Achtung Baby

But U2 delivered, and they delivered extremely well.

'Achtung Baby' is an epic album of all proportions - lyrically and musically. Dark and mysterious, it is engaging throughout. In the words of Bono, it is 'the sound of four men chopping down the Joshua Tree', which couldn't be more true. 'Achtung Baby' visits areas that its acoustic, more mellow predecssor didn't go near.
'Zoo Station', the opening track, sets the scene for the entire album. While it is not a stand-out track, it sets the standard for a number of tracks that come later on - namely 'The Fly' and 'Acrobat'. Bono's vocals are notably different. 'The Joshua Tree' is Bono stretching his vocal chords to their very limits, whereas in a number of places on 'Achtung Baby', his voice is almost reduced to a whisper. Similarly, there are places that lack melody, yet in some surreal way, this makes the album even better.
Of course, in the eyes of those who would say they are U2 fans but not U2 fanatics, there is a single track on here that would warrant the purchase of the album, this song of course being 'One' - the song that frequently topped 'best song ever written' polls. 'One' is, and always will be, a classic. Beautiful, powerful and poetic, it is a song that has reached out to many generations and tweaked on the heart strings. Johnny Cash loves it. Michael Stipe wishes he's written it. This is the song that countless musicians today set their standards against, and while it is not a personal favourite of mine, it is obvious why. 'One' is timeless and precious. Not yet outdated, not yet commercially covered. It is one of the shining gems in U2's vast collection of songs, and U2 have not done anything since that comes close to beating it (with, perhaps, the exception of 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own' from the album 'How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb').
However, anyone who is expecting further acoustic gems will be disappointed. As said earlier, this is no Joshua Tree. Two further commerical releases 'Even Better Than The Real Thing' and 'Mysterious Ways' are catchy tunes, the kind you dance to, I guess. Both have been remixed to death (particularly EBTTRT, which actually charted higher in the charts once it was remixed than the original version). Upbeat and eccentric, they explore the brighter, more crazed side of the album. The lyrics to 'Mysterious Ways' are pretty crazy, pretty random, but still enjoyable. As said, the catchy nature of both tunes makes them unforgettable.
And then we cross over to the dark side, as it would be. 'The Fly', the most successful commercial release from the album (charted at #1 on the UK singles chart), is purely down to taste. I couldn't stand the song for years, and have only just discovered in the last week that I actually liked it. Enter Bono with whispered vocals, enter Edge with an unforgettable riff, enter odd gospal-esque vocals in the chorus. Most people I know base their liking of songs on either the melody or lyrics. 'The Fly' takes the best of both worlds, which no doubt contributed to it's success. Then there are its two sister tracks. First up is 'Until The End of The World', which sees Bono adopting the role as Judas. I'm not quite sure what it is about this song that appeals to me so much, given that i'm not particularly religious, but I find the reciting of the story of Judas betraying Jesus in the song very engaging, perhaps because of the casual attitude it seems to have. This is an album highlight for me, along with 'Acrobat', the second sister song. As far as i'm concerned, 'Acrobat' is lyrical genius. The melody (if you can call it that) is awful, but the song itself is amazing. Bono proves himself as a competent songwriter throughout, but this, along with 'One' and 'The Fly' are where his ability really stands out.
Before 'Achtung Baby', U2 were huge. After 'Achtung Baby', they were epic. This album IS a masterpiece, and is still one of the most popular albums in the world today. Alot of people say U2 fans are divided over whether their finest hour is JT or AB. Both are classics, but I will always be an 'Achtung Baby' girl. In those months in Berlin, Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry took the best aspects of everything they could, and produced this. A stellar record and an experimental success. U2 fan or not, you will enjoy this record.

Like those works, Achtung Baby is an intoxicating listen from beginning to end... figuring as both a culmination of the band's disparate musical influences, and as a document to the kind of counter-culture explosion happening at the time. It's also a bitter and painfully observed certification of the divorce of the band's guitarist, the Edge... with Bono ably ploughing the kind of brokenhearted malaise so perfectly captured by people like Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe and Mark Hollis. Elsewhere, the swirling dance-beats, and references to Madchester's baggy scene had already been developed on classic single The Fly, and now can be seen to a greater extent on the wonderful opening number Zoo Station.

Bono sets a tone for the album right from the start with his vocals incorporating both whispers and screams to great effect, whilst the inclusion of orgasmic yelps and much distortion only helps to highlight the seedy, metropolitan atmosphere of the track. The grungy, distorted sound of Zoo Station leads us nicely into another big single of the time, Even Better than the Real Thing, in which the Edge is allowed to take his guitar playing to strange and decidedly funky new levels, to create a piece of music that isn't a million miles away from the Happy Mondays circa Pills Thrills and Bellyaches. Yet another hit single, One is a change of pace... a beautiful acoustic ballad that I'm sure the majority of people are already familiar with from the heyday of ZOO/MTV.

The detached and emotionally wavering sound continues through such classics as, Until the End of the World, Who's Gonn'a Ride Your Wild Horses and So Cruel... all mirroring the kind of music going on around then, but also conveying enough of the old U2 magic to make for a seriously enjoyable listen. Meanwhile, later tracks such as the aforementioned Fly, Mysterious Ways (sort of like Depeche Mode around the time of the Violator LP) and Trying to Throw You're Arms Around the World all benefit greatly from the trademark U2 rhythm section, and Eno's other-worldly production (drawing parallels with both Acid House, and the landmark records he created with Bowie; Station to Station, Low, Heroes etc).

The three closing tracks are all beautifully epic, bringing to the piece a sense of melancholic desperation, but at the same time, a moment of transcendence. This is really for me, U2's masterpiece album, up there with War, which is another perennial favourite. Here the band got the blend between psychedelic experimentation and real music spot on, with none of the rambling pontificating of the later, though admittedly interesting, Zooropa. Still, a step up from the tired trad tedium of Rattle and Hum, this is an album that pushes the limits of musical reinvention as well as pushing all the right buttons... quite simply, a precursor to things like Radiohead's OK Computer, and a perfect rock record in it's own right.