After Achtung Baby and Zooropa demolished my prejudices against them, I cast a suspicious glance further down the catalog and said, “I better flippin’ hate Pop.”
Where I had only heard Zooropa used as a punchline, Pop had an even less flattering reputation. Over the years, it has often come up as an example of respected band dropping a real stinker. The band’s own opinions on the record haven’t helped rebut that reputation, and being the last record before All That You Can’t Leave Behind’s alleged return to form, Pop became the scapegoat for U2’s ill-advised detour into dance music. Outside of its accompanying tour, the group has rarely played any of these songs live.
But somehow, despite its reputation among both fans and the band themselves, this is the last great record they made.