The 2 "Best Ofs" - Strengths & Weaknesses

[LCK]

Best of 1980-1990

Strengths:

some great pairings (I Will Follow/ UF; Pride/NYD)
totally unexpected hidden track
great version of Sweetest Thing

Weaknesses:

October album all but ignored
would replace When Love Came To Town, its a good song but doesn't belong with the best ofs imho

Best of 1990-2000

Strengths:

again some great pairings (Gone/UTEOTW; One/ Miss Sarajevo)
great new mixes of Gone and Numb (and I'm not normally a huge fan of remixes)

Weaknesses:

disagree with the decision to include ATYCLB, Hands that Built America, and Electrical Storm as they were not part of the 1990-2000 era.
too many doubles of songs on b-sides. The b-sides disc suffered with too many mixes of songs on the main CD, while some really great b-sides (ie Holy Joe, Night & Day were left off)


Plus, I'd like to see the b-sides (for both best ofs) made available on a longer term basis so the new or more casual fan won't miss out on some really great tracks.

[madonna's child]

1980-1990

strengths:
I love the B-Side album. And I like that they included The Unforgettable Fire.

weaknesses:
I agree that more from October should have been included. I would have also liked to see 11 O'Clock Tick Tock on the regular album.

1990-2000:

strengths:
The inclusion of The First Time was really cool IMO. I like some of the remixes on the b-side album (I especially like EBTTRT, Lemon, and Numb). I love Lady with a Spinning Head. And I really like the non-Orbit version of Electrical Storm on the b-sides.

weaknesses:
The lack of The Fly, WTF is that about? I don't like a lot of the new mixes of songs on the regular album. The Ground Beneath Her Feet should have been included instead of Hands that Built America.

[jick]

Best Of 1980-1990
Strengths: It featured the Golden Era of U2 - the salad days.
Weaknesses: No Gloria or 11 O Clock Tick Tock or Out of Control, any of the three should have been there instead of WLCTT.

Best of 1990-2000
Strengths: POP songs were finally fixed. ATYCLB songs were included.
Weaknesses: Notable omissions (The Fly), weak new tracks (Electrical Storm Hands)

Cheers,

J

[Bono's shades]

Best of 1980-90

Strengths - Inclusion of The Unforgettable Fire; October as hidden track; incredible second disc with nearly all the best b-sides of the decade included.

Weaknesses - No Gloria, Deep in the Heart, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock or A Celebration; also, no true new tracks on the first disc since Sweetest Thing was just a revamped version of a b-side already on the second disc.

Best of 1990-2000

Strengths - New mix of Gone; new mix of Numb on the first disc (I liked it anyway, not sure who else did), two pretty good new songs in Electrical Storm and THTBA.

Weaknesses - No Please, Ground Beneath Her Feet, Night and Day or The Fly; too many remixes on the second disc; unnecessary William Orbit mix of Electrical Storm (they should have just gone with the far superior original version).

[intedomine]

80-90 Strengths
- logical selection of hits
- bonus track
- best of bsides very well compiled...good selection

weaknesses
- non chronological
- no gloria, 11 oclock, one tree hill, a sort of homecoming
- bloody half the rattle and hum album is featured
- inclusion of bad, angel of harlem, and when love comes to town
- seems somewhat short

90-00
strenghts
- 16 tracks
- discotheque and hmtmkmkm included

weaknesses (many)
- no the fly. wild horses, lemon, please, last night on earth. walk on

- inclusion of the first time, uteotw, gone

- hands that built america and electrical storm post period....should have released "summer rain" or "where did it all go wrong" on single release for promoton of the best of (like they did with sweetest thing and the previous best of)

- inclusion of atyclb tracks contentious considering walk on was left out...atyclb tracks for third best of maybe a better option.

-your blue room deserved to be on the best of

- too short

- b sides full of remixes- u2 easily had at least 15 diff 90-00 bsides at their disposal (alex descends..., pop muzik, paint it black)

[greenlight7-11]

Originally posted by LCK
disagree with the decision to include ATYCLB, Hands that Built America, and Electrical Storm as they were not part of the 1990-2000 era.

How is ATYCLB not part of the 1990-2000 era?

[Saracene]

Best of 1980-90

Strengths:
- Very strong B-Sides disk
- Lovely cover shot
- Hidden track
- "Pride" is a perfect opener IMO

Weaknesses:
- Way too many R&H tracks and not enough early material
- Overall feels too short and incomplete

Best of 1990-2000

Strengths:
- FANTASTIC remix of Gone
- Two pretty damn good new songs
- Non-obvious inclusions like "The First Time"

Weaknesses:
- Pretty blah B-Sides compilation
- No "Fly"
- Not sure whether ATYCLB tracks really fit
- The cover image: it looks nice, but it's too monochromatic and understated and doesn't really fit the feel of the era

Weakness for both Best Ofs: apart from some (admittedly great) photos inside the booklet, pretty stingy packaging with no "personal touch".

[candice star]

i think both b-sides are okay. i agree, they should've put holy joe.it's a great track

[Headache in a Suitcase]

my only real complaint is the b-sides on the 2nd disc... they were for the most part just remixes, not true b-sides, unlike the 80-90 disc, where all the songs were original songs that didn't make an album or covers...

of all of these non-album songs from the 90-00 era...

lady with the spinning head
satellite of love
night and day
salome
where did it all go wrong
paint it black
fortunate son
slow dancing
two shots of happy one shot of sad
holy joe
your blue room
north and south of the river
pop muzik
happiness is a warm gun
i'm not your baby
always
summer rain
big girls are best
stateless
the ground beneath her feet

...i'm sure they coulda picked 14 without including remixes

[MrBrau1]

Originally posted by Headache in a Suitcase
my only real complaint is the b-sides on the 2nd disc... they were for the most part just remixes, not true b-sides, unlike the 80-90 disc, where all the songs were original songs that didn't make an album or covers...

of all of these non-album songs from the 90-00 era...

...i'm sure they coulda picked 14 without including remixes

I agree the B-side disc is very lacking.

[ThatGuy]

Originally posted by Headache in a Suitcase
lady with the spinning head
satellite of love
night and day
salome
where did it all go wrong
paint it black
fortunate son
slow dancing
two shots of happy one shot of sad
holy joe
your blue room
north and south of the river
pop muzik
happiness is a warm gun
i'm not your baby
always
summer rain
big girls are best
stateless
the ground beneath her feet

This would have made a great b-sides disc all by itself.

[~*Buffalo*~]

1980-1990 Strengths ...

*Pride as the opener - such a strong track
*Including Sweetest Thing
*AIWIY as the last track
*October as the hidden track

Weaknesses ...

*Having all the R&H tracks (Desire, WLCTT, Angel of Harlem, AIWIY) together - I just don't like that
*Having the single edit of NYD instead of the fabulous album version
*The middle tracks (Bad, WTSHNN, I Will Follow, UF) seem a bit lacking, a bit wishy-washy together and don't really match the first 5 tracks
* No October songs - Gloria would've been great in there somewhere

1990-2000 Strengths ...

*The excellent Buffalo cover - oh how I love it
*All the great Zoo TV-era pictures in the booklet
*The First Time as the closing track
*ES and THTBA as super new songs
*Having the non-U2 album tracks (HMTMKMKM, Miss Sarajevo)

Weaknesses ...

*No hidden track
*Dodgy B-sides with too many remixes of singles
*EBTTRT as the opener
*Having Stuck in a Moment instead of Walk On
*No Please (although I liked all the Pop choices)

[LCK]

The Fly was included on UK versions of the Best ofs...don't know why it wouldn't be on all versions

Technically, ATYCLB came in under the wire and could be included in 1990-2000, but being a new and very strong album, with a tour in the new millennium, it felt like the beginning of a new era rather than the end of the nineties. I think AB/ Zooropa/ Pop gave them ample material- including ATYCLB altered the whole feel of the album. But that's just my opinion & I know lots of ppl wanted it there.

I heard it was a business legality to include 2 new songs, but regardless of the songs' merits, I don't feel new material belongs on a Best Of.

And most definitely agree with the comments re 11 O'Clock Tick Tock

[follower]

Good topic. Okay, lets see:

1980-1990

Strenghts:
- Pride as opener, like some have already said, it´s perfect
- inclusion of Bad, despite not being a single
- b-sides disc is great, I have no complaints about it

Weaknesses:
- not Gloria, Electric Co.,Bullet the Blue Sky and "40" (that one should be the closer IMO);
- too many Rattle and Hum songs. Like others said, I wouldn´t miss When Love Come To Town either
- the worse IMO it´s the awful edition of Streets, they cut out the instrumental part at the end, something I consider a crime, really

1990-2000

Strenghts:

- inclusion of Until the End of the World and The First Time
- I like Electrical Storm, but could live without Hands That Built America
- the new mix of Gone is pretty good, although I have nothing against the original version
- I have nothing against the remixes in the b-sides disc, for me they represent an era in U2´s work, the 90s era.

Weaknesses:

- not Holy Joe, The Fly and Slow Dancing
- they could have chosen another remix of Mysterious Ways, the one in the b-sides disc is very similar to the original version, and they had at least 5 different ones to choose
- the new mixes of Discotheque, Staring at the Sun and Numb were not necessary IMO, there´s nothing wrong with the original versions.
- the worse was the inclusion of ATYCLB songs, they should be saved for the next compilation IMO

Cheers
MT

[BigMacPhisto]

Strength of 80-90:

Sounds like an album, rather than a clip show.

New "Sweetest Thing" is a great improvement.

Single version of "New Year's Day" is something worth having.

Weaknesses:

A Celebration, Two Hearts Beat As One (Top Ten Hit in the UK!), A fourth track from JT, 11 O Clock Tick Tock.....and on and on......there's just so much more that could have been on there and it's really a shame that "A Celebration" is going to be lost for the ages......


Strengths of 90-00:

Some good remixes (Discotheque, Gone) on The Best Of.

We got two new tracks.

Weaknesses:

The Fly is MIA.

Lemon > The First Time

Some not so great (Staring at the Sun, Numb) remixes....

Where's the Boom-chas?

[ZigZag]

The Best of 1980-1990

Strengths

-Great for the casual fan. Lots of good, good, good music.

-Sweetest Thing is one of the best "new" tracks they could have ever come up with. Just so charming.

-Nice B-side collection.

Weaknesses

-I didn't know it was "The Best of U2/Rattle and Hum"

-Why the heck did they feel to edit out the best parts of "Streets"?

-Did somebody forget U2 made a second album? I distinctly remember something in between Boy and War...although I could be mistaken. I would never know about it though if I didn't accidently leave my CD player on after the CD was done playing.

-Track listing could be shifted a tad. I feel as if there's too much Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum in the same place.


The Best of 1990-2000

Strengths

-They really did fix the Pop songs. These mixes really brought "Gone", "Discotheque", and "Staring at the Sun" over the top. Sure, the pop feel of Discotheque might seem missing, but it sounds like a U2 song now. I bet U2 had been dying to do this for a long time.

-I appreciate the inclusion of "Hold Me...". It's an excellent song, and people who don't have the single or soundtrack to a so-so movie appreciate this greatly.

-The track listing is more or less pretty good. I can't complain too much about the order of songs whatsoever.

Weaknesses

-New songs seem a bit bland. If Electrical took that guitar riff at the end of the song and used it throughout, it would have been far better.

-The First Time? I like the song, but I can think of a million other songs that I would have enjoyed more than this. Specifically for the purposes of this CD, "Ground Beneath Her Feet" would have been an EXCELLENT replacement.

-"Even Better Than the Real Thing" is better than "The Fly"? At least Fly had much more flavor than a somewhat generic rock song, as much as I still enjoy it.

[KhanadaRhodes]

Originally posted by jick
Best Of 1980-1990
Weaknesses: No Gloria or 11 O Clock Tick Tock or Out of Control, any of the three should have been there instead of WLCTT.

my thoughts exactly.

also, the strengths of 80-90: aside from that, everything was well-represented. also, the b-side disc was perfect. there's more i would've included but nothing i'd take out, thus making it a 2 disc b-side collection! also, i'm glad they included songs like the unforgettable fire. it's a great song, and most people wouldn't think to include it. it's an underrated track.

strengths of 90-00: they picked the perfect songs to open and close the album. also, they included two new songs on there.

weaknesses of 90-00: all the new mixes on the first disc and an entire cd's worth of remixes for the b-sides disc. so disappointing. although i don't mind the new mixes as much as i *do* have the originals. but i don't have most of the b-sides! it would've been nice to have b-sides from achtung baby, for example. they put atyclb on there when there was already plenty of material from ab-pop to use. the fly and please, anyone? also, they included two new songs on there.

[alexvilagosh]

80-90
Strengths:
*Good b-side disc.
*Has all the big 80s hits.
Weaknesses:
*No suprises.
*No Gloria.
*No Out Of Control.

90-00
Strengths:
*Inclusion of he Firs Time.
*Good Gone and Numb remixes.
*Inclusion of Until The End Of The World and Gone.
Weaknesses:
*Missing The Fly.
*Poor Discotheque Remix.
*Hands could have been left of. I have no problem with Electrical Storm being there though.
*B-side disc missing songs.