"pop" - Page 3

donkeytimes · 10-27-2009, 01:14 PM

The bandwagon thought is interesting.

I think Achtung was smooth as silk - and it holds up so well over time.

Zooropa is just flat out interesting, has some angle to it - and some soul in a few places which smooth out the grit.

Pop has really solid structures, but the mixing/recording and approach are all wrong. Man, I think it would be interesting for them to re-record the whole thing 10 plus years later and see what arrangement they could come up with if there was ever spare time. Anyway...

Pop just lacked that certain zeal, and it didn't come naturally. I said it before, but Howie B. told the band, look...you should just be U2 at a certain point. Pop music, Chemical Bros., Oasis, Underworld, Prodigy were all the rage. So- U2 does the kitchen sink in terms of styles on this record. Its dis-jointed.

I do enjoy Pop, but its not smooth as butter. I want it to have more focus.

God Will Send his Angels had so much potential, the single version is much, much better I think. The ending is really abrupt on the record, as is Please...no ounce of drama like the live versions.

I hate to say it as its somewhat cliche, but U2 needed more of a soul influence, Lanois/Eno might have helped this. We will never know.

As for U2 going forward, let's hope SoA or whatever will have some of the risks Pop took, with great focus and warmer playing.

Velvet Dress is a great tune. It actually reminds me very much of a Danny Lanois Solo type song, something he would write. U2 need to find a small room and just play some warm notes, not overthink, that is when the hallmark idea's just come for them.

ozeeko · 10-27-2009, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BVS

Yeah, I think you missed my point. The part of your post that I quoted said:

this is an album where I don't think it benefitted the songs. It either dominated the songs such as DYFL, or it felt slapped on like IGWSHA.

I respectfully disagree, because i think the arrangement of DYFL sounds great on the album, as well as the arrangements of MOFO, Discoteque, Gone, WUDM, Please, IYWTVD, Playboy Mansion...let's just say most of them. The only songs where the arrangements sound off to me are on Miami and IGWSHA.

While the arrangments suit me just fine, i think the final mastering of the album is what takes away from it, because the levels are a little too in your face, the bass is too loud, and the whole album is a little too "buzzing". So for me it's not the songs or the arrangements, it's just the levels. Technical stuff.

But beyond all that, we should address the pink elephant in the room, which is the fact that Bono's vocals were not up to snuff on that album. He sounds good most of the time, and even great on occasion, but while POP is one of my faves i do think that it is one of Bono's weaker vocal performances. Nothing to do with lyrics (they're some of his best) or the melodies (they're all great)...it's just the power of his voice.

Despite all these things, POP is still one of their greatest albums.

mikal · 10-27-2009, 03:14 PM

i hope when the "POP" remaster comes around, U2 doesn't completely murder it and try to re-write history. just give it a simple remaster please.

kthxbye2u!

Galeongirl · 10-27-2009, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikal

i hope when the "POP" remaster comes around, U2 doesn't completely murder it and try to re-write history. just give it a simple remaster please.

kthxbye2u!

Same here, there's only minor things I'd like them to fix. Put the Best of mix of gone in(guitars, backing vox), Mofo needs the additional guitar Edge played live and one thing.

DO NOT MURDER THE BOOMCHAS LIKE ON THE BEST OF.

Slapnutz · 10-27-2009, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galeongirl

Same here, there's only minor things I'd like them to fix. Put the Best of mix of gone in(guitars, backing vox)

Really? That mix was awful. It stripped away the original song's otherworldly atmosphere and replaced it with ATYCLB-lite histrionics. I refuse to acknowledge its existence.

Galeongirl · 10-27-2009, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slapnutz

Really? That mix was awful. It stripped away the original song's otherworldly atmosphere and replaced it with ATYCLB-lite histrionics. I refuse to acknowledgment its existence.

Ah, well to me it sounded much closer to the live version. I didn't really feel the piano suited the studio version so I was glad to hear they changed that to how it was played live. And I really miss Edge's "dooooooooown"'s in the studio version as well.

To each their own.

mikal · 10-27-2009, 03:38 PM

i will agree that the new mix of Discotheque on the Best Of is probably the worst thing U2 has ever done to me.

ozeeko · 10-27-2009, 03:42 PM

Gone sounded great in concert and great on the album. But it doesn't sound great in concert on the album. I hope that made perfect sense.

nielsgov · 10-27-2009, 03:43 PM

Pop is a great album.

And I actually love the fact that it's a bit rough and unfinished. It makes it even more special.

Fly2000 · 10-27-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikal

i will agree that the new mix of Discotheque on the Best Of is probably the worst thing U2 has ever done to me.

Along with that new mix of SATS as well.

Earnie Shavers · 10-27-2009, 06:35 PM

None of the Best Of mixes are better than the album tracks.

Zoots · 10-27-2009, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earnie Shavers

None of the Best Of mixes are better than the album tracks.

Agreed!

Pop is a great album, my #3 fav after AB & JT.

Jimmy Jazz · 10-27-2009, 09:01 PM

I would have preferred the Best Of mix of "Gone" if it didn't edit out the little drum fill before the bridge. Larry doesn't have too many moments like that why try and hide it? But I do like having The Edge's backing vocals in there. It's a toss up for me. The new mixes of Discotheque and Staring At The Sun were bad though, no question there.

mikal · 10-27-2009, 11:16 PM

i consider the "new mix" of Gone as good as the original. it all depends on the mood for me.

vanquish7 · 10-28-2009, 01:16 AM

While not as good as AB, Zooropa or JT, Pop is still a fantastic album.

Has anyone ever heard anything like Mofo? I haven't, it's still completely fresh 12 yrs later.

Love the manic drum machine intro and the pulsing keyboard bassline that runs through the song. Edge's piercing guitarwork and Bono's vocals (especially on the bridge) also standout.

And Discotheque is amazing (especially the original mix), great intro and outro, one of Edge's best ever riffs. The amount of techno sounds that Edge can create with his guitar, while others would have to resort to synth is testament to his genius.
I don't mind the new mix of Discotheque - that brilliant riff is much more prominent, but I like the electro textures and intro of the album version better

Do You Feel Loved is another impressive dance/rock hybrid, fantastic groove, great lyrics with Bono absolutely nailing the delivery.

I love the watery guitar of Staring at the Sun and IFGWSHA (esp. the single edit) is a solid U2 ballad given a late 90s twist (love the Christmassy guitar riff, the beeping noise in the bridge and the drum crash in the outro).

Please is better live than on the album and Miami, Last Night On Earth and Playboy Mansion are not quite the songs they could be had the band had more time, but they're all interesting. Gone was also a bit weak on the album, but the Best of 1990-2000 remix fixes this.

Velvet Dress would have also benefited from more time in the studio to nail the execution but the core song is sublime and makes for some excellent balladeering as the Jools Holland version demonstrates (if anyone wants it email me at u2links@hotmail.com and download the "Rare Tracks" link in the autoreply).

Wake Up Dead Man is haunting, very Radiohead-y (even bleaker than songs like Street Spirit) and makes for an excellent closer in the vein of Love is Blindness.

If they weren't pushed for time for the impending tour and got to finish the album, Pop could have very well been their third masterpiece alongside JT and AB.

10-27-2009, 03:14 PM	#33
mikal BLIND SHEEP Premium Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Fez Posts: 12,414 Local Time: 07:34 PM	i hope when the "POP" remaster comes around, U2 doesn't completely murder it and try to re-write history. just give it a simple remaster please. kthxbye2u! __________________ Come On Ye People! Stand Back And Don't Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove!

10-27-2009, 03:38 PM	#37
mikal BLIND SHEEP Premium Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Fez Posts: 12,414 Local Time: 07:34 PM	i will agree that the new mix of Discotheque on the Best Of is probably the worst thing U2 has ever done to me. __________________ Come On Ye People! Stand Back And Don't Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove!

10-27-2009, 11:16 PM	#44
mikal BLIND SHEEP Premium Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Fez Posts: 12,414 Local Time: 07:34 PM	i consider the "new mix" of Gone as good as the original. it all depends on the mood for me. __________________ Come On Ye People! Stand Back And Don't Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove! Shove!

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10-27-2009, 01:14 PM	#31
donkeytimes The Fly Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 135 Local Time: 08:34 PM	The bandwagon thought is interesting. I think Achtung was smooth as silk - and it holds up so well over time. Zooropa is just flat out interesting, has some angle to it - and some soul in a few places which smooth out the grit. Pop has really solid structures, but the mixing/recording and approach are all wrong. Man, I think it would be interesting for them to re-record the whole thing 10 plus years later and see what arrangement they could come up with if there was ever spare time. Anyway... Pop just lacked that certain zeal, and it didn't come naturally. I said it before, but Howie B. told the band, look...you should just be U2 at a certain point. Pop music, Chemical Bros., Oasis, Underworld, Prodigy were all the rage. So- U2 does the kitchen sink in terms of styles on this record. Its dis-jointed. I do enjoy Pop, but its not smooth as butter. I want it to have more focus. God Will Send his Angels had so much potential, the single version is much, much better I think. The ending is really abrupt on the record, as is Please...no ounce of drama like the live versions. I hate to say it as its somewhat cliche, but U2 needed more of a soul influence, Lanois/Eno might have helped this. We will never know. As for U2 going forward, let's hope SoA or whatever will have some of the risks Pop took, with great focus and warmer playing. Velvet Dress is a great tune. It actually reminds me very much of a Danny Lanois Solo type song, something he would write. U2 need to find a small room and just play some warm notes, not overthink, that is when the hallmark idea's just come for them.

10-27-2009, 03:42 PM	#38
ozeeko Refugee Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,259 Local Time: 01:34 AM	Gone sounded great in concert and great on the album. But it doesn't sound great in concert on the album. I hope that made perfect sense.

10-27-2009, 03:43 PM	#39
nielsgov Refugee Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Belguim Posts: 1,335 Local Time: 02:34 AM	Pop is a great album. And I actually love the fact that it's a bit rough and unfinished. It makes it even more special.

10-27-2009, 06:35 PM	#41
Earnie Shavers Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 4,134 Local Time: 01:34 AM	None of the Best Of mixes are better than the album tracks.

10-27-2009, 09:01 PM	#43
Jimmy Jazz The Fly Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 216 Local Time: 08:34 PM	I would have preferred the Best Of mix of "Gone" if it didn't edit out the little drum fill before the bridge. Larry doesn't have too many moments like that why try and hide it? But I do like having The Edge's backing vocals in there. It's a toss up for me. The new mixes of Discotheque and Staring At The Sun were bad though, no question there.

10-28-2009, 01:16 AM	#45
vanquish7 The Fly Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 48 Local Time: 08:34 PM	While not as good as AB, Zooropa or JT, Pop is still a fantastic album. Has anyone ever heard anything like Mofo? I haven't, it's still completely fresh 12 yrs later. Love the manic drum machine intro and the pulsing keyboard bassline that runs through the song. Edge's piercing guitarwork and Bono's vocals (especially on the bridge) also standout. And Discotheque is amazing (especially the original mix), great intro and outro, one of Edge's best ever riffs. The amount of techno sounds that Edge can create with his guitar, while others would have to resort to synth is testament to his genius. I don't mind the new mix of Discotheque - that brilliant riff is much more prominent, but I like the electro textures and intro of the album version better Do You Feel Loved is another impressive dance/rock hybrid, fantastic groove, great lyrics with Bono absolutely nailing the delivery. I love the watery guitar of Staring at the Sun and IFGWSHA (esp. the single edit) is a solid U2 ballad given a late 90s twist (love the Christmassy guitar riff, the beeping noise in the bridge and the drum crash in the outro). Please is better live than on the album and Miami, Last Night On Earth and Playboy Mansion are not quite the songs they could be had the band had more time, but they're all interesting. Gone was also a bit weak on the album, but the Best of 1990-2000 remix fixes this. Velvet Dress would have also benefited from more time in the studio to nail the execution but the core song is sublime and makes for some excellent balladeering as the Jools Holland version demonstrates (if anyone wants it email me at u2links@hotmail.com and download the "Rare Tracks" link in the autoreply). Wake Up Dead Man is haunting, very Radiohead-y (even bleaker than songs like Street Spirit) and makes for an excellent closer in the vein of Love is Blindness. If they weren't pushed for time for the impending tour and got to finish the album, Pop could have very well been their third masterpiece alongside JT and AB.