I've been revisiting U2's albums over the last few months, and I didn't rediscover Pop in the good way. It's been regularly coming dead last in my album rankings. That said, it is an INCREDIBLE album full of amazing moments and much better than what anyone else could produce.
1. Gone - easily one of the best songs ever made by anyone. Pure brilliance. There is no praise high enough.
2. Wake Up Dead Man - deep, both lyrically and musically. The stuff hidden beneath the surface of the music is fascinating! Tonnes of work went into this.
3. Last Night On Earth - mmmm, rock.
4. Please - this song used to be higher, but I came back to the studio version and found I liked it less, though the lyrics are superb. The live versions are out of this world. Bono's wailing over Edge's solo gives me chills.
5. If You Wear That Velvet Dress - sensually atmospheric. A gorgeous song.
6. Mofo - this rocked more live. Some great lines.
7. Staring At The Sun - nice guitar and it sounded great the few times they played it electrically live and didn't totally mess it up.
8. Do You Feel Loved - I really like the first fifteen seconds, but the bleeps and boops seem to be there for the sake of being there rather than to add something to the song, or at least that's how it sounds to me.
9. If God Will Send His Angels - it is a lovely song, but it's missing something and trails off into the oblivion of songs with stacks of unrealised potential. This could have had an incredible ending.
10. Discotheque - when I rediscovered Pop, this one in particular made me cringe. I don't normally use or even like the term 'dated' in reference to music, but this song sounds like it was dated before it was even made! WHY was this the first single? Gone or Last Night On Earth definitely should've been. The remarkable part is how Discotheque is a TOTALLY different song live. It rocks, hard. It's absolutely bloody awesome and on any Popmart bootleg, I feel it's one of the highlights.
11. The Playboy Mansion - plods. Doesn't do enough. It just doesn't really register on my radar.
12. Miami - predictable last, huh? I don't actually hate this song. It has some commendable aspects. The lyrics just don't feel complete, and I simply prefer most of the album to it (on its day, it could get to #10). And it was fantastic live, flowing into Bullet.
The one recurring theme of what I just wrote is how much better Pop was live. That's when Pop achieved its potential and the songs revealed their true brilliance.