DVDSTORE

While U2 have already looked back once or twice in order to assemble best-of collections, this set marks the first time that the Irish rockers have done so with a wide lens -- culling material from their entire career rather than distinctly divided eras. Rather than simply arranging the tracks in chronological order, the band chose to mimic the flow of one of their live shows, opening with the one-two emotional punch of "Beautiful Day" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and segueing into the thoughtful strains of "Pride (In the Name of Love)." The breadth of the band's playing is showcased beautifully here, with the focus falling alternately on the melodic inventiveness of the Edge (the driving force on songs like "New Year's Day") and the often overlooked potency of the lockstep rhythm section of Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton, who fuel "Desire" and "Vertigo" in high-octane fashion. To bring fans completely up to date, 18 Singles includes a pair of new songs: the elegiac "Window in the Skies" and "The Saints Are Coming," the '70s punk classic that U2 and {|Green Day|} retooled earlier this year for the benefit of charities on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. It brings full circle this distillation of what continues to be an inspired, and inspiring, career.