namkcuR
ONE love, blood, life
Ok, so I took the title from the AB thread 
It's perhaps the most misunderstood record in the U2 catalog, and it can be a bit difficult to get into, but once you do get into it....OH MY GOD. It is a massive, dense, druglike record, and althought it perhaps wasn't completely 'finished', if you put in the single mixes of If God, Last Night, and Please, the record seems plenty finished(the new mixes are a different story...I'll get there later), and is quite simply a top candidate for Best U2 Record.
Discotheque - Despite what people say, I think this is a great opener. The riff is killer(I think better than Vertigo's), and the second part of the chorus(lookin' for the one etc) along with the instrumental bridge are brilliant, and it's impossible not to sing along with the verses.
Do You Feel Loved - The lyrics are dirty, somewhat erotic, and topped with a tinge of cynisism. The riffs are a bit distorted but totally delectable. Bono vocal delivery makes the lyrics hit their mark, and his partially-falsetto 'Do You Feel Loved's at the end are haunting.
Mofo - Some hear noise, some hear sheer brilliance. Although Bono admits taking a few lines of lyrics from other poets, he has mixed them with his own to make a profoundly introspective confessional in the most unlikely of soundscapes - a brilliant one of techno beats, thumping-with-andrenaline basslines, and shrieking guitars - for such a song.
If God Will Send His Angels(Single) - Some describe this song as 'coming down' after the high of Mofo. I just think of it as an absolutely brilliant Pop song. I listen to the single version because I think the buildup is better, and the vocal outro is to die for. Giving up the album version's instrumental outro is simply a compromise. I love everything about this song. The lyrics(god's got his phone of the hook babe/would he even pick up if he could, and the cartoon network turns into the news, where do we go, etc), the vocal performance, the minimalist yet totally effective guitar, the minimalist yet totally effective bassline, all of it. I love it.
Staring At The Sun - Another killer electric guitar riff, great political lyrics with a bite, one of the catchiest choruses on the record. This song deserved to be a more bonofied and recognized U2 radio/live classic alongside Still Haven't Found, Mysterious Ways, etc. The new mix has Edge's backing vocals and a really quite drool-inducing organ in back of the second verse, but I can't give up the riff unless it's for the live acoustic versions.
Last Night On Earth(Single) - Probably the closest thing to a straight-ahead rocker on the record, and a great one at that. The lyrics are simple yet ambigious, the story of woman who is bent on destroying herself. I love Bono and Edge's dual vocals in the chorus - as usual they compliment each other well - the chorus is killer live. The bridge is great in either version of the song, though in the end I think I prefer the single version's bridge because it's more dynamic.
Gone - The one song most us can agree on. It is brilliant. Stands alongside Mofo and Acrobat as one of the most introspective songs Bono has ever penned. I prefer the original mix to the new mix. The new mix has Edge's 'down's from the live versions, and that is a tough thing to turn down, but the new mix also robbed the song of the sirens - the chilling, haunting sirens - and replaced them with more traditional guitars and more upfront keyboard. Edge's hauntingly beautiful backing harmonic vocals about 2/3 of the way in are barely audible in the new mix. Bono has said that a spirit was in the room with him(or something like that) when he layed down the vocal for the original mix, and it certainly sounds like it. That vocal performance mixed with the nonstop sirens(quite possibly the fucking greatest sound ever recorded) combined with great, great lyrics make this song a bonafide classic(although I think most of the songs on this record are classics).
Miami - Much maligned. This song is all atmosphere, ALL ambiance. Stop looking for hooks and stop looking for catchiness. Just drown in Edge's guitar, alternating between a monster riff and minimalist ambiatic tones after the chorus and at points, during the verses. Embrace the 'duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh's after the chorus. Hell, that's catchy right there. It's just not sugar-coated. Love it.
The Playboy Mansion - I think this is basically U2/Bono's take on celebrity from a certain angle - that's what 90s U2 as about to a large extent, right? Being aware of their own celebrity and what it means? There are some GREAT melodies in this song. The middle 8 - I don't know if I can hold on - and the outro - then will there be no time for sorrow, then will there be no time for shame - come to mind. It's a well-written and underrated song that can be this catchy without having a lyrically constant chorus. The lyrics in the chorus change after every verse and this prevents the song from getting too repetative, and allows the attention to fall easily on the melodies instead of waiting for a big chorus. This is a beautiful song, and it segues brilliantly into what's next.
If You Wear That Velvet Dress - Sexy. That's the word that comes to mind. This is possibly the most subtle, understated vocal performance Bono has ever put on record. There is one hook that is repeated only a few times, used very sparsely in the song, and Bono's quit singing rises soulfully to create that hook in the few times it comes about. Edge is as much a star as Bono here. His almost echo-like backing vocal in the chorus is chilling, and his solo, which is pretty much the middle 8, is hauntingly gorgeous and adds volumes to the atmosphere and ambiance of the song. It takes a special band that can produce both a song like this and a song like SATS on the same record.
Please(Single) - One of the top 5 U2 songs ever. I go back and forth with the album and single versions but in the end it just has to be the single version. The whole song builds up that solo and as such, the solo kicks it into another gear. The use of minimalistic instrumentation(until the solo at least) is so good - from the bassline to the few guitar notes in the chorus to the steady, firm but oddly subtle beat throughout the song - that it perplexes me why they wouldn't keep exploring that route of making music. The lyrics are brilliant. They took a simple 'you never' structure and used it to its absolute max potential. The 'love is big/bigger than us/but love is not/what you're thinking of' line could be the basis of a doctoral thesis. And yes, the middle 8 lyrics are eeirly prophetic of 9/11 even though they were written about something else - most likely political troubles in Ireland. Any way you slice it, a truely brilliant rock song, which is also basis for some U2's best ever live performances.
Wake Up Dead Man - Bono does such a freakishly good job of portraying hopelessness and despair with his voice in this song. The lyrics are biting, and probably not appreciated by certain people since it's basically painting pictures of situations and saying 'If Jesus exists, why is this shit happening?'. But I think they are tremendous. This is a haunting, and at times, cold, song. I'm still waiting for a full-band live rendition.
There you have it. This record is a WORK OF ART and is an accurate display of what U2 are capable of - which is to create world with the music on a record and describe that world you're hearing - the one they created - through the lyrics. They've done that with many of their records. AB was a world of failed relationships. JT was a world of hope in the face of not yet finding what you're looking for. War was a wartorn world full of people in despair. Boy was a world that was wide open in the naive eyes of a child. And Pop is a world of lost faith and bitterness. That's what the record is about. Despite that dark description, the record is still colorful, the images it puts in your head use all the colors in the rainbow and then some. The ability to to both - portray lost faith while using all those colors - is what makes this record so special to me. This is all my opinion of course.
It's perhaps the most misunderstood record in the U2 catalog, and it can be a bit difficult to get into, but once you do get into it....OH MY GOD. It is a massive, dense, druglike record, and althought it perhaps wasn't completely 'finished', if you put in the single mixes of If God, Last Night, and Please, the record seems plenty finished(the new mixes are a different story...I'll get there later), and is quite simply a top candidate for Best U2 Record.Discotheque - Despite what people say, I think this is a great opener. The riff is killer(I think better than Vertigo's), and the second part of the chorus(lookin' for the one etc) along with the instrumental bridge are brilliant, and it's impossible not to sing along with the verses.
Do You Feel Loved - The lyrics are dirty, somewhat erotic, and topped with a tinge of cynisism. The riffs are a bit distorted but totally delectable. Bono vocal delivery makes the lyrics hit their mark, and his partially-falsetto 'Do You Feel Loved's at the end are haunting.
Mofo - Some hear noise, some hear sheer brilliance. Although Bono admits taking a few lines of lyrics from other poets, he has mixed them with his own to make a profoundly introspective confessional in the most unlikely of soundscapes - a brilliant one of techno beats, thumping-with-andrenaline basslines, and shrieking guitars - for such a song.
If God Will Send His Angels(Single) - Some describe this song as 'coming down' after the high of Mofo. I just think of it as an absolutely brilliant Pop song. I listen to the single version because I think the buildup is better, and the vocal outro is to die for. Giving up the album version's instrumental outro is simply a compromise. I love everything about this song. The lyrics(god's got his phone of the hook babe/would he even pick up if he could, and the cartoon network turns into the news, where do we go, etc), the vocal performance, the minimalist yet totally effective guitar, the minimalist yet totally effective bassline, all of it. I love it.
Staring At The Sun - Another killer electric guitar riff, great political lyrics with a bite, one of the catchiest choruses on the record. This song deserved to be a more bonofied and recognized U2 radio/live classic alongside Still Haven't Found, Mysterious Ways, etc. The new mix has Edge's backing vocals and a really quite drool-inducing organ in back of the second verse, but I can't give up the riff unless it's for the live acoustic versions.
Last Night On Earth(Single) - Probably the closest thing to a straight-ahead rocker on the record, and a great one at that. The lyrics are simple yet ambigious, the story of woman who is bent on destroying herself. I love Bono and Edge's dual vocals in the chorus - as usual they compliment each other well - the chorus is killer live. The bridge is great in either version of the song, though in the end I think I prefer the single version's bridge because it's more dynamic.
Gone - The one song most us can agree on. It is brilliant. Stands alongside Mofo and Acrobat as one of the most introspective songs Bono has ever penned. I prefer the original mix to the new mix. The new mix has Edge's 'down's from the live versions, and that is a tough thing to turn down, but the new mix also robbed the song of the sirens - the chilling, haunting sirens - and replaced them with more traditional guitars and more upfront keyboard. Edge's hauntingly beautiful backing harmonic vocals about 2/3 of the way in are barely audible in the new mix. Bono has said that a spirit was in the room with him(or something like that) when he layed down the vocal for the original mix, and it certainly sounds like it. That vocal performance mixed with the nonstop sirens(quite possibly the fucking greatest sound ever recorded) combined with great, great lyrics make this song a bonafide classic(although I think most of the songs on this record are classics).
Miami - Much maligned. This song is all atmosphere, ALL ambiance. Stop looking for hooks and stop looking for catchiness. Just drown in Edge's guitar, alternating between a monster riff and minimalist ambiatic tones after the chorus and at points, during the verses. Embrace the 'duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh's after the chorus. Hell, that's catchy right there. It's just not sugar-coated. Love it.
The Playboy Mansion - I think this is basically U2/Bono's take on celebrity from a certain angle - that's what 90s U2 as about to a large extent, right? Being aware of their own celebrity and what it means? There are some GREAT melodies in this song. The middle 8 - I don't know if I can hold on - and the outro - then will there be no time for sorrow, then will there be no time for shame - come to mind. It's a well-written and underrated song that can be this catchy without having a lyrically constant chorus. The lyrics in the chorus change after every verse and this prevents the song from getting too repetative, and allows the attention to fall easily on the melodies instead of waiting for a big chorus. This is a beautiful song, and it segues brilliantly into what's next.
If You Wear That Velvet Dress - Sexy. That's the word that comes to mind. This is possibly the most subtle, understated vocal performance Bono has ever put on record. There is one hook that is repeated only a few times, used very sparsely in the song, and Bono's quit singing rises soulfully to create that hook in the few times it comes about. Edge is as much a star as Bono here. His almost echo-like backing vocal in the chorus is chilling, and his solo, which is pretty much the middle 8, is hauntingly gorgeous and adds volumes to the atmosphere and ambiance of the song. It takes a special band that can produce both a song like this and a song like SATS on the same record.
Please(Single) - One of the top 5 U2 songs ever. I go back and forth with the album and single versions but in the end it just has to be the single version. The whole song builds up that solo and as such, the solo kicks it into another gear. The use of minimalistic instrumentation(until the solo at least) is so good - from the bassline to the few guitar notes in the chorus to the steady, firm but oddly subtle beat throughout the song - that it perplexes me why they wouldn't keep exploring that route of making music. The lyrics are brilliant. They took a simple 'you never' structure and used it to its absolute max potential. The 'love is big/bigger than us/but love is not/what you're thinking of' line could be the basis of a doctoral thesis. And yes, the middle 8 lyrics are eeirly prophetic of 9/11 even though they were written about something else - most likely political troubles in Ireland. Any way you slice it, a truely brilliant rock song, which is also basis for some U2's best ever live performances.
Wake Up Dead Man - Bono does such a freakishly good job of portraying hopelessness and despair with his voice in this song. The lyrics are biting, and probably not appreciated by certain people since it's basically painting pictures of situations and saying 'If Jesus exists, why is this shit happening?'. But I think they are tremendous. This is a haunting, and at times, cold, song. I'm still waiting for a full-band live rendition.
There you have it. This record is a WORK OF ART and is an accurate display of what U2 are capable of - which is to create world with the music on a record and describe that world you're hearing - the one they created - through the lyrics. They've done that with many of their records. AB was a world of failed relationships. JT was a world of hope in the face of not yet finding what you're looking for. War was a wartorn world full of people in despair. Boy was a world that was wide open in the naive eyes of a child. And Pop is a world of lost faith and bitterness. That's what the record is about. Despite that dark description, the record is still colorful, the images it puts in your head use all the colors in the rainbow and then some. The ability to to both - portray lost faith while using all those colors - is what makes this record so special to me. This is all my opinion of course.
Pop. It's in my top 5 albums. Gone is one of the best songs of all time. I think the album's low point is Playboy Mansion, but everything else is simply amazing. I remember when I first listened to it, I was a little disappointed it didn't sound much like Achtung Baby/Zooropa. By the end of that day, however, I realized how stupid it was to think like that, and I was already loving Pop for what it was -- a brilliant album with a silly title. 
