"Zooropa" - U2

U2's 1993 album Zooropa sees the band delve even further into electronic music and further away from the anthemic stadium sound found on albums such as The Joshua Tree. In this regard it goes even away from The Joshua Tree than its predecessor, the much acclaimed Achtung Baby. The first side of the album (bear with me, I heard this album for many years in cassette format) is the more electronic side while the second side is more melodic and a bit more traditionally U2. It was too bad that their next album (Pop) focused even more on the electronic side of things. "Babyface" about internet ogling is a very prescient track, though the lyrics would not surprise in this day and age.

The songs are a very disparate bunch. The heartbreakingly tender song "The First Time" is one of Bono's most intimate, perhaps even autobiographical songs and is one of the strongest songs on the album. "Babyface" about internet ogling is a very prescient track, though the lyrics would not surprise in this day and age. The final track is interesting. It is "The Wanderer" and features Johnny Cash on lead vocals. Musically it is a return to the more electronic sounds of the first side and lyrically it is about a future dystopia. It's somehow jarring to me to hear Johnny Cash on a U2 album, but I think it works, and the final track is a good place to put it.

This is by no means my favourite U2 album and it does not contain any big hits..... but it it still a worthwhile and consistent album and definitely worth checking out if you want to delve a little deeper into U2's catalog.

Euro-doodlings?

"Moondance" - Van Morrison

Moondance is considered by most to be Van Morrison's most popular album and is much more up my alley than the more esoteric (to me) album Astral Weeks. It contains some of his most famous and accessible songs and stands as one of the greatest albums to be released during the 1970s. The jazzy title track is the most well-known song on the album and is certainly deserving of its classic status. The song that follows it on the album ("Crazy Love") is a beautiful love song and it enjoyed a second life when Michael Bublé covered it and even named his 2009 album "Crazy Love".

Van Morrison's music has often been referred to 'Celtic Soul'. I believe that actually is a pretty accurate description of this albumt. Let's not forget that Van Morrison's first hit ("Brown Eyed Girl") was produced by R&B producer Bert Berns, also responsible for producing Soul artists such as Solomon Burke, Erma Franklin, The Drifters, Ben E. King and many more. A touch of Soul touches all of the songs on this album.

As I am not averse to a double dip, I picked up the 2-CD expanded edition when it came out a few months ago (while managing to avoid the temptation of buying the bloated 5-disc deluxe edition). The second disc mostly contains alternate versions, but there are a couple of new tunes, namely the spritely "I Shall Sing" (first released through an Art Garfunkel version in 1973). Really though, all you need is the single disc edition. The bare bones single disc remastered edition can be bought here. No matter which edition you get though, the soulfulness and directness of the of the album shines through with every listen.