U2 - Pop
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Free Music Notes for Pop
Free Music Review: U2 goes techno, with surprising results.
Hit: 4 Stars
Having received this album second-hand, without previously hearing even a split second of it, or hearing many good things about it, I wasn't sure of what to expect. I love U2's classic material, but am not a big fan of a lot of what they've done recently, so I certainly didn't have high hopes, but surprisingly, this album turns out to be pretty damn good.
Overall, the album has a very techno-influenced feel, and while the band have flirted with such stylings in the past, it wasn't until here that they embraced them full-on. And contrary to whatever bad expectations one may have about this, there's actually a great deal of strong material here. "Discotheque" and "Mofo" (yes, mofo) are solid techno tracks, "Gone", "If God Will Send His Angels", and "Last Night on Earth" are killer ballads with amazing melodies, and "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" boasts a creeping atmosphere that brings the Doors to mind. "Please" is a definite standout, with a very jazzy feel, intermingled with tasteful electronics, and "Wake Up Dead Man" is a nice closer.
The album does have its missteps. "Miami" is a pretty messy and unpleasant attempt at the techno sound, possibly the first of its kind that the band wrote, before they really hit their stride. "Playboy Mansion" features clever lyrics, but a very forgettable melody, and "Do You Feel Loved", while decent, just doesn't seem to stand out among the rest.
While it goes without saying that this isn't what the band does best, this album was a great surprise for me. Certainly not up there with "Achtung Baby" or "The Joshua Tree", but a worthy purchase for sure. If you have any reservations whatsoever about buying this album, I urge you to give it a try. Just take it for what it is, and don't keep your expectations too high, and you just might be surprised.
Free Music Review: U2's last good CD
Hit: 4 Stars
THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE NEXT BIG THING.
Just before this CD came out in 1997, the rock press was debating what was going to be the next big thing in rock music. It was a few years after Kurt Cobain's suicide and Grunge was starting its decline in popularity. The mainstream pop was boy bands, Micky Mouse Club graduates and rap.
At this time, techno or electronica was had a mild following, especially in the club scene, with groups like the Chemical Brothers and Massive Attack. It was predicted by many that techno/electronica was going to be the next big thing.
U2 had not released a CD in 4 years, and were touted as leading the new wave of techno pop, being the first mainstream band to move over to the style. (If it took hold, you know that other British bands, especially the Rolling Stones, were soon to follow).
Well, techno did not take off and "Jangle Rock" became the next big thing. Jangle Rock is the sound of groups like Wildflowers or Toad the Wet Sprocket. It is soft, spineless rock. It has a fuzzy, jangling sound that is usally excentuated by strumming on 12 string guitars. It is really just an evolution from the boy bands. It is the sound of U2's last two CD's.
Pop is U2's foray into techno. Unfortunately, the band did not go all the way. They are about 70% there. I think this would have been a more satisfying CD if they had gone all the way.
This CD sounds much different than anything else U2 has done, although I think you can hear some seeds for it on Zooropa.
The biggest problem is that U2's vision of techno is a muddled sound. To get that techno/electronica feel, at times they take the classic U2 sound and simply distort it. The whole CD has this same sound. So, the songs are not as distinct, and the CD plays as one long piece (which kind of fits the techno mode).
The good thing about this CD is that there are simply a lot of good songs on it. And the group does a very good job of performing the songs. It is just the whole sonic makes everything blend together and nothing seems to stick out.
I think with some better production values this could have been a five star classic for U2. They should have followed the lead of the more successful techno bands and should have brightened the sound, instead of muting it.
I think The Joshua Tree is U2's best album, followed by War. Although it did not get the airplay of New Year's Day and Sunday, Bloody, Sunday, I also thought that side 2 of War was phenonamal. It was what really got me interested in U2. The Unforgettable Fire is viewed as the classic U2 album, but I think that is because it is the one where the world finally discovered the group (with the help of Live Aid). It is a very good CD, but I think at times it is a little to popish, which is why it was so popular.
Free Music Review: U2 Go AWOL !!!
Hit: 2 Stars
For starters, I love U2. They are without doubt the most influential band in the world today. But, not all U2 albums can be classics. This is 'experimental' U2, and some of it works and other bits don't. 'Discoteque', 'Please', 'Staring At the Sun' and 'Gone' are all terrific but the rest meander into meaningless self-indulgent fodder..I have tried to like this album but have given up....For U2 fans only, otherwise get the best tracks on their Best-Of albums...Free Music Review: POP!
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember vividly when I saw for the first time the video of 'Discoteche' and thought: 'What the hell is this? U2?', then I listened this same song and the rest of the album at a party, and inmediately loved it. For the common, U2 is just With or Without You, One and all the bunch of hits. For the real music lover and melomaniac, Pop is like the Holy Grail, just like another reviewer suggested. This album takes U2 to the extreme, where no boundaries exist. Discoteche, Mofo, Gone, Staring at the Sun, Do you feel Loved are fantastic pieces, all the songs in this album shows the musical genius that the band had (except maybe, If God will send its Angels, a standard tune to please the common). Even Miami, which is severely critized by 'professional' critics, is unique in the U2 the catalog of songs.
It is a shame that the band disqualify this album's music as a bad step, when the truth is that it is their last work where U2 showed its greatness, what came after is just competent music that follows a simple selling formula. I guess the band is now only interested in selling themselves to the masses even if they compromise their musicianship and creativity.
I recommend also their Passengers project with Brian Eno, they go even further. I miss that U2 and must say that all my fellow melomaniac friends also do.
Free Music Review: Surprisingly good...
Hit: 4 Stars
I picked up Pop the week it came out. I listened to the album a couple of times, but had really just begun to discover U2 as a band, and therefore balked at the idea of this sounding a bit different than the U2 albums I'd listened to thoroughly at that point: Achtung Baby and Zooropa.
Recently I began listening to the album again, and was surprised to find that I really enjoy it. Now that I've really given the album a close listen, I think it's definitely underrated. "Discotheque" is okay, and "Mofo" really stops this from being a 5 star album, in my opinion, but there are quite a few gems here.
"The Playboy Mansion," "Staring at the Sun" and "Last Night on Earth" are all standouts. This may not be the ideal album for listeners new to U2, but for vets this is definitely a must have.