Matt McGee ([email protected])
Tue, 3 Nov 1998 00:30:02 -0800
Just added all kinds of additional "Best Of" reviews to the @U2 news page
<http://www.atu2.com/news/>. The Hot Press review is as eloquent as any
I've read so far. Good reading. They give it 10 on a scale of 1-12. (Sorry
for not posting a direct link, but I'm hoping to reorganize some of this
huge pile of "Best Of" material and I'm afraid a direct link would change
before a lot of people read this message.)
I'll cut and paste one from the Calgary Herald below. Also a good read.
Matt
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Calgary Herald
October 31, 1998, Saturday, FINAL EDITION
HEADLINE: U2: Double retrospective discs capture essence of Irish band
BYLINE: JAMES MURETICH, CALGARY HERALD
It was one of those rare rock 'n' roll moments that stay with you forever:
standing in California's San Bernadino Valley with 300,000 music fans
watching U2 singer Bono scaling -- with no small risk to life and limb --
the scaffolding of the US Festival stage.
It was 1983 and the Irish band was a highly hyped entity in Ireland and the
U.K., but only just beginning to make its presence known on this side of
the Atlantic.
The band was part of the post-punk wave that had thrown such overseas acts
as Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen at the "new" rock fans being
courted by MTV. Dramatic sounds. Kinda cool. And no safety pins required.
And there, in the American desert where the TV series M*A*S*H was filmed,
was the black-clad Bono making like Spiderman while U2 played songs off its
first three albums.
Songs such as I Will Follow and New Year's Day rang out with a dramatic,
soaring rock style that filled the vast expanse as those of us on the
grounds baked in the afternoon California sun.
That day made it clear that U2 was not like other bands. Love or hate 'em,
you couldn't doubt their sincerity and ability to make grand gestures and
statements in a rock concert setting.
That image keeps coming back to me while listening to the new double CD
retrospective on the first decade of U2 recordings: The Best of 1980-1990 .
. . & B-Sides.
Everyone knows the U2 sound of the '80s. The strident melodic rock. Bono's
booming voice. Lyrics dealing with searching and the spirit rather than the
nihilism of early punk or the time-honored trio of sex, drugs and rock 'n'
roll.
U2 became so big on the strength of its unique appeal -- its music
dominating the airwaves and its videos splattering over TV -- that its
songs almost became aural wallpaper.
The key to appreciating the new double-CD looking back at U2 is to step
back, not unlike the way you have to take a step back to appreciate how
truly radical The Beatles were. We need to try and hear songs, from 1983's
New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday up to 1988's Desire, with fresh
ears. (The one track that doesn't need any auditory regressing is the
disc's only new tune, Sweetest Thing).
These are magnificent, epic rock songs that beg for a stadium setting to do
them justice. The sound now is almost too well known and Bono's Christ-like
posturing in the mid-'80s, which didn't win him any Brownie points except
among devout followers, certainly won't add to his acclaim now.
But to listen to The Edge's unique guitar sound and the way the band seemed
to want to thrust its fist through the sky itself -- it's sheer
inspiration, a rock counterpart to the mystical musing of fellow Irish
artist Van Morrison.
Then there's the bonus of the limited edition CD of B-Sides, which will
disappear once the initial pressing is sold. These tunes provide a deeper
understanding of the ambition driving this four-piece band from Dublin.
There's Bono's love of music shining through on cover songs of the classic
Unchained Melody or his rendition of Patti Smith's Dancing Barefoot.
There are the exquisitely textured instrumentals, such as Bass Trap and
Endless Deep, that reflect the band's work with legendary ambient artist
and producer Brian Eno. There are acoustic rave-ups, like Trash, Trampoline
and the Party Girl or Everlasting Love, that prove U2 is more than all
right when it strips its musical base right down to next to nothing.
These songs capture the essence of U2 and are the reason any fan should
rush out and pick up this double disc when it hits the stores Tuesday.
U2 may not be the only band that matters in rock. But it is one of the best
bands of the last two decades. And The Best of 1980-1990 . . . & B-Sides
confirms that.
U2 Facts:
- Formed: In Dublin, Ireland, in 1978.
- First Notes: Guitarist Dave 'The Edge' Evans, singer Paul 'Bono' Hewson,
bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. first rehearsed together
while still students at Dublin's Mount Temple High School.
- Sonic Stylings: Though initially influenced by the energy of the punk
scene exploding in England and Ireland at the time, the band quickly
developed its own dramatic, sonic sound revolving around The Edge's guitar
style. His soaring riffs were the result of his not being able to play
complex solos and rhythm guitar at the same time.
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered: U2 signed to Island Records in 1980 and
released its debut album, Boy. It yielded the band's first hit single, I
Will Follow.
- Invading America: The arrival of MTV, which aired U2's videos, and its
touring America helped break the band on this side of the Atlantic. Its
first top 40 single in the U.S. was Pride (In the Name of Love), which
reached number 33 in Billboard in December, '84.
- Stoned: In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine jumped on the bandwagon and
proclaimed U2 "the band of the Eighties" and "the only band that matters,"
a phrase used by The Clash's label to promote the British punk-rock band a
few years before.
- #1 With a Bullet: Its only two number one hits between 1980 and 1990
occurred in 1987 when both With or Without You and I Still Haven't Found
What I'm Looking For topped the Billboard singles' chart.
- And the Winner is: U2 capped off its status as one of the world's most
successful bands by winning Grammy Awards in 1987 for Album of the Year and
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the album The Joshua
Tree.
- Cover Me: In 1987, Time magazine put U2 on its cover -- up to that point
in time, an honor only bestowed upon The Beatles and The Who. Forbes
magazine estimated that same year the band's combined financial intake from
The Joshua Tree album and tour to be about $ 29 million U.S.
- Big Screen Debut: U2 released its own "rockumentary," Rattle and Hum, in
1988. It was generally panned by critics for being bombastic. A soundtrack
by the same name was released and featured the top 10 single Desire.
- The End: The band ended its first decade of recordings by contributing
the Cole Porter song Night and Day to the 1990 Red Hot & Blue compilation
disc benefitting AIDS research. It withdrew from the public eye only to
emerge a year later electronically energized on Achtung Baby.
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_________________________________
Matt McGee / [email protected]
@U2 Web Page Curator
http://www.atu2.com
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