. 'Released: 3 February 1997. 'Released: 15 April 1997. 'Released: 14 July 1997. 'Released: 20 October 1997. 'Released: 8 December 1997.
'Released: 8 December 1997Pop is the ninth studio album by Irish band. It was produced by, and, and was released on 3 March 1997 on. The album was a continuation of the band's 1990s musical reinvention, as they incorporated, and influences into their sound. Pop employed a variety of production techniques that were relatively new to U2, including, and.Recording sessions began in 1995 with various, including, Flood, and Osborne, who were introducing the band to various electronica influences.
At the time, drummer was inactive due to a back injury, prompting the other band members to take different approaches to songwriting. Upon Mullen's return, the band began re-working much of their material but ultimately struggled to complete songs. After the band allowed to book their upcoming 1997 before the record was completed, they felt rushed into delivering it. Even after delaying the album's release date from the 1996 to March 1997, U2 ran out of time in the studio, working up to the last minute to complete songs.In February 1997, U2 released Pop 's techno-heavy lead single, ', one of six singles from the album. The record initially received favourable reviews from critics and reached number one in 35 countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.
However, the album's lifetime sales are among the lowest in U2's catalogue, and it received only a single certification by the. Retrospectively, the album is viewed by some of the music press and public as a disappointment. The finished product was not to U2's liking, and they subsequently re-recorded and remixed many of the songs for single and compilation album releases. The time required to complete Pop cut into the band's rehearsal time for the tour, which affected the quality of initial shows. Contents.Background and writing In the first half of the 1990s, U2 underwent a dramatic shift in musical style.
The band had experimented with and and the use of on their 1991 album, and, to a greater extent, on 1993's. In 1995, the group's side-projects provided them an opportunity to delve even deeper into these genres. Bassist and drummer recorded ' in an style. The recording was nominated for the in 1997 and was an international top-ten hit. In 1995, U2 and recorded an album, under the moniker 'Passengers'.
The project included, and, among others.Bono and the Edge had written a few songs before recording started for Pop in earnest. 'If You Wear That Velvet Dress', 'Wake Up Dead Man', ' and ' were originally conceived during the Zooropa sessions. ' and ' were also partly written already. Recording and production For the new record, U2 wanted to continue their sonic experimentation from Achtung Baby and Zooropa. To do so, they employed multiple to have additional people with whom to share their ideas.
Was principal producer, having previously worked with the group as for and Achtung Baby, and co-producer of Zooropa. And Howie B were principal engineers. Flood described his job on Pop as a 'creative coordinator', saying, 'There were some tracks where I didn't necessarily have a major involvement. But ultimately the buck stopped with me. I had the role of the creative supervisor who judged what worked and didn't work.'
Howie B had previously provided, treatments, and for Original Soundtracks 1. On Pop, he was initially given the role of 'DJ and Vibes' before assuming responsibilities as co-producer, engineer, and mixer. One of his main tasks was to introduce the band to sounds and influences within electronica. The band and Howie B regularly went out to to experience club music and culture. The overall goal for the record was to create a new sound for the band that was still recognisable as U2.U2 began work on Pop in mid-1995, collaborating with Nellee Hooper in London, France, and Ireland. In September, the band moved the recording sessions to Hanover Quay in Dublin to a studio the band had just converted from a warehouse.
The studio was designed to be more of a rehearsal space more than an actual studio. Flood, Howie B, Steve Osborne, and joined Hooper and the band there, each of them incorporating their influences and experiences in electronic dance music. Flood described Howie's influence thus: 'Howie would be playing all kinds of records to inspire the band and for them to improvise to. That could be anything from a jazz trumpet solo to a super groove funk thing, with no holds barred. We also drum, or took things from sample CDs; anything to get the ball rolling. U2 arrive in the studio with very little finished material.'
These sessions lasted until December 1995, and around 30–40 pieces of music emerged during this period.Mullen, who had mostly been absent from the sessions to start a family and nurse a worsening back injury, had major surgery on his back in November 1995. Mullen was unable to drum properly during this period, forcing U2 to abandon their usual methods of songwriting as a group but also allowing them to pursue different musical influences.
Mullen admits that he was upset that the band entered the studio without him, cognizant that key decisions would be made in the early months of recording. Eno attempted to convince the other band members to wait for Mullen, but as the Edge explains, 'The thinking was that we were going to further experiment with the notion of what a band was all about and find new ways to write songs, accepting the influence, and aesthetics of dance music. We thought, 'Let's just start with Howie mixing drum beats and see where that gets us.' ' Mullen was back in the studio three weeks after his surgery, but his back prevented him from fully dedicating himself to recording.
As he described, 'I needed a little more time to recover. But we were struggling with some of the material and for the project to move ahead, I had to put a lot of time in.' Sessions ceased temporarily in January 1996 to allow Mullen to rehabilitate. 'It was quite hard for the band to shift from having played to of other people to playing to loops of themselves. We felt it was essential to do that, though, because you can get very lazy with. They're an easy way to get the ball rolling, but you're always in danger of sounding like some basic samples with the band on top. You're in danger of being dictated to by what's there, rather than saying: 'this is just our springboard'.'
—, on the use of samples on PopFollowing Mullen's return and the sessions' resumption in February 1996, the production team of Flood, Howie B, and Hooper spent three months attempting to re-work much of the band's material to better incorporate loops and with their musical ideas from 1995. This period was a difficult one; Mullen, in particular, had to record drum parts to replace loops that Howie B had sampled without permission. Flood said, 'We took what we had and got the band to play to it and work it into their own idiom, while incorporating a dance ethic. The groove-orientated way of making music can be a trap when there's no song; you end up just plowing along on one riff. So you have to try to get the groove and the song, and do it so that it sounds like the band, and do it so that it sounds like something new.' Despite the initial difficulties with sampling, the band and production team eventually became comfortable with it, even sampling Mullen's drumming, the Edge's guitar riffs, Clayton's bass lines, and Bono's vocalisations. Howie B sampled almost anything he could in order to find interesting sounds.
He created patterns of the Edge's guitar playing, which the guitarist, having never done it before, found very interesting. Howie B explained, 'Sometimes I would sample, say, a guitar, but it wouldn't come back sounding like a guitar; it might sound more like a, because I would take the raw sound and filter it, really destroy the guitar sound, and rebuild it into something completely different.' Although sequencing was used, mostly on, guitar loops, and some percussion, it was used sparingly out of fear of becoming overreliant on it.Nellee Hooper left the sessions in May 1996 due to his commitments to the film score. The recording sessions changed radically in the last few months, which is why Hooper was not credited on the album.By forcing the band members out of their individual comfort zones, the producers were able to change U2's approach to songwriting and playing their instruments.
Mullen, in particular, was forced to do this, as he used samples of other records, sample CDs, or drums while recuperating. Although he eventually reverted to recording his own samples, the experience of using others' changed his approach to recording rhythms.During the recording sessions, U2 allowed to book their upcoming before they had completed the album, putting the tour's start date at April 1997. The album was originally planned to be completed and released in time for the 1996, but the band found themselves struggling to complete songs, necessitating a delay in the album's release date until March 1997. Even with the extended timeframe to complete the album, recording continued up to the last minute. Bono devised and recorded the chorus to ' on, coincidentally, the last night of the album's recording and mixing. When Howie B and the Edge took the album to to be, changes and additions to the songs were still being made. During the process, Howie B was adding effects to ', while the Edge was recording for 'The Playboy Mansion'.
Of the last minute changes, the Edge said, 'It's a sign of absolute madness.' Flood says, 'We had three different mixes of 'Mofo', and during mastering in November '96 in New York, I edited a final version of 'Mofo' from these three mixes. So even during mastering, we were trying to push the song to another level. It was a long process of experimentation; the album didn't actually come together until the last few months.'
Ultimately, U2 felt that Pop had not been completed to their satisfaction. The Edge described the finished album as 'a compromise project by the end.
It was a crazy period trying to mix everything and finish recording and having production meetings about the upcoming tour. If you can't mix something, it generally means there's something wrong with it.' Mullen said, 'If we had two or three more months to work, we would have had a very different record. I would like someday to rework those songs and give them the attention and time that they deserve.' McGuinness disagrees that the band did not have enough time, saying, 'It got an awful lot of time, actually. I think it suffered from too many cooks in the kitchen. There were so many people with a hand in that record it wasn't surprising to me that it didn't come through as clearly as it might have done.
It was also the first time I started to think that technology was getting out of control.' The band ended up re-working and re-recording many songs for the album's singles, as well as for the band's 2002 compilation.Composition. 'I thought 'pop' was a term of abuse, it seemed sort of insulting and lightweight. I didn't realise how cool it was.
Because some of the best music does have a lightweight quality, it has a kind of oxygen in it, which is not to say it's emotionally shallow. We've had to get the brightly coloured wrapping paper right, because what's underneath is not so sweet.' —Bono describing the difference between the 'surface' of the songs to 'what lies beneath'.Pop features, programming, sampling, and heavy, funky dance rhythms. The Edge said in U2's fan magazine Propaganda that, 'It's very difficult to pin this record down. It's not got any identity because it's got so many.'
Bono has said that the album 'begins at a party and ends at a funeral', referring to the upbeat and party-like first half of the album and sombre and dark mood of the second half. According to Flood, the production team worked to achieve a 'sense of space' on the record's sound by layering all the elements of the arrangements and giving them places in the where they did not interfere with each other through the continual experimenting and re-working of song arrangements.Clayton's bass guitar was heavily, to the point that it sounded like a (an instrument utilized on 'Mofo'). The Edge wanted to steer away from the image he had since the 1980s as having an echo-heavy guitar sound. As a result, he was enthusiastic about experimenting with his guitar's sound, hence the guitar sounds on the album, achieved with a variety of,. Bono was very determined to avoid the vocal style present on previous (especially 1980s) albums, characterized by pathos, rich timbre, a sometimes theatrical quality and his use of falsetto singing: instead he opted for a rougher, more nervous and less timbre-laden style. The production team made his voice sound more intimate, as up-front and raw as possible. As Flood explained, 'You get his emotional involvement with the songs through the lyrics and the way he reacts to the music—without him having to all the time.
We only used extreme effects on his voice during the recording, for him to get himself into a different place, and then, gradually, we pulled most effects out.' 'Edge has been given this tag of having a certain type of sound, which isn't really fair, because on the last two or three albums he's already moved away from it; but people still perceive him as the man with the echoey guitar sound. So he was up for trying out all sorts of ideas, from using cheap pedals and getting the most ridiculous sounds, like in ', to very straight, naked guitar sounds, like in 'The Playboy Mansion'.' —Flood, describing Edge's guitar work on Pop', the lead single, begins with a distorted acoustic guitar that is passed through a loud and a filter, along with being processed through an synthesizer. The song's riff and techno dance rhythm are then introduced.
The break in the song's rhythm section features guitar sounds utilizing a ', an effects pedal made. Writer John D. Luerssen noted that the song is 'often cited as U2's first experiment with electronica,' calling it 'a continuation of the experimentation the band had done on Zooropa.' 'Do You Feel Loved', which was considered for a single release, runs at a slower pace and features electronic elements.
Bono said of the song: 'It's quite a question, but there's no question mark on it,' as the band took the question mark off the title of the song for fearing it would be perceived as 'too heavy.' ' is the most overtly techno track on the record. Bono's lyrics lament the loss of his mother. There are little guitar and vocal samples that the band played and the production team sampled. They selected the bits that they liked, and then Edge played them back in a keyboard. Pop's producer Flood also put some of guitar work through the ARP 2600 on this track.' ' is a ballad with Bono pleading for God's help.
Like the other singles, the single version is different from the album version. Written on acoustic guitar, D. Leurssen described it as a 'techno-tinged ballad'. Bono originally thought the song was too soft and asked to 'fuck it up,' saying 'I thought, this is, like, pure.
Cd U2 Vertigo Brasil Download
Now drop acid onto that.' ' features acoustic guitars and a distorted guitar riff from Edge, and a simple rhythm section from Mullen. The backing track was played to the ARP 2600 running in free time, playing an odd drum-like sequence.' ' is anthemic with fuzzy, layered guitars, a funk-inspired bass line, and vocal harmonies during the song's bridge.' Gone' features a 'siren' effect from Edge's guitar, complex style drums from Mullen and a funk-inspired bass line. This track was also considered for release as a single. Flood applied spring reverb and ring modulation in a few places, and used it a lot on the basic rhythm track of this song.'
U2 Vertigo Live
Miami' has a style. It begins with a drum loop, with Mullen's playing backwards through a very extreme. Howie B explained, 'The main groove is actually just Larry's hi-hat, but it sounds like a mad engine running or something really crazy – about as far away from a hi-hat as you can imagine. The task in 'Miami' was to make it unlike anything else on the album, and also unlike anything else you'd ever have heard before.'
Edge also comes in with a frenetic guitar riff and Bono's affected vocal style singing about Miami in metaphors and descriptions of loud, brash Americana. Leurssen described it as a 'sonic travelogue,' while the Edge termed it 'creative tourism.' In 2005, Q magazine included the song 'Miami' in a list of 'Ten Terrible Records by Great Artists'. However, Andrew Unterberger of acknowledged the inclusion of the song in Q's list and said 'I’m pretty sure they gave this album some super-glowing review when it was first released, so clearly they’re not to be trusted in the first.' 'The Playboy Mansion' starts out with mellow, kitsch guitar playing from Edge.
U2 Vertigo Album Song List
Along with Mullen's drumming, there are breakbeats and hip-hop beats on the rhythm track, which were recorded as loops by Mullen. Howie described the loops thus; 'Larry went off into a side room and made some sample loops of him playing his kit, and gave the loops to me and Flood. It was the same with the guitars; there's a guitar riff which comes in the verse and chorus, which is a sample of Edge playing.' Bono's lyrics are a tongue-in-cheek account of icons.' If You Wear That Velvet Dress' features a mellow, dark atmosphere.
Marius De Vries played keyboards on this track, contributing to the ambient feel. Mullen uses brush stroke style drums for the most part. When news first broke of U2's work in the studio, it was reported the band were recording a album; writer believes that 'The Playboy Mansion' comes close to the assertion due to Hooper's heavy hand. Flood stated that Hooper 'started things off' but did not finish the track due to his time constraints. Bono reworked this song as a lounge-jazz piece for the 2002 album Small World Big Band Volume Two.'
' features Bono lamenting and the Northern Irish peace process, pleading with the powers that be to 'get up off their knees'. Mullen uses martial-style drumming, similar to '. Flood put guitar work through the ARP 2600 on the song. He explains, 'For ages the rhythm track played all the way through the track. It's a fairly tight groove/bass thing, and then we suddenly decided to drop out the rhythm section in the middle and add a load of strings and these weird synthetic sounds at the end of that break.' The single releases and live performances of the song were different from the album version, with more prominent guitar playing and a guitar solo to end the song.' Wake Up Dead Man' began as an upbeat song from the Achtung Baby sessions in 1991.
It evolved into a darker composition during the Zooropa sessions, but it was shelved until Pop. One of the band's darkest songs, 'Wake Up Dead Man' features Bono pleading with to return and save mankind, evident in the lyrics 'Jesus / Jesus help me / I'm alone in this world / And a fucked-up world it is too'. It is also one of only a few U2 songs to include profanity.Release. Flood. Howie B5:0212.'
Wake Up Dead Man'Flood4:52Total length:60:09Bonus track (Japan)No.TitleMixed byLength13.'
U22010-08-12AWD Arena, Hannover, GermanyTaper: babacarEquipment: Sony ECM 719 on Sony MZ R700 MDPosition: Seats behind stageThis recording is incomplete. I missed 2 seconds during the transition between Intro andBeautiful Day due to record level adjustment.Funky Town snippet and first 2 lines of Crazy tonight are missing due to disc change.That's whyI suggest the CD split after Vertigo.Disc 101. Space Oddity/Return Of The Stingray Guitar02.
Beautiful Day03. New Year's Day04. Get On Your Boots05.
Mysterious Ways/ My Sweet Lord07. Band Introduction/ I still haven't found09. In A Little While11.
Miss Sarajevo12. Until The End Of The World13. The Unforgettable Fire14. City Of Blinding Lights15. VertigoDisc 201. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight/ Discotheque02.
Sunday Bloody Sunday03. Bono speech04. Walk On/ You'll never walk alone06. Amazing Grace/ Where The Streets Have No Name/ All you need is love08. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me09.
With Or Without You10. Happy Birthday11.
Moment of Surrender.