Zooropa is the eighth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Produced by Flood, Brian Eno, and The Edge, it was released on 5 July 1993 on Island Records. Inspired by the band's experiences on the Zoo TV Tour, Zooropa expanded on many of the tour's themes of technology and media oversaturation. The record was a continuation of the group's experimentation with alternative rock, electronic dance music, and electronic sound effects that began with their previous album, Achtung Baby, in 1991.
U2 began writing and recording Zooropa in Dublin in February 1993, during a six-month break between legs of the Zoo TV Tour. The record was originally intended as an EP to promote the "Zooropa" leg of the tour that was to begin in May 1993, but during the sessions, the group decided to extend the record to a full-length LP.[1] Pressed for time, U2 wrote and recorded at a rapid pace, with songs originating from many sources, including leftover material from the Achtung Baby sessions. The album was not completed in time for the tour's resumption, forcing the band to travel between Dublin and their tour destinations in May to complete mixing and recording.
Zooropa received generally favourable reviews from critics. Despite none of its three singles—"Numb", "Lemon", and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"—being hits consistently across regions, the record sold well upon release and peaked at number one in multiple countries. The album's charting duration and lifetime sales of 7 million copies, however, were less than those of Achtung Baby. In 1994, Zooropa won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. Although the record was a success and music journalists view the album as one of the group's most creative works, the band regard it with mixed feelings.
Before we dig into an overview of March 2017 new music releases, we’d like to thank the industry for March 24. Apparently, they got together and scheduled almost every cool thing to take place on this particular Friday.
Read More of Nick DeRiso's article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: March 2017 New Music Releases
Mama Said is the second studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released in April 1991 by Virgin Records. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash co-wrote and played on the song "Always on the Run". He also played on the song "Fields of Joy". The song "All I Ever Wanted" was co-written by Sean Lennon.
Mama Said became Kravitz's first U.S. top 40 album, reaching number 39 on the Billboard 200, and going on to sell 1.88 million copies in the US (as of November 2002). Although the album has sold enough copies to be certified double platinum, the RIAA still has it listed as platinum. In the UK, the album reached number 8 on the UK Albums Chart. The album sold over 3 million copies worldwide and established Kravitz's worldwide popularity two years after his 1989 debut album Let Love Rule. In 2012, Virgin Records released an expanded, double-disc version of the album with a number of remixes and bonus tracks.
Walls (stylized as WALLS) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on October 14, 2016, by RCA Records. The album title is an acronym for We Are Like Love Songs, which continues the band's unwritten rule of having five-syllable album titles.
Following a New Year's Eve show in Nashville, Nathan Followill said the band was aiming to release album seven in 2016: "We've already started pre-production in our studio for the next record, but the main thing on the calendar for 2016 is getting the record finished. And then the whole press machine kicks up and doing press for the record." Caleb Followill added, "We enjoy this part of the process. Obviously there's a lot of work that goes into it and it can get stressful at times, but we're all in a good place and we're having fun with it and we're all excited to do something new." The album was recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles, with Caleb saying the band was looking for inspiration: "We might just try to get a little change of scenery. Our first two albums we recorded in L.A., so we're going to try to go back and see if it inspires us," he said. "If it doesn't, we always have a studio at home, so we can always come back."
In August, the band announced that album title would be We Are Like Love Songs (aka WALLS), and that it would be released on October 14, 2016.
A band’s most disappointing album, as the above list shows, isn’t always a band’s worst record. More often, they arrive at the end of a period of creative momentum or rebirth. They’re also found at those times when rock’s biggest bands took the first stumble toward a period of prolonged struggle or even into irrelevancy.
Read More of Nick DeRiso's article and view the list @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Most Disappointing Albums: More Than 100 Times Rock's Biggest Bands Let Us Down |
Ram is a studio album by Paul and Linda McCartney, released in May 1971 on Apple Records. The album was recorded amid Paul McCartney's legal action in the United Kingdom's High Court to dissolve the Beatles' partnership, following their break-up the year before. This is the only album credited to the couple. He and Linda recorded it in New York with guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken, and future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell. Its release coincided with a period of bitter acrimony between McCartney and his former band-mate John Lennon, who perceived verbal slights in the lyrics to songs such as "Too Many People".
On release, the album was received negatively by most music critics, although opinion has become more favorable in subsequent decades. A commercial success nonetheless, Ram topped the national albums charts in the UK, the Netherlands and Canada. Three singles were issued from Ram: "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey", which became McCartney's first number 1 hit in America, "The Back Seat of My Car" and "Eat at Home". The album was reissued in May 2012.
Kings of Leon expanded their 2017 North American tour, adding 25 new dates. The trek's second leg, promoting the band's recent LP, Walls, will launch April 28th in Chula Vista, California and wind down August 26th in Quincy, Washington.
Read more of Ryan Reed's article @ Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan will release Triplicate, his first ever three-disc studio album, on March 31 via Columbia, and the legendary singer-songwriter has shared one of the record’s tracks today, “My One and Only Love.” 
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will present a special performance dubbed “Exile on Bourbon Street” at New Orleans’ Orpheum Theater on May 5 as part of the city-wide celebration of music during Jazz Fest, and the band will be welcoming some special guests for the evening. 
Metallica managed to power through mic problems during their Grammy performance with Lady Gaga on Feb. 12, but they weren’t exactly thrilled with the situation — especially frontman James Hetfield, who was apparently not much fun to be around backstage afterward.
Fresh off a performance with Lady Gaga at the Grammys, Metallica will hit the road for their Hardwired North American tour beginning May 10 in Baltimore, MD and stretching into the summer before coming to a close in August. 
After playing a guest-filled tribute to late Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks late last month, Alan Paul, author of the ABB biography One Way Out, has set two more tributes with his band Big in China.
David Bowie‘s win tonight for Best Rock Song gives the late legend a clean sweep in this year’s Grammy Awards. “Blackstar,” the title track from his final studio recording, topped Radiohead, Metallica, Twenty One Pilots and Highly Suspect for the trophy.
In January 2016, Black Sabbath embarked on their “The End” farewell tour with Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler touring around the world one last time. The tour came to a close last night in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, England with a career-spanning set that capped the metal kings’ immense career.
Thundercat has announced his new album Drunk, the follow-up to 2015’s mini-album The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam and 2013’s Apocalypse.
Kings of Leon expanded their 2017 North American tour, adding 25 new dates. The trek's second leg, promoting the band's recent LP, Walls, will launch April 28th in Chula Vista, California and wind down August 26th in Quincy, Washington.
Eric Clapton’s previously announced shows at Madison Square Garden and The Forum, slated for March 19-20 and 25-26 respectively, will be extended due to high demand with two more shows added in New York and Los Angeles. 
Following the release of the first wave of new music from his forthcoming album, John Mayer has revealed the first batch of tour dates surrounding The Search for Everything. 
