Zooropa

U2 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 6, 1993)
• Original Release Date: July 6, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000001E18
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (236 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,031 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > Post-Punk
  • #42 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > General AAS

Editorial Reviews

U2 ZOOROPA

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars U2 Goes Experimental, August 4, 2002

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zooropa (Audio CD)

Give U2 credit for not settling into a comfortable groove after the massive success of "Ach-Tung Baby," and just releasing more albums in that same mold. On "Zooropa," Bono and the boys decided to experiment with their sound and take it in unusual new directions. And while it doesn't always work, enough of it does to excuse them for not producing another single as catchy as "Mysterious Ways."

The album is best characterized by "Numb," in which seldom-heard-from guitarist The Edge mumbles the barely sensical spoken word lyrics over a gorgeous synthesizer background. Other oddities include the slowly building opening title track, the strange vocals on "Daddy's Going to Pay for Your Crashed Car," and the Johnny Cash collaboration "The Wanderer," with some bizarre apocalyptic imagery that closes things on an appropriate note. Even the more conventional songs, like "Babyface," "Stay," have an otherwordly quality about them.

Overall, "Zooropa" is not the place for casual fans to start their U2 collection. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile challenge for the already commited.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Don't expect, suggest!", August 24, 2002

By 

Ashurra (Kirkland, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zooropa (Audio CD)

For me, Zooropa was the one U2 disc that I had written off by word of mouth: All of my friends and favorite critics considered it "U2's dissapointment." I picked it up after seeing it in a discount bin just to round off my collection. I plopped it into the CD player, and prepared to go off to do other things, but I was held- and immediately fascinated. I listened to it 2 times in a row, hardly doing anything but rereading the sleeve. I was more than pleasantly surprised: I love this album!

Don't get me wrong: there are some significant flaws. But I'd rather get them out of the way quickly; the strengths are much more fun here. Sequencing is a huge problem: the album never sounds conceived together. It almost sounds like a B-sides collection: in fact, some of the weaker tracks ARE obviously B-side material (Babyface, Dirty Day, The First Time) and then there's The Wanderer, such a strangely out-of-place song that its puzzling how it merited inclusion. But, then again, Zooropa itself is an out-of-place album...

Flaws aside, this is U2's most inventive album ever. Much more groundbreaking than even Actung Baby (a fairly groundbreaking album), they successfully merged eurodance and pop with these tracks. With elements that are entirely new. Zooropa is a collage introduction that is perfectly described by the sleeve art. Numb is terrifically catchy and irreverent. Some Days are Better than Others is such a laid-back ode to the philosophy of "take life as it comes" that it should be standard on todays cd player to defeat road rage. And then theres Lemon, U2 most "epic" song of the 90's, and my personal favorite U2 song since "One Tree Hill."

Not every disc can be perfect, but Zooropa just goes to show that with great bands like U2 even their flawed discs can be as interesting as their classics. Definately recommended.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's Groove Baby!, May 26, 2000

By 

Jeff Angco (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zooropa (Audio CD)

What can I say! This album was fresh off the heels of Achtung Baby and in the midst of the ZOO TV Tour. Recorded in 3 months, Zooropa is a spontaneous masterpiece. If U2 isn't officially credited with a "Concept Album", this is it!

The leadoff song, "Zooropa", is everything ZOO TV is all about. Commercial slogans used as lyrics and arcade sound effects to fill in the blanks. This song sums up the album. Technology and commercialism IS life...not a way of life. This mentality proves to be true on the tune "Numb". The Edge, not Bono, takes the mic and repeats a list of do's and dont's. We are told what to do and brainwashed what to buy. U2 has fun disguising everything by flirting with dance rhythms. "Lemon", "Daddy's Gonna Pay...", and "Some Days Are Better Than Others" are U2 at it's most playful yet serious. Peel the layers and these songs will make more sense.

Of course, no U2 album is complete without a bittersweet lovesong. "Stay" is a song that fits the bill. This tune will take you away to that U2 of yesteryear.

Finally, after a blitzkrieg of trashiness around Europe, technology, and excess, someone has to make sense of it all. Enter Johnny Cash. Mr. Cash makes his appearance in the album's finale, "The Wanderer". What better way to bring in an elder statesman to make sense of U2's "sinful" tactics.

Zooropa isn't the most popular U2 album, but it is indeed the most playful and danceable. Give this album more credit. Released in 1993, in the middle of Grunge's heyday, U2 was brave enough to release an "experimental" album which didn't feature a single guitar solo.

Remember, Achtung Baby was a hard album for the band to make. Zooropa was born from Achtung Baby. ...and thank God Zooropa doesn't sound like Achtung Baby PtII. Turning the corner and reinventing their music is what U2 is known for...I just wish most of you knew that.