The Complete U2 is a digital box set by Irish rock band U2. It was released on 23 November 2004 exclusively through the iTunes Store by Apple Inc. in partnership with Island and Interscope Records.[1][2] The collection has been described as the first major digital-only box set by a recording artist, comprising 446 tracks spanning 1978–2004, including albums, singles, live recordings, rarities and previously unreleased material.[2][3]
| The Complete U2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Box set by | ||||
| Released | 23 November 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 1978–2004 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Island, Interscope | |||
| Producer | U2, Martin Hannett, Steve Lillywhite, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Jimmy Iovine, Chris Thomas, Jacknife Lee | |||
| U2 chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and release
editAnnounced alongside the iPod U2 Special Edition, the set was positioned by Apple as the online music industry’s first “Digital Box Set.”[1] At launch it contained 446 tracks organized in 67 digital “groupings” corresponding to U2’s albums, singles and EPs; in iTunes each grouping was labelled The Complete U2.[3][4] Four titles were exclusive to the set: Unreleased & Rare, Live from Boston 1981, Live from the Point Depot and the Early Demos EP.[3]
A 48-page digital booklet (PDF) accompanied the set, featuring artwork, track listings and liner notes—essays by Bill Flanagan for previously released albums and notes by the Edge for the exclusive content. Design was handled by Dublin firm Four5One Creative, long-time U2 collaborators.[3][5] (The booklet credits Four5One and Flanagan.)[6]
At release the U.S. price was US$149.99; purchasers of the U2 iPod received a US$50 coupon toward the set.[1][2][7] Files were delivered as 128 kbps AAC (.m4a). When Apple expanded its iTunes Plus offering, prior purchasers could upgrade their copies to 256 kbps for a fee, although the box set itself was no longer sold by that time.[3][8]
Content
editAlthough marketed as “complete,” the package necessarily repeated many tracks across albums, singles and compilations (for example, “One” appears in its album, single and compilation groupings). Several items in U2’s wider discography were not included.[4]
Errors and issues
editContemporary documentation and fan reports noted a number of metadata and audio issues at launch, some later corrected in store updates, others persisting:[3]
- Version discrepancies (e.g., “Stories for Boys” sourced from a compilation rather than the Three EP; “Even Better Than the Real Thing” and “Mysterious Ways” not matching the album edits).
- Truncated audio on certain regional listings (e.g., the opening drum hit of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” in the U.S.).
- Faulty or mislabelled files at launch (e.g., “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix)” resolving to “Paint It, Black”; “A Sort of Homecoming (Live from Wembley)” uploading initially as a 0:12 clip).
Subsequent 256 kbps iTunes Plus upgrades in 2009 introduced further mismatches in some territories (for example, substitution of mixes and mislabelled tracks), with corrections varying by region.[3]
Withdrawal
editOn 20 December 2007 the set was removed from the iTunes Store worldwide and has not been reissued as a complete package since; existing owners later gained access to iTunes Plus upgrades.[9][3]
Disc list
edit| Disc | Title | Type | Length | Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Another Day" | single | 7:57 | 2 |
| 2 | Three | EP | 9:24 | 3 |
| 3 | "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" | single | 7:11 | 2 |
| 4 | "A Day Without Me" | single | 5:31 | 2 |
| 5 | "I Will Follow" | single | 7:01 | 2 |
| 6 | Boy | studio album | 42:13 | 11 |
| 7 | "Fire" | single | 18:11 | 4 |
| 8 | "Gloria" | single | 8:04 | 2 |
| 9 | October | studio album | 41:08 | 11 |
| 10 | "A Celebration" | single | 5:31 | 2 |
| 11 | "New Year's Day" | single | 18:10 | 4 |
| 12 | War | studio album | 43:08 | 10 |
| 13 | "Two Hearts Beat as One" | single | 18:05 | 5 |
| 14 | Under a Blood Red Sky | live album | 33:25 | 8 |
| 15 | "Pride (In the Name of Love)" | single | 19:12 | 5 |
| 16 | The Unforgettable Fire | studio album | 42:19 | 10 |
| 17 | "The Unforgettable Fire" & B-Sides | single | 17:27 | 4 |
| 18 | Wide Awake in America | EP | 20:43 | 4 |
| 19 | "With or Without You" | single | 14:18 | 3 |
| 20 | The Joshua Tree | studio album | 50:11 | 11 |
| 21 | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | single | 12:21 | 3 |
| 22 | "Where the Streets Have No Name" | single | 16:20 | 4 |
| 23 | "Desire" | single | 12:39 | 3 |
| 24 | Rattle and Hum | double album | 1:12:23 | 17 |
| 25 | "Angel of Harlem" | single | 14:32 | 3 |
| 26 | "When Love Comes to Town" | single | 15:46 | 3 |
| 27 | "All I Want Is You" | single | 10:43 | 2 |
| 28 | "The Fly" | single | 14:33 | 3 |
| 29 | Achtung Baby | studio album | 55:29 | 12 |
| 30 | "Mysterious Ways" & Remixes | single | 13:22 | 7 |
| 31 | "One" | single | 15:27 | 3 |
| 32 | "Even Better Than the Real Thing" | single | 18:19 | 4 |
| 33 | "Even Better Than the Real Thing" Remixes | single | 37:15 | 6 |
| 34 | "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" | single | 21:27 | 4 |
| 35 | Zooropa | studio album | 51:21 | 10 |
| 36 | "Lemon" Remixes | single | 59:45 | 9 |
| 37 | "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" | single | 19:50 | 4 |
| 38 | Melon | remix album | 47:01 | 7 |
| 39 | Original Soundtracks 1 | studio album | 58:08 | 14 |
| 40 | "Miss Sarajevo" | single | 19:30 | 4 |
| 41 | "Discothèque" | single | 14:42 | 3 |
| 42 | "Discothèque" Remixes | single | 1:05:08 | 10 |
| 43 | Pop | studio album | 1:00:13 | 12 |
| 44 | "Staring at the Sun" | single | 14:42 | 3 |
| 45 | "Staring at the Sun" Remixes | single | 16:34 | 3 |
| 46 | "Last Night on Earth" | single | 14:01 | 3 |
| 47 | "Please" | single | 48:48 | 9 |
| 48 | "If God Will Send His Angels" | single | 22:29 | 5 |
| 49 | "Mofo" Remixes | single | 37:40 | 5 |
| 50 | "Sweetest Thing" | single | 22:25 | 5 |
| 51 | The Best of 1980–1990 | greatest hits | 1:04:28 | 15 |
| 52 | "Beautiful Day" | single | 20:07 | 5 |
| 53 | All That You Can't Leave Behind | studio album | 53:09 | 12 |
| 54 | Hasta la Vista Baby! | live album | 1:09:19 | 14 |
| 55 | "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" | single | 36:06 | 7 |
| 56 | "Elevation" | single | 19:42 | 4 |
| 57 | "Elevation" Remixes | single | 31:15 | 5 |
| 58 | "Walk On" | single | 20:59 | 4 |
| 59 | "Electrical Storm" | single | 32:05 | 5 |
| 60 | The Best of 1990–2000 | greatest hits | 1:16:20 | 17 |
| 61 | "Vertigo" | single | 7:01 | 2 |
| 62 | "Vertigo" Remixes | single | 18:36 | 4 |
| 63 | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb | studio album | 52:58 | 12 |
| 64 | Unreleased & Rare | compilation | 1:17:12 | 18 |
| 65 | Live from Boston 1981 | live album | 54:34 | 13 |
| 66 | Live from the Point Depot | live album | 1:39:44 | 21 |
| 67 | Early Demos | EP | 13:14 | 3 |
| Total: | 20 albums 3 EPs |
28:00:00 (approx.) |
446 | |
Digital box set-exclusive albums
editThe following albums are only officially available as part of this set:
Unreleased & Rare
editUnreleased & Rare compiles previously unreleased and hard-to-find tracks, many originating from the All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions; some edits and remixes from singles and compilations are also included.[3]
| No. | Title | From | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Levitate" | All That You Can't Leave Behind sessions | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Love You Like Mad" | All That You Can't Leave Behind sessions | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Smile" | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions | 3:17 |
| 4. | "Flower Child" | All That You Can't Leave Behind sessions | 4:54 |
| 5. | "Beautiful Ghost / Introduction to Songs of Experience" | The Joshua Tree sessions | 3:52 |
| 6. | "Jesus Christ" | Rattle and Hum sessions | 3:12 |
| 7. | "Xanax and Wine" | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions | 4:39 |
| 8. | "All Because of You" (Alternate version) | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Native Son" | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions | 3:08 |
| 10. | "Yahweh" (Alternate version) | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions | 4:31 |
| 11. | "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" (Alternate version) | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions | 5:30 |
| 12. | "Numb" (Radio edit) | "Numb" promotional single | 3:57 |
| 13. | "Bass Trap" (Edit) | The Best of 1980–1990 B-sides | 3:33 |
| 14. | "Night and Day" (Twilight Remix) | "Night and Day" promotional single | 5:20 |
| 15. | "Numb" (Gimme Some More Dignity Mix edit) | The Best of 1990–2000 B-sides | 5:50 |
| 16. | "Salomé" (Zooromancer Remix edit) | The Best of 1990–2000 B-sides | 5:51 |
| 17. | "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" | A Very Special Christmas (1987) | 2:19 |
| 18. | "Stateless" | The Million Dollar Hotel: Music from the Motion Picture | 4:05 |
Live from Boston 1981
editLive from Boston 1981 was recorded at the Paradise Rock Club on 6 March 1981 during the Boy Tour. Several performances had previously appeared as B-sides or bonus tracks on various singles.[3]
| No. | Title | Originally released on | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Ocean" | 2:22 | |
| 2. | "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" | 5:02 | |
| 3. | "Touch" | 3:01 | |
| 4. | "An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart" | 7:54 | |
| 5. | "Another Time, Another Place" | 4:33 | |
| 6. | "The Cry/The Electric Co." | "Fire" single | 4:53 |
| 7. | "Things to Make and Do" | 3:05 | |
| 8. | "Stories for Boys" | "Sweetest Thing" single | 3:03 |
| 9. | "Twilight" | 4:27 | |
| 10. | "I Will Follow" | "Gloria" single | 3:58 |
| 11. | "Out of Control" | "I Will Follow" single | 5:18 |
| 12. | "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" (encore) | "Fire" single | 5:01 |
| 13. | "The Ocean" (encore) | "Fire" single | 2:11 |
Live from the Point Depot
editLive from the Point Depot documented U2’s New Year's Eve performance at Dublin’s Point Depot in 1989, officially released here after years of circulation as a bootleg recording.[3]
Early Demos
edit| Early Demos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| EP from The Complete U2 box set by U2 | |
| Recorded | November 1978 |
| Length | 13:14 |
| Producer | Barry Devlin |
Early Demos contains three studio demos produced by Barry Devlin and recorded at Keystone Studios in November 1978. Two tracks (“Street Mission” and “The Fool”) are otherwise unavailable on U2 studio albums; “Shadows and Tall Trees” later appeared on Boy (1980).[3]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Street Mission" | 4:17 |
| 2. | "Shadows and Tall Trees" (Demo) | 4:40 |
| 3. | "The Fool" | 4:15 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Apple Introduces the U2 iPod". Apple Newsroom. 26 October 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "The Complete U2: The World's First Digital Box Set". Macworld. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l ""The Complete U2" Digital Box Set". U2Songs.com. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ a b "The Complete U2 – Digital Box Set". U2Wanderer.org. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Stealing Hearts". U2.com. 17 June 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "The Complete U2 – Digital Booklet (scan)". PDFCoffee. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ Wolk, Douglas (8 December 2004). "Under a Blood-Red Customized iPod Case". New York Magazine. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Upgrading to iTunes Plus: Why the hassle?". Macworld. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Happy Holidays and RIP The Complete U2". U2Wanderer.org. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
External links
edit- Complete track listing of all 446 songs, with a discussion of excluded and redundant tracks