From VH1's Website: U2 Timeline Countdown and Review

Deseree Stukes ([email protected])
Mon, 9 Nov 1998 12:11:17 -0500

 <<...>>
Where Were They When. . .
In the early era of punk, synthesized pop, and heavy metal, the Irish
band U2 reached pop stardom with a blaring sound, zealous post-punk rock
with political and religious overtones. U2 was starting a revolution and
frontman Bono was the ideal leader. In the early 90's, U2 reinvented
themselves as a post-modern rock band and gave extravagant arena shows
to get their message across. Throughout, U2 remains one the biggest rock
bands in history, and even if you're not a huge fan, their songs
probably remind you of where you were in the world when they were big.
Songs like "Where The Streets Have No Name", "Pride (In The Name of
Love)" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday". . . Now you can listen to them all at
once with U2's first (in a series of three) greatest hits album, The
Best of 1980-1990.
For more insight into what you're listening to, VH1 Online presents
Countdown U2 - The U2 Timeline the historical happenings behind the
songs on The Best of 1980-1990. Where was U2 when they released, "Where
The Streets Have No Name", "Pride (In The Name of Love)" and "Sunday
Bloody Sunday". Where was the world? Where were you?
1980: "I Will Follow" from Boy
U2: Signed a major international recording contract with Island records
in March for four albums over the next four years.
U2: Boy was released.
The World: Ronald Reagan was elected president.
The World: 52 American hostages were still being held in Iran. President
Jimmy Carter made a failed rescue attempt in April.
1983: "New Year's Day" & "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from War
U2: Released War and their first live EP, Under A Blood Red Sky recorded
at Colorado's Red Rocks. The EP entered in the UK charts at number two,
becoming the most successful live recording in British history and
establishing the band as an MTV staple.
U2: Bono set the precedent for "mashing" when he got carried away at a
concert in Los Angeles and jumped off the stage. "The crowd caught me,"
he said. U2 backed a bit away from their usual stage "histrionics" - but
only a bit.
The World: The U.S. Invades Grenada
The World: ARPANET begins to use TCP/IP protocol and the Internet is
born.
The World: Chrysler introduces the Minivan.
The World: Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
1984: "Pride (In The Name of Love)", "Bad" & "The Unforgettable Fire"
from The Unforgettable Fire
U2: Teams up with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois to produce The
Unforgettable Fire
U2: "Pride (In The Name of Love)", a Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute, is
U2's first U.S. top 40 single.
U2: The band is named as part of "Rock's New Humanism" by The Washington
Post.
The World: Ronald Reagan beats Walter Mondale for his second term as
U.S. President.
The World: The summer Olympic Games are held in Los Angeles. Russia
boycotts them in retaliation for the U.S. boycott in 1980.
1987: "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking
For" and "Where The Streets Have No Name" from The Joshua Tree
U2: Spring, The Joshua Tree was released. It was proclaimed a
masterpiece and became the band's first U.S. number one hit. In England,
it set a record by going platinum in within 28 hours. The album and its
tour was the biggest musical success of 1987.
U2: Gives impromptu outdoor concert in San Francisco's financial
district. They gave another one in Los Angeles which became the video
for "Where The Streets Have No Name". (Bono also caused trouble in San
Francisco by spraying a huge modern sculpture with the graffito, ''Stop
the traffic, rock n' roll".)
U2: Appears on the cover of Time magazine in April.
The World: Andy Warhol dies.
The World: Reverend Jim Bakker admits to being blackmailed for a 1980
"sexual encounter". He is stripped of his ordination with the Assemblies
of God.
The World: Lt. Colonel Oliver North tells his version of the Iran-Contra
story to a spellbound Congressional committee.
The World: Black Monday: the U.S. Stock Market crashed on October 19.
1988: "Desire", "When Love Comes To Town", "Angel of Harlem" and "All I
Want Is You" from Rattle & Hum
U2: Won two Grammys for The Joshua Tree including "Album of the Year".
U2: Released Rattle & Hum a documentary about their American Joshua Tree
tour. The film was supported by the double-album soundtrack which had
live Joshua Tree tracks as well as new material. The record and film
received weak reviews. U2's exploration of American roots music like
blues, soul, country and folk did not sit well with critics. U2 decided
to shed its image as "rock's conscience". The band decided to take a
hiatus.
The World: George Bush beats Michael Dukakis in the Presidential
election.
The World: Pan American flight 103 crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland
killing 258 people on the flight and 15 on the ground. A bomb was
determined to be the cause.
For now, the contents of U2's expected releases of two more "greatest
hits" collections are a mystery. They will most likely include songs
from albums Actung Baby and Pop , and hopefully, some surprises along
the lines of the limited-edition B-Sides of their current release. U2
has created a far greater amount of music than just their standard hits,
and we are anxiously awaiting the release of some of these goodies.
-- Elizabeth Gariti
******

VH1 Review of GH

The question, when considering a greatest hits album by a band as
radical and ingenious as U2, is why? Why, after a career of stretching
creative and musical limits, would they drop back and release a greatest
hits album, something they've been reported as saying they would never
do?
The Best of 1980-1990 is the first of three slated greatest hits albums
chronicling the history of the band. Details aren't available as to what
the other two will contain or when they will be released. A limited
edition of the current release contains 15 of U2's B-sides from the 80's
in addition to the principal CD containing their more mainstream hits.
Again a question -- why did they choose to break up their greatest hits
endeavors in this fashion? It's almost as if they see themselves as
three different bands.
In The Best of 1980-1990, all the standby singles are present. And while
the songs have the primal emotional impact they've always had, there is
nothing really new here. Except for a re-mix (the Single Mix) of
"Sweetest Thing" which originally was supposed to be on The Joshua Tree,
but wasn't finished in time. It later appeared as a B-side. I prefer the
original. True, it's not as polished, and doesn't include the ironic
harmonies of the new mix. It's rougher, but more genuine in it's
intensity and gives the song a poignancy which is lost in the re-mix.
Fortunately, the original appears on the limited-edition B-Sides.
The release would have more variety if some of U2's lesser-known hits
were included. Two great songs off The Joshua Tree -- "One Tree Hill"
and "Redhill Mining Town" -- are painfully not present. Also absent is
"Gloria" from October and "40" from War.
Regardless, the epic scope of U2's music from the 80's creates its own
world. Compiling it like this with time's generous perspective allows us
entrance into that world and our memories in a slightly different way.
-- Elizabeth Gariti

des

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