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U2 - Achtung Baby
- U2 may be the most well known band today still releasing new albums regularly. But once upon a time they were also one of the most talented and adventurous bands. No longer.
In the 1980s, this Irish quartet made a name for themselves by crafting big arena rocking music that had a political bent to it. Bono sang with an operatic (and sometimes messianic) flair while The Edge fooled around with rare guitars and effects. It was a winning formula that seemed to culminate with the masterwork, The Joshua Tree, an album that had romantic ballads and songs for the mothers of disappeared children in Argentina, all saturated with the sounds of the American Midwest that the band had appropriated.
Their next album, Rattle and Hum, was a lackluster, meandering affair, at best. Then, in 1991, the band put out their next and possibly their best record. It's not that Achtung Baby is better or worse than Joshua Tree; in fact, they are like apples and oranges in terms of their sound. And this is precisely the reason why it's a brilliant album. The band had been recording together for more than a decade, and achieved massive success, and yet, they were adventurous enough to completely overhaul that sound on this record.
The album's obvious show stopping track is "One," a heart wrenching ballad about the pains and sacrifices of loving someone, with broader lyrics on the state of humanity as a whole, all with a slow, natural climax. Then there's the equally infectious "Mysterious Ways," with vaguely lust-filled lyrics and an unbearably catchy chorus.
Yet, these songs are tame compared to many others on the record. "Zoo Station," the opening track, sounds more like a David Bowie song than anything with cryptic lyrics and a guitar that sounds like an alien transmission. "The Fly" has a similar feel in terms of guitar and Bono's vocals are muted for much of it, while the Edge sings soulfully above him on backing vocals. The band does also work in one straight ballad, the song "Who's Gonna to Ride Your Wild Horses." While it's certainly the simplest song on the record sonically, it also has some of the most profound lyrics.
Unfortunately, after the success of this record, the band felt inclined to continue experiment on their next two efforts, creating odd dance records that fell flat for most fans. Recognizing this, the band retreated to a more streamlined version of their previous successes and has only tweaked that formula in minor ways in the last decade. Still, for any of their failings now, Achtung Baby proves that U2 was once a great band.
Reviewer: Seth Fiegerman
new
Reviewer's Rating: 9
Reader's Rating: 4.33
Reader's Votes: 3
Added: 14-Jul-2009
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