Zooropa (30th Anniversary Edition)

U2's previous album before Zooropa - 1991's Achtung Baby - was their Revolver as it was the start of their experimentation and is their finest effort as it combined their earlier guitar rock with a more innovative soundscape that incorporated electronica, industrial and even a bit of Madchester groove. Zooropa was recorded very quickly between legs of their phenomenal and trend setting Zoo TV tour, but it is not merely Achtung Baby's baby. Zooropa is U2's Sgt. Pepper’s equivalent and the electronic sound is even more prominent and although there are still plenty of guitars, even they are quite often electronically treated. It is generally more tranquil and less anguished than Achtung Baby - a late-night record - but it is definitely not lacklustre as the soundscapes are so beautifully and excitingly constructed by producers Flood, Brian Eno and The Edge.Most of the tracks are much different sounding to all of U2's previous material (even Achtung Baby). Opener and title track Zooropa begins with an incredible sensory overload (much like the Zoo TV tour) of radio voices and elegant piano until The Edge's ringing guitar sounds with one of his best lead guitar lines of all time. The final third of the song climaxes with a rush of synths and yet more gorgeous guitar. Babyface has some of the old U2 guitar but mixes it with a poppy chiming loop and these both combine to create yet another one of the best songs the band has ever produced. Third track and lead single Numb is U2's strangest ever song yet it is another one of their most compelling and ranks amongst their strongest. Based on an Achtung Baby sessions demo Down All the Days, it features a heavily treated guitar, an Edge rap and a myriad of synths/samples. The epic Lemon is one of the absolute greatest and most beautiful U2 tracks of all time due to its layers of synths/pianos, dance rhythms and Bono falsetto. Although track six is even more spectacular in its Zoo TV version, it is yet another successful experiment with pounding, industrial rhythms and electronics while Some Days Are Better Than Others is effective too with plenty of frenetic loops and squelching synths. Although Adam Clayton's bass playing was always famously good on the 1980s classic U2 material, throughout Zooropa and their other 1990s albums it is particularly booming and prominent, and it drives Some Days Are Better Than Others on.Even on such a groundbreaking album from the band, there is still particularly some of the old U2 in a few of the tracks. Stay (Faraway, So Close) is another of their all-time greatest songs as it sounds like one of their 80s anthems - The Edge's lead guitar line sounds a bit like the legendary With or Without You - spliced with their new found creative edge as the trademark guitar and powerful Bono vocal is combined with a grand, reverberating and echoing 90s sound production. The First Time is rather reminiscent of The Joshua Tree's Running To Stand Still but is a great song in its own right too again mixing the vintage U2 with ambient electronics. Penultimate track, Dirty Day, is the most comparable to Achtung Baby as it is the most rocking and The Edge lets loose but again the synths ensure that is fits in with overall mood and cohesiveness of the record. However, the final track The Wanderer ends Zooropa back on a much more experimental note. With a lead vocal from Johnny Cash and a tuneful synth loop, it is a gospel themed and sweet way for Zooropa to finish.Even though 1997's Pop especially pushed boundaries too and Passengers (along with Brian Eno) is their most avant-garde record, Zooropa is their most inventive album under the actual U2 name. Although the first half of Zooropa is the most mind blowing, the second half is still absolutely excellent and vital. This 30th anniversary re-release has a stunning new sleeve and the vinyls are in an attractive transparent yellow colour that refers to the iconic Lemon track. Although Achtung Baby is U2's finest hour, Zooropa is an even more pioneering and atmospheric effort that is not too safe like their 00s material became and one of their most essential records.

Many hidden gems on here

Bought the 30th Anniversary vinyl from Amazon. Great album, the label has done a nice job repackaging it too in the foil sleeve. Can't believe it's 30 years 🙄 since release bought the CD on first day of issue.

I think that Zooropa is U2's most enjoyable and powerful studio album to date. Unfortunately it is exceedingly difficult to find new on vinyl. I bought this very slightly-used (green vinyl) copy in the absence of genuine new ones. It does sound a bit better than the CD, but unfortunately there is quite a lot of spurious background noise on the early tracks of side 1; this seems to decrease markedly on the later tracks. Whilst this is a little annoying it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the quirky brilliance of this excellent album.

I always see Achtung Baby- the critically acclaimed supercharged German Made, Eno produced album and Zooropa as brother and sister albums. Both are fantastic Pop\Rock albums and saw U2 take a right turn in their musical direction and output. There are fantastic tracks on Zoo, Numb, Some days are better than others, a U2 signature Stay (faraway so close) plus the mighty Lemon and leftfield Johnny Cash Wanderer and my fave, the title track Zooropa. Eno adds his soundscapes, Oakenfold the remixes. This was a band at their peak observing what was going on at the time. Yet another MASSIVE 90's album. The best decade for music. FULL STOP.

After Achtung Baby I was initially disappointed with this album, it wasn’t bad just much more mellow. I recently bought it on vinyl and gave it a proper listen and enjoyed it immensely. After a great album like Achtung Baby, very few albums are going to live up to it. With time I no longer had that expectation and listened to it in it own right.

REMASTERING WITH WONDERFUL AUDIOAND STILL INCLUDE 2 MUSIC BONUS TRACKS.We really were very anxious to hear this new remastering because we thought the audio of the first original edition had some flaws, and this one really corrected the flaws, everything was perfectand another great and wonderful point of the band have put in the side 4 2 bonus songs, or rather that remixes of 2 tracks that had their audio mastered with all care2 classic remixes compiled from eps

Happy with this record