"Zoo TV Live" - U2

Fan Club Album

Track Listing (Disc One):

Track Listing (Disc Two):

Background Information

A two-disc set, Zoo TV Live was the fourth CD released by the U2 fan club, and the second released after the club went to a digital-only web subscription. It was sent to subscribers who signed up for the year 2007. The CDs simply contained the audio of the Zoo TV Live from Sydney DVD, which had been released in 2006. The set also included the audio of a bonus track from the DVD, a live recording of “Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World” from New York.

Early promotion of this set by U2.com (first mentioned on November 20, 2006) referred to the release as Zoo2Live; however, the finished product was issued as Zoo TV Live. Subscribers began receiving copies as early as December 8, 2006. Each CD is packaged in a unique cardboard sleeve with the track listing for each disc printed on the back. Each sleeve had a Zoo TV-era icon printed on the front: a star for Disc 1 and a trabant for Disc 2. Both of these sleeves were placed inside an outer sleeve (with the famous “Achtung Baby” illustration by Charlie Whisker on the front). Also included was a two-sided poster with imagery from the Zoo TV era. When folded up, the poster would also fit inside the outer sleeve alongside the two CDs.

This release is the only one to include these tracks in audio format. Prior to this release, the tracks were available in video format on the 2006 Zoo TV Live from Sydney DVD, which was itself and upgrade of the 1994 Laser Disc, Video CD, and VHS release. The DVD would also turn up again in some deluxe formats of the Achtung Baby reissue in 2011.

Unlike most fan club CDs, which are offered for a limited time and then fade into obscurity, Zoo TV Live made a surprise reappearance for 2013, when U2.com offered it as part of a “subscription plus” bundle. While the standard subscriber gift for that year was the From the Ground Up: U2.com Music Edition book and CD, the “subscription plus” bundle added two previous subscriber gifts: 2012’s U22 set and 2007’s Zoo TV Live. It is likely that these 2013 copies of Zoo TV Live were old stock found in a warehouse, rather than a second pressing commissioned specifically for the bundle deal. Although the “subscription plus” bundle was offered “while stocks last,” the offer continued to be available for several months after the initial announcement.

Liner Notes

Recorded and mixed by Robbie Adams.

Mastered by Arnie Acosta at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Additional Digital Mastering and Assistance: Scott ‘Zilla’ Sedillo. Audio Post Production by Cheryl Engels at Partial Productions Inc.

Project manager: Jeremy Joseph.

Artwork

Sleeve / packaging design by Shaughn McGrath, Four5One Creative, Dublin.

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