis' ?Can?t Help Falling In Love? is another fan favorite, getting the live treatment during the Zoo TV tour. For ?Night and Day? U2 turned a Sinatra Big Band number into a haunting, dark song about obsession.
Collaborations
U2 has collaborated with many other musicians to create several of its B-sides. ?Slow Dancing? (the B-side to "If God Would Send His Angels") with was written for and performed by Willie Nelson. ?North and South of the River? (B-side to "Staring at the Sun") with written with Irish folk singer Christy Moore.
Sister Songs
U2 has an incredibly original and unique sound, but there were occasions where songs would be clearly inspired by another idea they had at the time. For example, ?Lady With the Spinning Head? is very similar in its sound to ?The Fly,? ?Salome? is a sister song to ?Zoo Station,? and ?Always? is observably the early stage of the song that would become ?Beautiful Day.?
A-Side Quality
Some of U2's B-sides effortlessly rival their album material. ?The Joshua Tree? B-sides, including "Walk to the Water" and the original version of "Sweetest Thing" could easily have been A-sides, Bono once saying in an interview those [songs] fit with the album, as ?The Joshua Tree? was intended to be a double album in its early stages. Later songs like ?Summer Rain? and ?Always? could have easily joined ?All That You Can't Leave Behind? on its formal release.
Live
While U2 does not play B-sides very often live, the ones that have made the set list have proven to be quite popular with the fans through the years. From the band's early years on into the Elevation tour, ?Party Girl? is frequently played and greatly enjoyed by audiences. During the ?Joshua Tree? period, the band featured ?Silver and Gold,? it's live version on "Rattle & Hum" with Bono shouting "I don't mean to bug ya" probably better known than the studio version. ?Spanish Eyes,? a love song most likely inspired by Bono's wife Ali, was also part of the "Joshua Tree"-era set and was played at The Edge's 40th birthday concert in Barcelona during Elevation. Also interesting to hear was Lou Reed's ?Satellite of Love,? its theme of obsessive love fitting seamlessly with much of ?Achtung Baby? material on the ZooTV tour. Most recently, on the last tour, U2 played a re-worked B-side ?The Sweetest Thing? featuring, for the first time, Bono on the piano. It was well received and presumably will be included in future live sets.
