It's as clear as day. U2 had gone 5 albums (from Joshua Tree to POP) where they did anything BUT play it safe. The shift from JT to R&H was huge and risky. They did what they wanted. Then from R&H to Achtung Baby, well what can I say, that left us all in a daze! Where in the h#!! did that come from! 
A sheer act of brilliance! Then, when we thought they couldn't take it any farther, came Zooropa. Wow, totally out there, as non-comercial as a band like U2 could get! Oh, how proud I was to be a fan of such an innovative, we're-all-about-the-music, rock geniouses band!
Then came PoP, rushed out of the oven a bit to quickly according to the band; just perfect for my taste. Again, like their previous two, this was no music for the masses album, you had to listen to it several times to start appreaciating its depth; you had to peal through the layers.
But what happened next changed the course of U2 history forever.
1. Critics didn't like it.
2. Album didn't sell as expected in US ( though 3x platinum isn't bad last I checked)
3. No hit singles.
4. Tour didn't sell out.
5. Band, without sponsorship had to dish out $250,000 per gig and tour almost bankrupted.
So the band ,who was freaked out, said f-that, mainstream is where the money is and so "ATYCLB" was born. Then they said f-that, touring is where the real money is, so they scaled down production, doubled ticket prices , and so The Elevation tour came to a city near you!
The album was a hit, America fell in love with U2 again, and they were again the biggest band in the world.
So Adam, Bono,Larry , & Edge looked at the success of that album and said,"No more innovating or doing something different shit, We like this alot better and no way are we gonna risk another PoP fiasco!".
And so came HTDAAB, their back to back to basics album.
For the record I LOVE POP, but it fu@&ed with U2's mind enough to make them doubt themselfs and their choices and make them change their musical direction.
A sheer act of brilliance! Then, when we thought they couldn't take it any farther, came Zooropa. Wow, totally out there, as non-comercial as a band like U2 could get! Oh, how proud I was to be a fan of such an innovative, we're-all-about-the-music, rock geniouses band! Then came PoP, rushed out of the oven a bit to quickly according to the band; just perfect for my taste. Again, like their previous two, this was no music for the masses album, you had to listen to it several times to start appreaciating its depth; you had to peal through the layers.
But what happened next changed the course of U2 history forever.
1. Critics didn't like it.
2. Album didn't sell as expected in US ( though 3x platinum isn't bad last I checked)
3. No hit singles.
4. Tour didn't sell out.
5. Band, without sponsorship had to dish out $250,000 per gig and tour almost bankrupted.
So the band ,who was freaked out, said f-that, mainstream is where the money is and so "ATYCLB" was born. Then they said f-that, touring is where the real money is, so they scaled down production, doubled ticket prices , and so The Elevation tour came to a city near you!
The album was a hit, America fell in love with U2 again, and they were again the biggest band in the world.
So Adam, Bono,Larry , & Edge looked at the success of that album and said,"No more innovating or doing something different shit, We like this alot better and no way are we gonna risk another PoP fiasco!".
And so came HTDAAB, their back to back to basics album.
For the record I LOVE POP, but it fu@&ed with U2's mind enough to make them doubt themselfs and their choices and make them change their musical direction.
