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The Best Of 1990-2000 & B-Sides

U2 - The Best Of 1990-2000 & B-Sides Audio CD

A fair review of the U2 "The Best Of 1990-2000 & B-Sides" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all U2 reviews here, or go back to the U2 tabs.

Band: U2
Title: The Best Of 1990-2000 & B-Sides
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-05-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Even Better Than The Real Thing 2: Mysterious Ways 3: Beautiful Day 4: Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) 5: One 6: Miss Sarajevo 7: Stay (Faraway, So Close!) 8: Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of 9: Gone (New Mix) 10: Until The End Of The World 11: The Hands That Built America (Theme From Gangs Of New York) 12: Discotheque (New Mix) 13: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me 14: Staring At The Sun (New Mix) 15: Numb (New Mix) 16: The First Time 17: Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix) 18: Dirty Day (Junk Day Mix) 19: Summer Rain 20: Electrical Storm 21: North And South Of The River 22: Your Blue Room 23: Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The Gun Mix) 24: Salome (Zooromancer) 25: Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix) 26: Numb (Give Me Some More Dignity Mix) 27: Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix) 28: If God Will Send His Angels (Big Yam Mix) 29: Lemon (Jeep Mix) 30: Discotheque (Hexidecimal Mix)

Some great songs, but absolutely horrible track selection
There are many fantastic U2 tracks on this album, but the track selection is absolutely horrible for something called a "Best Of". I am a big U2 fan and therefore feel compelled to write a review of this compilation. The same problem is even worse for the B-sides disk. I give this 3 stars only because U2's 90's work is so good and that does show up on this album. However, if I was rating it only for the track selection, it would get 1 star.

Pro's:
- Some great U2 tracks are included on this album
- About half of the main disk is very good
- About half of the B-side disk is very good
- Some tracks that are scattered around on various soundtracks and singles and such are collected here
- There are some tracks that are only available here (mostly alternate versions of songs)

Con's:
- Absolutely horrible track selection for something with the name "Best Of", misleading, not even close to a representation of their 90's work
- There are several interesting but ultimately vastly inferior versions of their songs on here. The superior, real versions are on the original albums. It is terrible to represent these songs on a Best Of with inferior versions.
- The regular tracks and B-Sides are mixed together between the two disks. The real (vastly superior) version of Electrical Storm is on the B-Sides disk for some reason while a remix is on the main disk.
- The B-Side selection is especially horrible. While I do collect and sometimes enjoy listening to certain remixes, there are U2 B-sides from the 90's that are so good they should have been on albums or even singles themselves but are completely missing from the B-side disk. I feel very badly for someone who has never had the chance to hear these gems and instead gets some barely-listenable remix.
- Personally, I do not think All That You Can't Leave Behind tracks should have been included here. Their sound on that album is intentionally different and does not fit with their 90's sound.

Bottom line: Shame on whoever selected the tracks for this "Best Of" and especially for the B-side disk, the choices could not have been worse. I would highly recommend buying the 3 main real albums instead (Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Pop). That said, there are a few crucial tracks on here that are not on those albums like Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me and Miss Sarajevo. Also, a completist fan may want some of the tracks that are only available on this album.

The Best of 1990-2002?
While this release brought them back to their original status as amazing musicians, U2 would soon enter its low point with the releases of their hugely disappointing albums Zooropa and Pop. In 1991, U2 returned to the music industry with the phenomenal album Achtung Baby. Fortunately, after the failure of these two strange albums they came back to their senses and recorded the more "normal" album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. Before I criticize them, I would first like to say that I am very proud of U2 for still managing to create a memorable cd with only four albums, only half of which were successful.

Now on to the criticism. First, the thing that angers me most about this cd is, like with The Best of 1980-1990's release of "The Sweetest Thing," they cheated with the songs. "Electrical Storm" and "The Hands That Built America" were both released in 2002, which means that they shouldn't be here. It's not that the songs are bad it's just that I wish they had saved them for a possible Best of 2000-2010. Next, while the song selection here is far superior to the Best of 1980-1990, there are still several flaws, which I will address later. Also, many of the remixed songs on the A-side should have appeared in their original versions. Last, to put it lightly, the B-sides SUCK!!!!!! Here's what they should have done to make this "deluxe edition" a little more desirable. For the singles, they should have made more room by transferring "Electrical Storm," "Miss Sarajevo," "The Hands That Built America," and "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the B-sides. Since all of these songs were released on either movie soundtracks or their own singles and not one of the four albums, I don't believe they should belong on the A-side. This not only would massively improve the B-sides, but also allow them to put in four missing songs. The songs I would insert would be "Walk On," "Please," "If God Will Send His Angels," and "Lemon," since many U2 fans unfortunately like this song. Also, the A-side lasts for about 72 minutes, so they could have added one more, which I would have choosen to be "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. " Next, "Gone," "Discotheque," and "Staring at the Sun" should have appeared in their original versions; however, the remix of "Numb" is more than welcomed here. That takes care of the A-side and now for the B-side. As I mentioned above, move the four "non-album" songs over here and add the songs "Always," "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," "Paint it Black," "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad," one of the remixes of "The Fly," and "Where Did it All Go Wrong" to the cd. Next, in order to fit all these on here some of the remixes need to go. I would suggest removing the remixes of "Dirty Day," "Numb," "If God Will Send His Angels," "Lemon," and "Discotheque. " It also wouldn't kill them to remove the studio version of "Electrical Storm" since the William Orbit Mix is much better and still captures the essence of the song. The remixes of "Even Better Than the Real Thing" and "Mysterious Ways" are actually quite good and deserve to stay on here along with "Happiness is a Warm Gun," "Salome," and "Lady With the Spinning Head. "

Like with their previous Best of cd, U2 created an album for "unexperienced" fans only. The big differences between the two Best of cds are the first decade had much better music and the B-sides from the first decade are actually worth the extra mula. I would recommend this cd only to people who just want the basic essientials of U2's later years. However, if anyone wants to truly experience The Best of 1990-2000, I recommend just buying the four albums, or at least Achtung Baby.

Here's how I'd list the tracks.

The A-side

1. Even Better Than The Real Thing
2. Mysterious Ways
3. Beautiful Day
4. If God Will Send His Angels
5. One
6. Lemon
7. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9. Gone (Original Version)
10. Until The End Of The World
11. Please
12. Discotheque (Original Version)
13. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
14. Staring At The Sun (Original Version)
15. Numb (New Mix)
16. The First Time
17. Walk On

The B-side

1. Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix)
2. Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad
3. Summer Rain
4. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix)
5. North and South Of The River
6. Your Blue Room
7. Miss Sarajevo
8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The Gun Mix)
9. Salome (Zooromancer Remix)
10. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
11. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)
12. The Fly (Any Remix)
13. Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix)
14. Paint It Black
15. Where Did It All Go Wrong
16. The Hands That Built America
17. The Ground Beneath Her Feet
18. Always
.

Did you come here to play Jesus with the voices in your head?
While "Achtung Baby" is widely heralded as a masterpiece and "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was universally acclaimed for the band reclaiming their strongest attributes, I doubt many regard either "Zooropa" or "Pop" as monuments to the band's greatness. What a mixed bag this is! U2's journey through the 90's was a twisting, turning ride that saw the band careening from one style to the next, trying to force themselves away from inertia and only being intermittently successful.

Which makes this best of set a true case for song. Fortunately for us, U2's songwriting was very rarely anything less than great, even if the costuming was oddball. So while the band was off exploring their musical wild hairs, they were still writing incredible material like "If God Will Send His Angels" or one-off knock-out's like "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" from "Batman Returns. " The wild hairs aren't completely gone, though. It means they had to tweak "Numb" and "Discotheque" unnecessarily.

And it also means omissions abound. Conspicuous in their absence are "The Fly," "Elevation," "Walk On," and "Lemon. " You do get a couple of bonuses, in particular the contribution to Martin Scorcese's "Gangs Of New York" Oscar nominated "The Hands That Built America. " This collection is also worth having for what could possibly be one of the greatest songs of the 20'th Century, "One. " That song alone makes this a four star rating and saves the set from dropping to a three via all the missing material.

As for the bonus "B-Sides" disc: frankly, not much here is really "bonus. " "Lemon" and "If God Will Send His Angels" make their appearance here, but remixed (ugh). "Electrical Storm," one of the new songs, shows up again in a different version. And the free DVD is a waste; essentially a commercial for an upcoming DVD release. You're likely just as well served by the single disc version.

Pretty good, the remixes hurt and the 1st could be enough
Also, the first cd is good though the second is more like remixes and soundtrack material and is weaker than the firs cd. the album is pretty good, even though the remixing of some well known songs in my opinion doesn't improve anything unless you ar a dj or want to play the music in a club. Unless you are a deep U2 fan and are willing to get some ok(not the best) content, I would rather go for the 1CD version of the album, but don't get me wrong, there are good songs in the album. Good buys!.

One of "U2's" best albums !!!!
It is on my top 5 list of the best bands EVER. I love U2. But I only own one U2 album. This one. My brother Pablo gave me this one, as well as many others. I am very thankfull. This one is perfect, one of the best albums I have and it even includes some new songs and mixes which makes this album even more perfect. I love this one with all my heart. Buy this one immediatley. Why? If you've been lookin' for that answer then check this review:

Disc One: The Best Of 1990-2000. - O. K. This whole album has 2 discs and 1 DVD. I mean, this is possibly the most complete and best U2 album with their greatest hits.

1. - "Even Better Than The Real Thing". - O. K. Great start for such an album. One of my favorite U2 songs there is. - 5/5.

2. - "Mysterious Ways". - I love this one too. Very. . . U2. For me. . a classic. - 5/5.

3. - "Beautiful Day". - One of the best songs EVER. - 5/5.

4. - "Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix)". - This is an example of a new song they out on this album and I think this one is better than the original version (which is in the other disc on this 2-disc set. Another one of my all-time favorite's. - 5/5.

5. - "One". - Another classic song from this great, great band. Another one of my all time favorite's,- 5/5.

6. - "Miss Saravejo". - Not too crazy about this one. Nothin' compared to "Beautiful Day" or "One". - 3/5.

7. - "Stay (faraway, so close)". - Yet another classic for me. - 5/5.

8. - "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of". - WOW. Another one of my all-time favorite's. This album is really something! . -5/5.

9. - "Gone (New Mix)". - I like this version more than the original. I like this one as much as "Even Better Than The Real Thing". - 5/5.

10- "Until The End Of The World". - Very grissly intro to this song. Then. . . it becomes one of my favorite's.

11. - "The Hands That Built America (Theme From "Gangs Of New York")". - Another new song. Probably some of you watched the movie "Gangs Of New York" with Leo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis, I did and if you didn't, then I recomend you don't, the truth is I didn't like it, I like the song much more. But a mind-blowing performance by Daniel Day Lewis. Anyway, this one is another one of my all-time favorite's. - 5/5.

12. - "Discoth�que (new mix)". - I like the original version, but I find almost no difference. - 5/5.

13. - "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". - The banda sonora from "Batman Returns", the best Batman there is, anyway, I think it is one of my favorite's. - 5/5.

14. - "Staring At The Sun (new mix)". - I like the original version better. This version is too "whiny". - 4/5.

15. - "Numb (new mix)". - I think this song is the strangest I've ever heard. This one is the new mix. - 3/5.

16. - "The First Time". - Great. I like this one. - 4/5.

Disc Two: The "B" sides. - O. K. The second disc of this album. Most of the songs on this disc are mixes and this part of the album goes down:

1. - "Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix)". - I never heard the original version of this song, but I kinda like this version pretty much. - 4/5.

2. - "Dirty Day (Junk Day Mix)". - I never heard the original version of this song either, but I didn't like it, sorry. - 1/5.

3. - "Summer Day". - I love this song. Kinda reminded me of their other song "Desire", have you listened to it? If no, then listen to it now. - 5/5.

4. - "Electrical Storm". - Another new song. To be honest, I don't like this version too much, as I stated that above on disc one. - 4/5.

5. - "North And South Of The River". - Another strange song from U2. - 3/5.

6. - "Your Blue Room". - O. K. I like this one. Very much. - 5/5.

7. - "Happines Is A Warm Gun (The Gun Remix)". - O. K. I don't like this one that much either. - 3/5.

8. - "Salom� (Zooromancer remix)". - This One is more of a disco song. - 4/5.

9. - "Even Better Than The Real Thing (The Perfecto Mix)". - I like the original version better. "Perfecto" is spanish for "perfect", I should know that since I'm Bolivian. But you must have noticed that by taking out the remaining "o". - 4/5.

10. - "Numb (Gimme More Dignity Mix)". - I think this version of "Numb" is way better than the original version. - 5/5.

11. - "Mystrious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix)". - I like the original version better. - 4/5.

12. - "If God Would Send His Angels (Big Yam Mix)". - I never heard the original verion of this song, but this one is just fatal!! . - 0/5.

13. - "Lemon (Jeep Mix)". - O. K. This one is way way way better than the previous one. - 4/5.

14. - "Discoth�que (Hexidecimal Mix)". - I hate this version of the song. - 2/5.

O. K. I think this is the best "greatest hits" U2 album. It starts off really smooth, but then, it goes dooowwwwwn big time. But either way I recomend this for you.

U2 RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!
.

You can see a complete list of all U2 discography, or go back to the U2 tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.