U2start.com | U2 Beginner CD

A friend of mine today told me he doesn't really listen to U2 and, since he knew I was a big fan, asked if I could make him a CD. I want to put on mostly songs that he might have heard in other places, but I also want to put a few unknown songs on there. I also want to put songs spanning the entire career so he can get a flavor of everything they offer. I wanted to stay away from live music also, but I put one live track on there. Here is what I came up with today:

Where the Streets Have No Name
Beautiful Day (Slane Castle)
Out of Control
New Year's Day
Pride
One
Gone
A Sort of Homecoming
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Gloria
I Still Haven't Found
Bad
Ultraviolet
With or Without You
Luminous Times
All I Want Is You

I wanted to put Lemon, City of Blinding Lights, and Moment of Surrender, but I just ran out of room. I might end up making him a second CD. I am looking for suggestions on what I should put on here to get him to be a fan.

drewhiggins

14 years

Change out BD for Last Night On Earth. Other than that, it's perfect.

jasvan

14 years

I have alot of friends that ate younger and don't understand the impact u2 has had
On artists they like. My thoughts on a starter cd.

Pride
With or without you
Streets
Sbs (83 live)
Desire
Unforgettable Fire
One
Bad (wide awake version)
The Fly
Until the End of the World
Vertigo
Please (single version)
Kite
Your Blue Room
No Line
Sometimes you can't

RUMMY

14 years

If it is indeed a "beginner" CD, you may want to avoid some of the "deep cuts," as itunes would call them. This is pretty generic, but it is an intro to the band:
1. I Will Follow
2. Sunday Bloody Sunday
3. New Year's Day
4. Pride
5. Bad
6. Streets
7. I Still Haven't Found
8. With or Without You
9. Desire
10. All I Want Is You
11. One
12. The Fly
13. Until The End of the World (or EBTTRT or MW)
14. Stay
15. Discotheque (or HMTMKMKM)
16. Beautiful Day
17. Walk On
18. Vertigo

The 80's stuff is pretty easy/obvious to pick, although it's be nice to include Out of Control, Gloria, Unforgettable Fire, and Angel of Harlem.
The 90's stuff is the toughest decade to nail down...so much diversity.
The 2000's stuff, although it won a lot of Grammy's, should be kept to a minimum. Decent stuff, but not nearly as good as the previous two decades.

dylbagz

14 years

you could just give him a copy of u218?
that pretty much sums everything up

unless you wanna go a little less mainstream, in which case i'd go:

out of control
the unforgettable fire
bad
all i want is you
running to standstill
with or without you
one
until the end of the world
stay
staring at the sun
walk on
city of blinding lights
no line on the horizon

EDIT:

you could also wait until u2 play glastonbury and a bootleg of that comes out and use that as a live show to give to your mate, i'd put big money on it that it will be a 'live greatest hits' concert, that would be a good way to get someone into live u2 imo

RUMMY

14 years

Originally posted by dylbagz:you could just give him a copy of u218?
that pretty much sums everything up

unless you wanna go a little less mainstream, in which case i'd go:

out of control
the unforgettable fire
bad
all i want is you
running to standstill
with or without you
one
until the end of the world
stay
staring at the sun
walk on
city of blinding lights
no line on the horizon

EDIT:

you could also wait until u2 play glastonbury and a bootleg of that comes out and use that as a live show to give to your mate, i'd put big money on it that it will be a 'live greatest hits' concert, that would be a good way to get someone into live u2 imo

18 Singles is a decent start. I always thought it should have been:

1. I Will Follow
2. Sunday Bloody Sunday
3. New Year's day
4. Pride
5. Streets
6. I Still HAven't Found
7. With or Without You
8. Deisre
9. One
10. Mysterious Ways
11. something else from Achtung Baby - I could never decide!
12. Beautiful Day
13. Walk On
14. Elveation
15. Stuch
16. Vertigo
17. City of Blinding Lights
18. Sometimes You Can't Make it...

Yeah, it still skips tracks from Zooropa and Pop. These tracks don't have the popular umph that the ones I've listed have and they are better off within theri respective albums. This list has all the "Grammy Awrds winning" songs - if you care about that sort of thing. It kind of plugs the void left between the "Best of 1990-2000" and NLOTH. Screw the new tracks - they should have been released as stand-alone singles. "The Sweetest Thing" is a bit lame/cheesey.

jones

14 years

1. Scarlet [Live - with Jay-Z version]
2. Red Light
3. Elvis Presley And America
4. Love Rescue Me
5. When Love Comes To Town
6. Wild Honey
7. Peace On Earth
8. Stuck In A Moment
9. Grace
10. In A Little While
11. The Hands That Built America
12. Man And A Woman
13. Yahweh
14. Get On Your Boots
15. Stranded
16. The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew
17. One [with Mary J Blige version]
18. Drunk Chicken/America

WojBhoy

14 years

I've been thinking about this, got a couple of friends who need versing in the ways of Paul and his merry men, but have just figured, the 1990-2000 and 1980-1990 Best Ofs are pretty neat intros to the the band from those two decades, why I didn't think of them before is beyond me lol...

jones

14 years

The "important" songs + some common fan favourites 2 CD

1 Out Of Control
2 11 O Clock Tick Tock
3 I Will Follow
4 New Year's Day
5 Sunday Bloody Sunday
6 Pride (In The Name Of Love)
7 Bad
8 With Or Without You
9 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
10 Where The Streets Have No Name
11 Mothers Of The Disappeared
12 One Tree Hill
13 Desire
14 All I Want Is You

15 Night And Day
16 The Fly
17 One
18 Until The End Of The World
19 Even Better Than The Real Thing
20 Numb
21 Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
22 Miss Sarajevo
23 Discotheque
24 The Sweetest Thing
25 Beautiful Day
26 Walk On
27 Vertigo
28 Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

mrbullet

14 years

If someone had made me an introductory mix with mainly singles on it, i don't think i would be here now.

RUMMY

14 years

Originally posted by mrbullet:If someone had made me an introductory mix with mainly singles on it, i don't think i would be here now.

Probably because U2 singles got played to death on the radio - or at least they used to get airplay.

u2spear

14 years

1. Beautiful Day
2. Vertigo
3. With or Without You
4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For
5. One
6. Pride (In the Name of Love)
7. Where the Streets Have No Name
8. Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out of
9. City of Blinding Lights
10. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)

Great for a beginner

U2 Beginner CD

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