Some info/rumours on the new Best Of

[brimcart]

I would have to agree with most of the selections from the lists I've seen posted. However, the greatest hits needs to be just that. GREAT HITS. I don't forsee them putting anything on the album that either didn't do well on the charts, wasn't a HUGE player at live shows, or isn't catchy enough for a BEST OF treat. As much as I would like to see Miss Sarejevo or Night and Day on the track list, I don't think that it is going to happen.

I would like to submit another song that has been looked over: Some Days Are Better Than Others. It was in the movie Milk Money, and has been used for spots on TV. Also, I'm not quite sure that Mofo would make a good fit on the album; instead, consider Do You Feel Loved.


If you were going to look for a hidden track, my vote would be The First Time, a MDH favorite and a Zooropa classic.

It really doesn't matter what they put on the album. They could record 30 minutes of Bono talking to his toilet and I'd probably buy it.

 

[kariatari]

It really doesn't matter what they put on the album. They could record 30 minutes of Bono talking to his toilet and I'd probably buy it.

Muwahahahaha!

 

[cm]

ATYCLB to be included!!!?!?!?!?!?! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

First of all there is enough material achtung - pop to make a greatest hits. No one says they have to have 17 songs on the album. Make it 14 with 2 new songs included. That means with Hold Me THrill me and Miss S., they would only need 10 songs from Achtung - Pop to comprise the album. 5 singles from Achtung Baby, Lemon and Stay, Disco, Staring, and Please rounds it out.

To me they are not gaining any sales by including the latest singles. People are burnt out on those songs right now. If they wanted to own them, they probably already bought the album within the last year or two. This also stunts future sales for ATYCLB. Why would the casual listener buy ATYCLB when they have all the big singles plus other 90's greatest hits on the Best of...?

And lastly, They are working on a new album right now. That album may have no hits on it, or just one or two. then how many more albums will U2 make? 2 more, for a total of three, before 2010? Maybe a total of 4 if they are lucky. They would have to have at least 3 to 4 hits off each album to comprise yet another Best Of... album. This is VERY wishful thinking. By keeping ATYCLB off of this one, they are sitting there with FOUR guaranteed hit songs to include on a future Best of...


Stupid move in my opinion.

I like the ideal of having ATYCLB on this next Best of release. It oozes of confidence in their next record and the remainder of the decade. If the worst happens and they have no more hits (very unlikely) they can always release a Greatest Live Hits 1980-2010.

I would be very interested to know if the Best of 1980-1990 release had any effect on sales of the earlier albums. It appears that Joshua Tree has remained steady at about 2,000/week in the U.S. before and after that release so my guess would be no, or minimal, effect on back catalogue sales.

Curt

 

[zoocarolina]

My guess:

Tracklist (17):

New song A (Hands?)
New song B
HMTMKMKM
Miss Sarajevo
Mysterious Ways
One
The Fly
Stay
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Discotheque
Mofo
Please
Staring at the Sun
Beautiful Day
Stuck
Elevation
Walk On

An article in Launch said that HMTMKMKM and Sarajevo will be included and my guess is Hands is the new single that will be released, with the other new song released as a single in early 2003.

Sorry to quash any hopes of UTEOTW and others, but these won't be on the list bc they weren't singles and let's hope that one shows up as a hidden track. This is the precedent that was set with the 1st best of.

I was hoping Hands would be released only with the Gangs soundtrack, but it sounds like that will be the single in Oct. I'm just spoiled and want more brand new stuff + the soundtrack material!!!

Either way this is great news!! We'll get a single, a double cd, a dvd, possibly a SLANE DVD, and a SLANE concert special to tide us over until the new album, probably released mid/late next year!

I would rather see the ATYCLB tracks on the next Best Of as well, but look at the bright side, the boys are confident they can make a few more records before the next Best Of after 2010 barring any unforseen circumstances.

Here's to atleast 10+ years of more U2!!!! Enjoy each year because it's all a bonus at this point considering how rare of a band they are to last this long and still getting better each and every year!!!

 

[camiloj]

This is how I think it will turn out....(if U2swiss is true and I dont know what conenctions THEY have, about now I'd be lookin to Elvis for insight on THAT, lol)

1.One
2.The Fly
3.Mysterious ways
4.Even Better Than The Real Thing
5.Stay
6.Lemon
7.Numb
8.Disotheque
9.Staring at the Sun
10.Please
11.HMTKMMMMMMM (however many Ms there are)
12.The Ground beneath Her Feet
13.Beautiful Day
14.Walk On
15.Stuck in a Moment
16. New
17. New

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Regardless of my wish to see Until the End of the World included on this Best of, I really look forward to seeing the running order of these songs and where the new ones will fit in. The decision on the first "Best of" to have Bad right before Streets and I Will Follow next was pure genius. Not only that, but I never thought Pride was a good opening track until I heard it on there.

I might be a little disappointed if I don't see a track or two that I think should be there, but it is not the point. It is the running order that will determine which songs that may sound "new" to me all over again. Of course, these songs sound great already. However, there is the possibility that they may even sound better this time around.

Call me a freak if you wish. I have already banned 90's U2 from my stereos. I hope to be a reborn 90's U2 fan!

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Sorry to quash any hopes of UTEOTW and others, but these won't be on the list bc they weren't singles and let's hope that one shows up as a hidden track. This is the precedent that was set with the 1st best of.

For zoocarolina and for others who believe this logic;

Best of 1980-1990

Non-single inclusions-

Bad
October (hidden track)

The album is called "Best of" not "Greatest Hits." When it comes to U2, there are no rules. Always be ready to be suprised.

As a side note, the song "Mofo" was released as remixes on a cd single, but the song itself never charted anywhere. This song is a very likely candidate for "non-single" inclusion on this Best of.

Also folks, if you really want to pull your hair out tonight, we have been told that the first disc will have 17 tracks. Is that 17 including a hidden track?

 

[zoocarolina]

Good point, I had missed Bad and October with my original analysis.

That puts a lot of stuff back on the table and UTEOTW is definitely a candidate.

My guess is 17 not including a hidden track, I would love to see Dirty Day or The First Time as the hidden track.

Mofo is a tough call, maybe Lemon instead??

I guess there will be surprises!!

Thanks Roland.

 

[Swan269]

for the 15 I would guess this......


1) The Fly (chopping down the Joshua tree)
2) Mysterious Ways
3) One
4) Lemon
5) Stay
6) Discothque
7) Staring at the Sun
8) Hold me.....
9) Mofo
10) Miss Sarejvo
11) Please
12) Beautiful Day
13) Walk ON
14) Stuck
15) Elevation

I would love to see End of the World or Gone on it but who the hell knows.

Two new songs sounds awesome and I wonder if anyone Salome outtakes will appear in the rareities.

 

[typhoon]

Saw this on U2Wanderer.org, concerning the set around the time the first one came out in 1998:

Propaganda magazine asked U2 which tracks they would place on this release. The answers were as follows: Adam chose "Miss Sarajevo", Bono chose "Your Blue Room", Edge chose "One" and Larry chose "I'm Not Your Baby", Paul McGuinness chose "Lemon". It's interesting that out of the four band members only one chose a song off of a "U2" album. Not likely to be released for some time as U2 will not want to compete with sales of their own album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. It is rumoured to have a single CD as well as a 'limited edition' 2CD version similar to the previous best of.

I think that's interesting. There's really enough material that they wouldn't need any ATYCLB tracks to fill it out, too.

The singles...

The Fly
Mysterious Ways
One
Even Better Than the Real Thing
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Numb
Lemon
Stay
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
Miss Sarajevo
Discotheque
Staring at the Sun
Last Night On Earth
Please
If God Will Send His Angels
Mofo (sort of)

Then you have live staples like Until the End of the World and Gone and other picks like Your Blue Room and I'm Not Your Baby that the band seems to like.

Of course, if it's anything like the Best of 1980-1990, we'll get maybe one obscure single like the Unforgettable Fire (Miss Sarajevo), one non-single live fave with a few woo-hoos edited out for no particular reason (maybe Until the End of the World), too many tracks from the most recent album that also happens to be the one least representative of the period thrown around the end of the tracklist (all the ATYCLB singles, let's say), and a hidden track from a first-class album otherwise ignored completely (dunno).

I'll still love the B-sides disc to death, of course.

 

[Salome]

The album is called "Best of" not "Greatest Hits." When it comes to U2, there are no rules. Always be ready to be suprised.

the only surprise on that first best of was october as hidden track
anyone who likes U2 a bit could have put that one together
I don't think it will be any different this time around

 

[U2DMfan]

no ATYCLB included

http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentID=209608

there is the link.
here is the copied text:

7/11/02, 4 p.m. ET) -- U2 will release a second volume of greatest hits on November 12. Titled U2--The Best Of 1990-2000, the album follows the multiplatinum first volume, U2--The Best Of 1980-1990, which came out in 1998.

The new album will draw tracks from the band's four studio albums recorded during the last decade, and will also include songs "Ms. Sarajevo" featuring Luciano Pavarotti and Brian Eno, from the Passengers' Original Soundtracks Vol. 1 album; "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," recorded for the 1995 Batman Forever film; and two new U2 songs recorded specifically for the album, at least one of which will be released as a single.

As with the U2--Best Of 1980-1990 album, a special edition double-disc version of the album will be available during its first week of release. The special edition will include the hits disc plus a second disc featuring B-sides and rarities from the '90s.

In addition to the new CD, U2 will also be releasing a The Best Of 1990-2000 set on DVD and video, which will mirror the tracks included on the standard album, but will also include some special features, unseen videos, and commentaries from the video directors.

-- Mark Bergman, Montreal




Notice (1990-2000) and also notice Ms. Sarajevo mention.
also, it says the 4 studio albums during the decade.
1991 AB
1993 Zooropa
1995 Passengers (it mentioned Sarajevo did it not?)
1997 Pop


wouldnt you think they would have mentioned one track from ATYCLB and had extended the year to 2001 if it were included?
Most music journalists probably consider Passengers a U2 studio album, after all it was pretty much with Eno as the 5th member.

My money says no ATYCLB tracks. And methinks it's much much much much better off that way.

 

[Bono's shades]

Here's my guess, in no particular order.

1. New song
2. New song
3. The Fly
4. Mysterious Ways
5. Even Better Than the Real Thing
6. Lemon
7. Numb
8. Stay
9. HMKMTMKM
10. Miss Sarajevo
11. Staring at the Sun
12. If God Will Send His Angels
13. Discoteque
14. Beautiful Day
15. Elevation
16. Stuck in Moment
17. Walk On
Hidden track: The Ground Beneath Her Feet

This is what I PREDICT will happen. What I WISH would happen is quite different. I would rather save the ATYCLB singles until the next Best Of and instead include Please, Gone, Until the End of the World and...and...hmmmm....I don't know, maybe The First Time or Zooropa or something totally unexpected like that.

 

[Mirrorball Girl]

They could record 30 minutes of Bono talking to his toilet and I'd probably buy it.

Well, the second disc is going to contain "rarities." So, we can keep our fingers crossed...

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Here's my guess, in no particular order.

1. New song
2. New song
3. The Fly
4. Mysterious Ways
5. Even Better Than the Real Thing
6. Lemon
7. Numb
8. Stay
9. HMKMTMKM
10. Miss Sarajevo
11. Staring at the Sun
12. If God Will Send His Angels
13. Discoteque
14. Beautiful Day
15. Elevation
16. Stuck in Moment
17. Walk On
Hidden track: The Ground Beneath Her Feet

This is what I PREDICT will happen. What I WISH would happen is quite different. I would rather save the ATYCLB singles until the next Best Of and instead include Please, Gone, Until the End of the World and...and...hmmmm....I don't know, maybe The First Time or Zooropa or something totally unexpected like that.

There's this one song U2 has... called "One". I have a feeling it just may end up on here...

 

[Foxxern]

It really doesn't matter what they put on the album. They could record 30 minutes of Bono talking to his toilet and I'd probably buy it.

Ali: Make sure you get the tub when you're done.
Bono: Fecking mildew...

 

[Bono's shades]

There's this one song U2 has... called "One". I have a feeling it just may end up on here...

What the #*@#%! How did I leave out "One"? I could have sworn I had that typed in.

 

[Zoocifer]

1. Mysterious Ways
2. Staring at The Sun
3. Lemon
4. Discotheque
5. Even Better Than the Real Thing
6. If God Will Send His Angels (single mix)
7. Numb
8. The Fly
9. Please (single mix)
10. *New Track*
11. Until The End of the World
12. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
13. Stay (faraway, so close)
14. Last Night on Earth (single mix)
15. *New Track*
16. One

This is my personal predicted track listing for the Best of 1990-2000. I hope that "last night on Earth" is included but I doubt it will be. I also don't really want "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" to be on the disc.

- The Zoocifer -

 

[verte76]

I have a feeling they're holding back on "Zooropa" because they think it's really European. Hell, they'd never played a song from that album on North American soil until last summer when they threw in "Stay". This was reportedly after Bono was peppered with questions from fans when he was signing autographs about when they were going to put a song from Zooropa in the set. I'm not sure about this, but there was alot of talk from fans in the GA lines and stuff about wanting a song from that album in the set. Since they want the album to do well in the U.S.--big market, etc, etc... they're holding back on it. Oh, well, heck, my favorite U2 album *is* AB and they're not holding back on that.

 

[Astroboy]

zooropa is God!!!

 

[verte76]

zooropa is God!!!

I won't argue *too* much with that, even though AB is my favorite U2 album. But........egads, two Gods???? Not in my faith tradition.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

So, which is it? 1990-2000? or 1991-2001? Either way, we'd end up with ATYCLB tracks, so will the title even matter?

Here's my tracklist prediction:

(note, the first four have been confirmed)

Miss Sarajevo
New Track #1
New Track #2
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
The Fly
One
Mysterious Ways
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Until The End of the World
Lemon
Discotheque
Staring at the Sun
Beautiful Day
Walk On
Elevation (Tomb Raider Remix)
Stuck In A Moment That You Can't Get Out Of

The 17th track could be Stay, Numb or Please. Not to mention the fact that there'd probably be a hidden 18th track as well........

 

[verte76]

Hold it, are there going to be tracks from ATYCLB on it? I didn't think so.

 

[typhoon]

"1990-2000" means "the nineties." ATYCLB is from a completely different period of the band's evolution and wouldn't fit in at all. Don't be so anal over interpreting the name when it's actually more subjective than you think.

 

[verte76]

Well, someone *did* mention songs from ATYCLB on the track listing for this "Best of" and I didn't think so..........that's all, I didn't mean to be anal. I'm stressed out due to a massive rip-off today--I got robbed by a bunch of thugs, and I'm still upset.

 

[womanfish]

Well, so now the question is whether ATYCLB will be included or not. It is a tough one, and every article i read gives me incomplete info.

So here are the tracklists for either way:


New song
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Even Better Than the Real Thing
One
Whose Gonna....
Lemon
Stay
HMKMTMKM
Miss Sarajevo
Staring at the Sun
Please
Discoteque
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Stuck in Moment
Walk On
*Maybe a second new song that would take the place of either Whose gonna.... or Please

New song
New song
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Even Better Than the Real Thing
One
Whose Gonna....
Lemon
Stay
Numb
HMKMTMKM
Miss Sarajevo
Staring at the Sun
If God Will Send His Angels
Discoteque
Please
Ground Beneath Her Feet

Ok, something like that. We shall see. someone must know if ATYCLB will be included or not. Should we offer a reward for anyone who can find out?

 

[Rastat]

1. Mysterious Ways
2. Staring at The Sun
3. Lemon
4. Discotheque
5. Even Better Than the Real Thing
6. If God Will Send His Angels (single mix)
7. Numb
8. The Fly
9. Please (single mix)
10. *New Track*
11. Until The End of the World
12. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
13. Stay (faraway, so close)
14. Last Night on Earth (single mix)
15. *New Track*
16. One

This is my personal predicted track listing for the Best of 1990-2000. I hope that "last night on Earth" is included but I doubt it will be. I also don't really want "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" to be on the disc.

- The Zoocifer -

Don't you think it's a lot better record than best of 1980-1990?

I do.

 

[what a bomb!]

I like the ideal of having ATYCLB on this next Best of release. It oozes of confidence in their next record and the remainder of the decade. If the worst happens and they have no more hits (very unlikely) they can always release a Greatest Live Hits 1980-2010.

I would be very interested to know if the Best of 1980-1990 release had any effect on sales of the earlier albums. It appears that Joshua Tree has remained steady at about 2,000/week in the U.S. before and after that release so my guess would be no, or minimal, effect on back catalogue sales.

Curt

For your info, after the release of 1980-1990 (and this is roughly what I remember!) U2's entire back catalogue were back in the top 60 album charts I think, and the more popular albums like The Joshua Tree re-entered quite high but I can't remember the exact positions, so yes, a release of a best of does have a affect on old material! This was in the UK by the way!

 

[womanfish]

For your info, after the release of 1980-1990 (and this is roughly what I remember!) U2's entire back catalogue were back in the top 60 album charts I think, and the more popular albums like The Joshua Tree re-entered quite high but I can't remember the exact positions, so yes, a release of a best of does have a affect on old material! This was in the UK by the way!

And curt also wrote:
I like the ideal of having ATYCLB on this next Best of release. It oozes of confidence in their next record and the remainder of the decade. If the worst happens and they have no more hits (very unlikely) they can always release a Greatest Live Hits 1980-2010.

I would be very interested to know if the Best of 1980-1990 release had any effect on sales of the earlier albums. It appears that Joshua Tree has remained steady at about 2,000/week in the U.S. before and after that release so my guess would be no, or minimal, effect on back catalogue sales.

Curt


My reply is this. A release of a Best of... or any new album by U2 for that matter, will have an initial positive effect on sales of past albums. Why? well because the albums are getting more exposure because people are going to the U2 section to pick up the new album. They see the other albums there and might say, oh i will pick that one up too i guess. Another reason is, stores many times will put a whole bands catalog on sale when they have a big new release, which also bumps up sales initially.

What worries me is this, aside from this initial bump in sales, over the long run, most albums will suffer smaller sales if there is a best of out.

The example was given of the Joshua Tree selling fairly consistently at 2000 copies a week. My problem with that arguement is that it is THE JOSHUA TREE! It is a classic, landmark album, that remains the most popular and well-known U2 album around. I think the power of the Joshua tree defies the major sales decline that other, less popular albums would see.

Just as an example. I like lots of bands, but I am not a HUGE fan like I am of U2 or REM or something like that. So I would definitely buy a greatest hits album of an artist that i really like, over buying 3 or 4 or 5 seperate albums of theirs. The only exception might be if one of their albums was just a MUST have. You know where I am coming from?

I think that Albums like Zooropa and Pop will sell even less after the best of is out for a while. Achtung may also decline a bit, but it is a very popular album as well. ATYCLB would probably also suffer sales declines if it were included in this one.

I know i don't have any real hard facts to back this up, other than if you look at the Pop Catalog charts almost all the albums in the top 40 of that chart are best of/greatest hit albums. This leads me to believe that these types of albums go on to sell much more than the seperate albums by artists.

 

[pinkfloyd]

if it will be something like this i'll be happy

1. Even Better Then Real Thing
2.Mysterious Ways
3.One
4.Until The end Of The World
5.the Fly
6.Numb
7.The First Time
8.Lemon
9.Stay ( Faraway , So Close ! )
10.Gone
11.Last Night On Earth
12 . Please
13 . Mofo ( live phunk force remix )
14.If God Will Send His Angels
15. Staring At The Sun
16.Miss Sarajevo

on the other cd TGBHF , some remixes and b-sides, outtakes i guess .