U2: The Best of 1980-1990

By: Allison Stewart

It may be hard to remember, but before “Lemon,” before they became ego-imprisoned rock stars with an overweening interest in hanging out with supermodels, U2 used to be quite good, actually. If the band’s superlative two-disc Best Of package (the limited-edition release that also includes B-sides) does nothing else, it highlights the ultimate hollowness of the band’s current Dark Period, which they will hopefully soon be leaving. The first disc includes every hit (except for a curiously missing “Two Hearts Beat as One”) from “I Will Follow” to “All I Want Is You,” and will serve to remind everyone who loves U2 why they once had good reason to do so. But it’s the second disc, which contains previously import-only rarities like “Dancing Barefoot and “Everlasting Love,” that is truly indispensable: After all, who wouldn’t rather hear an obscure gem like “Hallelujah, Here She Comes” than the fine-but-overplayed “Pride” for the fifty millionth time? Disc Two also contains the beyond-wonderful original version of the cult classic “The Sweetest Thing” — compare that to the recently redone version on Disc One that is a tarted-up and unlistenable atrocity. U2 would be well off to leave the past alone. At this point, it’s all most fans have left.

© Stewart / Rocktropolis, 1998. All rights reserved.