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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: Stéphane 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.
Completely misunderstood gem of an album U2 are an amazing paradox, unabashedly commercial and yet totally daring and original. No wonder some reviewers just do not get it.
Really do not care for Bono's politics or preaching, I do however admire his great talent. Submitted by faust8577 (Lorraine, Que. Canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
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? YesNo
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? YesNo
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? YesNo
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? YesNo
Completely misunderstood gem of an album
3-hop romance
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