U2 - U218 Singles

Bland Blarney

"U218 Singles" is U2's latest attempt to cash in on its long-gone glory days and appeal to young 'uns. U2 began as a "born-again" Christian rock band in Dublin. They had post-punk alt. rock, with a rougher edge than the slickly produced New Wave hits currently on the scene. In the beginning,Bono&his band had something fresh&innovative.

"U218",is,like all greatest hits comps, a mixed bag. There are some fun,catchy tunes from U2's early days,such as "Sweetest thing","With or without you",and "Mysterious Ways." There are more spiritual radio hits like "Pride (in the name of love)" which simultaneously invokes Jesus and Martin Luther King,along with "I still haven't found what I'm looking for","Beautiful Day" and "Where the streets have no name." That's the good (where's "Bullet the blue sky"?). Now,onto the bad&the ugly.

"U218" also has the faded glory "hits" of "Sometimes you can't make it on your own" and "Stuck in a moment you can't get out of." The catchy message rock of the '80s has degenerated into preachiness&sanctimony in the millennium. There's the turgid "Elevation" that has some cheesy lyrics about the "curve of your thighs"(it's NOT sexy),and somehow got remixed for the openly campy Tomb Raider movie starring Angelina Jolie. It makes sense. There's the genuinely wretched "Vertigo" song that got plugged into endless rotation thanks to the iPod ad. Finally,there's the pretentious "Saints are coming" duet with Green Day. When two pretentious bands collide,it's... something else.

"U218" is mediocre. There are genuinely great songs blended with wretched ones. If you REALLY REALLY like U2,I recommend "In the name of love: Africa celebrates U2." It's got amazing covers from Angelique Kidjo, Les Nubians, the Sierre Leone Refugee All Stars and Vieux Farka Toure. The best U2 is out of Africa. June 20, 2008

Perfect 80's score!

I just bought an Ipod and I was compiling an 80's playlist. How could I forget about U2? This definitely rounded out my collection. Thanks! May 27, 2008

Love U2!

I bought this CD when it first became available. I had to get this one for my sister because I knew she would love it too. I am waiting for the U2 3D CD/DVD to be available. I absolutely love them. This is a good greatest hits type of CD, but if they wanted to they could put a couple more together and I would buy them too! April 20, 2008

Good compilation

This will probably be one of many more U2 Greatest Hits collections to be released in the future and Bono & Company will just keep that cash rolling in. March 20, 2008

A good but somewhat unnecessary release

'U218 Singles' is a good compilation from U2. It's got every major hit single, and two killer new tracks ('The Saints Are Coming,' a duet with legendary punk band Green Day and 'Window In The Skies') are all featured on this set.

But, despite all of that, this is a very unnecessary release. I'm happy to see it, and it's worth owning for the two new songs, but why not include rare early singles, like 'Out Of Control,' 'I Will Follow,' '11 O' Clock Tick Tock,' 'Fire,' or latter day singles like 'If God Will Send His Angels' or 'Please'?

The bottom line is that if you're going to make a U2 singles collection, you should go ahead and make it a two CD set. It's impossible to fit every U2 single on one disc.

A more fitting title would be 'The Best of U2's Singles,' but to call it simply 'U218 Singles' is misleading.

But despite all of that, this is still highly recommended for any U2 fan. If you're a casual fan, buy it for all of the hit songs featured here, and if you're a die-hard U2 fan like I am, buy it for the two new songs.

Recommended. ENJOY!!! March 15, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...