Word: u2
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...jewel of an album does come along every so often, though. The latest one is, not surprisingly, from one band that has done more than their fair share to warrant a greatest hits CD: U2. Twenty-two years in the making, The Best Of 1980-1990 is a tour de force that briefly touches on U2's humble beginnings before hurtling straight into every song from the 1980s that catapulted them into the pop music stratosphere...
...glory and passion that defined U2 in the 1980s is here in full force. Starting with the anthemic "Pride (In The Name Of Love)," their memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., the album is an emotional ride wrought with equal amounts of politicized calls for action and elegant longings for love. For those people less than enamored with U2's dabbling into electronica, this collection is like coming home to a time when Bono's long hair and earnestness were a comforting alternative to the cold, mechanical music of the 1980s...
Though always driven by Edge's unique guitar lines and the instinctive synchronization between Larry Mullen on drums and Adam Clayton on bass, U2 has never been afraid to evolve and explore new territories. In fact, their songs only gained new facets and complexities while retaining their heart and emotion. The latest compositions, which are culled from 1989's Rattle and Hum, still have that distinctive U2 sound, despite broadened instrumentation. "When Love Comes To Town" features B.B. King on vocals and guitar, and "Angel of Harlem" features a horn section...
...strong vocals and Edge's subtle guitar playing. The song crescendos to a wailing, yearning climax and then fades away gradually. There is silence for a few minutes, and then the brittle piano chords of "October" start. Sparse and lonely, like a barren tree in winter, "October" is U2 at its finest, displaying some of the strongest emotions on the album with the simplest, minimalist music...
...added bonus, for one week only, a CD with U2's B-sides is included with the greatest hits CD. Though other bands have throwaways as B-sides, any songs on this album could have been included on a regular U2 album (in fact, one, "Silver and Gold," was on Rattle and Hum). Worth the extra money alone are U2's haunting, dark version of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot" and the U2 originals "Spanish Eyes" and "Luminous Times (Hold On To Love)." Other songs are brooding ("Love Comes Tumbling," "Endless Deep") or simply happy ("Hallelujah Here She Comes"). Only...