U2 - Pop

When you’re riding high, you can do what you want and not care what anyone else thinks about it.  Some might call it confidence, while others would call it hubris.  This is the sound of a band being creative and pushing themselves.  They definitely explored new sounds on this album and I think of Pop as the last U2 album where they really were great. 

It has to be said that this is the album where the old school fans left in droves.  It’s no accident that the follow up to this album (All That You Can’t Leave Behind) returned to a more traditional U2 sound with songs like Beautiful Day on it.  Pop has largely been dismissed by the band as a misstep.  To my mind, this means that it didn’t sell enough copies.  But when has commercial success equalled artistic merit? 

This album is known as the album where U2 went “dance” music.  While there are definitely influences of techno and electronica on tracks like Discotheque and Mofo, it doesn’t describe the whole album.  In fact, they’ve never cast their net so wide.  They are on familiar territory with a song like Please which references the Troubles, Gone features Edge’s guitar sounding like a siren and in another universe If You Wear That Velvet Dress would be a lounge music classic. 

The album isn’t without its flaws.  U2 booked their tour before they finished the album and they’ve re-recorded half the tracks subsequent to its release.  That tells its own story.

But for me, it is the sound of a band that doesn’t care what you think.  This is the last time U2 were fearless.