U218 Singles (2006)
1. Beautiful Day 2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 3. Pride (In the Name of Love) 4. With or Without You 5. Vertigo 6. New Year's Day 7. Mysterious Ways 8. Stuck in a Moment That You Can't Get Out Of 9. Where the Streets Have No Name 10.Sweetest Thing 11.Sunday Bloody Sunday 12.One 13.Desire 14.Walk On 15.Elevation 16.Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own 17.The Saints Are Coming 18.Windows in the Sky
By the time U218 Singles arrived in 2006, U2 had already offered the world two expansive and largely well-curated greatest hits collections—one covering the early years (1980–1990), the other charting their stylistic detours and reinventions through the 1990s. Both sets were imperfect but served their purpose, capturing the arc of a band whose evolution had never followed a straight line. This third installment, however, feels markedly more superfluous.
On the surface, U218 Singles looks like a sleek, all-purpose package—a tight, 18-track survey of the band’s biggest and best-loved singles. But scratch a little deeper, and its limitations become clear. First, two of the tracks are new recordings, meaning we’re effectively working with just sixteen selections from a discography that spans nearly three decades. That’s not even close to adequate.
To be fair, what is included is largely beyond reproach. Beautiful Day, One, Where the Streets Have No Name, Sunday Bloody Sunday—these are staples, and their presence here is obligatory. But the omissions are glaring. Fans looking for a comprehensive overview will find themselves asking: where is The Fly? Where is Gloria? Where is Even Better Than the Real Thing? In the rush to make room for a broad, crowd-pleasing set, too much essential material was left on the cutting room floor.
The inclusion of two new tracks—The Saints Are Coming (a collaboration with Green Day), and Window in the Skies—adds a modest layer of intrigue. Both are solid efforts, particularly the latter, which pairs sweeping orchestration with a nostalgic vocal performance. But they’re ultimately not enough to justify the entire release.
Some editions were bundled with a bonus DVD or live CD from the 2005–2006 Vertigo tour, which did add some value, albeit marginal. The live versions are enjoyable, the performances tight, but they’re hardly revelatory. At the end of the day, this set is best suited for the casual listener looking for a very surface-level introduction. For those already familiar with U2—or willing to dive in—the far better approach remains the original albums, or at the very least, the first two Best Of compilations, which manage to frame the band’s history with more care and substance.
U218 Singles is tidy, efficient, and glossy. But with a catalog this deep and this rich, tidy just isn’t enough.