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Even though I was a child of the 1980's, I didn't truly discover U2 until 1987, when The Joshua Tree album was released. Even after I first discovered the band, I can't say I truly came to like what they were releasing until the early 1990's. When The Joshua Tree and the Rattle and Hum albums were out, I tolerated the singles I heard on the radio... but I wasn't going out of my way to listen to the band.

All of that changed in late 1991/early 1992, when I started hearing "Mysterious Ways" (the second single from Achtung Baby). I don't know why, but something about that song really grabbed my interest. As I started hearing some of U2's older material, I realized that it really was quite good, and wondered why I hadn't warmed up much to it earlier. I developed quite a bit of respect for U2's material from the 1980's

So, starting with the Achtung Baby era, I started to follow U2 a little more closely. However, I ended up being disappointed when the Zooropa album came out. While I thought "Numb" was tolerable, I just could never come to enjoy the follow-up single, "Lemon." And after my disappointment in "Lemon," I really was never able to give "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" a real chance.

While I was in college in the mid-1990's, I started dating the man who would become my husband. He was into U2, so I started to hear more than just the singles. Within a few months of getting married, U2 released the Pop album. Admittedly, I didn't have high hopes for the album after Zooropa. I remember not being very impressed with "Discotheque" (the lead-off single) at the time it was out. I have come to gain a better appreciation for it over the years. "Staring at the Sun" didn't do anything for me then, I still find it to be rather boring now.

The two "Best Of" albums released in the late 1990's/early 2000's did produce a couple of notable tracks: the new version of "The Sweetest Thing" and the song "Electrical Storm." I especially liked "Electrical Storm." And the album All That You Can't Leave Behind produced a couple of songs that I enjoyed: "Beautiful Day" and "Stuck in a Moment That You Can't Get Out Of." In a lot of ways, those songs are more of a return to the earlier U2 sound than the material on albums such as Zooropa and Pop.

When it comes to U2, I definitely have come to enjoy their 1980's material and some of the material from the early 1990's. It's a "mixed bag" when it comes to the mid-to-late 1990's U2 material. Today, I have developed a renewed respect for U2. While I may not enjoy all the music they have released, I can understand why the band is as highly respected as it is.

Learn more about this author, Lesley Aeschliman.
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