25 years ago, U2 released a song that would become my very first music obsession - and would one day become one of their most underrated hits. I was barely even aware of my own consciousness at the time U2 released the first singles from their album All That You Can't Leave Behind, but with a mother who's still a U2 super-fan to this day, it was playing on a constant loop during the earliest years of my childhood.

One single in particular from this album became my go-to. It's since become one of the most underrated songs from U2's collection of hits, even if it did win them the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2002 and became the namesake for their highly successful 2001 tour. It's not a song I often hear mentioned among their best, but according to my earliest music taste, it deserves a spot there.

"Elevation" Was My Most Highly Requested Song As A Child

"A Mole, Digging In A Hole!"

Though initially released as a part of All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000, "Elevation" was released by U2 as a single in June 2001, when I was still far from being considered a toddler. Of course, as mentioned above, this song and plenty of others from All That You Can't Leave Behind were played over and over again on car rides, at summer get-togethers, and more, and clearly, I couldn't get enough of it. I'm sure I drove my mom crazy asking for the "mole digging in a hole" song time and time again.

Everything comes back to the dynamics of a song like "Elevation," with strong instrumentation, a catchy rhythm, and big vocal moments from Bono.

Regardless, looking back now, it's so easy to see how this one song has since shaped my current music taste. While it's pretty all over the place, everything comes back to the dynamics of a song like "Elevation," with strong instrumentation, a catchy rhythm, and big vocal moments from Bono. That's what I continue to find most compelling in the music I listen to today, even if it's from more modern artists like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles.

I wouldn't hesitate to put "Elevation" on today, and I would still know all the words as well as I did when I was a child - if not a little better now that I actually have a fuller vocabulary. It's easily one of the band's more underrated hits, buried beneath the greatness of their '80s and '90s prime, and I think it deserves more spotlight, despite the accolades it achieved at the time. In fact, this song isn't the only part of U2's early 2000s discography that deserves more love.

All That You Can't Leave Behind Remains An Underrated U2 Album

It Truly Defined An Era For U2

As with any album, it has its highs and its lows, but All That You Can't Leave Behind is overall a fairly underrated yet solid body of work for U2. The semi-title track "Walk On" alone is a song that I cannot believe many people probably do not know. Its lyrics are still so meaningful and breathtaking to me all these years later, with the solid message that no matter how hard life gets, you just have to walk on towards the better things that are undoubtedly awaiting you.

It could not have ended up being more timely, either. Just under a year after the album's initial release, the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place, and a song like "Walk On" became a message for those who carried unimaginable pain, sorrow, and fear from such a devastating tragedy. While there was, of course, no way U2 could have foreseen this happening, it still ended up being a consolation through art for those who were processing one of the most terrifying events in United States, and global, history.

All That You Can't Leave Behind may not be widely considered as one of U2's best albums, but it definitely deserves some more love, along with "Elevation" as a song. It defined the earliest memories of my childhood and shaped my music taste into what it is today, and for that I'll always be so endlessly grateful. U2 has released plenty of incredible songs and albums, but these two will always have such a special place in my heart.