18 Singles

18 Singles is just that; it's not a best-of, or a representation of all singles, but a collection of the band's most popular 16 songs and two ...

18 Singles
Provided By:The Daily Vault

18 Singles
U2
Interscope, 2006
http://www.u2.com
REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/21/2006
This is only the third U2 hits collection in the band's 26-year history, and the first of those to capture the band's entire career instead of just one decade. It's also the only disc casual fans will need.
18 Singles is just that; it's not a best-of, or a representation of all singles, but a collection of the band's most popular 16 songs and two new recordings (which record companies do just to piss fans off and separate them from money. See my recent Aerosmith hits review for more). The disc is aimed at new fans of the band, the millions who came on board with All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000.
The reliance on latter-day songs -- eight of them are from 2000 on -- means many of the band's classic albums are given short shrift. However, no important songs seem to be left out, making this disc seem like any radio station's U2 playlist, and indeed most of these songs have been played to death on radio. But there are a lot of casual U2 fans who will scan the track listing and recognize more than half the songs, and they will love this disc.
As they should, since many of these songs are among the finest of the last 20 years. The collection reaches back to 1983 with the post-punk political anthems "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day," then touches on 1984's Martin Luther King Jr. anthem "Pride (In The Name Of Love)," the first song to truly establish The Edge's ringing guitar as an integral part of the band, just as much as Bono's voice.
The Joshua Tree is represented by its first three songs and the band's defining songs: "With Or Without You" remains beautiful, "Where The Streets Have No Name" has a sweeping undercurrent of hope under its somewhat dark surface and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a solid rock/gospel pairing. The power pop of "Desire" and the cute, inconsequential "The Sweetest Thing" close out the '80s songs.

Click here to read complete Review



Local Articles
Entertainment
Home