The Best Of 1990-2000

Product description ------------------- U2 - Best of 1990-2000 - Double CD .co.uk ------ The Best of 1990-2000 can be seen as an introduction to the reinvented U2 (Part One), the group who ruined irony for everyone. Gone were the mullets, canyon-scraping guitars and "locust winds", and out came the fly shades, leather and TV remote. Bono hid behind a , started enjoying himself, and the band be making the best, most interesting, diverse and rewarding music of their career. When grouped together, however, the material on The Best of 1990-2000 feels mix-matched. But that is hardly surprising considering the between-album sonic leaps (bordering on artistic self-indulgence and poncy-Eno ( /exec/obidos/artist-search/Brian%20Eno/${0} )fications with Passengers ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001E8S/${0} )) and the half finished Pop ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001EAQ/${0} ). Despite Pop's patchiness, the songs' zeitgeist experimentation and fundamental nonchalant attitude to their own position in the U2 scheme of things are both invigorating and satisfying. Notably though, they've been reworked (i.e., finished) here, "Staring at the Sun" apparently having suffered from "mid-temp syndrome". The new versions are better, and the new songs "Electrical Storm" and "The Hands That Built America" are stronger still. However, nothing comes close to the dark, d masterpieces from Achtung Baby ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001DTM/${0} ), particularly "The Fly". The track order is odd, with some telling omissions ("Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses") and strange inclusions ("The First Time"), which just goes to show how hard the band have considered the songs as they see them today. Let's hope that when their current back-to-basics attitude subsides they'll go all weird again. --Ben Johncock

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