U2 Album: “Zoo TV Live from Sydney [2 Disc DVD]”

By far the best U2 show recorded. The perfect mix of songs in an era where the band was confused, yet remarkable and groundbreaking. Highlights from this concert include: The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Stay (Faraway, So Close!), Bullet the Blue Sky, Lemon and Love is Blindness. A MUST for all U2 junkies.

Clearly, this 1993 show from the Zoo tour in Sidney Australia is a favorite among U2 fans, and it's easy to see why. The band was tight and energetic, they were full of passion, and the stage production was simply incredible -- especially for its time. And, yet, after watching U2's most recent tours on DVD ("U2 Go Home: Live at Slane Castle" and "U2 Vertigo 2005: Live in Chicago"), I'm not nearly as impressed as I thought I'd be with the fabled Zoo tour.

In all fairness, I should come right out and admit that as an ardent U2 fan from the early '80s, I began to lose interest with my favorite band around the time Zooropa was released. I loved Achtung Baby, but I somehow felt that the Zooropa and Pop albums were trying a little too hard; in an effort to stay ahead of the game, I thought that U2 was losing sight of whatever it was that made them great in the first place. To me -- and to many other fans from my era -- U2 had no need to reinvent themselves; their sound was already revolutionary, and any major departure would be a step backward.

Having seen U2 in concert four times between 1983 and 1988, I skipped the Zoo tour and didn't shed a tear. I felt I had seen U2 in their prime and at the so-called top of their game. Ironically, it wasn't until years later, when I watched the 2000 Slane castle DVD, that I began to discover and appreciate U2's music from the '90s. Watching U2 in 2000, I realized that they hadn't lost a step since their "glory" days; they could still play and perform as well as ever, and, in some ways, I liked them even more. I was especially impressed with the consistency of the material from every stage of U2's career (including the '90s albums I had previously dismissed), and, all of a sudden, I felt a deep sense regret for passing on the Zooropa and Pop Mart tours.

And so, when I learned that the Zoo tour DVD was scheduled for release, I seized it with relish, eager to find out what wonders I had missed. I ran home, popped in the disc, and prepared to be dazzled. While I found certain numbers amazing -- "Zoo Station," "Mysterious Ways," "One," "Running to Stand Still," and, of course, "Where the Streets Have No Name" -- very few of the Zoo performances eclipsed, in my mind, the versions on the recent Slane Castle or Vertigo tour DVDs. Moreover, I found the whole Zoo TV concept distracting, over the top, and, I daresay, silly. Just like before, I felt U2 was trying too hard.

Meanwhile, I do respect and appreciate U2's effort in those days to step out of their comfort zone and into something more risky--especially when abandoning their signature sound could've ended in disaster. Furthermore, I'm convinced that U2 is a better band today because of that period in their career. What a lot of people forget, however, is that the Zoo and Pop Mart tours are NOT the essence of U2, but two unique -- and wonderful -- chapters in one band's 25-year odyssey. Meanwhile, I would argue that the recent tours, which do pay considerable homage to the '90s era, are a better and more complete representation of the "real" U2.

1) Well, I like this DVD a lot, and I think the director's decision to put the concert "TV" phrases on our real TV screen is downright brilliant. For those who never saw ZooTV live (as I did not), it brings home with a diamond edge U2's point and passion about celebrity, advertising, and that horrible word "image." (The VHS had this as well, so it shouldn't be a big surprise.)

2) On the technical side, I don't mind the 4:3 aspect, since it was shot for regular TV, but if you've got a "stretch" feature on your widescreen TV, give it a try. I've got a Toshiba with a setting called "Theatre Stretch," and it makes 4:3's look almost like they were shot in 16:9. Not for the aspect purist, certainly; but lots of fun to fill up the screen!

3) I discovered how to get at the Easter Eggs by searching Google and playing with the 2nd DVD on my computer. Basically, when you play the vid on Windows Media Player, it lets you pick directly by Title #. So, I found out that the EE's were at titles 4, 8, and 9. Then, after reading a forum post from somewhere, I discovered that you have to know how to access title #'s directly with your DVD player's remote. It might say "program," or "display" or something else. I have an Onkyo, and it has a "search" feature which brings up a small screen in which I can enter a title # directly, hit "play" and it goes right where you tell it to. Much easier than figuring out which feature of which menu of which screen you need to manipulate.

That's about it. Enjoy it!

Rick.

Upon my viewing of "Zoo TV: Live in Sydney" at the tender age of ten, it is secure to articulate that I was most enamored with U2. Now being twenty-one years of age, this particular show still draws me. Despite having been previously stated before in aforementioned reviews, U2 are unquestionably at their best. That is not to declare that U2 attained their peak during the Zoo TV Tour, quite the contrary, for their tours succeeding have been and are just as extraordinary. After it was announced that Zoo TV should finally be released onto DVD, a U2 fan such as I could not facilitate but express delight and make purchase with all haste. I highly recommend this product.

This is the video document of U2's legendary ZooTV Tour that began in '91 in support of Achtung Baby and ended two years later after the band released Zooropa. This concert essentially followed that path - it began with the best that Achtung Baby had to offer and ended almost two hours later with several songs of Zooropa. This DVD is definitely worth owning. It may be strange at times, but it's never boring.

As the show begins in a stadium in Sydney, Australia, giant video screens spring to life on the monstrous stage that's shrouded in scaffolding. Excitement builds as horns roar, drums bellow, and strains from the chorus of Beethoven's 9th fill the air until - finally - Bono's silhouette appears in front of a blue screen accompanied by the opening riff from "Zoo Station." Do you remember the first time you heard "Zoo Station"? I do. In retrospect, it's easy to forget how radical it was for U2 back in '91. It was the shot across the bow that said, 'Forget about Joshua Tree. Forget about those heart-felt anthems of the 80s. THIS is U2 in the 90s. It's something completely new. Deal with it.'

"Zoo Station" is even more exhilarating live than on CD. The opening chords from Edge's guitar shock Bono with a massive jolt of energy - a sublime shock treatment that jettisons him into the opening set of irresistible songs. Bono, clad in shiny black leather and bug-eyed shades, shimmies, shakes, and slithers around the stage. He moves from "Zoo Station" into a vicious version of "The Fly" as Larry's drums and Adam's bass drive the song like a herd of funky buffalo. And it's no secret that Edge creates glorious noise from his guitar. How does he do it? I love to watch him play. His guitar seems like a 5th limb. I'm convinced he came out of the womb with a guitar strapped to his body.

During "The Fly," an intriguing mix of pithy words, phrases, and contradictions flash onscreen at the speed of light - as if edited by an MTV video director on crack. "EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG", "DEATH IS A CAREER MOVE", and "THIS IS NOT A REHEARSAL" were my favorites from the one's I could read.

Bono then channel surfs on ZooTV. The live feed produces a glimpse of various 'shows', including an Australian soap opera and a local cricket match. (The crowd's enthusiastic response to a catch made by a cricket player makes me wonder if it's the Australian equivalent of 'the shot' by Michael Jordan or a David Ortiz home run vs. the Yankees.) "Welcome to ZooTV, y'all."

They continue to charge through the best cuts from Achtung Baby: "Even Better Than the Real Thing," "Mysterious Ways" (including a belly dancer), and "One." "One" begins to reveal one of the few drawbacks of this performance. A stadium concert just can't match the intimacy of arena tours (including later shows on DVD - Elevation/Boston 2001 and Vertigo/Chicago 2005.) The quality of Bono's vocals on this song and many others are not his best. He's occasionally off key and often sounds like he's shouting instead of singing. While it's still enjoyable, this performance struggles to find emotional resonance.

Highlights from the middle section of the show include: a searing version of "New Year's Day" (with Edge doing his party trick of playing BOTH guitar and keyboards); "Angel in Harlem" (performed on the remote stage in the middle of the crowd); a stripped-down version of the underrated "Dirty Day"; a dramatic rendition of "Running to Stand Still (complete with simulated heroin overdose); and the always stirring "Pride" and "Streets" (great, but not quite reaching the peak of the goose-bump inducing performance on Elevation/Boston 2001.)

So, at this moment, all is in fine form. A solid - sometimes sublime - U2 show. Then... THEN... comes the encore and the appearance of "Mr. MacPhisto". Ugh. This has not aged well. For the uninitiated, MacPhisto is Bono's devilish alter ego, complete with red horns, shiny gold suit, and heavy makeup, making him look like a smarmy, sadistic clown. It's mildly amusing during the first song of the encore, "Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car." (Check out the blue uniforms worn by Edge, Adam, and Larry - clearly purchased from the Devo Bargain Bin! ;-) It becomes mildly annoying during MacPhisto's monologue as he tries to call for a cab - even HE seems weary of being himself at this point on the tour - and then it gets really annoying during "Lemon", one of my all-time, least-favorite U2 songs. Hey Bono... please leave the falsetto to Prince.

Even after he tosses off the horns in order to "get on with the show", Bono cannot rid himself of MacPhisto. Watching him try to sing the heartfelt "With or Without You" while wearing the ostentatious gold suit and sweaty, smeary makeup is bizarre and even a bit creepy. It doesn't work. It doesn't do justice to this song or the remaining ones ("Love Is Blindness", "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You".) Hence, the show ends with a whimper, leaving a strange taste in one's mouth and image in one's head. It's still entertaining. It's still a Must See TV for U2 fans. But in my book, it's not as strong from beginning to end as Elevation/Boston 2001.