U2 Are Masters of the Studio And Crowd Dynamics - A Rare Combination of Genius

Music Wed - continuing working backwards on my list of "Greatest bands". This week is U2, my pick for best combined recording/touring bands, and I am faced with the hopeless task of distilling my love of this band to my self-imposed limit of 5 key songs. I'm still kicking myself for songs I didn't pick last week for Radiohead, so I know that no matter what songs I choose today, all next week I will think of equally good or better songs that I should've included. So with that caveat, here we go (in no particular order): "Bad" from the Wide Awake in America EP (http://youtu.be/2zIW8qDPhos). I could listen to The Edge's layered guitar effects that build to a stunning repetitive crescendo on this song in a continuous 6-hour loop. I love this early glimpse into the songwriting and band cohesion that gave birth to the historic Joshua Tree album. I have paid tribute to this next song in earlier postings, but I must include my personal all-time fave, "Love is Blindness" ( http://youtu.be/xUXVE4GEwmc). As great as the version is on Achtung Baby, if u want a real treat, look up on YouTube one of the many live versions from the Zoo TV tour, which is the only tour on which they played this song. These rare live cuts literally seethe and crawl with The Edge's pain and desperation at the collapse of his first marriage, but u can also hear the healing he was experiencing in these live renditions. Next for me is "Miss Sarajevo" (http://youtu.be/XtXl7mJErFU). Heart-on-the-sleeve politics? Of course, and those of us who love this band would have it no other way. I next must include a live song I love as much as Paul MacCartney and Wings' live version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" (http://youtu.be/x_FiIilTwIA), and that is ANY live version of "Bullet the Blue Sky" (http://youtu.be/BfxLhrg139M). This shows that U2 can be kings of rock, in addition to being masters of dance, electronica and anthemic ballads. Finally, let's end with the song that I associate with the end of nearly every U2 show I have ever seen - namely "40" (http://youtu.be/axEyeurOMxw). I get a chill down my spine as I think of singing along with the crowd long after the band left the stage to this oh-so-satisfying concert ending ode to a band that hit a peak 30 years ago and have never come down from the mountain top. Enjoy!