U2

Pop

This album is better than you think - just give it time!

Review Score:

(8/10)
POP got either a bad rap or mediocre reviews, and the POPMART tour didn't do well - at least compared to the ZOO TV tour - BUT SO WHAT! I saw the POPMART tour at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX in November 1997, and that was the best concert I have ever seen (by the way, I was in the Army doing my medical training, and I waited 9 months and stayed out past curfew that night to see them in concert, so you can imagine how psyched I was to see them live!)
As for POP, that whole CD was my soundtrack to 1997, because I joined the Army and I want through basic training and my job training, and about my only motivation aside from wanting to pass was to see U2. "Discotheque", "Staring At The Sun", "Gone" and "Mofo" were songs that stayed in my head the whole year, especially when I was running in formation or doing some training, and by the end of 1997, the songs really resonated with me. As for the music itself, I like the experiments U2 did, and despite fans groaning, techno beats and blips really did fit with the band's anthemic rock, if not provided a unique springboard for it. If nothing else, U2 were having some fun, and you can't fault them for that. The other side of the 'fun' element was some of the 'darker' songs such as "If God Will Send His Angels", "Please" and "Wake up Dead Man", possibly the spookiest song U2 has ever done. As good as they were, I think U2 missed the uplift in their songs. And as much fun as they had playing with electronica and irony, they missed good old fashioned down-and-dirty rock and roll. But don't diss this album - it may not be a classic like THE JOSHUA TREE or ACHTUNG BABY, but it's a very good album nonetheless.

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