U2 25: The Best of the Rest
U2 was not my first favorite band.
I remember once trading jabs on an early internet chat forum about the relative merits of Led Zeppelin and U2 with a true believer in Bono & the Boys. I knew the hits. I thought they were fine, but no match for the virtuosity and complexity of the classic and progressive rock that I favored almost exclusively in my middle and high school days.
My attitude toward U2 significantly changed in college when I began exploring my roommate’s CD collection. Listening to U2 in the context of their albums — rather than just the singles on the radio — was the key to appreciating the depth, power, and inventiveness of their work. The Joshua Tree, Rattle & Hum, and Achtung Baby in particular became some of my favorite records. I was along for the ride after that point — I learned and performed their material, caught them on several tours, and even defended their honor in the midst of the iTunes “Songs of Innocence” controversy. (Speaking of which, remember those quaint times when we thought receiving a free U2 album was a major violation of our civil liberties?)
I think coming around to U2 about 20 years into their career gave me a perspective that is somewhat distinct from fans who have more history with the band. When considering the output of artists who have had long careers, fans and critics alike often assume the earliest work is the most vital. They’ve also spent the most time with those songs, and therefore tend to favor them. I’ve found that in later period albums, artists often have much to offer in terms of honing their craft, songwriting, and sometimes infusing more vulnerability and soul in their work. But because we put less time and effort into appreciating them, we tend to unfairly discount their value.
Last month, my favorite working music critic Steven Hyden published a top 100 list of The Best U2 Songs, Ranked on Uproxx. I value Hyden’s perspective because rather than just trafficking in inflammatory hot takes, he most often writes and podcasts about bands and art that he loves. Our tastes also overlap considerably, and given that, I decided it would be interesting to see where our opinions diverged by creating my own top 100 list of U2 songs.
The end result was my U2 25 “Best of the Rest” not included on Hyden’s list. Rather than rank them (as Hyden did but I have no patience for) I put them in proposed setlist order. So let’s lower the lights, cut the house music, and welcome the lads to the stage.
1. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
“It’s not a hill, it’s a mountain as you start out the climb.”
I didn’t see U2 on the U2360 tour, but I recall them trotting out a reworked version of this tune on the U.S. leg. If I had attended a show and heard something other than a take resembling this energetic, soulful, soaring arrangement, I would have been crestfallen.
Bono is an underrated lyricist, which I’ll seek to demonstrate further below. One of his best is:
“Is the sweetest melody the one we haven’t heard?
Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear?
The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear”
In those three lines, he speaks what I believe to be a truth followed by a hopeful platitude followed by self mockery of his previous two lines. I’d like to see some of his critics be that simultaneously poetic and self aware.
2. Elevation
“Can’t sing, but I’ve got soul.”
The prior track was the best U2 song featured in a commercial (albeit for a product we’d all rather forget). Vertigo was the worst. I often think of Elevation and Vertigo as similar songs, and I will always choose the one without the ridiculous intro (despite it being Bono’s prerogative). Elevation is a not a great song, but it is a fun song, and we need room for those at the beginning of a two-hour journey. The Edge riff is a magic trick that he explains, with sufficient modesty, in this clip for the documentary It Might Get Loud. Also, his descending wah solo is the opposite of elevation musically…but maybe that’s supposed to be the chemtrails as we lift off!!
3. Red Flag Day
“Today we can’t afford to be afraid of what we fear”
This is late period U2 doing early period U2. It is like Sunday Bloody Sunday, but instead about a trip to the sea with your love! Hyden really trashes this album, and I agree that I don’t love all of the modern producers and production choices the band has employed to attempt to remain sonically relevant. But I also believe they’ve continued to churn out songs that most bands would love to have in their catalogues.
It has a great groove, shifting back and forth to a half time feel. Plus any song with a prominent and isolated Edge vocal is good with me.
4. Indian Summer Sky
“You give yourself to this, the longest day”
This is early(ish) period U2 doing early period U2. It is the oldest song on my list. To me, this song is a solid example of the sound of the first four U2 albums — a lot of scratchy Edge guitar paired with driving drums and bass. The funk part that kicks in during the bridge is reminiscent of Talking Heads. Some of the melodies also oddly remind me of ’80s Rush, especially when Bono sings the lyric quoted above. And what a weird little abrupt ending.
5. Discotheque
“You just can’t get enough of that lovie dovie stuff”
I am supposed to dislike songs like Discotheque. At one point I convinced myself that I, in fact, did. But I don’t. I find it infectious, even the bit where Bono is doing some weird affectation with his lower register performance. This song makes me want to eat a slow dinner at 10pm, take a stroll through some European old town, sneak down a cobblestone alleyway, and slip into some secret, dank, sweaty club for the rest of the night. Or at least imagine what that might be like.
6. Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World
“A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle”
This is the song about waking up with a hangover after your Red Flag Day, which turned into a Discotheque night. The ’90s were kind of a beautiful hangover for U2 — they had become drunk on the adulation and success of the Joshua Tree and needed to change course to survive as a band. This is well documented in the excellent film From the Sky Down. Every song on Achtung Baby is on my top 100 list. It is my favorite U2 album by a considerable distance, and I love many of them. One of the best things about this album is that Bono seemed to really learn how to control his voice, and lay back when the song didn’t need him to belt. For example, bridge falsetto is beautiful.
7. Trip Through Your Wires
“I was naked in the clothes you made.”
I have no idea what that lyric means, but it sounds deep. Maybe he’s talking about feeling vulnerable in front of his manic fans? Trip Through Your Wires is the only track on the Joshua Tree not to make Hyden’s list, and to be fair, it is probably the weakest track on that album. But is there anything else in the U2 catalogue that sounds exactly like it? Bono’s ad lib screams are wild and great, perhaps Springsteen-esque. I love the Edge harmonies, mixed appropriately high, and always, more harmonica please!
8. If God Will Send His Angels
“It’s the blind leading the blond, it’s the stuff of country songs.”
I’m a sucker for a U2 ballad, and this one requires some patience. They make you wait a full verse and chorus before the band kicks in with the guitar line and groove. To me this song exemplifies Bono’s lyrical chops, and it reminds me that he is a particularly strong craftsman when disillusioned.
“Does love light up your Christmas tree?
The next minute you’re blowing a fuse
And the cartoon network turns into the news.”
Yikes. And then he does this Aaron Neville impression in the last chorus, but I’m still sold.
9. God Part II
“Heard a singer on the radio late last night. He says he’s gonna kick the darkness ’til it bleeds daylight.”
While we’re on the subject of God — a favorite of the boys — why not include this track from Rattle & Hum. When that Larry Mullen drums part with double bass kicks in, you know you are in for a pummeling! Bono kicks it up an octave for the next verse, and we’re off. I “love” when Bono preaches and preens against hypocrisy. He takes enough shots at himself, for goodness sakes.
10. Last Night On Earth
“She feels the ground is giving way. But she thinks we’re better off that way.”
From an abrupt ending to an idiosyncratic start. Here’s a song about a drug addled heroine. The chorus is big and dirty, and reminds me a bit of Soundgarden. In fact, I would have loved to hear a Chris Cornell take on this song. You can hear it when Bono pushes his voice to really connect. This song also includes an excellent example of what I consider U2’s commitment to the left turn bridge. In this case, it includes Bono doing his best Prince falsetto.
And now I’m depressed.
11. When I Look at the World
“People find all kinds of things that bring them to their knees”
How about a little levity after the darkness of a drug overdose? Well, sort of. We’re back to the theme of religious hypocrisy, but with less contempt (maybe admiration?) and funneled through some gentle sonic earworms. The pre-chorus in this song is so good when Bono says he “tried to be like you” to no avail. Whenever I listen to All That You Can’t Leave Behind, it sounds like Bono was really struggling with his voice during this period. But he is working at it, and the soul comes through.
Also, there’s an awesome Edge guitar solo, that sounds like he’s taking inspiration from Tom Morello, who took inspiration from the Edge.
12. Miracle Drug
“Of science and the human heart there is no limit. There is no failure here, sweetheart, just when you quit.”
Miracles Drug is one of the best songs in U2’s ENTIRE CAREER. That’s right, I went all caps. First of all, in contrast to my prior statement, Bono’s voice is back just one album later on How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb — in my opinion the best sounding U2 album (thanks Steve Lillywhite!). It sounds to me like them just playing.
“Love and logic keep us clear, reason is on our side, LOVEEEE!”
If only. This one makes the hair stand up on my arm. And we get our first Edge slide solo, transitioning into a classic eighth note solo into the outro. This might be a top 10 overall U2 song.
Congratulations! We’ve reached the end of Set 1. Onto Set 2.
13. Magnificent
“But only love, only love can heal such a scar.”
This song was more of a grower for me, but damn if it isn’t catchy. It kind of reminds me of a bouncier take on City of Blinding Lights. The Edge’s part during the chorus so delightfully dances around Bono’s vocal, and his beautiful slide solo is reminiscent of George Harrison.
14. Mofo
“Got the swing got the sway got my straw in lemonade.”
I find this song kind of frightening in a techno dystopian kind of way. This is the most likely U2 song to be played at a rave. In the bridge, it is impossible not to see how U2 influenced 21st century Radiohead. A lot of Britpop bands that formed in the late ’90s (looking at you Coldplay) were essentially doing The Bends era Radiohead, but it is important to remember that U2 really created the template for modern pop bands to evolve through experimentation. There would be no OK Computer without Achtung Baby, and there would be No Kid A and Amnesiac without Zooropa and Pop.
15. Miss Sarajevo
“Is there a time for keeping your head down? For getting on with your day?”
Technically this is not a U2 song, but a side project that includes all U2 members plus Brian Eno and — on this song — Pavarotti! This is the first of two excellent songs on this list featuring a larger than life and now deceased guest star. When Pavaritti first comes in, for a split second, you think it is Bono going full operatic, which is a credit to the masterful arrangement, performance, and engineering.
16. When Love Comes to Town
“I ran into a juke joint when I heard a guitar scream. The notes were turning blue, I was dazing in a dream.”
And here’s the other one. B.B. King is probably still most famous for that sweet tone he coaxed out of Lucille, but he shows his talent was as much, if not more, with his powerfully emotive vocals. One of the best segments of the Rattle & Hum movie is when B.B. tells Bono “You’re mighty young to write such heavy lyrics.” In the segment, you can see how much B.B. genuinely admires the lads and their music, and their corresponding fanboy adulation of him. It’s also incredibly cool to hear B.B. solo over The Edge’s somewhat angular arpeggiated guitar figure.
17. Get Out of Your Own Way
“Love has got to fight for its existence. The enemy has armies of assistance.”
OK, I must admit that I’m no fan of that drum machine groove that was already used on Beautiful Day and sounds like it was sampled using Hit Stix. But then again, I can’t deny that this song is an inspirational pop gem. They just do this sort of tune so well. And as much as I dislike the production that pleads with the listener to interpret U2’s sound as contemporary, I really love Kendrick Lamar’s spoken word outro: “Blessed are the filthy rich, for you can only truly own what you give away, like your pain.”
18. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
“You’re the reason why the opera is in me.”
That pain that Bono and the boys are trying to shed is so evident in this track. It is just a beautiful song about sons and fathers in the vein of Springsteen’s Independence Day. I consider this track Bono’s best vocal performance since Bad, and he has a lot of great ones. You hear every ache and crack in his voice, but also some beautiful falsetto, and then ultimately that huge high A he hits coming out of the bridge. When he jumps back to the falsetto for the lyric “best you can do is to fake it” it’s so vulnerable and gorgeous.
19. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
“I was shaking from a storm in me, haunted by the spectres that we had to see.”
Hyden insults this number twice on his list, describing it as “their most cloying and annoying single ever.” Here’s my take: The title unfairly colors the song and critic’s opinions of it. They should have just called it The Miracle. It could have still been about Joey Ramone, but that would have been their secret and it wouldn’t have seemed like pandering to a long adored punk deity. It’s not like they ever name check him in the lyrics. Edge’s playing is particularly soulful, but I think it gets covered up by the overly fussy modern production. But the song still comes through. You just have to be open to receiving it.
20. Landlady
“And I’ll never know, never know what starving poets meant, ’cause when I was broke, it was you that always paid the rent.”
I had to look up the meaning of this tune. I was pretty sure it wasn’t a comical piece about your typical dirtbag musician needing a partner to cover his rent (because if U2 ever wrote that song, it would have been on Pop). Apparently, it is about the holy spirit. That works. The chorus melody is so interesting and well conceived, especially the leap on the line “shows me the stars up there.” This is Bono borrowing from Chris Martin, who was emulating Bono.
21. Cedars of Lebanon
“Spent the night trying to make a deadline. Squeezing complicated lives into a simple headline.”
I’m a sucker for an atmospheric opening. This entire cinematic tune doesn’t really sound like anything else in their catalog. I love the noir picture Bono paints of a war correspondent and his surroundings, and the reminder to “Choose your enemies carefully ’cause they will define you.”
22. The Troubles
“And you think it’s easier to know your own tricks. Well, it’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do.”
While we’re on the subject of conflict, here’s a song about internal struggle. The fourth guest star on this list is the Swedish singer Lykke Li who lends a haunting melody to the chorus. The string arrangement is particularly moving and understated, and we get an Edge guitar outro ala Mike Campbell. I only wish it were extended.
First Encore
23. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
“There is a silence that comes to a house where no one can sleep.”
Another Achtung Baby track! Did you think we were just going to peter out with a couple of ballads here at the end? Oh no, we’re back with a well crafted, two-song first encore. This song really came alive for me during the Joshua Tree anniversary tour, when the band dedicated it to the amazing women who have shaped and supported them personally, and continue to inspire us collectively. The arrangement and mix are fantastic. Everything comes through even in the denser segments. Larry Mullen’s insistent and consistent alternating tom and snare pattern are another highlight.
24. Yahweh
“Take this mouth so quick to criticize. Take this mouth, give it a kiss.”
This song is so in their wheelhouse — a chimey delay washed guitar part, Bono exploring all kinds of vocal terrain, spiritual subject matter married with the dirt and grime of real life, and Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton as locked in and solid as ever. All of that enhances rather than diminishes this track’s power for me. The double tracked octaved Bono vocal on the verse is a nice touch, and I’ll never tire of a chorus that takes off and soars higher. Late in the song, we get another fantastic, exposed Edge counter melody vocal.
Second Encore
25. Peace on Earth
“They say that what you mock will surely overtake you, and you become a monster so the monster will not break you.”
We’re back for a second encore, and we’ve traveled from Old to New Testament thematically. This song was often paired with Walk On as the final encore on the Elevation Tour, its meaning morphed to reflect the post-9/11 moment. But, I think we should also remember the original inspiration, which was the Omagh bombing on August 15, 1998. These lyrics are particularly powerful in the context of that horrific event:
“They’re reading names out over the radio
All the folks the rest of us won’t get to know
Sean and Julia, Gareth, Ann and Breda
Their lives are bigger, than any big idea”
Hopefully this song serves as a timely wish for our current moment, as well as a timeless wish for the future.
