Comments on: My Top 10 U2 Songs

By: Marty Smith

Marty Smith — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:33:38 +0000

i like the list. they’re a pretty good cover band too. I would have added a couple of covers U2 has done in list of my favorites: instant karma from the amnesty international CD and unchained melody and everlasting love from the U2 greatest hits CD.

By: Jody

Jody — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:30:26 +0000

So, you know I had to comment on this one! I agree with your list except that I would take off The Fly and replace it with Beautiful Day or Walk On. At the concert they actually did Unforgettable Fire and Ultraviolet, which they don’t usually do at concerts, it was a nice surprise.

By: Keith

Keith — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:47:00 +0000

I honestly don’t get U2 at all. I saw them on their very first US tour at a big bar in Syracuse NY. At the time they had a terrific single, “I Will Follow,” and a decent album, “Boy.” Their show was okay with “I Will Follow” as the clear highlight. What was curious though is that when it came to performing an encore, they replayed a song from their set and “Johnny Be Good.” I had never seen that before or since and it always made me wonder about them. Most bands have so much material to draw from when they record their first album that they have an abundance of material they can’t use. Somehow that wasn’t the case with U2. They had a really good B side on an early single as well, and then released the rather snoozy “October.” That was the end of story for me and U2–never chose to listen to another one of their records after that, so I don’t really know any of these songs beyond perhaps two.

As I said initially, U2 never seemed like much when I saw them at the beginning. In fact, they were rather geeky and seemed like a bunch of wannabees. They still seem like that to me today, although the band has seemed to grow up with the exception of Bono. Adam Clayton was originally a geek of the highest order, but he has grown considerably since then. But Bono, Bono….the stupid glasses, the bad clothes, and that makeup on the Rolling Stone cover–please, 30+ years out of date on that one. He will always be a wannabee.

The only thing though that really irks me about them is the constant commercial re-exploitation of their music, releasing, re-releasing, greatest hits, greatest hits redux, ipods, etc. It seems like such a constant naked money grab. Bono runs around the world asking everyone to give money to has causes, yet I have not heard of him making significant donations himself–that’s pretty offensive.

Still, let me close on a positive note. The recent article in Rolling Stone on their live show was quite good. In the end, U2 slots in with Hootie and the Blowfish for me–very popular, but very forgettable in the larger scope of music– not memorable with the exception of the great ” I Will Follow.” I can’t say that for Hootie…. In the end, my top ten list only contains one song and that pretty much says it all.

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:10:51 +0000

Great list. The Unforgettable Fire is probably still my favorite album by them, especially the title track and ‘Bad.’ I’m happy to see both of them here. Also, I know what you mean about ‘Where the Street…’, but I never tire of hearing it. Every time that guitar begins I just get the tingles, especially with some of the live versions. Fantastic song.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:15:04 +0000

My favorite U2 song is the Hollywood remix of “Desire,” which they used to play all the time on the radio station I listened to then. It actually made me go out and buy the 12″… it wasn’t until much later that I heard the original “Desire,” which seemed flat and lifeless in comparison (at least to me).

If you haven’t heard it lately, it’s here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91ESxN043Q0