| Pop | |||||
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| Studio album by U2 | |||||
| Released | 3 March 1997 | ||||
| Recorded | Hanover Quay Studios, Windmill Lane Studios, The Works, Dublin, Ireland, South Beach Studios, Miami, Florida, 1996 | ||||
| Genre | Rock, alternative, experimental | ||||
| Length | 60:08 | ||||
| Label | Island | ||||
| Producer | Flood, Howie B, Steve Osborne | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| U2 chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Pop | |||||
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Pop is the ninth studio album by Irish rock band U2, released in March 1997. It is notable for combining elements of popular nineties techno with traditional U2 alternative guitar rock. Although an early commercial success at the time of its release — it reached number one in 32 countries, including the UK and the US — its lifetime sales are among the lowest in U2's catalogue and it was only certified RIAA platinum once, the first time since the band's album October. Critical reaction was mixed at the time of its release, but it has come to be regarded as one of the band's most experimental and innovative albums.
Contents |
History and composition
For Pop, U2 continued the sonic experimentation it explored with Achtung Baby and Zooropa. Pop prominently features tape loops, programming, rhythm sequencing, and sampling, along with heavy, funky dance rhythms.[1] Guitarist The Edge described the album as "about as far away from U2 as it is possible to be". [2] The album is much more dark and experimental than, as the title would imply, light and mainstream. Commencing in early 1996, the recording of the album was fraught with difficulty, one of the main problems being the time constraint placed upon them by their impending PopMart Tour. The album was originally scheduled to be released in November 1996, but did not end up hitting shelves until March 1997. This significantly cut into the band's rehearsal time for the upcoming tour that they had scheduled in advance, which impacted the quality of the band's initial performances on tour.[3] The band has admitted they were hurried into completing the album and say that a number of tracks on the album were not finished as well as they would have liked. The vocals to "Last Night on Earth", for example, were reportedly recorded at the mixing desk the day the album was to be sent for pressing. Upon its release, the album debuted at #1 in 35 countries, and drew mainly positive reviews;[4] Rolling Stone stated that U2 had "defied the odds and made some of the greatest music of their lives."[5] Others, particularly American fans, felt that the album was a major disappointment, and it was commercially disappointing by U2 standards. Following the PopMart Tour, the band expressed their dissatisfaction with the final product. Between the album's various singles and the band's The Best of 1990–2000 compilation (and disregarding dance remixes and the like), the band has re-recorded, remixed, and rearranged "Discothèque", "If God Will Send His Angels", "Staring at the Sun", "Last Night on Earth", "Gone", and "Please". Pop has some of the band's most jaded and desolate lyrics, such as the political "Please" and the haunting "Wake Up Dead Man". Bono has described the album as starting at a party and ending at a funeral, and indeed, the mood gets very bleak after the first couple of songs. Every song has its own unique noises and nuances, like the watery guitar of "Staring at the Sun", the siren wailing of "Gone", or the gritty drumtrack of "Miami". Despite its rough production, it is an immensely textured record sonically. It spans various styles as well, such as the beat-driven trance of "Do You Feel Loved", the techno of "Mofo", and the loungy balladeering of "If You Wear That Velvet Dress". The band took a considerably more conservative, stripped down approach with Pop's follow-up, All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000), along with the Elevation Tour that supported it, and the few songs from Pop that did sometimes end up in Elevation setlists ("Discothèque", "Gone", "Please", "Staring at the Sun", and "Wake Up Dead Man") were presented in relatively bare-bones versions. On the more recent Vertigo Tour, songs from Pop were even more rarely played; "Discothèque" was played twice at the beginning of the third leg, and Bono also occasionally sang snippets of "Please" during "Bullet the Blue Sky". In 2005, Q magazine included the song "Miami" in a list of "Ten Terrible Records by Great Artists".
Track listing
Music by U2, words by Bono and The Edge.
- "Discothèque" – 5:19
- "Do You Feel Loved" – 5:07
- "Mofo" – 5:46
- "If God Will Send His Angels" – 5:22
- "Staring at the Sun" – 4:36
- "Last Night on Earth" – 4:45
- "Gone" – 4:26
- "Miami" – 4:52
- "The Playboy Mansion" – 4:40
- "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" – 5:14
- "Please" – 5:10
- "Wake Up Dead Man" – 4:52
The Japanese edition includes "Holy Joe" (Guilty mix) 5:08, a B-side to the "Discothèque" single, as a bonus track. The Malaysian edition has a censored version of "Wake Up Dead Man", omitting the word "fucked (up)" from the song, a rare instance of the band using profanity in its music.
Chart positions and sales
| Country | Peak position | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | Platinum [6] | 70,000+ |
| Austria | 1 | Platinum [7] | 30,000+ |
| Brazil | Gold | 50,000+ | |
| Canada | 3x Platinum [8] | 300,000+ | |
| Finland | 1 | Gold [9] | 32,952+ |
| France | 1 | Platinum [10] | 300,000+ |
| Germany | Gold [11] | 100,000+ | |
| Netherlands | Gold [12] | 40,000+ | |
| Norway | 1 | Platinum | 40,000+ |
| Poland | Gold [13] | 20,000+ | |
| Switzerland | 1 | Platinum [14] | 50,000+ |
| United Kingdom | Platinum [15] | 300,000+ | |
| United States | 1 | Platinum | 1,000,000+ |
Singles
"Discothèque", "Staring at the Sun", "Last Night on Earth", "Please", "If God Will Send His Angels", and "Mofo" were released as singles internationally (the most singles the band has ever released from a single album). The album's first single, "Discothèque", was a huge dance and airplay success in the U.S. and UK. It also reached number one in the singles charts of most of European countries including the United Kingdom, where it was their third number one single after 1988's "Desire" and 1991's "The Fly". In the United States, "Discothèque" is notable for being U2's only single since 1991 to crack the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. However, it did not spend very long on the chart, as its dance elements limited its appeal. Follow-up singles "Staring at the Sun" and "If God Will Send His Angels" both became moderate airplay successes in the U.S. The Please: Popheart Live EP, featuring four live tracks from the PopMart Tour, was also released in most regions. In the United States, the four live tracks were instead released on the "Please" single, along with the single version of "Please," itself.
Personnel
- Bono – lead vocals, additional guitar
- The Edge – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
- Adam Clayton – bass guitar
- Larry Mullen, Jr. – drums, percussion, programming
- Flood – production, keyboards
- Steve Osborne – production, keyboards
- Ben Hillier – programming
- Howie B – production, decks, keyboards
- Marius De Vries – keyboards
See also
References
- ^ Graham, Bill; van Oosten de Boer (2004). U2: The Complete Guide to their Music. London: Omnibus Press, 63-64. ISBN 0-7119-9886-8.
- ^ http://www.threechordsandthetruth.net/u2bios/
- ^ U2 Set to Re-Record Pop. contactmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
- ^ (U2 have) relaxed sufficiently to allow a certain funk into their music.... NME. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.; U2 have not reinvented themselves so much as rediscovered themselves.... Sunday Times (UK). Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
- ^ (March 1997) "Rolling Stone Pop Review". Rolling Stone (756).
- ^ ARIA
- ^ IFPI Austria
- ^ CRIA
- ^ IFPI Finland
- ^ Disque En France
- ^ IFPI Germany
- ^ NVPI
- ^ ZPAV
- ^ IFPI Switzerland
- ^ BPI
External links
- Pop at U2 Wanderer, comprehensive details on various editions, cover scans, lyrics, and more
- Lyrics
- Fan interpretations and interview excerpts for each song
