Might as well go through the next U2 albums since I’ve been listening to them and I have minimal opinions on them. Not much else to say, U2 is huge, Bono is a cunt, their music is quite good.

Achtung Baby (1991) – 9⭐

Something I’ve felt with a lot of U2’s albums is that their sound is fresh for its time, in the sense that I’m always surprised to see how much older a certain song or album really is. Some rock bands sound dated now, or at least they sound their age. But Achtung is… very good, baby. The whole atmospheric stuff from Brian Eno is less pronounced here, the rock has gone into more alternative and industrial areas, very fitting both for its progressive messaging and for its inspiration taken from the German reunification. Love this one.

Zooropa (1993) – 6⭐

Achtung Baby 2, return of the Achtung. Not necessarily a bad album, but it feels like the B side of their previous one. Enjoyable, not as memorable, though I bet some of these sounded great live in the 90’s.

Pop (1997) – 7⭐

Pop music ages like milk, Rock music ages like wine. The good stuff anyway. Well, this pop-rock alternative-ish and dance-ish album aged just as you would expect.
While Achtung was much more ahead of its time, this one sounds just right for circa 1997. Which normally isn’t a bad thing, but take a track like “Mofo” which, sure, is a banger but it would be right at home on a compilation album with Scooter and Darude. Compare that with “Acrobat” from Achtung which would easily fit on a 2020’s alternative rock album. I gotta hand it to them for experimenting and trying to stay fresh.

All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000) – 10⭐

After almost a decade of experimentation and different influences with varying degrees of success, this album, at the start of the millennium, goes back to basics – drums, guitar, bass. Let there be rock! “All That” is all that, with all the trimmings – the lyrics, the bright sound, the catchy hooks, steady rock beats. Absolutely fantastic, I should remember to get the vinyl for this one.