[2] Following the band's experimentation with alternative rock and dance music in the 1990s and the mixed reception to their 1997 album, Pop, U2 returned to a sound more akin to their earlier records for All That You Can't Leave Behind.

The supporting Elevation Tour, on which the band returned to playing arenas with a more intimate stage design, was also a critical and commercial success.

Throughout the 1990s, U2 experimented with alternative rock and electronic dance music, culminating with their 1997 album Pop and the accompanying PopMart Tour.

Bono's involvement in the Jubilee 2000 campaign prevented him from dedicating all of his time to the album's recording, something Eno thought was a distraction.

[4] There was also a two-month break in the sessions when Bono collaborated with Lanois and Hal Wilner on The Million Dollar Hotel film soundtrack.

[3] In mid-1999, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. bought houses in the South of France, in order to be near Bono and the Edge's homes so they could have a place to both "work and play".

Additionally, although the record was described as "a return to the traditional U2 sound", many songs were complex and retained elements of the band's 1990s experimentation;[6] The introduction of "Beautiful Day" features an "electronification of the [chorus] chords with a beat box and a string part";[6] "New York" came together when the band members were away at a meeting and Lanois and Eno were playing around with a drum loop that Mullen had recorded.

The first song (and lead single), "Beautiful Day", for instance, is an optimistic anthem that opens with a drum machine and a rhythm sequencer.

The album also includes "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", a song written by Bono for his friend, lead singer of INXS, Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997.

"[7] Musicologist Susan Fast says both this album and the follow-up How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) find U2 returning to "more 'stripped down' rock and pop sounds".

Per the band's request, the sleeve designers changed this to J33-3, a hidden reference to the Bible verse Jeremiah 33:3 ("Call unto me and I will answer thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.").

[11] Following the comparatively poor reception of their previous album Pop, U2 declared on a number of occasions that they were "re-applying for the job ... of best band in the world.

[13] The album was banned in Burma by SPDC because "Walk On" was dedicated to Burmese human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

[21] This song served as the album's second single in North America; in Canada, it was released in February 2001, while in the US, it was serviced to radio the following month.

[24] All That You Can't Leave Behind is easy to relate to, full of solid songs that appeal to a wide audience with its clear notions of family, friendship, love, death, and rebirth.

[33] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called the record "as unwaveringly assured as Pop was tentative" and said that it "focuses on songs, not sonic gimmicks, and the difference is palpable".

He concluded his review thusly: "at a time when rock feels so earthbound, and dance-steeped albums like Moby's Play provide the musical exaltation guitar bands once did, U2 simply want to reclaim some of that old stomping ground.

"[28] Steve Morse of The Boston Globe said the record "has great songs that tie together beautifully—a welcome change from the disjointed nature of U2 discs such as 1993's Zooropa and 1997's Pop".

[37] In his review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau felt that the album eschewed the artsier tendencies of U2's previous work in favor of hooky pop songs and stated, "The feat's offhandedness is its most salient charm and nagging limitation.

[26] USA Today's Edna Gundersen wrote that the band had distilled their previous experimentation "into smart accents and muted afterthoughts", resulting in a more organic record driven by "simplicity and soul".

[29] While remarking that the record's streamlined nature rendered it "a teensy bit dull", April Long of NME nevertheless called All That You Can't Leave Behind "a laudable achievement".

[39] The updated review from AllMusic notes that the remasters are the "centrepiece" of the re-release and that hardcore fans will appreciate the weirder collected B-sides; additionally, the packaging and photography from Corbijn are selling points.

[44] At the end of 2000, All That You Can't Leave Behind was voted the seventh-best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop annual critics poll published by The Village Voice.

The Super Deluxe box set, containing 51 tracks, features: a 32-page book of photography by Anton Corbijn; B-sides and outtakes previously released on 2004's Unreleased & Rare and The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack; complete audio from June 2001 performances in Boston (taken from the concert video Elevation 2001: Live from Boston); and 11 remixes, four of which were previously unreleased.