I haven't been posting here lately, but I'm always down with giving my thoughts on Pop
Pop became my favourite album when I first heard it in 1997. And it has been ever since.
The only big changes I can really think of are making LNOE, Miami, and Please more like the live versions. LNOE becomes much more of a rocker with the solo, and though I really love Bono's voice on Pop, even I can admit LNOE was a pretty awful vocal take. Miami's riff kicks so much more live... truly a badass U2 moment. And Please is even more emotional with the solo and Bono's wailing. I wouldn't replace the album version with the single version though; the strings would seem out of place on the album, I think.
The production on Pop really doesn't bother me. Yeah, it probably could have been better in some respects, but I love how layered it is. There's so much going on. Maybe some people think it's too busy, but I think it gives the songs depth, and I really feel that the album has a distinct feeling throughout. I hope the remaster doesn't ruin that.
It's debatable what U2's darkest album is, but I say it's Pop. There are some fun moments, but what I get most out of this album is longing, desperation, emptiness, cynicism, doubt ... it's not totally devoid of hope ("and there's heat in the sun, to see us through the rain..."), but I think it's U2's most pessimistic album. Even a song like Discotheque, which could be seen as just a fun little throwaway, strikes me as more than just a night out. It's the beginning of a search for something significant ("but you know there's something more, tonight..."). Indulging in the superficial because you can't find anything deeper. And while a lot of U2 albums end on a somber note, I think "Jesus, Jesus help me/I'm alone in this world/And a fucked up world it is too" is Bono at his most desperate.
It's too bad U2 feel it was unfinished. As a musician myself I can identify with hearing something and thinking "yeah, I could have made that better." But based on the Best Of mixes (especially Gone. seriously, wtf. Bono's vocal take on the album was perfect. The Best Of take is pretty meh ... why he felt he needed to re-record his vocals is beyond me) I'm going to have to disagree with the band on this one ... I think maybe a couple weeks would have benefited Pop greatly, but a few months might have really butchered it. I mean, who knows, but considering how much I love the album as it is, I can't imagine them making it too much better.
I'm pretty sure I could write a book about why I love this album (in fact, maybe I should, and give it to Bono, so then he'll realize they need to bring back some Pop songs live. I mean, Mofo would rock The Claw, and the suit of lights was begging for Gone to be played). Ultimately, like any great music, it's a personal connection ... I was nine when it came out. The first time I heard Discotheque it was so mindblowingly awesome I immediately listened to it again (I think it was awhile before I realized there were other tracks on the album ...
). Pop was the first album I really fell in love with and I'm pretty sure there were months at a time where it was the only thing I listened to. The songs just hit me, and I haven't grown tired of them. The lyrics, the music, the atmosphere, the darkness...I love all of it. Some people see an unfinished mess; I see a masterpiece, on par with JT and AB. I love every song, and I feel like the album fits together very well as a whole.
In short: Pop is awesome.