U2

There was a time when South Africa was the last place where a U2 concert would have taken place. For many years, South Africa was ruled by the racist apartheid system, which was comparable to the old Jim Crow laws of the southern U.S. -- and U2 (like so many European artists) refused to perform there until apartheid was abolished. Eventually, it was. Anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela became president, and U2 had no problem performing in the new, more democratic South Africa; this two-CD bootleg focuses on a March 21, 1998, show at Johannesburg Stadium. The sound quality is decent but not great -- even though Human Rights Day is a soundboard recording, the quality isn't as sharp or as clean as it could have been. Human Rights Day wouldn't have made the grade as an official live album, but even so, it captures the excitement of U2's Johannesburg concert. Bono was no doubt elated to be performing in a liberated South Africa, and he brings a great deal of passion and conviction to 1980s favorites (including "New Year's Day," "Bullet the Blue Sky," and "I Will Follow") as well as gems from 1993's Zooropa and 1997's Pop. In order to fully appreciate the show, one needs to hold U2's 1980s and 1990s work in equally high regard -- in 1998, Bono was determined to forge ahead, and even though U2 still performed a lot of its 1980s classics, it wasn't about to become an 1980s nostalgia band. Human Rights Day isn't the best-sounding U2 bootleg that surfaced in 1998, but because of its political and historic implications -- U2 performing for an interracial audience in an apartheid-free Johannesburg -- hardcore collectors will want to search for it anyway. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide