U2

Pop

Let's Go! Let's Go! Let's Go!

Review Score:

(8/10)
When word got out in early 1997 that U2 was about to release a "techno" album, curiosity was piqued and axes were whetted. On its release, POP suffered the sort of lambasting the band hadn't received since RATTLE AND HUM some nine years before, and quite undeservedly so. "Fans" complained that it didn't sound like U2; critics countered that it sounded too much like U2, rather than a complete makeover. What no one seemed to appreciate was that this album, uneven though it may be, followed very much in U2's career-long tradition of mixing new and different genres into its own trademark sonic stew, thereby guaranteeing something unprecedented with each new release. As such, POP is indeed a classic U2 album, with elements of techno and lots of other stuff sewn in; and if it's not simply a remake of ACHTUNG BABY, nor another faceless platter of navel-gazing Eurobeat sound effects, that's all to the good. It's also worth mentioning here that POP is a singular achievement in sonic manipulation and processing, one of the finest examples of the use of the studio as an instrument since the mid-seventies heyday of Pink Floyd.
"Discotheque" is as strong an opener as U2 has ever offered - big, brash, dance-crazy and hypnotically underpinned by a lethal two-chord guitar riff which maintains emotional suspension for the entire length of the song. The lyrics are likewise ambiguous, a satire on the European club set of the 1990s but one delivered with a straight face. "Do You Feel Loved" sets some of U2's most overtly sexy lyrics to a deep, gut-grabbing bass track and tastefully employed effects. "MOFO" is the most unrepentantly technoish item here, a maelstrom of synthesisers and filtered guitars, reaching one climax after another right up until its heavenly "Show me, mother" ending. Taking a breather, the band offers a pleasant ballad with "If God Will Send His Angels." A vaguely carnivalesque soundstage adds some uncertainty to this otherwise relatively mainstream track, with the keening "Staring at the Sun" following effectively on its heels. "Last Night on Earth" brings in some ballsy rock with a wall-shaking chorus and spot-on bass work from Adam Clayton. "Gone," another supercharged rocker, is quite possibly U2's single greatest song, bar none, which I suppose leaves me nothing to add.
As many people have already pointed out, POP was never properly completed, and had to be rushed out following two missed deadlines. The latter part of the album, it must be admitted, suffers accordingly, though there are still some bright spots on the way to the end. "Miami" is pretty iffy, an apparently half-formed paean to that pastel metropolis with some mediocre guitar-gunning for atmosphere. "The Playboy Mansion" has the potential to be POP's most effective parody of...well, pop, but meanders where it ought to swagger. "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" is a slow and moody piece that ultimately overstays its welcome. "Please" works quite well, however, bringing the Irish troubles back to U2's catalogue after nearly fifteen years and adding some tight, tough drumming from Larry Mullen. "Wake Up, Dead Man," despite its interesting folk countersong, is one reference to Jesus too many - indeed, if POP's detractors are right about anything it's the album's lyrics, which with a few exceptions ("Gone," "Discotheque," "Please" and "MOFO" among them) are a considerable letdown after the brilliant observations of ACHTUNG BABY and the sly epigrams of ZOOROPA. That said, however, there's no denying that POP is, at its best, as good as anything U2 has ever released, nor that as of this writing it remains, along with ZOOROPA, the repository of the group's most searching music.

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