Product Description

Following the release of two decade-specific 'Best Of' compilations, U2 present a career-spanning singles collection. This anthology gives a superb overview of arguably the most popular Irish rock band of the last twenty years and includesearly tracks as well as the expected stadium rock classics,such as 'Vertigo' and 'Elevation'. The collection also features two previously unreleased tracks produced by Rick Rubin, including the single 'The Saints Are Coming' with Green Day.

Track Listing

1. I Will Follow
2. Beautiful Day
3. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
4. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
5. With Or Without You
6. Vertigo
7. New Year's Day
8. Mysterious Ways
9. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
10. Where The Streets Have No Name
11. Sweetest Thing
12. Sunday Bloody Sunday
13. One
14. Desire
15. Walk On
16. Elevation
17. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
18. The Saints Are Coming - U2, Green Day
19. Window In The Skies

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3788 in Music
• Released on: 2006-11-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 79 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The youthful faces that stare out from the cover of this latest collection of singles from Irish rockers U2 suggests that the focus of the album is, perhaps, their lauded yet under-represented early days. A quick glance through the tracklisting shows that not to be the case, however. There are examples of their rawer 80s sound - "Pride", "I Will Follow", "New Year's Day" - but where, older fans may well ask, are songs like "The Electric Co", "Gloria", "I Threw A Brick", "Fire" from Boy and October? Similarly, songs like "With Or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Where The Streets Have No Name" were on The Best Of 1980-1990, whilst "Beautiful Day", "One", "Mysterious Ways" and "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" were all on The Best Of 1990-2000. U218 does have the advantage of featuring more recent tracks, including their collaboration with Green Day, "The Saints Are Coming" and a new song, "Windows In The Skies". Whilst dedicated followers of the band may see this as a missed opportunity to offer fans some genuinely rare gems, it still remains a collection of mighty pop music masterpieces.--Danny McKenna

Customer Reviews

not the best representation
As a huge fan of U2, I don't like this compilation and never listen to it. I only bought it for the Milan DVD (which is worth it) and the booklet. I have all the songs already, obviously, but that's not why this is a bad 'Best Of'. It's because it really isn't the best of. I know that is an opinion, but I don't see how you can release something so titled and ignore almost a whole decade of a band's career. I understand this CD is for new fans who might have got into U2 just recently, but this is no way to show them what to expect. It's heavily weighted in favour of the 00s output, with the 80s following behind, and the 90s almost airbrushed out of history. It's a shame because for me, the 90s was the time of U2's best and most exciting stuff. Achtung Baby and Zooropa (and yes, Pop too) are stuffed full of fabulous songs and not to even include The Fly is criminal.

When it comes to the 80s, even there the band does itself a disservice by acting as if anything pre-Joshua Tree is not worth listening to. I Will Follow and Sunday Bloody Sunday - big deal. The Unforgettable Fire, a wonderfully atmospheric album with hits on it, is pushed out of the picture completely. Instead of filling space with that horrible Green Day duet, they could have included Bad at the very least, or the title track from October.

It shouldn't annoy me this much, but it does because it's a bad representation of U2. If you are really a new fan and want a Greatest Hits to start with, don't pick this. The Best Of 80s and 90s discs are a better bet if you want a ready-made selection, but truly the best way to experience U2's best work is to buy the albums proper, and then decide for yourself.

I've given it 3 stars because the songs themselves are still great and the DVD is fab.

WHY?
Like a lot of reviewers for this album, I cant see the point of it. It was only a little while ago two best ofs were released. Though strictly speaking these were greatest hits compilation's. When will these record companies realise there is a difference? This album is just a watered down version of the best ofs with a couple of new tracks. And, apart from the fact there are 18 songs on here, is there any other significance in the title? Its certainly not because these are their first 18 singles because there not. Maybe its because these are their 18 biggest hits. There is so much missing. There is nothing from Boy, October, Zooropa or Pop. Perhaps there is going to be a volume 2 in the near future. What should have been released is a compilation of their whole career including stuff from their first two albums, which seem to have been forgotten about after the War album and superstardom came along. If your new to U2 and just want an album of the big hits this will do. Otherwise check out their best albums:Boy, October, War, Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.

One best of U2 too many
U218 is the third U2 compliation, following The Best of 1980-1990 and 1990-2000. As stated by another reviewer , the usefulness of greatest hits and best of compliations is surely diminshed nowadays by downloading, whereby people can make their own selections consisting of the songs that they most enjoy. In the excellent book, U2 by U2, Bono states that the band waited a long time before agreeing to the release of a best of album, so it is quite surprising therefore that three compliations have now emerged during this decade.
U218 as the title implies consists of 18 singles, ranging from the early days through to a brand new song featured on the album. I actually prefer compliations to have songs arranged chronically, so that it can be seen how the band changed over time, rather than the songs being randonly placed next to each other. So here we have the fairly recent song, Beautiful Day, next to Where The Streets Have No Name, which was released in 1987. The album also omits several classic U2 songs, including their second number one single, The Fly, although their first number one Desire, which I think is one of their weakest tracks, is included. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me is also not featured here and surely more single releases could have been incorporated from Achting Baby, one of the bands best albums. Overall, although the quality of many of the songs included speaks for itself, this is an unnecessary release, perhaps reflected in its relatively low sales.