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U2 BONUS DISCS: SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS (2008, Island Records)

Bonus discs are often an all-or-nothing proposition. If you’re a big fan of the artist, you’ll be willing to troll through the minutiae of their recording career and find something redeeming in even the most foolhardy experiments. If you’re a casual fan, you’ll wonder why anyone would want to hear something that the artist deemed unworthy of release in the first place. Very few artists are prolific enough (Dylan and Springsteen are exceptions, off the top of my head) to have even their leftovers sound like hits.

U2 wisely took an all-encompassing approach to the bonus discs accompanying the reissue of their first three studio albums. For their devout legion of fans, they included early versions and remixes of familiar songs; for the less Bono-centric folks out there, they sprinkled in live versions of their studio material that are almost uniformly exceptional. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights, in chronological order.

BOY (Best of the Bonus Tracks)

“11 O’Clock Tick Tock”
This early, pre-Boy single became a concert staple and was featured on Under a Blood Red Sky. The spiky riff is the best part of the song, but the version here is interesting for Bono’s developing vocals, which veered between the bellowing sound for which he was noted and an affected, David Bowie-like sneer.

“Touch”
The B-side of “11 O’Clock Tick Tock,” this has a similar riff but is the rare early U2 song devoted to romance.

“Saturday Night”
Previously unreleased, this mid-tempo number finds the band successfully evoking moods that makes the weekend evening of the title seem less like a party and more like a prison.

“Out of Control”
One of the most revelatory things found on the extra discs is the way Bono, whose voice has become iconic, didn’t quite know how he should use that instrument early on. On this early take of a song that made the cut for Boy and would become a set list regular, he sings in a bizarre, foppish lilt that’s reminiscent of Napoleon IV of “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa” fame.

OCTOBER (Best of the Bonus Tracks)

Live and BBC Sessions versions of October tracks: Much-maligned, October is one of U2’s most polarizing albums. The naysayers should check out the live versions, taken from concerts and sessions the band did at the BBC, of October material on the bonus disc. The songs come alive in a way that the sterile album versions never did, and go a long way in redeeming just what the band was attempting to accomplish.

“Traah, Trampoline and the Party Girl”
Live and BBC Sessions versions of October tracks: Much-maligned, October is one of U2’s most polarizing albums. The naysayers should check out the live versions, taken from concerts and sessions the band did at the BBC, of October material on the bonus disc. The songs come alive in a way that the sterile album versions never did, and go a long way in redeeming just what the band was attempting to accomplish.

WAR (Best of the Bonus Tracks)

“Endless Deep” and “Angels Too Tied To The Ground”
These two, mostly instrumental numbers find the band trying out musical themes that would show up in later songs and albums.

“New Year’s Day (Ferry Corsten Vocal Radio Mix)”
Much of this bonus disc is dominated by multiple remixes of popular War songs, sometimes with diminishing returns. This fascinating, techno take on the fiery Top 10 hit sounds a little like a U2/Depeche mode mash-up, but it works.

“Treasure (Whatever Happened To Pete The Chop)”
This song might not have fit in well with the serious tracks on War, but it’s got a catchy, New Wave feel that the band seems to enjoy playing.

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