1997: U2 releases POP.
2000: U2 releases ATYCLB.
What the fuck happened in between these albums to produce such a radical change? The period between R&H and Achtung Baby is well documented by many sources (mainly in U2ATEOTW). But as far as I know, no one has really unearthed what went on in the 4 guys' minds in the late 90s after POP that made them go from one album to the other. I'm not knocking either of the albums, but anyone has to admit that there is a massive difference in almost all aspects of the music.
The lyrics in Pop are highly literate, while in ATYCLB they are almost consciously simple and earthy (some would say cheesy). The guitars are way more subtle and quiet in ATYCLB compared to POP. I would say the biggest difference is the bass: Adam went from basically playing lead on a lot of the songs on POP to just playing the chord notes on most songs on ATYCLB (BD, Walk On, New York, Stuck, Peace on Earth).
So what happened exactly?
2000: U2 releases ATYCLB.
What the fuck happened in between these albums to produce such a radical change? The period between R&H and Achtung Baby is well documented by many sources (mainly in U2ATEOTW). But as far as I know, no one has really unearthed what went on in the 4 guys' minds in the late 90s after POP that made them go from one album to the other. I'm not knocking either of the albums, but anyone has to admit that there is a massive difference in almost all aspects of the music.
The lyrics in Pop are highly literate, while in ATYCLB they are almost consciously simple and earthy (some would say cheesy). The guitars are way more subtle and quiet in ATYCLB compared to POP. I would say the biggest difference is the bass: Adam went from basically playing lead on a lot of the songs on POP to just playing the chord notes on most songs on ATYCLB (BD, Walk On, New York, Stuck, Peace on Earth).
So what happened exactly?