If you listened to all the U2 albums but were unaware of their actual chronological order, you would still probably figure out that this one came between "Achtung Baby" and "Pop". This is where U2 really started losing their minds, trying to be postmodern and experimental. Whereas other U2 albums seemed to me to have clear themes ("Achtung Baby" was about loss of innocence & the conflict between the spiritual and the sensual, "Pop" was about trying but ultimately failing to use hedonism to drive away one's despair), I can't make sense of what exactly Bono's going for in most of his lyrics on "Zooropa".

The title track is an exercise in ridiculing commercialism, which was hinted at in the previous "Even Better Than the Real Thing". By the time of "Pop"'s "The Playboy Mansion" and the accompanying tour's parodying of McDonald's and other advertising machines, that them would be very worn out indeed. "Stay Faraway, So Close!" is a solid ballad (in spite of its odd lyrics), reminiscent of "One", but not quite as good. "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car" matches the future techno excesses on "Pop", it is "Zooropa"'s weakest track.

This is a bad album for U2. But the thing about U2 is that even their bad records are good, in spite of philosophical disagreements with its general direction I really do enjoy listening to most of "Zooropa". However, I must condemn in the strongest terms possible that annoying blaring alarm they threw in for no reason at the end of the album. What was that, guys?

I remember hearing about U2 having Johnny Cash sing one of their songs and being quite skeptical, thinking it wouldn't work. But "The Wanderer" proves to be "Zooropa"'s most brilliant moment, its only song where Bono's lyrics really shine. Cash plays the role of an existential cowboy, wandering around the postmodern world looking for meaning and purpose ("I went out riding, down that old 8 lane, I passed by a thousand signs, looking for my own name"). The song's end alludes to religious fundamentalism as a tempting simple answer to the problems of a complex world ("I went out walking with a Bible and a gun"), something that definitely resonates today in light of recent events. This would be an impressive end to a mediocre album, if it weren't for that stupid alarm they throw in at the very end....

Recommended: Yes