"The Italian Collection" - U2

Box Set

Track Listing:

Background Information

“The Italian Collection” is a box set done by Universal / Island Records in Italy in conjunction with Corriere Della Sera (an Italian daily newspaper) and its sister newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (An Italian Sports newspaper). This promotional box set was very similar in nature to the box set “The Kiosk Collection” released in 2015 in Spain. Like that box set, “The Italian Collection” was released with the first item released August 26, 2016, which included the box, and “The Joshua Tree”. Each week following that release saw the release of one further item in the collection, all in card sleeve formats.

The first week was released with the box and “The Joshua Tree” in plastic on a backing cardboard card explaining the promotion. The UPC for the first week was on the back of the card. Later releases are in a small plastic envelope which holds one CD, and a small backing card with information about the current release and the upcoming release the following week. The UPC in these later releases is also on the card insert and not on the CD itself. Each CD is stickered with a small holographic sticker with the SIAE logo. SIAE is the Italian copyright collecting agency. In each release so far, this sticker is applied on the back of the CD.

There are some differences from the CDs released through “The Kiosk Collection”. The first is that the sleeves are more narrow than those released in the Spanish set. This allows the entire box set to be narrower as well. Where “The Kiosk Collection” had individual catalog numbers on the sleeve (on the spine) “The Italian Collection” does not have these information markings on the spine, but does include a unique number in the small print on the back of the digipack and on the CD itself. And a nice touch of “The Italian Collection” is that the inside of the card sleeve is printed as well, instead of showing plain cardboard like “The Kiosk Collection” in “The Italian Collection” you see a hint of the outer artwork. Each CD of “The Italian Collection” is marked “Non vendibile separatamente dalle pubblicazioni del Gruppo Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Spa.” which translates to “Not be sold separately from the publications of the Group Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Spa.”

The box is also considerably different than that used for “The Kiosk Collection”. The whole box is narrower, which is possible because of the narrower gate fold card sleeves being used for each release. The box also features an angled cut out on either side where you place the CDs, allowing a bit of the first CD and last CD in the box to show from the side. The box also features a new image of the group than that used in “The Kiosk Collection” the year before.

The CDs included in the release are the reissued versions of the release where there was a new version done. Both “The Joshua Tree” and “Achtung Baby” feature the newer mix of the album, and contain the same liner notes found in the 2008 / 2011 releases of these. The CDs are listed as having been made in the EU only, and a specific country of manufacture is not given. The underside of the CD show these were not done in the typically used factory in Germany, which had been used for “The Kiosk Collection”. Instead these CDs in “The Italian Collection” list that they were made by Sony DADC in the matrix area. They also contain the IFPI number L555 in the matrix, and an IFPI number 941P stamped in the inner area of the CD. This suggests they are being produced by Sony DADC in Austria for the Italian market.

The full release dates of the CDs is as follows:

  • The Joshua Tree (August 26, 2016)
  • Achtung Baby (September 2, 2016)
  • Rattle and Hum (September 9, 2016)
  • The Unforgettable Fire (September 16, 2016)
  • War (September 23, 2016)
  • All That You Can’t Leave Behind (September 30, 2016)
  • Songs of Innocence (October 7, 2016)
  • Boy (October 14, 2016)
  • Under a Blood Red Sky (October 21, 2016)
  • No Line on the Horizon (October 28, 2016)
  • How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (November 4, 2016)
  • Zooropa (November 11, 2016)
  • Pop (November 18, 2016)
  • October (November 25, 2016)
  • “Zoo TV Live from Sydney” (December 2, 2016)
  • “U2360 At the Rose Bowl” (December 9, 2016)
  • “Live at Red Rocks” (December 16, 2016)
  • “U2 Go Home: Live from Slane” (December 23, 2016)

Liner Notes

Related Promotional Videos

Related News

Catalog of Releases