Should past perfect verb always reffer to an earlier action?

[kiranck007]

Here is an excerpt from the book mentioned below. I am not certain if the below sentence is correct, because my understanding has been that past perfect tense verb phrase i.e. had + past participle should always represent an action which is first in the sequence of actions that are presented in the sentence. Am I correct? If Yes, should the below sentence need to be corrected?

Here HAD ECLIPSED verb phrase represents an action later in time.

The band U2 WAS just one of many new groups on the rock music scene in the early 1980' s, but less than ten years later, U2 HAD fully ECLIPSED its early rivals in the pantheon of popular music.

GMAT, Manhattan (2012-04-24). Sentence Correction GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition (Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides) (Kindle Locations 1803-1805). Manhattan Prep. Kindle Edition.

[RonPurewal]

Here is an excerpt from the book mentioned below. I am not certain if the below sentence is correct, because my understanding has been that past perfect tense verb phrase i.e. had + past participle should always represent an action which is first in the sequence of actions that are presented in the sentence. Am I correct? If Yes, should the below sentence need to be corrected?

Here HAD ECLIPSED verb phrase represents an action later in time.

The band U2 WAS just one of many new groups on the rock music scene in the early 1980' s, but less than ten years later, U2 HAD fully ECLIPSED its early rivals in the pantheon of popular music.

GMAT, Manhattan (2012-04-24). Sentence Correction GMAT Strategy Guide, 5th Edition (Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides) (Kindle Locations 1803-1805). Manhattan Prep. Kindle Edition.

ya, but, in that sentence, there are 2 different clauses (= complete sentences on their own), with different timeframes.

the first part (before "but") is a sentence with a past timeframe (the early '80's), describing an event in that timeframe. so, it uses the past tense.

the second part (after "but") is viewed from a later timeframe ("ten years later"). in that sentence, "had eclipsed" is a completed, earlier action with an impact on that past timeframe.

by the way, here's the GMAT PREP problem on which this example is based:
post58397.html

[kiranck007]

Thanks Ron! I got your point; the issue is very evasive here.

[jnelson0612]

Good to hear! :-)