Zooropa Album Review
1. "Zooropa" (6:31) (lyrics) |
6. "Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car" (5:20) (lyrics) |
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| 2. "Babyface" (4:01) (lyrics) |
7. "Some Days Are Better Than Others" (4:17) (lyrics) |
| 3. "Numb" (The Edge) (4:20) (lyrics) |
8. "The First Time" (3:45) (lyrics) |
| 4. "Lemon" (6:58) (lyrics) |
9. "Dirty Day" (5:24) (lyrics) |
| 5. "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" (4:58) (lyrics) |
10. "The Wanderer" (Featuring Johnny Cash) (5:41) (lyrics) |
There’s not really much to say about “Zooropa”, except ‘what the heck?’ This may sound bad, but it’s really not. It is definitely a bizarre album and doesn’t sound anything like U2. It’s quirky and doesn’t take itself seriously, and you don’t know what to expect throughout the whole album. There are some very annoying tracks, a few fillers, however, as a whole; “Zooropa” is a great, fun listen if you don’t take it too seriously.
The title track “Zooropa” is a superbly well layered, fusing all sorts electronic sounds and sounds great. As odd as it is, it is one of the more conventional tracks on the album. “Babyface” is an unusual love song with all sorts of electronic happenings in the background. The experimental “Numb” is a great song with Edge mumbling through the lyrics broken up by bono’s falsetto. The intertwined electronic sounds also prove very effective, not to mention it has a hilarious video clip too. “Lemon” is the undoubted highlight of the album (with a great video clip). It can be best described as an evolved “The Fly”, and Bono’s switching falsetto to a lower range is superbly effective. It’s a great, underrated song, very dynamic and funky. It’s a different U2 for sure. “Stay (Faraway, So close)” is a wonderfully mellow romantic song and builds up nicely. “Daddy’s Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car” along with “Some Days are Better than Others” are annoying at first, but then you realise that was the intention. The both also feature no guitar at all. “The First Time” is a retreat to the typical U2 structure, but takes a bit too long to build up and when it does it doesn’t reach any great heights. “Dirty Day”, is a brilliant song with a darker sound- it is gritty, dirty and the distorted guitar at the end is quite effective. We reach “The Wanderer”, sung by Johnny Cash and are all left wondering- why is this song is even on the album?
“Zooropa” at its best, is quite sublime. As a whole it’s a fun, groovy album. There aren’t many weak tracks- just a few that will alienate some oldschool U2 fans. It’s definitely worth a listen just for the magic of “Lemon” and “Numb”, while oldschoolers will enjoy “Dirty Day” and “Stay (Faraway, So Close)”. “Zooropa” is not to everyone’s taste and sounds nothing like previous U2 albums. U2 seem comfortable playing a fusion of Pop, Alternative-Rock and Electronica. There’s not much guitar or soaring Bono vocals and this is a heavily produced album. Overall, it’s an immensely enjoyable album, if you haven’t already been put off by “Lemon” or “Daddy’s Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car”. 8.5/10
