Legendary rock band U2 knows a thing or two about recruiting fan club members. The group is releasing a new compilation album exclusively to U2.com subscribers.

Like the albums Artificial Horizon, Medium, Rare and Remastered and U2 Duals, U22 is a compilation album only available to members of U2’s fan club. The album is a limited-edition double-live CD featuring music recorded from the incredibly successful “360-Degrees Tour” which ran June 2009 – July 2011. Twenty-two songs were chosen by fans and packaged in a deluxe book of live photos accompanied by liner notes from bassist Adam Clayton.

The special-release CD features the singles “With or Without You,” “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” “Mysterious Ways,” “All I Want Is You” and “Walk On.” Subscribers are able to download four songs from the band’s official website U2.com including the song, “Unknown Caller,” which will not be part of the regular album. On May 30, eight more tracks will be available for download through the site.

Even though fan club members have exclusive access to this specialized content, the privilege doesn’t come cheap; U2.com subscribers pay an annual $50 fee.

While U22 keeps U2 fans occupied, the band’s front man and renowned philanthropist, Bono, is featured in the most recent issue of Time Magazine. The outspoken activist wrote an article titled “The Resource Miracle” imploring world leaders attending the G-8 summit at Camp David to exercise great care when dealing with natural resources in poverty stricken Africa.

“If I’ve learned anything in more than 25 years of making noise about this stuff, it’s that partnership trumps paternalism,” Bono wrote. “This summer let’s hope the G-8 and G-20 listen more intently to the people we hope to serve and bring the boom without the bust.”

- John Milligan / 98.5 WNCX