Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Monday December 27

Even for a hardcore fan like myself, Pop was kind of a low point for U2 – at least the general style and aura of the band was pretty played out at that point, anyway. They had grown too big and bold for a bit too long, starting with Zooropa four years earlier.

Now that we’ve proceeded a bit from that time, I can appreciate some of the really great songs on this album that got lost in all the glitz and swagger of the moment. If God Will Send His Angels, Staring At The Sun, Last Night On Earth, and Please are all songs I enjoy very much and feel sorry that they’re on such a low-performing album. Miami and The Playboy Mansion are interesting songs musically, and maybe even metaphorically, but the individual lyrics are cringe worthy in spots.

I was really glad when they blew things wide open again when three years later All That You Can’t Leave Behind came out. U2, the band with something real to say, was finally back.