U2 - Pop (CD 1997)

The item bought was in fantastic quality, anyone would have thought that it was a brand new cd. It works perfectly and of course being a U2 cd, it is great to listen too! The seller was a pleasure to deal with and I am sure to buy more music and other such goods from them again! x x

Another perfect cd... A classic in ours days... Another cd to all world... Just Perfect... Another cd to remember

This was another album that I purchased recently which was missing from my U2 collection. There was definitely a big change in their style with this album but you could still tell that it was the work of U2. A great album.

U2 has always been a band dedicated not only to making good rock music, but also to say something important about the world we live in. And having said that, this album is probably their most 'political' since 'War'.
Most of the tracks are dealing with superficial materialism, consumption and greed contra spirituality and humanism. Even the design of the CD-cover reflects this by using the same kind of graphic art that Andy Wharol used when he made his pop-art (pop-mart): media 'reality' is actually made of nothing more than 'dots' if we go myopic, but on distance it gives an illusion of reality. There are also a lot of religious references to Jesus, Mother (Mary) and Father (God) in the lyrics.
The music starts with the track 'Discoteque' which is maybe an attempt to make a hit for the dance floor and at the same time beeing ironic about vulgarism. Track #3 'Mofo' is also made for the dancefloor, but more for the techno/dance-scene. Very strong lyrics on this one. Traditional U2 is served in #4'If God will send his angels' and even on further tracks until we get to #8 Miami. Here we are in a world of vulgar overconsumption again, not unlike in Las Vegas and 'The playboy mansion'#9 is about the same.
The best tracks are #11 'Please': a desperate song about keeping the faith in life (great guitarplay by the Edge)#3 'Mofo' and #7 'Gone' (very typcal U2).

All in all you get both new and old U2 on this CD. They try to develop and change their music expression, but at the same time keeping a lot of the U2 sound we are so familiar with. Most of the tracks on this CD are quality stuff, but compared to other U2 albums, 'Pop' is not their absolute best. Since U2 has always been delivering really great productions each time (I'm a big fan myself) it's important to make the right comparison.

They have also changed studio crew. No Daniel Lanois and no Brain Eno or Steve Lillywhite. Flood is in control of course, but in addition Howie B is engaged with the obvious intention of more emphasis on new impulses from rap and rhythm music. Some people have blamed the less positive reception of this record on this fact, but I think that's unfair. This record is absolutely a very good production, not as good as 'Achtung baby' but better than 'Zooropa'

Get this one before you pull your hair out trying to find a Brilliant classic.some really great hits here a must.

Put it on full blast and see how many people ask to borrow it from you.

No matter which way you look at it, this album doesn't have the same shock of the new that "Achtung Baby" delivered on first listen. Less experimental and more song-oriented than "Zooropa", "Pop" attempts to sell the glitzy rush of techno to an audience weaned on arena rock - including the band themselves.

While they never sound like they don't believe in what they're doing, they still remove most of the radical elements of electronic dance, which is evident to anyone with just a passing knowledge of the Chemical Brothers and Underworld. To a new listener, "Pop" has flashes of surprise — particularly on the rampaging "Mofo" — but underneath the surface, U2 rely on anthemic rockers and ballads. "Discotheque" might be a little clumsy, but "Staring at the Sun" shimmers with synthesizers borrowed from Massive Attack and a Noel Gallagher chorus. Similarly, "Do You Feel Loved" and "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" fuse old-fashioned U2 dynamism with a keen sense of the cool eroticism that makes trip-hop so alluring. Problems arise when the group tries to go for conventional rock songs, some of which are symptomatic of the return of U2's crusade for salvation. "Pop" is inflected with the desire for a higher power to save the world from its jaded spiral of decay and immorality, which is why the group's embrace of dance music never seems joyous — instead of providing an intoxicating rush of gloss and glamour, it functions as a backdrop for a plea of salvation.

This album just like all of U2 albums..... it is excellent, their ability to change with the times and still produce the kind of music that apeals to both their new fans as well as the older ones is the reason that they are still one of the best bands in the world.