After U2, R.E.M. are my favourite band. Other than Document, Murmur, and a few random 1980s songs though, I was not familiar with much of their output until 2011, when I listened to Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage, their career-spanning 'best of' double album. This really got me into their music and is the reason I love R.E.M. so much now. I've often thought, what if U2 did something similar? Not that they are retiring soon, of course, but... they've been around for 39 years now. A retrospective double album might be a good thing for them to consider, especially considering the sort of nostalgia Songs of Innocence expressed and how it seemed to attract a lot of newer listeners to exploring their back catalogue.
So, here's my attempt at a U2 compilation double album. I'd love to see what the rest of you would consider a best of album for our band! Do you focus just on hits? Fan favourites? Rarities? A balance, or skewed in one direction or another?
A couple of general guidelines for consistency if you want to share yours too:
1. Every studio album has to be represented (except Original Soundtracks 1 and Songs of Innocence, if you think it's too soon to judge it)
2. No live tracks - let's keep this studio only (for now... a 'best of' officially-released live material would be fun to compile sometime though...)
3. Keep it double-album length, 30-40 tracks.
Here's my list: Disc 01
01 I Will Follow
02 Out of Control
03 Gloria
04 Tomorrow
05 New Year's Day
06 Sunday Bloody Sunday
07 "40"
08 Pride
09 Bad
10 Where the Streets Have No Name
11 Bullet the Blue Sky
12 Running To Stand Still
13 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
14 With or Without You
15 All I Want Is You
16 Desire
17 The Fly
18 Until the End of the World
19 One
20 Love Is Blindness
Disc 02
01 Mysterious Ways
02 Lemon
03 Stay
04 Miss Sarajevo
05 Please [Single Version]
06 Gone [Best of 1990-2000 Mix]
07 Staring At the Sun
08 Discothèque
09 Beautiful Day
10 Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of
11 Walk On [Single Version]
12 Vertigo
13 City of Blinding Lights
14 Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
15 Window In the Skies
16 Magnificent
17 Moment of Surrender
18 Ordinary Love
19 Cedarwood Road
20 Every Breaking Wave [Radio Remix]
Now let's see: How would you make a retrospective U2 album?
Where The Streets Have No Name
Pride
I Will Follow
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Magnificent
Beautiful Day
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Vertigo
Electric Co
Out Of Control
In A Little While
An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
City Of Blinding Lights
New Year's Day
October
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Walk On
All I Want Is You
Zooropa
Mysterious Ways
Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
The Fly
Mofo
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Wake Up Dead Man
Gone
Zoo Station
Stay
The First Time
The Unforgettable Fire
Kite
One Tree Hill
Ultraviolet
Moment Of Surrender
With Or Without You
Until The End Of The World
One
Running To Stand Still
Bad
Best of 1980-1990
Best of 1990-2000
Best of 2000-2010 - to be released soon!!
Best of 2010-2020 - to be released in the future
Best of 2020-2030 - to be released in the future (ok...i'm dreaming!)
...every song is a great hit...ok 90%
scott
12 + 12 Greatest Hits (based on U218 with a few modifications): CD1
Beautiful Day
The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
I Will Follow
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
One
With Or Without You
Every Breaking Wave
New Year's Day
Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own
Moment Of Surrender CD2
Where The Streets Have No Name
Vertigo
Gloria
Desire
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Sweetest Thing
Walk On
City Of Blinding Lights
Elevation
Lemon
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Cedarwood Road
12 + 12 Best Of (their best songs): CD1
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Will Follow
Cedarwood Road
The Unforgettable Fire
Until The End Of The World
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Please
Raised By Wolves
New Year's Day
With Or Without You
Love Is Blindness CD2
Dirty Day
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
Gone
Bad
Moment Of Surrender
Drowning Man
Tomorrow
Running To Stand Still
One Tree Hill
Heartland
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
One
1 - Cartoon World
2 - Speed Of Life
3 – I Will Follow
4 – The Electric Co
5 - Gloria
6 - 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
7 - New Year's Day
8 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
9 - Bad
10 - Pride (In The Name Of Love)
11 – Where The Streets Have No Name
12 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
13 – With Or Without You
14 – Angel Of Harlem
15 - Desire
16 - Zoo Station
17 - The Fly
18 - One
19 - Last Night on Earth
20 - Please
21 - Miss Sarajevo
22 - Elevation
23 - Beautiful Day
24 - City of Blinding Lights
25 - Vertigo
26 - Get On Your Boots
27 - No Line On The Horizon
28 - Moment of Surrender
29 - The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
30 - Cedar wood Road
31 - Song For Someone
32 – Invisible