O'Riordan worked the crowd well too, leading them in a sing-along of their biggest hit to date, "Linger", and probably introduced a lot of audience members to what would be the band's biggest international hit, "Zombie". Video of this show reveals a crowd seemingly as perplexed as I was when I first heard this strident change of pace from the band's usual ethereal romanticism, but those who like that type of thing from The Cranberries will probably dig a performance that is fairly powerful without sounding quite as pseudo-grungey as the studio version. Fergal Lawler certainly goes to town on his drum kit in a way he never did on "Linger".
The Cranberries also made room in the set for "Liar", a very good song from the very bad movie Empire Records and "So Cold in Ireland", a pretty and moody B-side with some oddly chilling yodeling and an oddly negative view of the country O'Riordan so vehemently defends on "Zombie".
There was a DVD release of this performance way back in 2005, but it has never been afforded an official audio release. Apparently, the tape was believed to be lost, but now it is found and is resurfacing as a double vinyl LP. The set generally sounds well balanced and clear, though some of the rowdier songs like "How" and "Waltzing Back" are just a tad muddy. O'Riordan's vocals are well recorded throughout, and Live at the London Astoria II, 1994 is a good opportunity to hear a band marketed as alternative just as they were stepping into genuine stardom, a pretty rare phenomenon in any era.
