Debating what U2 era was their best is sort of like debating
\nwhich
\nStar Trek<\/i> series is best. Old U2, new U2, “Next Generation”
\nor “The Original Series”. Both have die hard followings and are
\ninflexible when it comes to their beliefs.<\/p>\n
I guess you could describe me as an “old era” U2 fan.
\nThe Unforgettable Fire<\/i> and
\nThe Joshua Tree<\/i> are still some of my favorite albums. And as
\nmuch as I loved
\nAchtung Baby<\/i>, I looked forward to U2 getting back to making
\na rock album, especially after
\nZooropa<\/i>. The band said in various interviews that
\nZooropa<\/i> was just a detour, and
\nPop<\/i> would be a return to their original sound. Well…after
\nlistening to
\nPop<\/i>, it seems that U2 liked that detour quite a lot – and
\nthe road that they’re on is taking them smack dab into Vegas.<\/p>\n
The throbbing club beats of “Discotheque” will likely piss off
\nhard core fans of their older material. The first time I listened
\nto this track, all I could think about was the hundreds of remixes
\nthat were going to be played in dance clubs. Hate to admit it
\nthough, the song grew on me. And the lyrics could have easily been
\nlifted off of
\nBoy<\/i> or
\nThe Joshua Tree<\/i>. “You can reach\/but you can’t grab it\/you
\ncan’t hold it control it\/you can’t grab it”-…sounds like an
\nextension of “Running To Stand Still” to me.<\/p>\n
The cold, electronic sounds of
\nZooropa<\/i> are abundant in
\nPop<\/i>. “Mofo” uses everything from drum machines, distorted
\nbackground singing and heavy use of keyboards. It’s not the easiest
\nsong to like by U2, and even after a couple of listens, I still
\nthink it’s one of the weaker tracks on the album.<\/p>\n
It isn’t until midway through the album where U2 shows its
\nbrilliance. Coincidently, that’s the time where The Edge begins to
\ndominate over the drum machines and the keyboards. “Last Night On
\nEarth”, “Gone” and “Miami” are some of the best songs to come out
\nof the new U2 era. The Edge shows why he’s still one of the best
\nguitarists out there with a great, wailing intro to “Gone” and a
\nsuperb flirting with feedback on “Miami”. As The Edge begins to
\ndominate, you get the feeling that
\nPop<\/i> belongs more in your car stereo than in a disco.<\/p>\n
Bono hasn’t sounded more desperate than he does in
\nPop<\/i>. While the albums of old had lyrics dealing more with
\ndisillusionment, Bono is flat out begging for redemption in most of
\nthe songs in
\nPop<\/i>. In “Mofo”, he’s “looking for baby Jesus under the
\ntrash”. In “If God Will Send His Angels”, he laments “Then they put
\nJesus in showbusiness\/now it’s hard to get in the door”. Spiritual
\nredemption has always been a muse for Bono but it dominates nearly
\nevery song in
\nPop<\/i>.<\/p>\n
When I first heard
\nThe Joshua Tree<\/i>, I immediately fell in love with it. It was
\nhard not to, the big sounds that Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. and
\nThe Edge presented pretty much grabbed me by the neck. Their newer
\nmaterial doesn’t possess that ability. Even though
\nAchtung Baby<\/i> was a landmark album, it was still an album
\nthat you had to warm up to. Same thing goes with
\nPop<\/i>.<\/p>\n
On a good note, U2 actually take their audience seriously. It
\nmay not appear that way, looking at the cartoonish tour that
\nthey’re currently on, but the band continues to challenge their
\nlisteners to listen to new sounds. While they’re not as innovative
\nas they were on
\nAchtung Baby<\/i>,
\nPop<\/i> is still a good addition to U2’s collection. For old
\nschool fans, I only advise you this…give
\nPop<\/i> a couple of spins. It’ll eventually grow on you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5708],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-35673","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-u2","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35673"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35673"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}