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Babyface (song)

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"Babyface"
Song

"Babyface" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the second track from their 1993 studio album Zooropa.

Writing and Composition

"It's about how people play with images, believing you know somebody through an image and think that by manipulating a machine that, in fact, controls you, you can have some kind of power."

—Bono[1]

"Babyface" was written by Bono during the Zooropa recording sessions in late 1992 and early 1993. The song contains themes of hidden desire, voyeurism, image, celebrity culture and the overwhelming influence of technology. It involves a man having an obsession with a famous woman, whose image he keeps on a televised recording.[1] He is most fascinated by her "bright blue eyes in the freeze frame" and calling her a "Cover girl with natural grace." Despite his belief in having control over her, the speaker is trapped by his celebrity obsession and unable to see the reality for what it is. According to Billboard writer Jonathan Bradley, the song is meant to show "satellite transmissions have unbound man’s desire from any fixed moment or place."[2] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bono described the track as being “a song about watching and not being in the picture. About how people play with images, believing you know somebody through an image.”[3]

During the course of "Babyface"'s production, U2 and producer Brian Eno incorporated a toy piano into the melody of the song. The Edge sings the track's vocals with Bono during the verses and chorus. It is notable for being one of the few U2 songs in which Bono and Edge share the lead vocals. As part of the band's experimental approach to Zooropa, "Babyface" lacks any traditional U2 elements, aside from a repeated Edge guitar riff during the song's second verse and bridge.

Reception

"Babyface" received mixed reviews from several critics. Billboard called the track "a catchy number that sounds like a slowed-down Cars tune."[4] The New York Times critic Jon Pareles described the song as U2 combining "'With or Without You' and Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes'" while praising the "tinkling countermelody" of the song.[5] The Boston Globe's Jim Sullivan called "Babyface" "the most conventional song" on the album and "a smooth-glider where the subversiveness is half-buried in the rolling rhythms and the soft, seductive melody."[6]

In contrast, Parry Gettelman of Orlando Sentinel felt the song was "tediously repetitive" and caused the album to falter.[7]

Live performances

After the release of Zooropa, several of the album's songs were incorporated into the setlist of the then-ongoing Zoo TV Tour. Babyface was only played five times on the European Zooropa leg of the tour. It made its live debut at London's Wembley Stadium on August 11, 1993. However, as with other Zooropa songs, U2 found "Babyface" difficult to perform it live onstage.[8] During the Wembley concert, Larry Mullen Jr. came in late in the introduction, Edge did not perform vocals on the track, while Bono struggled to find the right key in which to sing the song. After its first performance, Bono joked to the audience that the band had the "nice idea" of putting such songs on the record and having to perform them onstage as a result. The song was soon dropped from the tour setlist after the August 20th concert. U2 has never played "Babyface" live in any capacity since.

References

  1. ^ a b Jackson, Joe (1993-05-19). "The Magical Mystery Tour". Hot Press. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
  2. ^ Bradley, Jonathan (2018-07-05). "Dream Up The World You're Gonna Live In: How U2's Zooropa Got The Future Wrong, 25 Years Later". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  3. ^ Gerber, Brady (2018-07-05). "U2's 'Zooropa': 10 Things You Didn't Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  4. ^ Billboard Magazine Album Reviews, July 10, 1993
  5. ^ Pareles, Jon (1993-07-04). "RECORDINGS VIEW; A Raucous U2 Moves Farther Out on a Limb". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  6. ^ Jim Sullivan (4 July 1993). "U2 again braves new worlds". Boston Globe. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  7. ^ Parry Gettelman (23 July 1993). "U2, Zooropa (Island)". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  8. ^ "U2 Babyface". U2Gigs.com. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
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