cobl04
45:33
As you may be able to tell, I have (finally) purchased U2’s 8th studio album, Zooropa. And I must say, I was a little let down at first. But as the cliché goes, time heals all wounds. Here’s what I thought, but please, if you’re going to post make it constructive. I really want to hear what everyone thinks of Zooropa. Rate it yourself, give opinions of tracks, etc, and if you aren’t a fan of Zooropa, explain why!
Zooropa
The intro is huge, in terms of length that is. 2:23 the vocal finally kicks in. From bits and pieces I’ve gathered in Zooropa threads, this song is a take on the advertising world. I get that, but the intro is a bit too long. The first recognisable guitar is good, although the vocals are a fraction weak in the early stages. But, all that said, I thought from the 4:00 minute mark onwards this song was great. When it finally really gets going it is quite good. 7
Babyface
I know this is one song that is generally ignored off Zooropa, but I actually thought it was quite good, and when I listened for the first time (pun intended) I believed it to be one of the better tracks from Zooropa, probably because I could actually hear it clearly. Some of lyrics are a little cheesy, but the delievery is fantastic. That said, it does lose a few points in my opinion for not really stepping up a gear. 7
Numb
The only track I had heard fully before purchasing, I think this is one of those love-or-hate songs. By themselves, the bass, the guitar, the Edge and the Fat Lady would all sound pretty crappy, but somehow, all mixed together, it just works. The problem for me will be the vocals. I usually can sing all the words to a song within a few listens, but methinks Numb will take quite some time, as you can hardly tell apart the word after ‘don’t’ without reading the lyrics simultaneously. That vocal can get extremely annoying however. 5
Lemon
This came as surprise. I was expecting a magnificent song, but instead out came a song where I’m not quite sure I can hear Bono at all. Everyone rants about ‘the falsetto’. Which one? There’s like four. A very weird track, with a less than inspiring intro. I never really knew what to expect next, but I suppose that’s one of the beauties of it. The time goes by pretty quickly actually, considering its U2’s longest recorded song at 6:57. I do however, really like Brian Eno’s (?) vocals in the ‘man’ verses. They sound really good, and the ‘chorus’, if you can call it a chorus sounds good as well. There’s a ringing sound in the background, which is really annoying. The lyrics are terrific, especially the ‘a man burns the sand so he can see the world outside’ line. That is genius. But I was a little let down with this one. 7
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
A bit overrated I thought. The guitar in Stay that kind of continues throughout it some of the best on Zooropa, and sounds very good in my opinion. That said, this track let me down a little as well. Don’t know if anyone else feels this way but I thought the vocal delievery did not suit the music, especially in the opening verses, and no rhyming didn’t help either. But the lead-in and the chorus are very good, probably some of the most powerful moments on Zooropa. I didn’t like the way it just ended, but I do understand it has to do with the angel hitting the ground. 7.5
Daddy’s Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
Wow, I’d read this (and Some Days are Better Than Others) were the two ‘fun’ tracks on the album, but I really didn’t like this song much at all. It goes from studio noise to trumpets to another sound all within 30 seconds. The sounds from about 0:23 to 1:02 are kick-ass, but then I read at the bottom of the page that the song contains a sample from a song called The City Sleeps by MC 900 ft Jesus. So is that part from that song? If so then the U2 parts of this song just aren’t very good. 3.5
Some Days are Better Than Others
Another very abnormal sounding track. The bass at the beginning is quite – for lack of a better word – dense. The lyrics again, are a bit suspect, but the delievery is ok in parts. I’m wishing the ‘chorus’ part was a bit longer, but you can’t have it all. The chorus sounds swell. Unfortunately every time I look at the lyrics or sing along to this song with them, I think of the sexual messages thread or whatever it is in It’s a Musical Journey, where someone wrote out the lyrics to this song, replacing ‘days’ with ‘dicks’. 4.5
The First Time
I definitely thought the first line I was going to hear was “you say, you want, diamonds on a ring of gold.” I recall arguments had long ago where a member of this forum (Axver?) was asking why people don’t appreciate One Step Closer when other ‘quiet’ style songs such as Running to Stand Still and The First Time are celebrated. I replied that One Step Closer never really unleashes itself, whereas Running to Stand Still does. Now I can finally speak for The First Time, and I have to say that this song is one of those unmemorable songs. I am a fan of the last few lines though, while the song reaches a subtle climax. 5
Dirty Day
The vocal in this is quite sly, even sexy, and meshes very well with the music. The lyrics are really good and intriguing, and that guitar before the line ‘it was a dirty day’ is kick-ass, easily the best on the album. Not so sure about the ‘father to son’ sort of intermission verse there, it wrecks the flow and feel of the song for me, but still pretty good. I liked this song, and the outro is sweet too. 7
The Wanderer
On first listen of Zooropa, I thought this was one of the better tracks on Zooropa, which was strange considering its probably the most dissed track on Zooropa. This was my first encounter with Johnny Cash, and his vocals, surprisingly to me, were very good (quite Elvis-like) and fitted the album and the track nicely. A solid closer. Just a question, what parts did Cash and U2 play in this song respectively? I also thought there was like a hidden track at the end, but there is a bunch of annoying alarms. Anyone heard these? Anyone got a logical explanation? Is it mean to be a part of The Wanderer? 6.5
So am I a Zooropean?
No, or not yet anyway. I have no doubt this will grow significantly on me, as every other album has over time, but let’s just say this was not what I was expecting to hear. [sarcasm]I'm also wondering if its been through a computer at all? Any synthesisers used?[/sarcasm]
Now, bring forth the criticisms!
Zooropa
The intro is huge, in terms of length that is. 2:23 the vocal finally kicks in. From bits and pieces I’ve gathered in Zooropa threads, this song is a take on the advertising world. I get that, but the intro is a bit too long. The first recognisable guitar is good, although the vocals are a fraction weak in the early stages. But, all that said, I thought from the 4:00 minute mark onwards this song was great. When it finally really gets going it is quite good. 7
Babyface
I know this is one song that is generally ignored off Zooropa, but I actually thought it was quite good, and when I listened for the first time (pun intended) I believed it to be one of the better tracks from Zooropa, probably because I could actually hear it clearly. Some of lyrics are a little cheesy, but the delievery is fantastic. That said, it does lose a few points in my opinion for not really stepping up a gear. 7
Numb
The only track I had heard fully before purchasing, I think this is one of those love-or-hate songs. By themselves, the bass, the guitar, the Edge and the Fat Lady would all sound pretty crappy, but somehow, all mixed together, it just works. The problem for me will be the vocals. I usually can sing all the words to a song within a few listens, but methinks Numb will take quite some time, as you can hardly tell apart the word after ‘don’t’ without reading the lyrics simultaneously. That vocal can get extremely annoying however. 5
Lemon
This came as surprise. I was expecting a magnificent song, but instead out came a song where I’m not quite sure I can hear Bono at all. Everyone rants about ‘the falsetto’. Which one? There’s like four. A very weird track, with a less than inspiring intro. I never really knew what to expect next, but I suppose that’s one of the beauties of it. The time goes by pretty quickly actually, considering its U2’s longest recorded song at 6:57. I do however, really like Brian Eno’s (?) vocals in the ‘man’ verses. They sound really good, and the ‘chorus’, if you can call it a chorus sounds good as well. There’s a ringing sound in the background, which is really annoying. The lyrics are terrific, especially the ‘a man burns the sand so he can see the world outside’ line. That is genius. But I was a little let down with this one. 7
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
A bit overrated I thought. The guitar in Stay that kind of continues throughout it some of the best on Zooropa, and sounds very good in my opinion. That said, this track let me down a little as well. Don’t know if anyone else feels this way but I thought the vocal delievery did not suit the music, especially in the opening verses, and no rhyming didn’t help either. But the lead-in and the chorus are very good, probably some of the most powerful moments on Zooropa. I didn’t like the way it just ended, but I do understand it has to do with the angel hitting the ground. 7.5
Daddy’s Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
Wow, I’d read this (and Some Days are Better Than Others) were the two ‘fun’ tracks on the album, but I really didn’t like this song much at all. It goes from studio noise to trumpets to another sound all within 30 seconds. The sounds from about 0:23 to 1:02 are kick-ass, but then I read at the bottom of the page that the song contains a sample from a song called The City Sleeps by MC 900 ft Jesus. So is that part from that song? If so then the U2 parts of this song just aren’t very good. 3.5
Some Days are Better Than Others
Another very abnormal sounding track. The bass at the beginning is quite – for lack of a better word – dense. The lyrics again, are a bit suspect, but the delievery is ok in parts. I’m wishing the ‘chorus’ part was a bit longer, but you can’t have it all. The chorus sounds swell. Unfortunately every time I look at the lyrics or sing along to this song with them, I think of the sexual messages thread or whatever it is in It’s a Musical Journey, where someone wrote out the lyrics to this song, replacing ‘days’ with ‘dicks’. 4.5
The First Time
I definitely thought the first line I was going to hear was “you say, you want, diamonds on a ring of gold.” I recall arguments had long ago where a member of this forum (Axver?) was asking why people don’t appreciate One Step Closer when other ‘quiet’ style songs such as Running to Stand Still and The First Time are celebrated. I replied that One Step Closer never really unleashes itself, whereas Running to Stand Still does. Now I can finally speak for The First Time, and I have to say that this song is one of those unmemorable songs. I am a fan of the last few lines though, while the song reaches a subtle climax. 5
Dirty Day
The vocal in this is quite sly, even sexy, and meshes very well with the music. The lyrics are really good and intriguing, and that guitar before the line ‘it was a dirty day’ is kick-ass, easily the best on the album. Not so sure about the ‘father to son’ sort of intermission verse there, it wrecks the flow and feel of the song for me, but still pretty good. I liked this song, and the outro is sweet too. 7
The Wanderer
On first listen of Zooropa, I thought this was one of the better tracks on Zooropa, which was strange considering its probably the most dissed track on Zooropa. This was my first encounter with Johnny Cash, and his vocals, surprisingly to me, were very good (quite Elvis-like) and fitted the album and the track nicely. A solid closer. Just a question, what parts did Cash and U2 play in this song respectively? I also thought there was like a hidden track at the end, but there is a bunch of annoying alarms. Anyone heard these? Anyone got a logical explanation? Is it mean to be a part of The Wanderer? 6.5
So am I a Zooropean?
No, or not yet anyway. I have no doubt this will grow significantly on me, as every other album has over time, but let’s just say this was not what I was expecting to hear. [sarcasm]I'm also wondering if its been through a computer at all? Any synthesisers used?[/sarcasm]
Now, bring forth the criticisms!
it's a brutal song
It's interesting to see how people who love the same band can feel so differently about the songs.
