Customer Reviews

U2 - Zoo TV Live from Sydney [VHS]

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If somehow you were living in a cave during the early 90's, you probably still would have heard of ZOO TV, the most ambitious tour in history. Just in case you don't know much about it, here's some background. U2 were the biggest band in the world in the 80's, but they got sick of their holier-than-thou image and making music with the simple "3 chords and the truth" style that defined their music, and which they conquered the world with in the 80's. The band nearly broke up while making "Achtung Baby," in 1991. The band survived but knew it was time for a change, in order to keep themselves and their massive fan base interested. They decided to become and simultaneously parody decadent rock-stars. To do this, they staged the most ambitious, decadent and awesome tour in history (and dated supermodels including the bassist, Adam, hooking up with Naomi Campbell, yup, Naomi:-). ZOO TV used over 36 video monitors (to parody MTV and CNN,shoving TV in the faces of fans, they used a barrage of images,half-baked subliminal messages,satellite tv from around the world, and live-feed of the war-torn people in Sarajevo- although not in this show). They also used multiple trabants (beaten-up junker cars suspended above the stage, many of them now reside suspended from the ceiling at the rock and roll hall of fame),video confessionals (which were often both funny and haunting, though none are on this tape), 2 stages (one that comes out in the middle of HUGE, and I mean mindblowingly HUGE crowds), a belly dancer (who would later become the guitarist's wife), Bono as different characters ("The Fly" and "Macphisto" on this tape, he also dressed as "mirrorball man" to parody televagelists during the american leg of the tour). Bono nightly made prank phone calls on stage to the white house or to order 10,000 pizzas (nothing that cool on this tape, though). However, all of the glitz aside, what stands out most about this concert is, of course, the music. Here, there are GREAT live versions of many "Achtung Baby" songs (many of them improved and more exciting than the album versions) , some live rarities such as "Lemon" and "Dirty Day." They also manage to incorporate a lot of their biggest hits from the 80's quite seemlessly. The result is the best, most ambitious concert-tour ever, by any band, period. This is the fastest-selling-out tour in history. Demand for tickets outweighed supply 10-1. The tour was in fact SO huge that just being on the road, and the cost of keeping and building to tour ate up profits, but that's how much U2 care about their fans, they wanted to keep ticket prices low, and still show people just what makes U2 so legendary. Although I doubt this is the best show of ZOO TV, it's all we've got, so get it. Also, get PopMart- I personally like PopMart better, but that's just a personal preference (I really dig the songs off of "Pop," and felt they were trying to take the ZOO TV concept to the next level, which they did, but with varying success). I hope U2 returns to these types of huge venues with high-concepts. I like their "stripped down" shows a lot too ("elevation 2001"), but no concert matches the excitment, interest level, ambition, and the cleverly-disguised warm-hearted fun of ZOO TV. Simply the best concert tour by the best band still making music.

This is U2 at their best. If you are a big U2 fan like I am you must own this video. A theatrical performance by Bono and the band in Sydney that features many songs from their Zooropa and Achtung Baby albums, among others.

One of the few if not the only times you will see/hear songs like "The Fly," "Daddy's Gonna Pay," and a full version of "Lemon," and "Zoo Station." Not only do they play these live rareties, they sound great.

During "Mysterious Ways," (the best live version I've ever heard) you can get a glimpse of Edge's wife who belly dances on stage during the song and toys with Bono.

This is an energized concert with the band at their best, putting a lot into the show for a large crowd and the many photographers and cameras.

Taking place in what is probably my favorite era of U2 music, this concert is one of the great recorded rock musical films in history...right up there with "The Wall, "The Song Remains The Same," and even "Tommy" among other films.

The music covers the entire history of the band up until that point in the early 90's and is performed with such a flair and passion that it makes for a cinematic experience U2 fans won't soon forget.

I can only hope they release a DVD version in the future, although it is available on laser disc.

The person from Chicago who says Zooropa is U2's worst album has some problems. The video features 7 songs from Achtung Baby, 5 from Zooropa, which was great album, btw, 4 from The Joshua Tree, 1 from War, 1 from The Unforgettable Fire, 1 from Rattle and Hum, and 3 cover songs. It was the most incredible show I've ever seen. And contrary to popular belief among the non-fans, U2 doesn't use corporate sponsership, they pay for it themselves. This has the best version of One I've ever heard. And New Year's Day... Edge is one talented man... playing both guitar and synthesizer and singing background. Contrary to Chi. Il, I think the moniters enhanced the songs, especially during The Fly. And then there's the time when the first cannon goes off and Adam jumps a foot. Poor guy. He didn't miss a note, though. If you don't know what Running to Stand Still is about, watch this and I guarentee you'll wonder why you didn't know before.

ZOO TV was one of the greatest, most outragous tour in history and this video documents that well. There's really no way to descibe it. U2 wastes no time in bombarding you noise, random video, and lots of flashing lights, only to take it all away and do a brilliant acoustic set on a B-stage halfway through the show. Bono's characters, The Fly and Mr. MacPhisto, are both crazy and entertaining. It's hard to imagine this is the same guy in the cowboy hat and leather vest from Rattle and Hum, but he's just as amazing, if a little bit crazy.

I get the feeling that this video gives you a better show than going to the actual concert would've, although I can't say considering I was only in Kindergarten when it was filmed. This is one of my all-time favorite videos and I HIGHLY recommend it. I only wish I could get it on DVD.

Especially for those fans who are new to U2, "Live from Sydney" is a great introduction that mixes the old and the new with power. Far better than the recent "POP" tour, this was U2 at its best. Not often do concert performances out-perform studio recordings. On "Running to Stand Still," "One," "Where the Streets have no Name," and "With or Without You," the concert performances blow away the records. Only is "Pride," itself a great song, performed without great distinction.

For those of you who like me came to U2 late, at "Joshua Tree" or later, this is a great introduction to the power, grace and excellence of U2.

But: Will we ever see this on DVD?

...this is the best concert, by anyone, ever. Period. Fortunately for me, I picked this one up on laserdisc in '94, and its the best buy I've ever done. At least I can enjoy it in all its digital splendor. I don't know about the quality of this tape, but you should pick it up anyway, to get a small glimps of the wonder that was the ZOO-TV tour. I saw it live in Oslo, and it's a night I will never forget...

I currenlty own most of U2's live performances that have been released... "Rattle and hum" (1988)... ZooTV (1993) ...Elevation Tour 2001 live from Boston... Vertigo Tour 2005 Live from Chicago. And while they are ALL awsome, i think that musically speaking, this is their best. There are so many amazing moments in this video, its mind blowing.

The more conservative U2 fans will probably be a lil weirded out by some of Bono's stunts... I foud myself wondering what he was doing at times too... But no need to worry, after doing some research i found out that the band's beliefs were the same as they are today. When bono does something "questionable" he is usually making fun of someone, not embracing it.


But back to the music....
U2's 1991 realase called "Achtung baby" is by far my favorite album ever, and thankfully U2 performs most of the album here (Except for a couple of songs like "So cruel", "Acrobat
and "Whos gonna ride your wild horses".. which they RARELY perform live).

This video has the best live version ive heard of MANY songs, such as "mysterious ways" , "the fly" , "Even better than the real thing" , "one" , "until the end of the world", "New years day" , "Bullet the blue sky", "Running to stand still".
(Although i gotta say, the elevation tour version of until the end of the world is just as good).

Theres only one performance here that isnt as good as another verions ive heard, and that one song is "where the streets have no name" (one of my favorite songs) its still VERY VERY good.. But "where the streets have no name" on the elevation tour was nothing short of PERFECTION. one word, WOW.

If you are a fan of this era of U2, this is a no brainer, you will watch this everyday.... Like i do.

"Zoo TV" may very well be the best concert tour U2 ever put on. It is a stunningly original, visually exhilarating experience filled with great music, melodies, sounds, images and creativity. Like Madonna's "Drowned World" video, this is a concert that is worth the price because of the artistic quality of the package. The stage is littered with screens that display brilliantly assembled images, words, fragments of thoughts etc. It is also quite colorful and rich to just look at. The band itself also gives an amazing performance. Bono appears as The Fly (a character composed of Jim Morrison's pants, Elvis's jacket and I forgot who's shades) and gives an exhilarating, exciting performance. The Edge's guitar work is utterly stunning and enthralling. The songs are gems, especially the romantic epic, "Until The End Of The World," the atmospheric ballad "One" and the incendiary, powerful "Bullet The Blue Sky." This concert is awesome particularly because something truly is always happening. Bono in his black leather outfit totally sets the stage on fire and sometimes can remind us of Morrison. I hate stupid lyrics and you won't find any here. This is not just a visually rich show, but a show filled with some timeless music. "Mysterious Ways" is especially fun and after performing "One" Bono sings a nice little classic I will leave those who haven't seen the video to discover. The entire video is a blast from start to finish, it does not disappoint for those who are U2 fans and those who want something fresh and new. It is a neat companion piece to the album "Achtung Baby," their best masterpiece, and a nice addition to any music video collection. It is epic, funny, grand, exploding with excess and ultimately brilliant. U2 really pulls it off here.

In the early 90s U2 were at their creative peak. Achtung Baby was arguably their best record and Zooropa fed off the energy of the first three legs of the Zoo TV tour. No matter how you look at it, whether a parody of rock and roll stardom or an obsession with mass media culture, Zoo TV can be considered U2's greatest achievement.

It was a multimedia extraveganza with (as it says on the box): "157 shows....4 MILLION people....52 trucks....36 video monitors....1,200 tons of equipment....3 miles of cable....1 MILLION watts....enough power to run 2,000 homes."

The tour featured Bono (having lots of fun) dressing up with slick hair and huge black shades, or in gold lame, white face paint, and horns while watching tv and making prank phone calls from the stage. More importantly, the antics and costumes are secondary to the wonderful music, and the Zoo TV extraveganza only added to it, making for an incredibly entertaining show. This tape (and hopefully soon to be DVD) is the only place you can see the visually stunning Zoo TV Tour.

What you get are U2 during their finest hour, performing their strongest setlist ever: 1. Intro/Zoo Station 2. The Fly/channel flipping 3. Even Better than the Real Thing 4. Mysterious Ways (with belly dancer Morleigh Steinberg) 5. One/Unchained Melody 6. Until the End of the World 7. New Year's Day 8. Numb ministage 9. Angel of Harlem 10. Stay (Faraway, So Close) 11. Satellite of Love (duet with taped video of Lou Reed) back to main stage for the rest 12. Dirty Day 13. Bullet the Blue Sky 14. Running to Standstill 15. Where the Streets Have No Name 16. Pride in the Name of Love encore 17. Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car/prank call 18. Lemon 19. With or Without You 20. Love is Blindness 21. Can't Help Falling in Love

There is no clear highlight. The things I enjoyed were the use of the 36 monitors, the belly dancer!, the outro from Running into Where the Streets, and the whole encore is amazing. So I basically enjoyed the whole thing.

Lastly, there is a message that you should get from this review and definitely from this tape, and that is to: GO TO SEE U2 LIVE!!!! I unfortunately missed Zoo TV and have never regretted anything more. But I have partly made up for it by going to see them on their following tours.

Well, if we think about a show not only the music but the visual content even a no U2 fan would be astonished watching this one. The really intention of this review is the question of other reviews..¿where is the DVD of this concert...visually this one is better than Elevation and Pop from México...of course i got these ones, but one is missing.
I give 5 because the Brian Eno's parafernalia complements exactly the songs,... videos, state-of-art scenario, costumes, big screen, beauty arabesque dancer...and good sound of course, that is the part more commented i guess