Revisiting: U2, Volume 3 (1991-1997)
Two questions: How awful was Rattle and Hum? The worst, they could literally do ANYTHING they wanted in the following decade (which they did). And how much of a doucher is that guy in the sunglasses up above? I know, Grade-A doucher. The mid 90's were the era that really cemented the persona of Bono (and the band to a lesser extent) and a lot of people were none too keen on it. I'll explain to you this week why you should be less quick to react and might want to consider accepting him for what he is, one of the last of a pantheon of great rock n' roll frontmen circa Freddie Mercury, Iggy Pop, and Mick Jagger. Sure he was a pompous ass but that was part of the appeal.
However we're here to talk about how the band fared musically during this odd and certainly DIFFERENT era for the band. Things overwhelmingly changed after the fall out of Rattle and Hum and for the most part it was very much for the better, albeit weirder. So we'll be diving into what makes this era so unique. And what a better way to start than a contemporary masterpiece...
Achtung Baby (1991)
Producer: Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois
This album is a perfect example, both musically and commercially, for how to completely reinvent a band. Things were not the same on this record, and for a better part, the 2 following albums. It's unfair to compare this album to what came before it but being that it's the same band, I'm going to attempt to do so. This record is gross, sloppy, dancy, and beautiful in one package and none of that is what we've come to learn of the band up to this point.
The Edge once said of the album:
"Buzzwords on this record were trashy, throwaway, dark, sexy, and industrial (all good) and earnest, polite, sweet, righteous, rockist and linear (all bad). It was good if a song took you on a journey or made you think your hifi was broken, bad if it reminded you of recording studios or U2."
If you were to consider that a mission statement for the album, then consider it mission accomplished.
But not only did they reinvent their sound completely, the band marketed themselves differently. There was a new sense of self-depricating pomposity that came about the band, and in particular, Bono. Hell, HE REBRANDED HIMSELF AS "THE FLY". I can understand why people would think that to be obnoxious but just remember they're only one or two decades removed from bands who did basically whatever they wanted and it was all chalked up to them being "artists" or "rock stars". U2 and Bono earned their "rock star" status, I just don't think people were too thrilled to see how well they embraced it.
Whatever, that's lame, and that's my quotable opinion. This album is perfect and I stand by it.
10/10
Zooropa (1993)
Producer: Flood, Brian Eno & The Edge
As an piece of work seperated from the rest of the catalog, Zooropa holds up admirably. It's experimental, saturated in a tongue n' cheek attitude, and still catchy on a pop-level. But when viewed side by side with the rest of their work it's seen merely as a coda to the unqualified masterpiece that is Achtung Baby.
This album has a lot going for it. I've only recently come to love that euro-dance sound that perpetuated a lot of what was pumped out in the mid-nineties and this album is another piece in that disco-fused puzzle. There's some odd quality to this record that makes it charming and loveable. It's somehow self indulgent and self depricating simultaneously. The songs are so full of a different form of creativity and kinetic energy that didn't seem evident on previous albums. The title track of the album contains a lyric “uncertainty can be a guiding light” and that's a simple a summary of this record as one could hope for, uncertainty.
I wasn't amazed by Zooropa but damn if I didn't find it fascinating on the first listen. And I think that's the best kind of praise I could heap on this oddity.
7/10
Pop (1997)
Producer: Flood, Howie B, Osborne
Sometimes in the life of a band those involved get ambitious and toss a creative Hail Mary at the public and often times reactions, at the time, aren't as ideal as one would hope but eventually gain their critics back several years after their release. Clarity by Jimmy Eat World, Pinkerton by Weezer, a lot of Led Zeppelin's latter work, and maybe even Radiohead's King of Limbs (okay, not just yet, but someday); all of these records were overlooked but have gone on to amass vast critical praise and/or cult status. I would attempt to convince you that U2's ninth album, Pop, belongs in that category. I can understand why this was a difficult record to embrace in the late nineties but DAMN, this thing holds up creatively in a really unique way within the band's canon.
The 90's were an era where the band adapted to the sound of the decade. And it's pinnacle of experimentation lay within this record. Rife with techno and dancey elements, Pop does what most bands of the era, Radiohead and Prodigy included, were doing. People wanted a techno-rock fusion and U2 obliged, however, fans didn't seem to react well to it. A case of fans declaring "you've gone far enough" occured, which is tragic because this album stands up tall in decade of misfires for a lot of bands.
Right off the bat, the album starts with a trippy electronic dance groove and doesn't relent for the entire length of the opening track "Do You Feel Loved". It also pronounces early, that everyone but Bono is going to be on display in this record. Pop is full of glossy, gross, thumping Eurotrash and that's no more apparent than on "Mofo". This thing is self indulgent and sounds like the culmination of whatever U2 was trying to do with Achtung Baby and Zooropa. And it's easily the least U2 sounding song ever recorded and it's SO DAMN GOOD.
This album sounds nothing like the band that produced it and never has that worked more in favor for a band. If you've never heard U2 before, I'd almost suggest you listen to this record first and than work backwards, and finish it up with the following four albums. Pop caps off the best era for the band creatively and commercially. What would follow is the band taking a step back and just simply existing and filling the roll of Rockstars.
8.5/10
Here's my breakdown of where each album falls in the list thus far with only one more era to go: