U2 Album: “Achtung Baby”

In a word: staggering. I don't know if I've ever heard an album which can even come close to capturing the kaleidoscope of sheer emotion that floods from these twelve songs. Just as Alice in Chains dragged us to the pitch black depths of heroin-addiction with "Dirt", U2 does the same, only with lost love and heartbreak as the backdrop.

Amidst the gloomy themes of the album, rays of hope still shine through in the form of The Edge's signature effect-soaked licks and some serious head-bobbing rhythm from Clayton and Mullen. The great thing about this album is its accessibility: it literally has it all. Techno/hip-hop/rockers like "Mysterious Ways" and "Even Better Than the Real Thing", and the arena-friendly chorus of "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" will bring a smile to the face of mainstream (and hardcore) U2 fans, while deeper, more experimental fare such as the industrial-tinged "Zoo Station" and the indescribable guitar orgasm of "The Fly" will challenge the listener on their inaugural spins but eventually yield rich rewards. The heart and soul of the album, however, lies in three songs..."One", "Acrobat", and "Love is Blindness". Listening to these in this order under the right circumstances could change a life, rekindle a forgotten passion, or simply reduce the listener to a sobbing heap. They are THAT powerful.

The range of feeling captured in Bono's wailing vocals on "One" is absolutely incredible, especially in the surreal crys that end the song. "Acrobat" dabbles in electronic influences and uses thick sonic brushstrokes to paint a cavernous musical environment that is completely encompassing (and this is before Bono even utters a syllable). The album ends with one of the most bittersweetly-beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard in "Love is Blindness". From the almost gothically-eerie organ intro to the penetrating echoes of Adam Clayton's bassline, the song literally stabs at your soul. And the lyrics are poetic - for example: "Love is clockworks, and cold steel, fingers too numb too feel...squeeze the handle, blow out the candle, love is blindness." Words simply can't describe how perfectly this song captures the agony of loss. You have to hear it for yourself...and that goes for this entire album. Easily U2's best, if not the best of the entire 1990's.

Yes, it's one of the best albums ever recorded. Only U2's Joshua Tree stands next to it by the same artist. And for me, it was and remains a deeply personal record, having been released when I was a freshman in college. I don't think a newer fan can really understand how shocking this record was - how it was the complete opposite of everything U2 stood for, and yet was still them.... But anyway...

I'm reading a few complaints from other raters about the packaging. Yes, the hardcover books for the early albums were lush. But this is true to the original release. When Achtung baby first came out it was a softcover that opened up to four pages. It was as visually shocking as it was aurally. The crappy plastic-box release which came soon after was a travesty, robbing decades of fans of some of the best of the album art. Only now is the original vision restored. This is how Achtung Baby is supposed to look. My only packaging complaint is the MAMMOTH and intrusive FBI warning that seems to take up half of one of the pages. U2 didn't even put their own name there, but the FBI needs that much room? A shame.

I have recently come across a Canadian copy of this 2-disc set. The FBI warning is gone, and instead you have the artwork which the FBI's threat was covering up. Also, the coloring is better on the Canadian copy. It's lighter, and less blurry. It looks exactly like the album did in 1991. If you have a choice, I'd go for the Canadian version of this product.

The album may not have been "remastered" but it has been tweaked. You will hear things you haven't heard before on both discs. There is one new song on disc 2 "Blow Your House Down" and most of the B-sides. Yes, they are all amazing songs and if you missed any of them the first time you missed half of the album. Back in 1991 it was common for bands to release almost another album's worth of material as B-sides. It was a part of the experience. When you first heard The Fly, The Lounge Remix and Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk (Written for the play A Clockwork Orange 2000) came along with it.

If you're considering the one disc, pony up the cash for this edition instead. Of course, the Super-box has A LOT more material if you're really into the album. I won't suggest the Uber to anyone simply because, if you're not already SURE you need the Uber - you don't.

Noah Mullette-Gillman

Author of Luminous and Ominous

Achtung Baby is really one of those albums that you can just switch off all your other senses for - it has so much going for it musically, with consistently intriguing and moving guitar sounds, powerful bass and drums, and extraordinary vocals, not to mention some pretty good lyrics.

Whatever political aspirations U2 may have with their appeals to fans to support Greenpeace etc., this album is almost entirely devoted to love, and with several listenings, becomes a kind of litany of ballads recited by Bono to his Baby...I am not saying this album has any concept - it is a collection of fantastic independent tracks which really works - but this is an excellent album to listen to when you're feeling down, or soppy, or romantic. Aside from his voice, Bono's most endearing quality is the impression he conveys of true desperation - the climaxes his voice reaches in One or Love is Blindness are particularly moving.

This combination of great musical value with a deep-rooted romantic element really works for me, and clearly works for a lot of other people too - the album has a constantly fresh appeal, and when I look at the great works of the 90's, this sticks out as one of those that will still have appeal in ten, twenty and fifty years time.

One final thought - don't think this is solely a candlelight collection...Zoo Station opens the album brilliantly and unromantically, and The Fly is a chunky song that keeps the momentum of the album going through all the turgid descriptions of unrequited love...even with lyrics like, "a man will fall from the sheer face of love like a fly from a wall"...

I was really excited about getting this deluxe edition, even though I already have most of the content, because Achtung Baby is, for me, an absolutely perfect album and my favorite ever. The first four CDs weren't anything special for me, since I already own Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and most of the remixes from the Uber and Unter discs (and I'm not that crazy about remixes in general anyway). The 5th disc I was originally disappointed in, because some of the songs clearly have vocals that were recorded recently; the difference in Bono's voice quality and range is obvious. However, it does call itself "B-Sides and Bonus Tracks," so I'm okay with just telling myself that these are the "bonus tracks" and it's fine if they're recent. I haven't gotten all the way through this disc yet, so I'm not sure how much of the material I already own (looks like most but not all), but I'm still happy to have these songs with decent sound quality. The 6th disc, "Kindergarten - the alternative Achtung Baby" is awesome. It was actually what I popped in first, while I was still perusing the book. I love hearing where these great songs came from and other directions they could have taken, although none are as good as the album versions in my opinion. It's a perfect record, how could they make these songs better?)

I've only watched the first of the DVD discs so far, and I loved "From the Sky Down." I've read Bill Flanagan's book "U2 at the End of the World" many times, and I'm glad they didn't gloss over the importance of "One" in really saving the band. My only small complaint with the film was that it might be difficult for viewers who don't know the band members' voices well to tell who was speaking, and at times it was important to know who it was. I didn't have any problems, but a casual viewer might. I already have the ZooTV Live from Sydney DVD, and I sort of wish they had been able to put in DVD of a different show from the tour (Like Live From Dublin in August of '93, maybe--even a high quality soundboard audio recording, which does exist, of this show would have improved the newness of the material), although I doubt many were filmed in enough detail back in those days.

The book is great; mostly images with a few sections of writing from people who know details about the album. I would have appreciated more words added, but again, I guess that's what Bill Flanagan's book is for.

I'm really glad I bought this, and for me it was worth the money, but I do wish there were more things included that the die-hard fan wouldn't already have in their collection.

When I first heard this album I thought it was juat plain horrable. I didn't think it compared to Joshua Tree at all. One morning my brother was playing The Fly and I remember thinking how cool it sounded. I gave the album another chance and I liked it more and more every time I heard it. I now have every U2 album and let me tell you this one is the best. It's better than Joshua Tree, it's better than Best Of 1980-1990, and if they make a Best Of The 90's, Achtung Baby will still be better unless they include every song from it. Zoo Station has an intro anyone could appreciate. Even Better Than The Real Thing is awesome. One is beautiful with some incredible lyrics. Until The End Of The World is good but to fully appreciate it you must understand that the song is about Judas Iscariot's betrayal to Christ(at the begining of the song you can hear nails being hammered symbolizing Christ being nailed to the cross). Who's Ganna Ride Your Wild Horses is great with an awesome chorus. So Cruel is a good song with meaningful lyrics. The Fly is spectacular with the falsetto singing and a really cool guitar solo. Mysterious Ways is a song you can't help but to love. Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World is a nice relaxing tune. Ultraviolet is truly nothing short of incredible. Acrobat is a deep moving song with incredebly uplifting lyrics. Love Is Blindness is a slow sad song with a dramatic ending. This truly is the best album I've ever heard. There isn't one disapointing song. If you don't have it yet than I suggest you go get it right now.