On "The First Time" & "Dirty Day"...

[SpiralStaircase]

...does it sound to anyone else like Bono has a cold?

 

[digitize]

You're not the first one on this board to suggest that.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

You're not the first one on this board to suggest that.

Oops. I DID attempt a search - obviously I was unsuccessful

 

[digitize]

Oops. I DID attempt a search - obviously I was unsuccessful

Haha, I wasn't trying to reproach you; I was trying to say that your thoughts are indeed valid. I just remember someone mentioning that Bono sounded like he had a cold in those songs in passing once.

 

[Aygo]

I also noticed that on "Stay", his voice is also very nasal in some words.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

Haha, I wasn't trying to reproach you; I was trying to say that your thoughts are indeed valid. I just remember someone mentioning that Bono sounded like he had a cold in those songs in passing once.

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one. You always wonder, don't you, when you're the only one clapping or laughing.

 

[last unicorn]

Didn't his sinus problems that also affected his voice start back then?

 

[Von Schloopen]

...does it sound to anyone else like Bono has a cold?

Whole band sounds like they have a cold on "Dirty Day."

Easily the most lifeless, uninspired rock song they've ever recorded.

 

[trevgreg]

Whole band sounds like they have a cold on "Dirty Day."

Easily the most lifeless, uninspired rock song they've ever recorded.

The Butch Vig remixes, on the other hand...

 

[cobl04]

Whole band sounds like they have a cold on "Dirty Day."

Easily the most lifeless, uninspired rock song they've ever recorded.

We finally agree on something.

 

[Von Schloopen]

The Butch Vig remixes, on the other hand...

They've got some verve. Live performances were ace as well.

But that studio take on the album is awful.

 

[david]

Dirty Day followed by Bullet live in 93 was awesome.

 

[angelordevil]

Dirty Day followed by Bullet live in 93 was awesome.

 

[Axver]

Yeah, I've said for years that Bono sounds like he was ill when they recorded Dirty Day. It's such a shame too, because live it became one of the most impressive songs of its era; you'd never realise how good a song it could be if you only knew the studio version.

Dirty Day followed by Bullet live in 93 was awesome.

Totally agree. That was a killer transition.

 

[last unicorn]

Unfortunately, this song along with Babyface and Crashed Car are what's ruining Zooropa for me as an album despite of songs like Stay and some other good ones. I just cannot stand those three songs.

 

[cobl04]

Babyface and Crashed Car are what's ruining Zooropa for me

 

[corianderstem]

I looooove Daddy's Gonna Pay.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

Me too. The sheer aceness of the rhythm track on it. Can't imagine what people who thought AB was unlistenable noise when they first heard it thought of THAT

 

[LemonMelon]

When the beat kicks back in after "you've got a head full of traffic"...hot damn.

 

[mofo82]

Yeah Zooropa kicks ass. Never felt weaknesses in this album at all. Weird for the first few listens but all were eventually growers for me. Now that I'm used to the difference of U2 live vs. album cuts, I can understand when people feel album cuts lack power or excitement, seem to flat. I'd say I probably prefer live cuts over album cuts, but I can still listen to the Zooropa album without a problem.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

You see, up to Zooropa U2 had always been a band whose songs had some kind of "moment" in them, like most great rock or pop music, that moment in a song that makes your neck hair stand up, your stomach fall 48 floors and makes you want to get up and punch the air, leap about, whatever. Zooropa, more than anything the band had done previously, seemed to represent a determined effort to get away from that "moment hunting", with the exception of Stay and in a couple of other places.

AB was and is still seen by many as the most dramatic switch in style between records but it's still a load of songs chock-full of those moments. Edge has a few new pedals, there are a few different sounds on there you might not have expected to find on a U2 record up to that point, and the lyrics have gone from "you" to "me" as they had to at that point, but I honestly can't see much of a change musically. But AB to Zooropa - that's a change.

And that's why I like it so much, I think. The "flatness" I hear as restraint & focus. Letting the songs speak for themselves without the temptation to go for the Hail Mary pass. I reckon it only veers too much into this with "Some days are better than others" which sounds like they can't be arsed. I don't always skip it, even so.

 

[Musikwala]

Ahh I love these songs. I don't care if Bono sounds like he has a cold in them. Of course, the live version of Dirty Day on Zoo TV was excellent but I don't hate the album version or anything.

If you need someone to blame, throw a rock in the air you'll hit someone guilty

 

[Thrillhouse]

I dont get the hate for Babyface or Numb. I'd say DGPFYCC is my least fav yea but i dont skip it.

Numb is actually song that got my gf into U2. Or more into them than before.

 

[lmixristhebest]

The "father to son" part of Dirty Day totally slays me. Like, almost to tears, every single time. It's fantastic. And the drum beat changes up at that point. I love that song.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

The "father to son" part of Dirty Day totally slays me.

The note he hits on "life" is one of his best ever, imo

 

[lemonfly]

The first time (heh) I heard Dirty Day my reaction was "meh whatever". Then the Sydney Zoo TV performance blew my fucking brains out. Not many U2 songs have benefited from the live transition to the extent that DD did. I remember literally sitting up thinking "Is this the same song?!"

 

[Galeongirl]

Dirty day live was fiiiiiine

 

[santiago]

I think he was just touring at the same time (plus smoking!), so these vocals were probably recorded at 1am after having played a week of gigs. So his voice was strained and he may have a cold on top of it.

His voice also sounds fairly rough on Passengers and Pop, to be honest.

But well, it does not take away from the great songs...

 

[Reg McGowan]

Dirty Day is a great song, I'm happy they incorporated it into the Set list on ZooTV

Daddy's gonna pay is also a great addition and introduces us to MacPhisto