U2

Item: The Best Of 1990-2000
Author: John J. Thompson

The Best Of 1990-2000

(2002)

Reviewed by John J. Thompson

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Interscope RecordsHM Magazine #99January/February 2003

alternative rock pop rock post-punk rock

There's this band from Ireland you might have heard of. They're called U2 and, simply put, they are one of the biggest, most influential, most successful and most profitable bands in the world. Oh yeah, they're Christians and they refuse to shelve either their Jesus-infected worldview or their status as Rock Stars of the first order.

This two-disc collection, like the 80s volume that debuted in 1999, gathers highlights from ten years worth of U2 singles, B-sides and remixes, in this case entirely culled from their second decade as the band that matters most. Disc One features the radio hits and soundtrack highlights while Disc Two sheds light on a wide variety of remixes and B-sides. Early birds even get a DVD that includes a montage video "edit" look at the band of the 90s and serves as a teaser for their upcoming DVD release. In this age of ubiquitous CD burners and MP3 players, Disc One seems to be something any self-respecting fan could have made on their own, while Disc Two serves as a handy catch-almost-all for the more rare B-sides — some of which should have been album cuts in their own right. There is also one new song, "Electrical Storm," that appears in two forms, one on each disc. Like "Sweetest Thing" from the first "best-of" set, it's fine, but not life changing. The freaky thing about this band, though, is that their leftovers sound better than most bands' best efforts.

To many old-school U2 fans, the 90s were a decade to be tolerated in the service of a greater good. From Achtung Baby's The Fly to Zooropa's Macphisto, to the sprawling, gurgling Popmart Tour, the nineties seemed to turn everything Bono, Edge, Larry Mullin Jr., and Adam Clayton had strived for in the eighties upside down. The release of All That You Can't Leave Behind, with its lack of artifice, seemed to underscore the differences even further. However, hearing this collection of songs, Bono's vision for subverting pop culture has never seemed clearer. From the familiar strains of "Mysterious Ways," through the dark technotronic pop of Zooropa and Pop, and through to the soaring "Beautiful Day" a new thread of innovative consistency appears. This is a band that is all about making art that matters, and this collection serves as a brilliant example of their unending relevance and power.

Editors' ratings — Doug 2/5, David 4/5