U2
7
Interscope Records
2002

7 is specifically engineered for U2 fanatics. It offers seven (how clever) b-sides and remixes from All That You Can't Leave Behind, and is only available at Target.

B-sides means you're getting the All That You Can't Leave Behind rejects, which isn't a bad thing since we're talking about U2. It also means the songs are still a little rough around the edges. 'Summer Rain' comes first, a simple acoustic number with a driving rhythm.

Next comes the song that eventually became 'Beautiful Day,' and you can definitely hear it in the chorus. 'Always' has the same music and rhythm of 'Beautiful Day, but with different arrangements and lyrics (my favorite being "Get down off your holy cloud / God will not deal with the proud"). For any other band it would have been good enough, but U2 took it a step further and transformed it into a hit single. That makes 'Always' both an interesting case study in how U2 makes music, and a bastard song that will always be out-shined by it's legitimate brother.

'Big Girls Are Best' is an edgier song that resembles a '70s rocker, and explores lyrical themes of beauty and sexuality. It would have been an awkward fit on All That You Can't Leave Behind.

The remixes are up next, a usually disappointing practice of reworking songs so the record company can put something else on the single and get away with charging $5 for it. The nearly eight minute techno version of 'Beautiful Day' is annoying. The 'influx remix' of 'Elevation' isn't much better. Stick with the originals.

However, the remixes do redeem themselves. The single version of 'Walk On' and the acoustic version of 'Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out of' rival the album versions. 'Walk On' ends with a chorus of "hallelujah's," similar to the Elevation Tour rendition of the song. It adds a fitting spiritual punch to the end of a great song, something that probably would have seemed cocky on the original album, but works now that the song is a crowd-pleasing concert-closer. The slightly slower, acoustic version of 'Stuck in a Moment' compliments the song's plea to a suicidal friend.

7 is intended for the U2 fan in need of a fix, but it's relatively cheap enough and has enough to offer the casual U2 fan to make it worth your consideration. (Kevin H.)