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U2 - Community rankings - FIN - #4 Sunday Bloody Sunday, #3 - One, #2 - Bad, #1 - Where the Streets Have No Name -Spotify links, thanks to Krista4 (5 Viewers)

201 - Miami (1997)

Highest Rank - 111

Lowest Rank - 224

Where to find it - Pop LP

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 180/218 - If there’s a less interesting premise for a song than “bored millionaires who can’t finish their album go take a vacation at a luxury destination,” not sure what it is.

Comment - This lo fi nonsense is what happens when you give a producer too much license. They are trying to be too hip, but its like a 40 year old man hanging with 18 year olds. Its embarrassing. 

Next up we start the top 200 with a sometimes track from How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

 
200 - Fast Cars (2004)

Highest Rank - 149

Lowest Rank - 200

Where to find it - UK and Japanese versions of How to Dismantle an Atomic bomb

Vulture.com comment and ranking - 99/218 - The band had been in the studio for a year and a half, and true to form, it all came down to the wire on the second-to-last night when Bono decides he needs there to be a song on the record that has the title of the album in the lyric. “Xanax and Wine” met the criteria, but didn’t quite come together. So U2 tore the thing apart and refashioned it into “Fast Cars,” which is basically the same lyrics with a slightly retro guitar line that owes a few beers to Link Wray. (This is not a bad thing.) The lyric delivery on both of them sound like “Get Out of Denver” by Bob Seger, but “Fast Cars” has by far the more interesting melody, so it wins.

Comment - Not on all versions of album. I can see why. Its just disjointed and aimless

Next up back to the B Sides

 
199 - Deep in the Heart (1987)

Highest Rank - 102

Lowest Rank - 206

Where to find it - B Side To I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 199/218 - Another one of the missives to love and lust resulting from missing wives during the Joshua Tree sessions, it’s a remembrance of youthful indiscretions in Bono’s childhood home. Note the “You can’t return to the place you never left” line, which would get borrowed later for “Cedarwood Road” in 2015.

Comment - A typical b side. Just a time filler

Next Up, another B Side written by Bono that was performed by another artist almost 20 years earlier

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
199 - Deep in the Heart (1987)

Highest Rank - 102

Lowest Rank - 206

Where to find it - B Side To I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 199/218 - Another one of the missives to love and lust resulting from missing wives during the Joshua Tree sessions, it’s a remembrance of youthful indiscretions in Bono’s childhood home. Note the “You can’t return to the place you never left” line, which would get borrowed later for “Cedarwood Road” in 2015.

Comment - A typical b side. Just a time filler

Next Up, another B Side written by Bono that was performed by another artist almost 20 years earlier
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I definitely rated this too high.  Take any of my B-sides with a grain of salt: I'm not familiar with them and I listened to each for like a minute and had to decide if it was better or worse than the last B-side I just rated and I threw it into a tier.  This must have been better than whatever B-side preceded it, but on re-listen, it's not a strong entry. 

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
201 - Miami (1997)

Highest Rank - 111

Lowest Rank - 224

Where to find it - Pop LP

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 180/218 - If there’s a less interesting premise for a song than “bored millionaires who can’t finish their album go take a vacation at a luxury destination,” not sure what it is.

Comment - This lo fi nonsense is what happens when you give a producer too much license. They are trying to be too hip, but its like a 40 year old man hanging with 18 year olds. Its embarrassing. 

Next up we start the top 200 with a sometimes track from How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
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But he bought 2 new suits! Pink and blue!

Not a great song by any stretch. I can listen to it sometimes, other times it gets skipped. Fair ranking. 

 
#198 - She’s a Mystery to Me (2005)

Highest Rank - 113

Lowest Rank - 225

Where to find it - All Because of You B-Side

Vulture.com comment and ranking - 48/218 - Written by Bono and Edge for none other than Roy Orbison, it fits him so well that it’s as though it was written for him by request, except it wasn’t. Like many of Bono’s song ideas, this is another one that came in a dream. He had fallen asleep listening to the soundtrack to the film Blue Velvet, and when he woke up, was sure the song in his head was from the CD. When he discovered that it wasn’t, he wrote it down and played it later that day during sound check. After the show, guess who arrived backstage unannounced?

Comment - Bono wrote this for Roy Orbison. Roy Orbison sings this better, but the lyrics on his version sound like Bono writing for Roy Orbison trying to sing Bono lyrics. It just doesn’t flow like it should. They sound more natural with Bono singing, but Orbison sings the #### out of his version. I have the highest rating here as I enjoy the song, both versions. I don’t know whether to call this a cover or not. I will decide it’s not. 

Next Up another song from a soundtrack that most U2 fans wont know about.

 
197 - Winter (209) Brothers

197 - Winter  (2009) Linear

Highest Rank - 101

Lowest Rank - 226

Where to find it - Slower version on Brothers Soundtrack, Faster version on Linear Soundtrack

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 167/218 - A reject from No Line on the Horizon that was reworked to play over the closing credits of a friend’s film. Eno was not pleased. “Tell them they’re being stupid ####s,” he joked to a journalist after playing him the song. It’s ambient and delicate, the kind of thing that you want playing as people are walking out of the movie theater.

Comment - i didn’t realise there were two different versions of the song. The slower one i reviewed from the Brothers soundtrack and a more uptempo version on the Linear Soundtrack. The slower version - Not sure of their thought process when contributing to a soundtrack, but it would be interesting if they just have a somg laying around or get told what the movies about and then write something. This song? Bono seems to have forgotten how to sing. Awful. Same vocals on the Linear version. Its slightly better, but those vocals are bad.

Next Up we visit Songs of Innocence for the first time....surprisingly. 

 
196 - The Troubles (2014)

Highest Rank - 160

Lowest Rank - 188

Where to find it - Songs of Innocence

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 170/218 - It would be a reasonable assumption to think that a song called “The Troubles” on a U2 record would be about the conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century, except that it is not. It’s an interesting sonic experiment with Lykke Li on guest vocals, but oddly dispassionate.

Comment - There is remarkable consistency in the rankings for this one. All of us, including Vulture.com don’t hate it, but we all think it’s fairly mediocre. A reasonable album closer, but a bit all over the place. It’s surprising that we haven’t seen anything from Songs of Innocence yet, but they will be more frequent very soon. 

Next up, back to the B Sides. 

 
Grace Under Pressure said:
But he bought 2 new suits! Pink and blue!

Not a great song by any stretch. I can listen to it sometimes, other times it gets skipped. Fair ranking. 
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For some reason, some of these Zooropa and Pop songs are polarizing to me.  I tend to either really like, or they are nails on chalkboard.  Miami fits in the latter.  Especially when U2 tries to do these rebellion-angst tunes in their later years - it's a tightrope to not come across phony and Miami misses the mark in my book. 

 
The admin to Date

B-Sides = 17 (6 covers)

Soundtracks - 3

October = 2

No Line On The Horizon = 2

Songs of Experience = 2

The Unforgettable Fire - 1

Boy - 1

Zooropa - 1

War - 1

Pop - 1

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - 1

Songs of Innocence - 1

We have yet to see anything from the various Best Ofs, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, All that you Can’t Leave Behind  and Achtung Baby

We will see quite a few tracks from the Best ofs, ATYCLB and Rattle and Hum before we get to 100.

We will see something from Joshua Tree before anything from Achtung Baby, but both of these albums are entirely in the top 75

 
Brony said:
I definitely rated this too high.  Take any of my B-sides with a grain of salt: I'm not familiar with them and I listened to each for like a minute and had to decide if it was better or worse than the last B-side I just rated and I threw it into a tier.  This must have been better than whatever B-side preceded it, but on re-listen, it's not a strong entry. 
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Thanks for the honesty. As we can see by the admin post for every decent U2 B Side there is a whole heap of crap. I had been listening to all my U2, including B Sides and rarer stuff in advance of starting this thread. Purely to sell as I need to clear out stuff, but the bonus was I was familiar with the entire catalog except for the soundtrack stuff.

There are some really good b sides much later, but not enough to stop them dominating the #### end of this list. 

 
Brony said:
For some reason, some of these Zooropa and Pop songs are polarizing to me.  I tend to either really like, or they are nails on chalkboard.  Miami fits in the latter.  Especially when U2 tries to do these rebellion-angst tunes in their later years - it's a tightrope to not come across phony and Miami misses the mark in my book. 
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IMO, Zooropa and Pop as studio albums got a little too techno / electronic for me. Sadly, the fan club remixes also did nothing for me. However, I liked the live versions of some of the songs from that era a decent amount more, as they were performed with less electronics and more regular instruments. So they were closer to pop / rock songs than they were techno / dance songs. But I ranked my songs predominantly on the commercial studio releases. 

The other thing that still confuses me to this day is U2 worked up songs for Achtung Baby and some of Zooropa at the same time, yet one was unbelievable and the other only so so (at least in my book). Not sure how the song selections were split up.

 
Anarchy99 said:
The other thing that still confuses me to this day is U2 worked up songs for Achtung Baby and some of Zooropa at the same time, yet one was unbelievable and the other only so so (at least in my book). Not sure how the song selections were split up.
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They didn't know there was gonna be a second album in that vein, so they put the best stuff on the first one. They were not planning to do another album for a while, but Brian Eno convinced them that they should do one quickly because they were playing so well on tour. 

 
Grace Under Pressure said:
But he bought 2 new suits! Pink and blue!

Not a great song by any stretch. I can listen to it sometimes, other times it gets skipped. Fair ranking. 
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I think this song made a lot more sense then than it does now.  If you were into the emerging club scene, complete with underground ecstasy culture, which was blowing up in Miami at the time, the song  hits different.  I get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.  But most people who drag this song have never been to a Howie B show. 

Also, is the OP actually a U2 fan?

 
Anarchy99 said:
IMO, Zooropa and Pop as studio albums got a little too techno / electronic for me. Sadly, the fan club remixes also did nothing for me. However, I liked the live versions of some of the songs from that era a decent amount more, as they were performed with less electronics and more regular instruments. So they were closer to pop / rock songs than they were techno / dance songs. But I ranked my songs predominantly on the commercial studio releases. 

The other thing that still confuses me to this day is U2 worked up songs for Achtung Baby and some of Zooropa at the same time, yet one was unbelievable and the other only so so (at least in my book). Not sure how the song selections were split up.
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Zooropa was not really “worked up” at the same time as Achtung baby.  It was made during the zoo tv tour when Edge was running away from his divorce.  Achtung was done by then.  I love Zooropa.  Way ahead of its time.  

 
Ghost Rider said:
The Trouble is a great song, yet is this low?? 

Can I unsubscribe to this thread? :lol:  
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it's probably just me, but I think it would be more interesting if you provided your rankings or input why you like a certain song rather than the drive-by #### on the rankings and leave.  it seems like you have listened to their catalogue quite a bit, so I am genuinely interested in your takes. 

 
zoonation said:
I don’t get it.  This seems like a U2 bashing thread.  
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I think that's probably because the songs this low on the list are by definition the "bottom feeders" of the catalog. I suspect posts will be praising the top 100 or so once we get there. Will be interesting to see when that pivot takes place. 

 
Brony said:
it's probably just me, but I think it would be more interesting if you provided your rankings or input why you like a certain song rather than the drive-by #### on the rankings and leave.  it seems like you have listened to their catalogue quite a bit, so I am genuinely interested in your takes. 
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Fair point, but as noted before, ranking all of these songs is in order was too tall of an order, especially since I’m unfamiliar with some of these bonus songs (and am currently on a totally different musical tangent with a friend, so don’t have time to do a U2 deep dive currently). But as a longtime fan, I’ll be commenting often. :)

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
Right, let’s start.

Including B Sides was going to have a positive and a negative. The negative starts here. 

#228 - Happiness is a Warm Gun

Highest Rank - 190

Lowest Rank - 226

Vulture Ranking and Comment - Not Included

Comment - Hiding an awful song with slick production tricks sometimes works. Here it doesnt. On the B Side to Last Night on Earth, which itself is eminently forgettable. i didn’t even recognise it as a Beatles cover, thats how bad it is. 

It gets better.
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Wow, this song is horrible. 

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
197 - Winter (209) Brothers

197 - Winter  (2009) Linear

Highest Rank - 101

Lowest Rank - 226

Where to find it - Slower version on Brothers Soundtrack, Faster version on Linear Soundtrack

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 167/218 - A reject from No Line on the Horizon that was reworked to play over the closing credits of a friend’s film. Eno was not pleased. “Tell them they’re being stupid ####s,” he joked to a journalist after playing him the song. It’s ambient and delicate, the kind of thing that you want playing as people are walking out of the movie theater.

Comment - i didn’t realise there were two different versions of the song. The slower one i reviewed from the Brothers soundtrack and a more uptempo version on the Linear Soundtrack. The slower version - Not sure of their thought process when contributing to a soundtrack, but it would be interesting if they just have a somg laying around or get told what the movies about and then write something. This song? Bono seems to have forgotten how to sing. Awful. Same vocals on the Linear version. Its slightly better, but those vocals are bad.

Next Up we visit Songs of Innocence for the first time....surprisingly. 
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I was the one that had this ranked the highest (apparently a lot higher than other people did). I went off of the Linear version. I like the blend of the intertwined guitar and the moodiness of the song. I didn't really consider the vocals or lyrics all that much.

To explain how I came up with my rankings, I listened to all the songs and gave each one a score from 1 to 100. When I was done, I just sorted the songs based on score. I didn't go back and adjust my scores after. I probably would have deducted a few points on this one compared to some other songs ranked near it, as I don't really think it is almost a Top 100 song from U2. If I trimmed off 5 points, it would have been my #121 song. That still might be a little high, but I do like it a lot more than everything else covered so far.

 
Pip's Invitation said:
They didn't know there was gonna be a second album in that vein, so they put the best stuff on the first one. They were not planning to do another album for a while, but Brian Eno convinced them that they should do one quickly because they were playing so well on tour. 
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I sort of agree with Anarchy that Zooropa feels like Achtung Baby leftovers, but i think its more complicated than that. Maybe the overall vibe had songs heading to Zooropa or AB

Ghost Rider said:
The Trouble is a great song, yet is this low?? 

Can I unsubscribe to this thread? :lol:  
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4 rankers, Vulture and others all don’t like it, but don’t hate it either. Just does nothing for them. I am all for alternate takes, can you explain why its a great song? Im always willing to concede ive missed something.

zoonation said:
I don’t get it.  This seems like a U2 bashing thread.  
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We are talking about the worst 30 u2 songs in a big catalog. Its a long and winding road until we get to the great stuff. Very, very soon one of my top 50 gets mentioned. Who knows i might even praise it?

zoonation said:
Zooropa was not really “worked up” at the same time as Achtung baby.  It was made during the zoo tv tour when Edge was running away from his divorce.  Achtung was done by then.  I love Zooropa.  Way ahead of its time.  
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I think from what ive read a lot of the ideas in zooropa were developed at the same time as AB, but not progressed with.

Brony said:
it's probably just me, but I think it would be more interesting if you provided your rankings or input why you like a certain song rather than the drive-by #### on the rankings and leave.  it seems like you have listened to their catalogue quite a bit, so I am genuinely interested in your takes. 
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Just wait until the good songs lol. We will get why is eg “The Fly” ranked above “I will follow”.....We are currently talking about the songs most u2 fans dont know about or have forgotten. The occasional fan of a song that most of us thinks is average, should be a good sign. I would rather hear why they like it, but so be it.

Grace Under Pressure said:
I think that's probably because the songs this low on the list are by definition the "bottom feeders" of the catalog. I suspect posts will be praising the top 100 or so once we get there. Will be interesting to see when that pivot takes place. 
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Exactly. We have already had several songs praised by vulture.com and the top 100 has been touched by one or two of us so far. It would be great if the highest/lowest ranker for each song had a comment, but thats too big an ask. Happy just to get the rankings. My comments tend to focus on the negative at the moment cause the songs arent that good. Bono and his vocals is a sticking point ive mentioned already, but its mainly from a producer (Lillywhite) who lets him run riot. Eno/Lanois and others keep him focused and on point for the most part. 

 
Anarchy99 said:
I was the one that had this ranked the highest (apparently a lot higher than other people did). I went off of the Linear version. I like the blend of the intertwined guitar and the moodiness of the song. I didn't really consider the vocals or lyrics all that much.

To explain how I came up with my rankings, I listened to all the songs and gave each one a score from 1 to 100. When I was done, I just sorted the songs based on score. I didn't go back and adjust my scores after. I probably would have deducted a few points on this one compared to some other songs ranked near it, as I don't really think it is almost a Top 100 song from U2. If I trimmed off 5 points, it would have been my #121 song. That still might be a little high, but I do like it a lot more than everything else covered so far.
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When i listen to the Brothers version i couldnt believe how bad it was. Truly awful. Then post ranking I found out about the linear version and the extra noise definitely helps drown out the vocals. I would like to nominate the vocals on Winter as the worst of the entire u2 catalog. If you managed to focus on other parts, i can understand why it was ranked higher. It isnt that bad, but caviar covered in poo isn’t going to taste as nice. 

 
#195 - Hallelujah Here She Comes (1988)

Highest Rank - 138

Lowest Rank - 200

Where to find it - B Side to Desire

Vulture.com comment and ranking - 66/218 - A little bit of Irish gospel that didn’t make the cut, but it has bones! The organ in the background, courtesy of none other than Billy Preston, should have elevated this track off of the cutting-room floor, but, alas. “Born and raised on the wrong side of town / You get so high you can’t come down,” Bono sings. It is evocative and memorable.

Comment - Another track not good enough to be an album track. A bit more interesting, but its lack of quality shines through. Still it has to be better than something on Rattle and Hum? Obviously not as we haven’t seen anything from that album yet

Next up we get to a track that is on a soundtrack and its timing coincided with a greatest hits collection that this track has no business being a part of.

 
194 - The Hands that built America (2002)

Highest Rank - 122

Lowest Rank - 198

Where to Find it - Gangs of New Your Soundtrack and best of 90s/00s

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 177/218 - This song was “written to order for Martin Scorsese,” Bono said. So it’s surprising that what U2 delivered for this film in particular was a bland, uninspiring soundscape.

Comment - Just dull. Tries to build momentum and crescendo into a finale but it falls flat. Why stick this on the greatest hits instead of eg The Fly or Stay (Faraway So Close)?

Next up, another B Side cover that may be one of, if not the shortest U2 tracks. 

 
193 - I remember You (2001)

Highest Rank - 117

Lowest Rank - 212

Where to find it - Elevation B Side

Vulture.com comment and ranking - Not Ranked

Comment - Short and simple. Anthemic, if not repititive. I can see how this could be annoying, but I enjoyed it. A cover of a Ramones song

Next up, we head back to Zooropa

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
#195 - Hallelujah Here She Comes (1988)

Highest Rank - 138

Lowest Rank - 200

Where to find it - B Side to Desire

Vulture.com comment and ranking - 66/218 - A little bit of Irish gospel that didn’t make the cut, but it has bones! The organ in the background, courtesy of none other than Billy Preston, should have elevated this track off of the cutting-room floor, but, alas. “Born and raised on the wrong side of town / You get so high you can’t come down,” Bono sings. It is evocative and memorable.

Comment - Another track not good enough to be an album track. A bit more interesting, but its lack of quality shines through. Still it has to be better than something on Rattle and Hum? Obviously not as we haven’t seen anything from that album yet

Next up we get to a track that is on a soundtrack and its timing coincided with a greatest hits collection that this track has no business being a part of.
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It's perfectly cromulent for the R&H era. It would have been just kinda there if on the album, but so were some of the things they put on the album. 

 
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John Maddens Lunchbox said:
4 rankers, Vulture and others all don’t like it, but don’t hate it either. Just does nothing for them. I am all for alternate takes, can you explain why its a great song? Im always willing to concede ive missed something.
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Not sure why we are supposed to care that Vulture didn't like it, but I remember the song being really popular with U2 diehards with Songs of Innocence dropped.  Great melody, it flows really well, lovely chorus with the guest singer, and a nice outro with some nice guitar work.  My only complaint is that the song ended too soon.  Not like The Edge is David Gilmour or Alex Lifeson when it comes to soloing, but hearing a bit more of that at the end would have been nice. 

 
Ghost Rider said:
Not sure why we are supposed to care that Vulture didn't like it, but I remember the song being really popular with U2 diehards with Songs of Innocence dropped.  Great melody, it flows really well, lovely chorus with the guest singer, and a nice outro with some nice guitar work.  My only complaint is that the song ended too soon.  Not like The Edge is David Gilmour or Alex Lifeson when it comes to soloing, but hearing a bit more of that at the end would have been nice. 
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The guy doing the vulture.com thing has a comment for 218 songs. Our lists don’t have the same songs, maybe 200 similar, but its excellent reference material and anybody doing a U2 list has gotta be half crazy right? Some of the ranking comments are spot on, others horse cack, but its another opinion which i value greatly..

As for your comment on The Troubles, thank you. Next time I listen, and it might be awhile lol, i am U2’d out, will keep your comments in mind.

Pip's Invitation said:
It's perfectly cromulent for the R&H era. It would have been just kinda there if on the album, but so were some of the things they put on the album. 
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Couldn’t agree more. On listening back I thought, This fits perfectly on Rattle and Hum, Should have been on there. Then i think, replacing what and i am stumped. 

Now for two tracks in a row from Zooropa

 
191 - The Wanderer (starring Johnny Cash) (1993)

Highest Rank - 100

Lowest Rank - 220

Where to find it - Zooropa LP

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 49/218 - It’s like Johnny Cash showed up at the Star Wars cantina as himself. Adam’s bass sounds like the music in a bad video game. That might sound like a bad thing, but it works: This ancient bard showing up at the end of the world to tell the tales of his travels, in the deepest world-weary, gravelly voice.

Comment - My top 100 gets touched, even if its number 100. Two of the rankers really disliked it placing it bottom 20 and another ranker had it near mine. Vulture liked it even more. Nice to hear Johnny Cash, but the lyrics written by Bono are almost a parody of what he thinks Johnny Cash sounds like. Similar to the song written for Roy Orbison. The lyrics dont sound genuine. 

Next up we return to Songs of Experience

 
190 - The Showman (Little More Better) (2017)

Highest Rank - 106

Lowest Rank - 207

Where to find it - Songs of Experience

Vulture.com ranking and comment - not ranked

Comment - This is a song that could be a disaster but actually works. ""Little more better"" has trainwreck written all over it, but they do it well. I am the definite outlier and really enjoy it, but the others were either lukewarm or hated it. I can see it irritating with repeated listens, but right now im really enjoying it. I think the right artist or band covering it would sound better, as its a nice tune. Maybe not what U2 fans expect or like. 

Next up back to War with a track that divides us again. Two of us really dislike it ranking it in our bottom 8, the others are closer to 100

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
191 - The Wanderer (starring Johnny Cash) (1993)

Highest Rank - 100

Lowest Rank - 220

Where to find it - Zooropa LP

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 49/218 - It’s like Johnny Cash showed up at the Star Wars cantina as himself. Adam’s bass sounds like the music in a bad video game. That might sound like a bad thing, but it works: This ancient bard showing up at the end of the world to tell the tales of his travels, in the deepest world-weary, gravelly voice.

Comment - My top 100 gets touched, even if its number 100. Two of the rankers really disliked it placing it bottom 20 and another ranker had it near mine. Vulture liked it even more. Nice to hear Johnny Cash, but the lyrics written by Bono are almost a parody of what he thinks Johnny Cash sounds like. Similar to the song written for Roy Orbison. The lyrics dont sound genuine. 

Next up we return to Songs of Experience
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that ####ing tone at the end!  Ruined it for me. 

I was a little harsh on this one.  it is a good song and good use of Johnny Cash voice. 

 
The admin to Date with 39 songs listed

B-Sides = 19 (7 covers)

Soundtracks - 4

Zooropa - 3

Songs of Experience = 3

October = 2

No Line On The Horizon = 2

The Unforgettable Fire - 1

Boy - 1

War - 1

Pop - 1

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - 1

Songs of Innocence - 1

We have yet to see anything from the The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, All that you Can’t Leave Behind  and Achtung Baby

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
190 - The Showman (Little More Better) (2017)

Highest Rank - 106

Lowest Rank - 207

Where to find it - Songs of Experience

Vulture.com ranking and comment - not ranked

Comment - This is a song that could be a disaster but actually works. ""Little more better"" has trainwreck written all over it, but they do it well. I am the definite outlier and really enjoy it, but the others were either lukewarm or hated it. I can see it irritating with repeated listens, but right now im really enjoying it. I think the right artist or band covering it would sound better, as its a nice tune. Maybe not what U2 fans expect or like. 

Next up back to War with a track that divides us again. Two of us really dislike it ranking it in our bottom 8, the others are closer to 100
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I wanted to like this song more.  Starts off well,  but by the middle I feel like the song should have been in Grease.  

 
189 The Refugee (1983)

Highest Rank - 101

Lowest Rank - 225

Where to find it - War LP

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 212/218 - They sound like some third-rate New Wave band trying to be relevant. This track is awful, made worse by opening side two after the graceful end on side one with “Drowning Man.” Bono would comment later, “I think it’s probably in the wrong key and is trying to be exciting and not quite pulling it off.”

Comment - This is absolutely terrible, but two of the rankers are more generous with it. Would love to hear their thoughts. Anytime someone who likes the old stuff complains about their new stuff, I would ask them to listen to Tomorrow and this one. They would of course tell me to listen to Landlady lol

Next up, back to the B Sides with another cover. There are some songs that are sacrosanct and others where it is impossible to beat the fury and passion of the original, but U2 give it a go. 

 
188 - Fortunate Son (1991)

Highest Rank - 131

Lowest Rank - 215

Where to find it - B Side Who’s Gonna ride your wild horses

Vulture.com ranking and comment - Not ranked

Comment - This Cover version is pretty average,  but at least its not a massacre. Why do bands do covers of songs like these? The fire and fury of the CCR version is the equivalent of John Fogerty singing Sunday Bloody Sunday. 

Next up is a song that qualifies for both a B Side and a soundtrack song. Whichever was first is where I park it.

 
187 - I’m Not Your Baby (featuring Sinead O’Connor) (1997)

Highest Rank - 105

Lowest Rank - 216

Where to find it - End of Violence Soundtrack and Please B Side

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 142/218 - A surprisingly compelling duet between Sinead O’Connor and Bono, with lyrics by Mr. B and U2 as backing band, this track was another collaboration between U2 and director Wim Wenders. It walks a line between Zooropa and Pop, but is polished, sharp, and evocative.

Comment - Interesting but not effective. That irritating noise during the verse gets annoying real fast

Next up, we return to No Line on the Horizon

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
189 The Refugee (1983)

Highest Rank - 101

Lowest Rank - 225

Where to find it - War LP

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 212/218 - They sound like some third-rate New Wave band trying to be relevant. This track is awful, made worse by opening side two after the graceful end on side one with “Drowning Man.” Bono would comment later, “I think it’s probably in the wrong key and is trying to be exciting and not quite pulling it off.”

Comment - This is absolutely terrible, but two of the rankers are more generous with it. Would love to hear their thoughts. Anytime someone who likes the old stuff complains about their new stuff, I would ask them to listen to Tomorrow and this one. They would of course tell me to listen to Landlady lol

Next up, back to the B Sides with another cover. There are some songs that are sacrosanct and others where it is impossible to beat the fury and passion of the original, but U2 give it a go. 
Click to expand...
As with Tomorrow, I like this one better than you and Vulture. Larry Mullen's drumming saves it from being New Wave blah, and it has a nice energy to it. It's no masterpiece but I would have it much higher than 189, 212 or 225. 

 
The Refugee is not a total waste, as the melody that comes in around the :50 mark is kinda nice, but the main hook in the song is quite dreadful.  War is a damn good record, but this and Red Light both should have been tossed out the moon door. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pip's Invitation said:
As with Tomorrow, I like this one better than you and Vulture. Larry Mullen's drumming saves it from being New Wave blah, and it has a nice energy to it. It's no masterpiece but I would have it much higher than 189, 212 or 225. 
Click to expand...
Another ranker had it bottom 8 as well. Im glad there are others who can focus on The Edge, Larry Mullen or Adam Clayton. My focus tends to be on Bono, for better or worse.

Ghost Rider said:
The Refugee is not a total waste, as the melody that comes in around the :50 mark is kinda nice, but the main hook in the song is quite dreadful.  War is a damn good record, but this and Red Light both should have been tossed out the moon door. 
Click to expand...
Our rankings suggest you are right. We only see one more track from War before our top 100. Even that one is almost 50 away.

October sees 3 more tracks in the next 10 or so coming up, making half that album dog ####. 

 
John Maddens Lunchbox said:
189 The Refugee (1983)

Highest Rank - 101

Lowest Rank - 225

Where to find it - War LP

Vulture.com ranking and comment - 212/218 - They sound like some third-rate New Wave band trying to be relevant. This track is awful, made worse by opening side two after the graceful end on side one with “Drowning Man.” Bono would comment later, “I think it’s probably in the wrong key and is trying to be exciting and not quite pulling it off.”

Comment - This is absolutely terrible, but two of the rankers are more generous with it. Would love to hear their thoughts. Anytime someone who likes the old stuff complains about their new stuff, I would ask them to listen to Tomorrow and this one. They would of course tell me to listen to Landlady lol

Next up, back to the B Sides with another cover. There are some songs that are sacrosanct and others where it is impossible to beat the fury and passion of the original, but U2 give it a go. 
Click to expand...
Neither the Mrs nor I really love this song, but her comment was “it doesn’t sound like a U2 song, but if someone else did it nobody would think twice about it.”

My comment:  “they tried too hard to make a song that fit the album title War.”

But this song would be above 90% of their post-Achtung songs for me.

 
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