Achtung Baby U2

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CD

  • Release Date: 11/19/1991
  • Sales Rank: 4,651
  • Label: ISLAND
  • UPC: 731451034725

Listener Rating: (27 ratings)

Detailed Rating: "Performance" See All

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  • Overview
  • Tracks
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Customer Reviews
  • Details & Credits
Track List
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Achtung Baby

1LISTENZoo Station 4:36
2LISTENEven Better Than the Real Thing 3:41
3LISTENOne 4:36
4LISTENUntil the End of the World 4:39
5LISTENWho's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses 5:16
6LISTENSo Cruel 5:49
7LISTENThe Fly 4:29
8LISTENMysterious Ways 4:04
9LISTENTryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World 3:53
10LISTENUltra Violet (Light My Way) 5:31
11LISTENAcrobat 4:30
12LISTENLove Is Blindness 4:23

About this Artist

Editorial Reviews

Reinventions rarely come as thorough and effective as Achtung Baby, an album that completely changed U2's sound and style. The crashing, unrecognizable distorted guitars that open "Zoo Station" are a clear signal that U2 have traded their Americana pretensions for postmodern, contemporary European music. Drawing equally from Bowie's electronic, avant-garde explorations of the late '70s and the neo-psychedelic sounds of the thriving rave and Madchester club scenes of early-'90s England, Achtung Baby sounds vibrant and endlessly inventive. Unlike their inspirations, U2 rarely experiment with song structures over the course of the album. Instead, they use the thick dance beats, swirling guitars, layers of effects, and found sounds to break traditional songs out of their constraints, revealing the tortured emotional core of their songs with the hyper-loaded arrangements. In such a dense musical setting, it isn't surprising that U2 have abandoned the political for the personal on Achtung Baby, since the music, even with its inviting rhythms, is more introspective than anthemic. Bono has never been as emotionally naked as he is on Achtung Baby, creating a feverish nightmare of broken hearts and desperate loneliness; unlike other U2 albums, it's filled with sexual imagery, much of it quite disturbing, and it ends on a disquieting note. Few bands as far into their career as U2 have recorded an album as adventurous or fulfilled their ambitions quite as successfully as they do on Achtung Baby, and the result is arguably their best album. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Achtung U2 fans!by CHRISTOPHER-MATHESON

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October 23, 2009: Achtung Baby is nothing short of a masterpiece many people consider The Joshua Tree to be the best I personally think this one beats it, just by a little bit but nonetheless. Achtung Baby is one of U2's experimental albums which depending on what crowd you hang out with can be great or awful I think no album will ever compare to this one, not Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon or any other this is the best period. Many people think that Achtung Baby has a depressing tone overall it dosnt its just that the last two songs are very depressing and people remember the impression the end gives them. Now you may wonder why is Achtung Baby so great? Well I honestly would find it very hard to tell you. Is it emotional? yes danceable? yes is it at times heart breaking? yes Achtung Baby is all of these things it manages to put them all together in a way no other artist is capable of. This album is dead serious its also very energetic its also lighthearted its just about everything else to. Whats

ironic about this album is the fact that it was the product of U2 trying to cut down the Joshua Tree and while listening to this you may notice they utterly failed ironically their greatest album is their greatest failure the influence from the Joshua Tree still bleeds through on songs like Who's gonna ride your wild horses and the song One. But the product is the best album ever. My favorite is the song Ultraviolet( light my way)

its emotional and has synths that make you feel a way I cant really describe this is U2 at the pinnacle of their creative experimentation.

I Also Recommend: The Unforgettable Fire, All That You Can't Leave Behind.

Even Better Than the Joshua Treeby Anonymous

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January 27, 2007: This is U2's best album. The Joshua Tree is excellent and has some very good songs, but it also has some just ok ones. Achtung is 4 or 5 stars all the way through. Heres a rating of all the tracks. 1. Zoo Station- 4/5 A great opener with the distorted guitars and the massive decending beat. Combined with an industrial sound, makes a great opener. 2. Even Better Than the Real Thing-4/5 Very Danceable 3. One-5/5 Contrary to poular opinion I think this is only the second best song on the album, though picking from all of these is impossible. Great riff, great lyrics. 4. Until the end of World- 5/5 A darker sound, with a great guitar riff. 5. Who's Gonna Ride your Wild Horses- 4/5 Good Lyrics and good vocal from Bono combined with Edges roaring guitar makes a 4. 6. So Cruel- 5/5 a slower piece with a grat drum beat and great lyrics. The sparse instrumentation only adds to this. 7. The Fly- 5/5 The hardest rocker on this album. Edge comes up with a great riff and an even better guitar solo (rivals Bullet the Blue Sky). The lyrics are among Bonos best and darkest. This might be his lyrical peak. 8. Mysterious Ways-5/5 A funky groove with a great beat, if you don't dance to it, you're crazy. Edge has a good solo and makes great use of his wah-wah pedal. The chorus is fantastic here too. 9.Tryin to Throw Your Arms Around the World-5/5 A moving slower piece like So Cruel, it can't be put into words. 10. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)- 10/5 This is the best song on the album for me. The chorus is simply lyrically (Baby,Baby, Baby,Light my Way) but the emotion its sung with always gets me. Agreat guitar riff and bass line too. 11. Acrobat- 5/5 Good lyrics great slide guitar. 12. Love is Blindness- The haunting organ part always draws me in, the guitar solos and the dely bass line make this a great end to a great album. Bono is fantastic here he's at his best lyrically here and is the most emotional i've ever heard him, Edge does his best work and he holds the album together, and Larry and Adam prove themselves to be the best rhythm section of their time. Great beats fill the album and really give it the new sound. This album is the best investment I ever made.


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