U2’s ‘Can’t Leave Behind’ turns 20
Gary Dinges
It seems like a blink of an eye, but it was 20 years ago that U2 dropped its 10th studio album, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.”
It was “kind of an innocent time,” lead guitarist The Edge says. “You know, it was pre-9/11. It was free of this sort of strange shift into political tribalism that we have seen happening since so, yeah, it does seem, in some ways, like it was yesterday, but so much has changed.”
To mark the anniversary, members of the iconic Irish rock group – Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. – are re-releasing the album on Friday, 20 years to the day since its debut. All 11 original tracks have been remastered, and fans will find a bonus track, “The Ground Beneath Her Feet.”
“It’s the most complete U2 record,” The Edge (real name David Evans) tells USA TODAY. “From beginning to end, you feel like there’s not one moment
where you’re like, ‘This is filler.’ ”
The special release includes a new, 51-track deluxe box set that comes with a 32-page hardback book.
“All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” which featured megahit “Beautiful Day,” served as a course correction of sorts for U2. The release followed “Pop,” an experimental album that saw the group walk away from the sound they’d become known for and pivot to the dance and alt-rock genres. Reviews were mixed and sales were disappointing, at least by U2 standards. Yet, it was “a very important moment for us,” says The Edge. “We tried consciously to get out of our comfort zone and experiment with forms that were really at the forefront of music culture at that time that weren’t really naturally part of what we did.”
Three years later, at the tail end of the millennium, U2 returned to its rock roots. “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” received rave reviews and spent 94 weeks – nearly two years – on the Billboard 200 list, peaking at No. 3. In all, it earned U2 seven Grammys, including record of the year and best