U2: The Best Of 1980­p;1990/The B-Sides

It may seem arbitrary to split U2's greatest-hits project into decades—this is the first of two such collections, with the other coming out later—but it's fitting. It divides the two U2s. The first U2, the one represented here, is the Irish band that emerged in the first flush of the post-punk scene, crafting distinctive, earnest, complex music and slowly gaining the worldwide following (not to mention the guiding hands of producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno) that must have come as a huge surprise to the group. The second U2, the monolithic biggest band in the world, would come later. As appropriate as the division may be, The Best Of 1980&shyp;1990 doesn't quite get it right. Sure, there are 14 songs gathered from throughout the band's '80s work, but what U2 fan will need it Half the tracks come from the CD-collection staples The Joshua Tree (1987) and Rattle And Hum (1988). A more balanced, interesting disc could have been crafted with greater emphasis on material from U2's spottier early albums, but the few selections from Boy (1980) and October (1983), like the rest of the album, sound out of place when removed from their original context. While that can be said of just about every greatest-hits collection (see Bruce Springsteen's for one of the most glaring examples), anyone somehow unaware of the band's work is better off picking up one of its albums than this stingy sampling. A Joshua Tree outtake, "The Sweetest Thing," has been reworked to sweeten the pot for completists, but those people will want to hurry to pick up the limited edition that includes (for an added price) a bonus disc of B-sides. If anything, this disc is what makes The Best Of worthwhile. No throwaway tracks these, U2's B-sides generally show as much craft as the work that made it onto the albums, from a fine cover of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot" to some interesting Unforgettable Fire-era work. With some judicious skipping—Bono's bombastic vocals on "Unchained Melody" were better off consigned to collector oblivion—it's sure to be revealing for those who like U2, but didn't spend the '80s tracking down every last 45 and import single.