10 Blatantly Unfinished Albums (That Were Released Anyway)
6. U2 - Pop
A strange mis-step for the band that gave us classics like The Joshua Tree, U2 took The Edge's idea that "U2 albums never get finished, they just get released" a little too far here, unleashing this unfiltered and misguided experimental pop mess into the world with next to no spit and polish.
A lot of the electronic elements here feels downright jarring (especially, and most vitally, on the opening tracks "Discotheque" and "Do You Feel Loved"), leading to an album that has aged poorly, even when compared to its contemporary records that also dabbled in synth experimentation.
Clearly, U2 were also dissatisfied with the final product, with the few songs from the record that did make it onto the band's Best Of 1990-2000 compilation only appearing as highly edited versions, the removal of unnecessary walls of sound leading to far superior mixes that highlight the musicality of the songs, proving that Pop would have benefited hugely from the removal of unnecessary instrumentation alone.
Despite its faults, Pop has become an unlikely fan favourite for some, with defenders praising Bono's lyrics and U2's attempts to embrace an entirely new sound.