The Flaming Lips- Zaireeka : Almost Amazing!

Review: The Flaming Lips, being a completely original and off the wall band, has always tried to strive for something new, but when they decided to make an experimental album, they took it to a whole new level. Zaireeka (A compound word of Zaire and Eureka) consists of not one, not two, but four discs. Whats special about these four discs is that they are meant to be played at the same time.

Each disc has a different segment of the eight songs on the album. By playing them all at the same time, in sync, you experience the whole song in what can be truly called surround sound (what else would it be, being surrounded by four CD players?) What's great about this setup, is that you can mix and recreate the song at will, simply by delaying or excluding one of the discs.

This creates a listening experience unlike any other, wherein every new session of listening is just a little bit different. You will find it is extremely difficult to make all four discs play in sync with one person activating them, which is one really wonderful thing about the four disc setup. It turns the listening experience from a solitary passive act, to one that involves multiple people and participation with the music.

The content on the album itself is amazing, even without the innovative concept. Besides using your everyday instruments like drums, guitars, pianos and bass guitars, you get sounds you don't hear in modern music nearly as much. Some of the songs include crash symbols, wooden flutes, trumpets, horns, and there's even a song that uses a recording of dogs barking and horns honking. Listening to the music you wonder how it works as well as it does, since the music is made of random noises and harmonies combined with the vocals so that are so meticulously done.

01 OK I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand: Length: 2:50
This track consists of lots of drums and bass, with a small amount of guitar in the song. The vocals in the song have an ethereal, chanting echoing tone about them, that is almost haunting when you heard it coming at you from all directions.

02 Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now): Length: 7:02
The second song on the disc starts off with a low pulsing beat that you can feel in your chest and this beat is reflected with synth chords that make the music sound very offbeat and random. There are some excellent guitar and keyboard harmonies in the song. There is extensive use of a piano in this song as well. This is another song that the vocals have a way of haunting you and give the the sense that they are coming from very far off.

03 Thirty Five Thousand Feet Of Despair: Length: 4:59
This track starts off with some morose, almost deathly piano chords and what sounds like a heartbeat as the beat. There is extensive use of echoes for the vocals. There is so much in fact, there is almost a constant overlapping of words. The noises in the background contrast with each other greatly. One CD plays really light hearted high pitched sounds while another plays low pitched, deep resonating sounds.

04 A Machine In India: Length: 10:22
The fourth track in this album contrasts everything we've heard thus far. This song consists of wooden flutes, a guitar, and a sparing use of drums and synthesizers. The vocals in this song do not echo, and do not haunt. They have a weird way of not impressing as much on you in sound, but in word choice. A few minutes into the song, things start to complicate a little bit, but stay relatively simple. Instead of a solo or harmony in this song, you get what sounds like a grossly mis-tuned guitar with contrasts starkingly with the rest of the music in the song.

05 The Train Runs Over The Camel But Is Derailed By The Gnat: Length: 6:11
This song sounds more like a rock song than anything else heard on the album, and is more like other music made by The Flaming Lips. It has lots of driving guitar and bass, combined with the drumming that one expects in a rock song. The vocals however, are again ethereal and echoing. (It's kinda like Enya doing a cover of a rock song, now that I think about it.) After about halfway through the song loses it's rock sound and returns to the cacophony that this album consists of, then changes again for a calm ending. The ending reminds me of weird carnival music.

06 How Will We Know (Futuristic Crashendos): Length: 2:22
This song starts off with a creepy rushing noise, then moves into a poppy piano/strumming guitar song. A small rumbling noise is evident throughout most of the song.

07 March Of The Rotten Vegetables: Length: 6:27
the song starts off with a militaristic drumbeat and a ballerina-esque piano sequence. The piano sequence into full piano music that encloses you form all sides. There is also a noise that is sorta like a fly or bee buzzing throughout the piano sessions. The drums make a rumbling return with the ballerina piano playing as well. This drum solo is one of the most talented solos I've heard in a long time and it very original. The whole song has the air of an army marching until near the end, at which the music created a vision of war time. This is done with liberal use of white noise. After the "war", the music returns to the way it was before the drum solo, except it sounds a little bit more morose. There are no vocals at all in this song.

08 The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now: Length: 5:10
This song starts off with some synthesizers, a drum and some light piano sessions. There is a conversation going on between two men over the music, and a dog is barking in the background. After the conversation, there is an echoing chorus that carries an air of joyful finality. There is a drumbeat in the song that sounds a lot like the militaristic one in Track seven, but is not happy, not foreboding,. The chorus and song ends suddenly with numerous dogs barking and baying.

Final Score (out of ten): 9 of 10 points rewarded
In conclusion, this is one of the most unique and well-written albums I have ever heard. It is unique and original not only in content, but concept as well. The only drawback is that you need four CD players to witness the complete experience of the album. I give the album a nine out of ten.

Artist: The Flaming Lips
Album Title: Zaireeka
Price Paid: $21.99
Release Date: 1997
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
Track Listing:
01 OK I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand
02 Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)
03 Thirty Five Thousand Feet Of Despair
04 A Machine In India
05 The Train Runs Over The Camel But Is Derailed By The Gnat
06 How Will We Know (Futuristic Crashendos)
07 March Of The Rotten Vegetables
08 The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now