Published on Feb 27, 2000
If you own a radio – and chances are excellent you do – you’ve
been exposed to Eiffel 65’s quirky little hit “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”.
If you’re like me, the first few times you heard it, it quickly
made you want to vomit.
But there’s something that this Italian trio knows about light
pop music – and how they can write something incredibly infectious.
That’s the case with their debut disc
Europop, which does have songs on it that will be hard to
get out of your brain once you’ve heard them. However, one has to
question whether or not this group has any staying power.
Okay, now that I’ve completely slammed “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”, let
me quickly backpedal… and say that after forcing myself to sit
and listen to the song a few times, it got to the point where I’m
walking around the apartment singing the song’s bouncy chorus (and
wrecking my three-year-old’s nerves in the process). I gotta admit:
I’m hooked.
The obvious next single (seeing it’s already been released as
such overseas) is the equally infectious “Move Your Body,” a track
that is even better than “Blue,” if some of you can believe that.
It’s got a perfect dance rhythm and track, as well as a chorus that
you’ll be remembering for days after you hear the song – even after
one listen. If Eiffel 65 wants to erase the tag of “one-hit wonder”
that some people are hanging on them, all they have to do is
release this 40-megaton dance warhead.
The key to both these songs is the use of the voice synthesizer,
something that vocalist Jeffrey Jey, keyboardist Maurizio Lobina
and dj/mixer Gabry Ponte utilize for most of
Europop. But therein lies their fatal flaw – namely,
overdependance on this otherwise useful tool. It was interesting
when Cher used it on “Believe”; it’s interesting to hear on “Blue”
and “Move Your Body”. But when they use it on almost every damned
song, it becomes similar to a joke a child learns and tells ad
infinitum. After you’ve heard it for the 100th time, you want to
deep-six it… the joke, that is.
What’s interesting is that the one song that doesn’t use the
voice synthesizer (or at least uses it to a point where I didn’t
recognize it), “Your Clown,” is arguably the best work that Eiffel
65 does. Cut from the same mold as classic Depeche Mode, the band
combines powerful songwriting and an outstanding vocal performance
to create a track that comes out from left field and levels you.
It’s a great feeling, and is one that is meant to be shared.
While the bulk of
Europop is enjoyable, it bothers me that there is a lack of
original thought that permeates the album. When it is utilized, as
on “Your Clown,” the results are stupendous. But if Eiffel 65 wants
to remain a force in this notoriously fickle genre (think back –
when was the last time you heard from Snow? ‘Nuff said.), they need
to expand their horizons past a synthesized vocal piece.
Europop is the kind of album that is a guilty pleasure, and
even if you stand there (as I once did) and declare you hate that
“Da Ba Dee” song, after just one listen to this disc you might be
willing to say that there’s more to this band. Here’s hoping they
can prove me right on their next release.