Best Song Survivor: Pop, Round One

[trevgreg]

Ranking this album:

01. Wake Up Dead Man
02. If You Wear That Velvet Dress
03. Last Night On Earth
04. Gone
05. Do You Feel Loved
06. Discotheque
07. Mofo
08. The Playboy Mansion
09. Staring At The Sun
10. Miami
11. Please
12. If God Will Send His Angels

I think I started a thread about it sometime back. But when I was giving Pop some more listens a few years ago, Wake Up Dead Man grew on me big time for whatever reason. When I first bought the album, I basically just gave it a "meh" response and listened to it only a handful of times afterward. But the track stood out to me much later on and I'd say it's somewhere in my Top 5 here maybe?

 

[The_acrobat]

Velvet Dress for me, although that guitar solo is super beautiful!

I actually like Playboy Mansion, even if the lyrics are very dated now. And as for Miami... I have grown to respect it so much over the years. I appreciate the balls U2 had in releasing that... they would never do that now.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

If God ... and Playboy Mansion are probably the 2 worst songs they ever committed to record as U2.

Red Light, Grace and Yaweh beg to differ

 

[Galeongirl]

I think I started a thread about it sometime back. But when I was giving Pop some more listens a few years ago, Wake Up Dead Man grew on me big time for whatever reason. When I first bought the album, I basically just gave it a "meh" response and listened to it only a handful of times afterward. But the track stood out to me much later on and I'd say it's somewhere in my Top 5 here maybe?

Same here. I never really cared for it, but then I heard some Elevation performance, I gave it another listen and liked it. Then I heard the rumours of U2 rehearsing it for this tour, and listened to it again... now I really like it. :thumbs: It's not my favourite off this record, as there's so many good tracks, but it certainly is a great track.

 

[djerdap]

Do You Feel Loved, Please and Wake Up Dead Man are three of my favourite tracks from this record. I rank most of the other songs basically the same. Except for the weak studio version of Miami and The Playboy Mansion, this album is amazingly consistent.

 

[An Cat Gav]

*storms out of thread*

Sorry Mama, I do lke both songs and on another day I may have voted for Last night.

 

[the tourist]

I loved Wake Up Dead Man from my first listen to it. I love how raw it is compared to the slickness of Pop.

 

[Axver]

Funny you should describe WUDM as raw. It's certainly emotionally raw, but out of every song on Pop, it probably had more go into its mixing and production than any other song, just judging by how much is buried in the mix (including at least a verse of Van Diemen's Land!) and the fact it was the oldest song on the album.

 

[Nick66]

I loved Wake Up Dead Man from my first listen to it. I love how raw it is compared to the slickness of Pop.

Pop...including Wake Up Dead Man...is probably the most over-produced album in U2's catalogue, and that includes NLOTH. Over production was a big part of Pop's problem. It also makes the whole "we didn't have time to finish Pop" thing laughable.

I do agree that WUDM is one of the best songs on that record, however, and I like it also.

 

[LemonMelon]

WUDM is fantastic, one of U2's most raw, emotional tracks.

And yes, it is extremely busy in its production.

 

[mama cass]

Sorry Mama, I do lke both songs and on another day I may have voted for Last night.

hehe just messing! i'm quite happy to keep both songs all for myself!

 

[popacrobat]

all of these songs are awesome.

 

[cobl04]

11. Please

You may now hand in your fan card.

 

[PookaMacP]

11. Please

You may now hand in your fan card.

Agreed. In my books Please is second only to Moment of Surrender in terms of everything they've ever recorded - and then only by a mere whisker.

Velvet Dress for me, although that guitar solo is super beautiful!

Seconded on that solo - an amazing piece of work.

 

[the tourist]

Please, like One, I find to be a bloated, overrated song that doesn't really go anywhere on the studio version. Meh.

 

[No spoken words]

Please is an overrated (at least around here) snoozefest in studio form. IN MY OPINION, THAT IS.

 

[Axver]

Rating Please below Miami and The Playboy Mansion is even crazier than some of my wacky opinions.

 

[djerdap]

Please is fantastic, whether it's the Pop studio version, the single version or the live version (the best of the three).

 

[No spoken words]

.

 

[the tourist]

If it makes you all feel better, I'll cut it out of my cd and send it to you in the mail so you can listen to my copy of Please as well. It's probably pretty lonely since it usually gets skipped. It's like the Isle of Misfit Toys all over again, but in song form!

 

[GopherMacPhisto]

The problem with Please is that it took a LONG time for them to figure out how to play it in concert. It took the first US leg for them to do it. Listen to the instrumental version that is floating around Youtube that was recorded during rehearsals for the 1997 VMAs. It's much better than the album cut.

 

[lemonfly]

Please Live >>> Please Studio >>> Please Single (the single version fucking blows. Those strings in particular...eugh).

 

[dan_smee]

Listening to this album through in preparation for this round actually rammed home to me that this album has a greater level of consistency accross ALL tracks than most U2 albums. I tihnk I like my nomination for first off the boat more in this round than in any other.

 

[trevgreg]

Listening to this album through in preparation for this round actually rammed home to me that this album has a greater level of consistency accross ALL tracks than most U2 albums. I tihnk I like my nomination for first off the boat more in this round than in any other.

I was sort of surprised by that too. Like I said earlier, I listened to The Playboy Mansion and IYWTVD for the first time in a long while, and even they aren't too bad for tracks that I consider to be at the bottom of most of the band's other albums.

 

[BlueSilkenSky]

Pop!

I voted The Playboy Mansion. I think I like it and Wake Up Dead Man the same, least amount. Miami definitely doesn't deserve to be voted off soon... I like it very much.

 

[Axver]

It's funny seeing some people remarking on this album's consistency, because I find it frustratingly uneven. For me, it literally goes skip one track, two tracks of brilliance, skip two tracks, two tracks of brilliance, skip two tracks, one decent track that may or may not be skipped, two tracks of brilliance, end. Listening to Pop always strengthens my relationship with the skip button.

 

[dan_smee]

Yeah, i am pretty much the opposite - I don't think any songs on Pop are in my top 5, but all are very listenable.

 

[Vlaco]

Yeah, i am pretty much the opposite - I don't think any songs on Pop are in my top 5, but all are very listenable.

Same here.

 

[Salome]

Please, like One, I find to be a bloated, overrated song that doesn't really go anywhere on the studio version. Meh.

True.
Still among the top 6 songs on POP though.