10 Underrated Albums By Huge Bands
6. U2 - Zooropa
U2 are a band who’ve been reborn time and again, though not always successfully. Following a downturn at the end of the ‘80s, they resurfaced with the irony-laden Achtung Baby, one of their biggest records. Chasing that vibe, they arched their collective eyebrow up further on Zooropa, to immediately diminishing results.
While Zooropa was then and is now well regarded, its status as a great U2 album has never quite been solidified, which is unfair. Their playful, experimental side comes out on the Edge-led “Numb” and lead single “Lemon”. They’re self consciously weird tracks, U2 doing mock-art pop, but the music’s great, and silly Bono is always better than sanctimonious Bono.
When the irony mask drops, Zooropa is no less great. "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" may have been the album’s biggest track, but “Babyface” is perhaps its best, a gentle, romantic song the likes of which the band made sparingly, but very well.
Most intriguing, though, is the closer, “The Wanderer”, with lead vocals from Johnny Cash. It’s a dystopian future cowboy song with the ageing country star deadpan and incredibly charismatic, one of the strangest songs in their canon.