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Back Tracks: U2

March 16, 2010 By Mike Duquette 7 Comments

Is it inherently lazy to do a U2 post on a music blog for St. Patrick's Day? Whether it is or not, it's done for two reasons.

First, since The Second Disc is all about reissues, it's worth tipping a hat to Universal's ongoing series of U2 reissues. They have been some of the best on the market in recent years. The packaging is nice, the content is comprehensive and groundbreaking (in other words, the fan gets all those hard-to-find tracks he or she is looking for plus a score of vault material) and the input from the band (specifically The Edge, who's done a bang-up job curating these sets) is a refreshing change of pace from the "I-look-forward-not-back" approach of too many artists with deep, worthy catalogues.

Second - and perhaps more importantly - it is this writer's opinion that U2 have completely fallen off the rails in the past decade. All That You Can't Leave Behind wasn't perfect, but there were some pure pop moments that any band in their 20th year would kill for. Since then, though? The iPod commercials. The singles that just sound like the same song over and over again. The proselytizing prophet known as Bono. An album - one that made Pop look like an underappreciated risk (maybe it is, after all) - that earned inexplicable crticial salivation. And a fine candidate for the worst musical ever.

If one were to spin the last decade of U2's new material in a positive way, perhaps they're spending too much of their energy on making killer catalogue sets. So with Ireland's biggest holiday upon us, here's Ireland's biggest band, as seen through the eyes of their back tracks.

The Best of 1980-1990 / The Best of 1990-2000 (Island/Interscope, 1998/2002)

The first U2 compilations are excellent distillations of what made the band so good in their first two decades. And it pulls no punches, offering their best singles whether or not they were hits (songs that scraped or missed the highest highs of the U.S. charts - "Angel of Harlem," "Miss Sarajevo," "New Year's Day" - made the cut). For hardcore fans it was the first repository of rare tracks, too; there was a bonus disc available with each set compiling the best of the B-sides and remixes of the period.

The Complete U2 (Island/Interscope, 2004)

Though it's not available anymore (and will more than likely be rendered obsolete by the time all the U2 LPs are expanded), this iTunes-exclusive box set - a $150, 446-track set (roughly 67 discs) - included every studio album at the time, singles, EPs, remixes, unreleased cuts and live material. Some fans rightly complained about the hefty amount of duplicate tracks therein (songs released as singles were released twice, on albums and next to their respective B-sides), but getting all that music for a fraction of what it must cost to buy physically is a pretty good bait for lots of people, and the quality of the material justifies it.

U218 Singles (Island/Mercury, 2006)

This stopgap collection done between How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) and No Line on the Horizon (2009) - still the longest gap between U2 albums - is a straightforward, single-disc set meant to rope in new fans or those looking for a decent U2 mix. As such, it's nowhere near the quality of the previous best-of sets, and should be pursued only by the completist in need of a cheap fix or the new fan eager to get a slow start on the band.

Zoo TV Live / U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle (Island/Interscope, 2006/2007)

U2 are well-known for giving their fan-club members nice exclusive CDs for joining. The 2006 gift was the audio-only version of Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, a fired-up 1993 live set recorded during another impasse in the band's career (Adam Clayton's drinking had led him to miss a concert the night before, and Bono later admitted to Rolling Stone that he feared the dissolution of the band was again imminent). The 2007 release, another audio version of a previously-released video (recorded in 2001 on the Elevation Tour, a day after Bono's late father was buried), has similar highs thanks to its home field location and a crowd gone wild thanks to Ireland's placement in the World Cup just hours before.

The Joshua Tree: 20th Anniversary Edition (Island, 2007)

Here's how you do it: a double-disc set consisting of U2's biggest smash hit LP, all the non-LP tracks from the era, and five tracks from the original album sessions. Did I mention the box set that throws in a DVD chock full of rare goodies, or the 180-gram double-vinyl version? If you still haven't found what you're looking for, start here.

Boy / October / War: Deluxe Editions (Island, 2008)

So beloved and excellent was the remaster of The Joshua Tree that the first three albums followed suit in the summer of 2008. Boy had five unreleased tracks along with its respective B-sides (and the debut Three EP), October loaded up on vintage live material recorded by the BBC and War (perhaps my favorite of the three) has its share of bonus material as well, namely the many B-sides of the period and unreleased song "Angels Too Tied to the Ground."

Under a Blood Red Sky (Island, 2008)

One of U2's best shows - hell, one of the best of the '80s - was this 1983 set at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a set that established U2 as a live act par excellence. For the first time, the original EP and concert film were added into one package (after a rather odd legal battle ensued). It's not complete - not all the footage was deemed releaseable and that rendition of "Cry/The Electric Co." is still edited thanks to Bono adding a snippet of "Send in the Clowns" - but getting the audio and the visual of this live document together is nothing short of special.

The Unforgettable Fire: 25th Anniversary Edition (Island, 2009)

As U2 inched further into the mainstream, they produced this phenomenal record and put on some more earth-shattering live sets. This 2 CD/1 DVD set collates them both, including all the rare non-LP tracks (as usual) as well as both the full performances from Live Aid and an Amnesty International show in 1986 - the same one where The Police (in their last public performance before the 2007 reunion tour) symbolically handed their instruments over to the band. How's that for a statement?

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets Tags: Back Tracks, U2

Mike Duquette

Michael Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he discovered there was more than one version of John Williams' soundtrack to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, with bylines on catalog at Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Prince and credits on titles including the Grammy-winning 'Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic.' Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with an ever-expanding collection of music.

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Comments

  1. Don says

    March 17, 2010 at 9:31 am

    This is a great summary of these re-releases! As you mentioned, the reissues up to this point have been more or less "comprehensive."

    But when we start getting into the 90s (Achtung Baby is rumored to be reissued this September), I doubt we'll get the same treatment. There were so many remixes and odd experiments during this era that there's no way they'd be able to cover Achtung Baby or Zooropa or Pop on 2 CDs. Will they add 2 or 3 additional CDs to these reissues? Do fans really WANT that, since a lot of the bonus material is 10-minute dance mixes? I'm guessing they'll keep the 90s albums to 2-CDs, and pick and choose the bonus material. I trust Edge's judgement to pick the best bits, but it will still make the 90s sets seem incomplete compared to the 80s reissues.

    In terms of bonus content, I think the Unforgettable Fire and October reissues have been the most interesting so far.

    Reply
  2. Jeff Brace says

    March 17, 2010 at 12:27 pm

    One thing that drives me up the wall when it comes to reissues (not just U2, but ALL bands) is the inclusion of the remixes! The only remix that Improved the song that comes to mind is Duran Duran's "The Reflex", only because it got airplay on MTV, and became familiar, almost second hand, if you will. If reissues have to be multiple disks, I prefer the first disk to be the original material reissued, the B-sides, and a live disk, if available. I personally don't want to hear the same song 30 different ways! The deluxe versions of REM's. Murmur and Def Leppards' Pyromania are two examples--a remastered disk plus a second life disk from the tour supporting the original release.

    When I think if "remixes," I'm prone to think of dance music, and the political aspects of Joshua Tree (and everything prior) doesn't really put me in a dancing mood.....

    Reply
  3. Darren says

    March 17, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    I think that "Achtung Baby" would still be okay as a 2 CD set, as many of the additional tracks from that era could conceivably be pushed onto a "Zooropa" reissue, as it's all conceptually one period but "Baby" is bound to get the full treatment ala "Joshua Tree" and "Fire" so there may be scope for a third CD.

    When it comes to "Pop" it could be a problem as there are sooooo many remixes. Each track released as a single was remixed, so there's all those single mixes before we get to the b-sides and remixes.

    The annoying thing about "U2 18 Singles" was that they couldn't be arsed to use the correct single versions!

    Reply
  4. Don says

    March 17, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    Yeah, U2 had a few dance mixes for the War and Unforgettable Fire albums, but they didn't really start in earnest until Rattle and Hum, which had several tracks remixed for 12" singles. Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop were released during the golden age of CD singles, so there were MULTIPLE remixes of Lemon, Discotheque, Mysterious Ways, etc. etc. etc.

    Reply
  5. Will says

    March 17, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    I'm a bit vague on which remixes (of the latter albums) are official remixes, and which are unofficial, but I just checked my music folder -- which has an entire section devoted to "U2 (Remixes)" -- and I've got more than 160 remixes from Achtung Baby forward.

    And that's just remixes, that is not even counting Salome (the 3 discs of Achtung Baby outtakes).

    Reply
  6. Darren says

    March 17, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    Hmmm. Looking solely at the "Achtung Baby" era, there is rather a lot to whittle down...

    Night & Day (Twilight Remix)
    Night & Day (Steel String Remix)
    Alex Descends Into Hell For A Bottle Of Milk / Korova 1
    The Lounge Fly Mix
    Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Extended Club Mix)
    Mysterious Ways (Apollo 440 Magic Hour Remix)
    Mysterious Ways (Tabla Motown Remix)
    Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix)
    Mysterious Ways (The Perfecto Mix)
    Mysterious Ways (Ultimatum Mix)
    Salomé
    Where Did It All Go Wrong?
    Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix)
    Even Better Than The Real Thing (The Perfecto Mix) Even Better Than The Real Thing (Sexy Dub Mix)
    Even Better Than The Real Thing (Apollo 440 Stealth Sonic Remix)
    Even Better Than The Real Thing (V16 Exit Wound Remix)
    Even Better Than The Real Thing (A440 Vs U2 Instrumental Remix)
    Even Better Than the Real Thing (Trance Mix)
    Even Better Than the Real Thing (Sexy Dub Mix)
    Lady With The Spinning Head (UV1)
    Satellite Of Love
    Paint It Black
    Salomé (Zooromancer Remix)
    Salome (Zooromancer Remix Edit) (5:51)
    Can't Help Falling In Love (Triple Peaks Remix)
    Can't Help Falling In Love (Mystery Train Dub)
    Fortunate Son
    Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix)

    Knock out some of the "Real Thing" & "Mysterious Ways" mixes and they might fit.

    Reply
  7. Mike Duquette says

    March 17, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    Blame market saturation in the '90s for all those remixes. Personally, I can't stand remixes that wildly alter the original song (a trend which happened a lot by the late '80s/early '90s).

    If they include the B-sides, the best of the remixes and whatever's worth including from the Salome bootlegs, I think they have a solid set.

    Fingers crossed for an announcement on a deluxe Rattle and Hum at some point, too. It's not everyone's favorite but it might be worth a second look. If they could get Paramount to throw in a DVD or Blu-Ray of the film, more power to them.

    Reply

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