U2

Pop

A Sound That Drowns Out The World

Review Score:

(10/10)
Discotheque: What's not to like? Cool fade in opening, (first three songs have really excellent sounding openings) great riff, great 'boom-cha' ending. After the painful exit of the last album 'Zooropa' this song really sounds excellent. And it's about drugs, not just discos... 9/10

Do You Feel Loved?: Nice and 'big' sounding. The U2 sound, with more verve than one expects. A cool ending, with Edge's guitar 'kicking in' to great effect, and Bono's voice cascading. A great ending to a very cool song. 9/10

Mofo: Possibly the best U2 song ever. I wish they had explored this genre further: songs like this had so much potential. This is their ultimate 'techno' song. It is frankly outstanding. The techno genre as a whole is given a hard time. Listen to Leftism by Leftfield or Ray of Light by Madonna. THey prove that techno can move you! This song gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. MotherrrrrrrrARGH! genius. And what a cool bassline. Thunderous. What a tune. 10/10

If God Will Send His Angels: Strangely subdued start, but once the chorus and Edge's guitar come in, you know you're in good hands. The version for the video is better in terms of production and the ending (on the 1990-2000 DVD) but this is a great song nonetheless. Nice lyrics, especially one about blowing a fuse... that's hopelessly unrevealing. Oh well. 8.5/10

Staring at the Sun: My least favourite but still a good song. Mid-tempo rocker. Nice when played live accoustically. Interesting musings on God. But a bit boring: not sure why they released it. 7/10

Last Night on Earth: Here starts a really great trilogy of songs. This just rocks! From a wonderfully muddled start, and an oddball middle ("you might get dizzy") this is U2 in an inventive and exciting mood. This sums up what 'Pop' is about. 9/10

Gone: This could have been taken from any U2 album. It's that good. Live it is better than the album version, but it is still superb. A song about drugs ("I'll be up with the sun... I'm not coming down). Bono's voice is excellent: it has soul This also has another wicked intro. Edge's guitar is BIG. Do try and catch this live on the Boston Elevation DVD too. It brings out the best in the song. I wish they could re-release this stuff in the re-worked format... 10/10

Miami: Odd, very un-U2, but I like it anyway. If you can pick out the melody amongst the skittish beats, it makes a cool tune. Not too sure about the Miami, my mammy bit, but the lyrics are otherwise great! It's very weird, but I'll always take weird over something boring like 'As I Look At the World' (yawn). 8/10

The Playboy Mansion: A really cool sing-a-long kind of tune. Very relaxed. I can see why people don't like this; it's quite post-modern, with pop culture references. But that was the 90s man! I like Edge's easy guitar here too. This is the calm in the storm. Close to being a party song, somehow. 8.5/10

If You Wear That Velvet Dress: Lovely. A really good sexy tune, and an Edge solo that with headphones on is hypnotizing. Probably the only sexy song U2 have ever done, and will ever do. Although Mofo is too, kind of. 9.5/10

Please: A true masterpiece of a song. This version is not as good as the single release, nor the live version. However even this version stands as one of their greatest songs; but live... well, it is absolutely stunning. Listen to this and revel in it. Then see it live on the Popmart Mexico video and be even more amazed! A truly amazing song, not given enough time on the radio. Or anywhere. I guess 'Mysterious Ways' is the same; a great song, but live it is unbelievable. However, whereas 'Ways' is extended, this song is given more layers (drum, strings and more guitar). And they make a difference. Original Version: 10/10. Live: 12/10

Wake Up Dead Man: Beautiful when done accoustically. This version however works as a quite bluesy piece, aiding the song's musings on Jesus. "Too much Jesus" someone said. Well, so what? Bono believes in it, and to hear that in song is pretty cool. 8/10 A cool way to end an album. Better than the alarms on 'Zooropa' anyway!

I really wish U2 could re-release this album and so show the world that this IS great. If they reworked the songs I mentioned that they've improved on live in terms of production, I think people would finally admit that this album ranks as one of their best, far better than the quite boring 'All That You Can't Leave Behind', that people declared a return to form. 'Pop' is just a great album, exploring as Bono said, 'new colours' of sound. And it does. By the way, in terms of comparison: 'If You Look At The World': 5/10

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