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Rating: THE REVIEW
"Zooropa" confronts us with the age-old (and tedious) debate: can a perfect and innovative production transform decent tracks into masterpieces? The answer is an emphatic no.
You don't need Mozart's ear to understand that "Zooropa" is a series of songs of an idea dressed in elegant electronics. But when U2 makes ditties (that is, tracks based on the melody line without true musical creativity), they are not REM, because Bono, despite being a better singer, doesn't have Stipe's emotional impact, whose deep voice penetrates the listener's heart and makes it tremble (just as Ferruccio Amendola was able to do with his dubbing, despite having a much less beautiful voice than many other dubbers).
Thus "Stay" and "The First Time", the two best tracks, are excellent ditties, but they are neither "Drive" nor "Everybody Hurts" (to cite two pieces of the same genre: "music of an idea as a simple background to the singing").
U2, however, can still surprise us with a textbook number like "Lemon" (extended beyond 6 minutes to increase the run time), with Bono singing in a Prince-like fashion a text dedicated to his mother. Sad, but with a verse that opens to optimism: "Midnight is when the day begins."
The title track, "Dirty Day", "Numb" (a brilliant semi-rap about the effects of too much television), and "The Wanderer" are successful songs, although marred by irritating electronics. They stand out here as great tracks, but would be fillers in any of their 80s albums - except for "Rattle & Hum", of which "Zooropa" is a worthy follow-up, in the genre of "cunning albums".
That "Zooropa" is cunning is confirmed by Bill Flanagan in his book: "U2 at the End of the World". In 1993, U2 was nearing the end of their contract and instead of releasing the live "Zoo Tour 92/93", they decided to release an EP of unreleased tracks, to have the opportunity to ask for more at the time of renegotiation. This EP magically turned into an LP. We leave the songs that were hastily written to fill the album anonymous. We also draw a veil over the whole affair...
Pass marks for the production and the decency of the songs. U2 never engaged in the bravado that fills REM albums.
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Summary by Bot
The review critically examines U2's 'Zooropa,' acknowledging its innovative electronic production but finding the songs themselves only decent. Bono's vocals are compared unfavorably in emotional impact to other artists. Some tracks like 'Stay' and 'The First Time' stand out, while others feel like fillers. The album is seen as a strategic release rather than a fully cohesive masterpiece.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976 by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. Rising from post‑punk roots to global fame, they fused atmospheric guitar textures with anthemic songwriting and ambitious tours such as Zoo TV and U2 360°.129 Reviews
Other reviews
By Jy
NUMB is indeed the sonic manifesto of the band’s new direction.
‘Stay’ is the song where electronics take a back seat for once, in favor of a superb performance by the entire band.
By Bleak
"With all the controversies it has brought along, it remains for me one of the best albums by the Irish band."
"Not a masterpiece, I repeat. In the case of U2, in my opinion, such a word is absolutely to be avoided."
By hypnosphere boy
It seems the meaning of the entire work is concentrated in the apocalyptic presage version of 'Zooropa.'
Zooropa offers a portrait of the world as elusive, dreamlike, poetic, and realistically complex.
