25 October 1998
Our obvious starting point here is to compare the two versions. The original ‘Sweetest Thing’ is the B-side to ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’, and Bono’s vocal on that version is his ’80s throaty, bluesy shtick, which doesn’t suit the song. On this 1998 single version Bono’s vocal is softer and poppier, plus he gets a new wistful middle-section, replacing a Clash-lite dub breakdown by Adam on the original, and a happy-go-lucky outro of doo doo doos. That’s really the only substantive difference, but it’s telling. The cartoon irony of Pop hadn’t stuck the landing: U2 clearly needed to make up the shortfall and regain momentum, so this polished-up ‘Sweetest Thing’ was the notional ‘new’ song on their first-ever greatest hits album, an ’80s-only volume. It’s also a track that paved the way for what becomes their All That You Can’t Leave Behind album, on which they continue combining their Boy-era puppy-dog sincerity with this lighter, poppier sound – essentially creating Coldplay. Thanks, guys!
Anyway, ‘Sweetest Thing’ 1987 and 1998 is a typically gauche and clunky U2 affair. It does, however, have the saving grace of that minor-chord fall into the heartfelt “I’m losing you” bridge; along with the intros to ‘I Will Follow’, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’, it’s a fragment of U2 that works. The piano chords are also refreshing, rounding out the sound without resorting to layers of Edge’s pedal filler. Then, just as I’m feeling generous towards ‘Sweetest Thing’, I remember the video: the awful bloody video.
