Amazon.com: Whittling down the back catalog of one of the most popular and respected bands of the last quarter-century to a single-disc collection is bound to inspire argument and dissent from the fans and faithful over what is included--and all that gets left behind--and U2's 26-year career is as celebrated and beloved as any band of their generation. U218 Singles doesn't try to please everyone, wisely sticking to the acknowledged high points (and there are many) between 1983's War and 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Nitpickers may quibble that the collection leans too heavily on the band's most popular albums and skips the (admirable if less anthemic) techno-pop tangents of Zooropa and Pop and the earnest energy of the Boy/October years, but the musical majesty accumulated here testifies to the undeniable power and emotion U2 can muster in a four-minute pop song. Two new Rick Rubin-produced tracks don't break new ground for the band, but both would fit snugly somewhere in the U2 canon--"Window in the Skies" is pure late-period arena rock with a typically towering falsetto chorus, while Green Day helps inject some October-era urgency into "The Saints Are Coming". The sum of these 18 tracks is a first-rate primer, perfect for that 10-year-old niece or nephew who thinks U2's big break was that iPod commercial. --Ben Heege
Album Description: U218 Singles is the first single-disc collection - including 16 of their best-known songs. Also included are two brand-new tracks recorded with producer Rick Rubin at Abbey Road Studios in London: "The Saints Are Coming" (with Green Day) and "Window in the Skies."
Good mix for a new fan, Saints Are Coming is AWESOME! This cd has some of my favorite U2 songs, quite a few of which I didn't have yet. However, if you have most of their albums I would just pay for the download of U2/Green Day's "The Saints Are Coming." It's an AWESOME song that will wake you up. It also has a fair bit of meaning to a lot of people, as it was played at the first Saints home game after Katrina.
Bland Blarney "U218 Singles" is U2's latest attempt to cash in on its long-gone glory days and appeal to young 'uns. U2 began as a "born-again" Christian rock band in Dublin. They had post-punk alt. rock, with a rougher edge than the slickly produced New Wave hits currently on the scene. In the beginning,Bono&his band had something fresh&innovative.
"U218",is,like all greatest hits comps, a mixed bag. There are some fun,catchy tunes from U2's early days,such as "Sweetest thing","With or without you",and "Mysterious Ways." There are more spiritual radio hits like "Pride (in the name of love)" which simultaneously invokes Jesus and Martin Luther King,along with "I still haven't found what I'm looking for","Beautiful Day" and "Where the streets have no name." That's the good (where's "Bullet the blue sky"?). Now,onto the bad&the ugly.
"U218" also has the faded glory "hits" of "Sometimes you can't make it on your own" and "Stuck in a moment you can't get out of." The catchy message rock of the '80s has degenerated into preachiness&sanctimony in the millennium. There's the turgid "Elevation" that has some cheesy lyrics about the "curve of your thighs"(it's NOT sexy),and somehow got remixed for the openly campy Tomb Raider movie starring Angelina Jolie. It makes sense. There's the genuinely wretched "Vertigo" song that got plugged into endless rotation thanks to the iPod ad. Finally,there's the pretentious "Saints are coming" duet with Green Day. When two pretentious bands collide,it's... something else.
"U218" is mediocre. There are genuinely great songs blended with wretched ones. If you REALLY REALLY like U2,I recommend "In the name of love: Africa celebrates U2." It's got amazing covers from Angelique Kidjo, Les Nubians, the Sierre Leone Refugee All Stars and Vieux Farka Toure. The best U2 is out of Africa.
Perfect 80's score! I just bought an Ipod and I was compiling an 80's playlist. How could I forget about U2? This definitely rounded out my collection. Thanks!
Love U2! I bought this CD when it first became available. I had to get this one for my sister because I knew she would love it too. I am waiting for the U2 3D CD/DVD to be available. I absolutely love them. This is a good greatest hits type of CD, but if they wanted to they could put a couple more together and I would buy them too!
Good compilation This will probably be one of many more U2 Greatest Hits collections to be released in the future and Bono & Company will just keep that cash rolling in.
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