| | U2 Pop CD U2 Discography of CDs
 (10 Customer Reviews)
Like much pop music in the mid-1990s, POP is cobbled together out of buzzy synthesizers and reverberant keyboards, techno drum loops and funky live drums, guitars distorted into clouds of metal, vocals you sometimes have to work to hear, and songs that seek God and sex and other important stuff in the world's trash heaps. And it's obsessed, more than anything else, with pop itself. At its most frisky, as on the dance-club single "Discotheque," POP sounds like Oasis backed by the Chemical Brothers (see that combo's recent single "Setting Sun" for comparison). Drop the club beat and add a bright acoustic guitar, as on "Staring At The Sun," and POP sounds like, well, Oasis.
This is the kind of future-pop U2 introduced on its watershed 1991 album ACHTUNG, BABY, and POP completes a sort of trilogy. Whereas 1993's ZOOROPA played up the "art" side of this experiment, POP, which finds art-rock influence Brian Eno gone from the producer's seat and techno wiz kid Howie B. taking up some of his space, plays up the pop side. It's the most playful album U2 has ever made, with grooves made for dancing, not thinking, and melodies that explode in your face like bubblegum. Lyrically, U2 is still looking for what it hasn't found, in such places as nouveau-riche "Miami" and the celebrity trash receptacle that is "The Playboy Mansion." Musically, though, U2 seems to have found it, in the simple, ecstatic click of a dance beat.
POP was nominated for a 1998 Grammy for Best Rock Album.
Recorded at South Beach Studios, Miami, Florida; Hanover, Windmill Lane Recording Studios and The Works, Dublin, Ireland.
Engineers: Mark "Spike" Stent, Howie B., Alan Moulder.
Personnel: The Edge (vocals, guitar, organ, keyboards); Bono (vocals, guitar); Howie B (keyboards, turntables); Flood, Marius de Vries, Steve Osborne (keyboards); Adam Clayton (bass guitar); Larry Mullen, Jr. (percussion, programming, loops); Des Broadbery, Ben Hillier (programming).
Audio Mixers: Flood; Howie B; Mark "Spike" Stent; Steve Osborne.
Recording information: South Beach Studios, Miami, FL; Works, Dublin, Ireland.
Photographers: Stephane Sednaoui; Anja Grabert; Nellee Hooper; Anton Corbijn.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Howie B; Larry Mullen, Jr.
U2: The Edge (vocals, guitar, organ, keyboards); Bono (vocals, guitar); Adam Clayton (bass); Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums, percussion, programming).
Additional personnel: Steve Osborne, Howie B., Flood, Marius De Vries (keyboards); Ben Hillier (programming).
Valley
Rolling Stone (3/20/97, pp.81-83) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...a record whose rhythms, textures and visceral guitar mayhem make for a thrilling roller-coaster ride, one whose sheer inventiveness is plainly bolstered by the heavy involvement of techno/trip-hop wizard Howie B..."
Spin (4/97, p.153) - 9 (out of 10) - "...No, U2 haven't crafted a garden of hooks....Rather, they've turned a slightly cold eye to an uncertain, end-of-the-century moment, when dueling genres often can't pronounce each other's names, everyone dances to techno-inspired stuff by night, and no one remembers what constitutes a pop hit..."
Entertainment Weekly (3/7/97, pp.62-64) - "...Despite its glittery launch, the album is neither trashy nor kitschy, nor is it junky-fun dance music. It incorporates bits of the new technology--a high-pitched siren squeal here, a sound-collage splatter there--but it is still very much a U2 album..."
- Rating: B
Q (1/98, p.115) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #31 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Pop Music | List Price | $13.92 (You save $3.53) | | Category | Rock Albums, Rock/Pop CDs, Alternative | | Label | Island | | Orig Year | 1997 | | All Time Sales Rank |  731  | | CD Universe Part number | 1231536 | | Catalog number | 524334 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Mar 04, 1997 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | Flood; Howie B.; Steve Osborne | | Personnel | Bono - vocals, guitar
Edge - vocals, guitar, organ, keyboards
Larry Mullen Jr. - drums, percussion, programming
Adam Clayton - bass
Also: Miami, Dublin, Florida, Marius De Vries, Flood, Steve Osborne, Howie B., Ben Hillier, Mark "Spike" Stent, Hanover, Des Broadbery, Alan Moulder.
Recorded at South Beach Studios, Windmill Lane Recording Studios and The Works |
Pop Music Review Average Rating: (4.2 out of 5 stars)   List All Reviews The murkiness may have been laid on a bit too thick.....
U2 made each of their records unique and full of new experiments and musical ideas, and POP takes that to a predictable extreme on an album that is simultaneously overrated and underrated. The opener "Discotheque" is by far one of the most surreal and elliptical all-out rockers you may ever hear, along with its keyboard-laden sisters "Do You Feel Loved" and "Mofo". POP really shines when the production tones down the volume for the soft songs, like the near-begging "If God Would Send His Angels" and the murky, hazy "Staring At The Sun". "The Playboy Mansion" is a decent stab at materialism, while "Gone" and "Last Night On Earth" take archetypical rock songs and trip them way, way out. However, the more you listen to the album, the more you feel like you're hearing the same old thing over and over and over again. The songs by themselves shine like diamonds, but when grouped together like this, they simply can't breathe like a real honest-to-goodness album. This is definitely an album for DJs and strong fans of their music, but it just might be worthwhile enough to get this album just for the few moments where it shines the greatest.
Submitted by Galen (Anchorage, AK, USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  Unappreciated
This album simply has 12 good songs. Some even great.Popmart was awesome to.
Submitted by dlewis (Clemson, SC, USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
I can't believe peoples lack of understanding...
This is definetly one of U2's most comelling and unique pieces of work. It is different, and its clear thats why some people aren't happy with it.But it is also absoulutley brilliant! The electronic beats and distorted guitars make it a much more sinister piece of work. The only way to describe there vibe is just simply cool. There flashy, there sexy, and this album isn't only one you can dance to, but one you can rock to as well. The explosive sound blows you away!
Submitted by Hal (Manhatten, NY, USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  maybe the worst U2 ever?
This band has become boring. The guitar is very boring and the songwriting is lacking, electronica does not belong in rock music!
Submitted by Bob (Buffalo ny)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
 3-hop romance
U2 wants to be everywhere. 'Pop' is something else then U2 used to be. It is good move because old dog does not eat its own tail. There is also other truth about this album - U2 feel not save on the new field and it is obvious. 'Pop' is an effort worthy for icecold funs, not for accidential listeners.
Submitted by Kit (Denmark)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
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Purchase Pop CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | U2 Achtung Baby CD (1991)
Pop
 $10.45   
In 1991, U2 shocked the pop-music world with ACHTUNG BABY, a striking departure from the Irish band's beloved '80s arena-rock sound. Here the group careens into sonically adventurous territory, reveling in distorted guitars, drum loops, and layers of synthesizers.
The stunning opening track, "Zoo Station," kicks in with fierce, fuzzed-out guitar and a clanging industrial beat, Bono's distinctive voice the only tell-tale sign that this is indeed a U2 album. From here, ACHTUNG BABY deftly maneuvers between giddy electro-pop (the shimmering "Even Better Than the Real Thing," the funky "Mysterious Ways"), bold techno-tinged rock (the majestic punch of "Until the End of the World," the seductive squall of "The Fly"), and contemplative ballads (the heartbreakingly beautiful "One," the haunting closer "Love Is Blindness"). Throughout it all, the quartet plays to the peak of its abilities, aided by the atmospheric, top-notch production of Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. This is the record where ...
| | U2 Zooropa CD (1993)
Pop
$10.45
ZOOROPA won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
The bright, digital-looking album artwork alone hints at U2's intentions on ZOOROPA--to take the group's electronica-laced approach on ACHTUNG BABY to the next level. While ambient-music pioneer Brian Eno had a strong presence on the former album, here he's practically a fifth member, contributing synthesizers and keyboards to most of the disc's 10 tracks.
Fans looking for vestiges of the old, JOSHUA TREE-era U2 are essentially left empty-handed, though the gorgeously spare and melancholy "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" does touch on their earnest earlier sound. ZOOROPA truly gets going with the fascinatingly droning "Numb," which features the Edge on lead vocals and stands as the most adventurous single that the Irish quartet has ever released. From here the album hits a stride, careening through the giddy Euro-disco of "Lemon," the aforementioned "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)," the heavily percussive "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your ...
| | U2 Unforgettable Fire CD (1984)
Pop
$9.35
With a title inspired by an exhibition of paintings by Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, ...
| | U2 Joshua Tree CD (1987)
Pop
$12.35 
THE JOSHUA TREE won the 1987 Grammy award for album of the year.
Few bands are as ready for superstardom as U2 circa 1986. After chart successes with WAR and THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE and a high profile appearance at Live Aid, the Irish quartet holed up at a Dublin studio with engineers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and crafted the definitive sound of late '80s mainstream rock. Deftly marrying WAR's edgy bombast, THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE's impressionism, Eno's ambient flourishes, and the band's newfound interest in American roots music, THE JOSHUA TREE is U2's crowning moment, a perfect nexus of the band's expansive muse and the popular zeitgeist. It consistently ranks in the higher reaches of critics' lists of the greatest albums of all time.
Thanks to both Eno's georgeous production and a stellar set of songs, the album has aged stunningly. The first three tracks--the rousing "Where the Streets Have No Name," the gospel-inflected "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and the tortured, echo-drenched ballad "With or Without ...
| | U2 Rattle & Hum CD (1988)
Pop
$10.39
Recorded live during the Joshua Tree Tour in the U.S. and Europe in 1987.
The aural companion to the band documentary of the same name, RATTLE AND HUM is where U2's began to tire of being the anthem-making rock heroes they had become in the '80s. That's not to say the songs didn't approach serious subject matter, but there was more musical and lyrical diversity than on albums past. They repeatedly play with the rock & roll myth throughout RATTLE AND HUM, covering the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" and Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," casting aspersions on "the golden age of pop" on "God Part II" and busting out their own blistering version of the Bo Diddley beat on the irresistible "Desire."
The band began to explore American roots music as well. "Angel of Harlem," a tune about Billie Holiday, was recorded in Memphis' famed Sun Studios. Bono makes his first official Gospel foray on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The lads from Dublin even collaborate with B.B. King on "When Love Comes To Town." RATTLE & HUM is wonderfully schizophrenic, full of passion and ...
| | Mad Caddies Live From Toronto: Songs In The Key Of Eh CD (2004)
Pop
$6.69
A grand gala of a show from one of America's most exciting and innovative bands, all captured to perfection on CD. As its highly unlikely the Caddies will be performing in your living room, what more could you possibly ask for? ~ Jo-Ann Greene
Continuing the Fat Wreck Chords label's fine tradition of bringing fans their best bands live, this sizzling set was recorded on St. Patrick's Day, 2004 at the Opera House in Toronto, Canada, before a ...
| | Los Nocheros Vivo CD (2005)
Pop
$8.59
| | Gone Dead Train: The Best Of Crazy Horse 1971-1989 CD (2005)
Pop
$17.75
While Crazy Horse have often been praised as one of America's great rock & roll bands, that's usually when they've been working in collaboration with fan, friend, and frequent patron Neil Young. On their own, Crazy Horse have recorded a handful of worthwhile albums, but they've never connected with audiences the same way they have when working with Young. Of course, it doesn't help that the band has never had a consistent frontman, guitarist, or songwriter of their own, with bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina the only musicians to play on every Crazy Horse album. (Original guitarist Danny Whitten died of a drug overdose in 1972, while Frank "Poncho" Sampedro has often drifted out of the group, usually to work with Young.) Crazy Horse's career has followed a strange and crooked path, but they've also made some fine music along the way, and Gone Dead Train is a compilation which attempts to make sense of the band's checkered recording history outside of their work with Neil Young (though his unmistakable guitar tone is apparent on several tracks here). Gone Dead Train features material from four of Crazy Horse's five albums (the band's wildly disappointing second album, Loose, has thankfully been ignored), and while each record has a distinct personality of its own, the sequence gives the material an admirable flow, from the gutbucket country-rock stomp of their self-titled 1971 debut to the "Neil Young without Neil Young" fury of 1989's Left for Dead. The disc also includes two cuts from the first and only album (released in 1968) by the Rockets, which featured Talbot, Molina, and Whitten before they formed Crazy Horse (and the woozy "Pills Blues" sounds like an uncomfortable foreshadowing of the drug problems that would take Whitten's life four years later). Gone Dead Train shows that Crazy Horse don't have to have Neil Young around to make great rock & roll records, and makes you wish they'd head into the studio on their own a bit more often. ~ Mark Deming
For the first time in any format, Raven presents the Best Of the best garage band in the world: the incomparable ...
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| | Lifehouse Who We Are CD (2007) (Import) Bonus Tracks; Australia
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