One of U2’s chief collaborators has confirmed that the band will release a second best-of compilation this fall. Daniel Lanois, who co-produced five of the Irish group’s albums-The Unforgettable Fire (1984), The Joshua Tree (1987), Achtung Baby (1991), Zooropa (1993), and All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)-has reported that in a recent visit to his home in Los Angeles, U2 guitarist the Edge discussed the anthology, which is slated to be released as a stopgap while the band continues work on its next studio album.
“To my knowledge, there’s a ‘best of the ’90s’ that’s going to come out before their next official record,” Lanois, who’s being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame at the April 14 Juno Awards, told The Toronto Sun. “They’re probably looking to pepper that with a new track or two. I have a vested interest here. We’ve already done the work for this best-of. I want as good a record as it can be.”
Of the new U2 recordings, Lanois said, “They came off the road and decided to go straight in and get some recording done. I believe they set up in the south of France and just shacked up in an old nightclub there and knocked out a couple of weeks of recording.”
Island Records, U2’s label, has told its distribution offices to expect the new best-of-a follow-up to 1998’s The Best Of 1980-1990-for release this fall, preceded by a single that will likely be a new track. The previous best-of launched a hit for the band with the single “Sweetest Thing.”
