Thursday, March 6, 1997
MUSIC:
U2 showcases true artistic genius with latest innovative
releaseBy Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Contributor
U2 has a lot to live up to these days. With "Pop" (Island), its
first release in over three-and-a-half years, all eyes are on the
Irish foursome. Easily the most hyped release in some time, "Pop"
is expected to be the album that puts rock ‘n roll back on the top
of the Billboard charts. And after a few spins, it’s clear that
"Pop" lives up to those expectations  it may even surpass
them.
After "dismal" sales from high profile artists such as Counting
Crows, Pearl Jam, Prince and R.E.M., U2 is the last big-name band
to prove it can live up to its status as one of the most popular
bands in the world. And it aims to do so by introducing a new sound
that fuses electronic dance music with pop songwriting qualities
much like Oasis’. But with an audience hungry for pop acts like No
Doubt, is their new experimentation good enough to get cash
registers ringing and people in the stadiums? Can U2 still deliver
the goods?
Absolutely. "Pop" is sheer musical brilliance which showcases
the amazing talent U2 still possesses. With a style that is
somewhat like the Beatles teaming up with Orbital, U2 has created
an authentic new sound that can live up to the hype and the
media-labeled title, "music of the future." The album is no doubt a
U2 classic, like "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby."
"Pop" begins with Internet and No. 1 radio smash "Discotheque,"
an exciting bombardment of crankin’ riffs and restless rhythms. If
Prodigy wanted to make a pop song, this might be it. It is a pop
song about "pop" ("you know you’re chewing bubble gum/ you know
what that is but you still want some/ ’cause you just can’t get
enough of that lovey-dovey stuff").
U2 continues the techno-pop assault with "Do You Feel Loved," a
frenzy of amazing rhythms and beats, thrown in with Edge’s
consonant sonic wailings. "Mofo," the closest thing to hardcore
dance music on "Pop," has hints of Underworld and the Chemical
Bros. throughout the booming synthesizers and computer-generated
sounds. The impressive aspect of "Mofo," though, is the lyrics, for
Bono is tenderly singing about his mother, who he lost at the age
of 12 ("Mother you left and made me someone/ Now I’m still a child
but no one tells me no").
"If God Will Send His Angels" is absolutely one of the most
beautiful and spiritual songs U2 has ever made. Bono is back with
blatant God references in his lyrics ("And if God will send his
angels/Would everything be alright?") but the overwhelming emotion
is fully realized with the Edge’s guitar wizardry and Bono’s own
flawless vocals. "Staring at the Sun," the next single, is another
fantastically harmonized ballad, a laid-back Oasis-like piece with
a distinct distorted guitar effect.
"Last Night on Earth" and "Gone" are more rockin’ than most of
the tracks on "Pop," but their incredibly catchy melodies are the
most noticeable feature here. With songwriting reminiscent of ’60s
music, the songs serve as grooves for the post-modern hippie.
"Miami" and "The Playboy Mansion" have a trip-hop feel to them,
though they are more harmonic, atmospheric and multi-layered than
artists like Tricky and Portishead. "The Playboy Mansion" is like
U2’s "Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World." Both these songs
as well as "Please," "Mofo" and "Do You Feel Loved" demonstrate the
amazing, looser, rhythm section of drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. and
bassist Adam Clayton.
"If You Wear That Velvet Dress" has that smoky club dance number
feel to it, with Bono singing like Jarvis Cocker of Pulp one
moment, and crooning like Sinatra the next. The last track, "Wake
Up Dead Man" (the other Internet fave) is to this album what "The
Wanderer" was to "Zooropa." It questions God’s effect on people,
where Bono earnestly yet boldly asks God "Jesus help me/ I’m alone
in the world/ and a fucked up world it is."
Like all U2 albums, it takes about four or five spins to absorb
it all and take in every single specialized element. Each band
member in U2 has never played or sounded better, from the vocals to
the percussion. This is still U2, but a matured U2, one which has
never lost its heart, its soul or ambition. No band in the past few
years has tried so hard to make music that is as catchy, authentic,
passionate and innovative as this, except maybe for the Smashing
Pumpkins.
While less avant-garde than "Zooropa," and less emotional
intensity than "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby," the aptly
titled "Pop" is U2’s greatest achievement in that its music has
never been more infectious. It will serve as a turning point in
popular music if the masses give it a chance. Grade: A+
"Pop" is sheer musical brilliance which showcases the amazing
talent U2 still possesses.