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Track Listings
| 1. Zoo Station |
| 2. Even Better Than The Real Thing |
| 3. One |
| 4. Until The End Of The World |
| 5. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses |
| 6. So Cruel |
| 7. The Fly |
| 8. Mysterious Ways |
| 9. Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World |
| 10. Ultra Violet (Light My Way) |
| 11. Acrobat |
| 12. Love Is Blindness |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
"I'm ready / Ready for what's next," Bono announces at the outset of Achtung Baby, the album that proved the so-called "band of the '80s" was capable of blazing into the '90s by replacing its flag-waving arena-rock stance with screaming synths, clubby rhythms, and industrial skronk. The group advances its sound without losing accessibility on "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," "Even Better Than the Real Thing," and "Mysterious Ways," while pushing the envelope a bit more on "The Fly," "Zoo Station," and "Acrobat." The moody ballad "One" is arguably the finest song the band has produced, full of sorrow, compassion, and hope all at the same time. --Daniel Durchholz
Product Description
Recorded over 6 months in 1991 in Berlin and Dublin, Achtung Baby was U2's seventh studio album. It was produced by Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite and mixed and engineered by Flood. Led by "The Fly", Achtung Baby spawned four more huge hit singles, "Mysterious Ways", "One", "Even Better Than The Real Thing" and "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses". Heralded by Rolling Stone's Robert Hilburn as "U2's daring descent into darkness", the album was awarded the Grammy for Best Rock Performance and became one of the most acclaimed rock records of the nineties and of U2's career. As Bono said at the time, it was "the sound of four men chopping down the Joshua Tree".
--This text refers to an alternate
Audio CD
edition.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
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.
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If THE JOSHUA TREE was U2's answer to American music, then ACHTUNG BABY is their answer to their European cousins. Gone are the country'n'western influences of U2's previous two albums, replaced with the cool, sleek danceable rhythms of the Berlin dance clubs. Emotional and hip, sincere and sarcastic, ACHTUNG manages to combine wildly differing styles into one coherent work that ranks with the best albums ever recorded.
From the opening seconds of "Zoo Station", it's clear that this is a radically different U2. Not only is the music drastically changed from the twangy sounds of albums past, but the lyrics are becoming introspective again with a slight tendency for tongue-in-cheek humour at times. Despite the fast rhythms and danceable beat, this is a dark album, perhaps one of the darkest that the band has released. But it's emotion that's been wallpapered over with neon and silver-coloured material. It's angst and pain in a nice techno-flavoured sugar pill.
Again, U2 has created an album that is more than just a combination of great songs. ACHTUNG BABY flows extraordinarily well. Each track adds a lot to the whole while managing to retain individuality. The album is incredibly focused as well, with a great feeling of longing, regret and inaccessibility being maintained for the entirety. This focus is hard for other bands to do, yet something that U2 achieves with surprisingly regularity.
In addition to being an incredibly deep album, it's also an extremely fun one to listen to. The dance beats are amazingly infectious, and Edge's guitar playing has never been better. It's hard to point to any tracks that stand out, since they are all quite exceptional. This is one of the few albums that has no tracks that are just average.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
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
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
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Actung U2
U2 never failed to surprise me back when they first started out. I can remember buying 'October' and 'Boy' together on the strength of the first 2 film clips that I saw , 'I Will... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Gregory J. Prow
THE GREATEST U2 MOMENT!!!!
Achtung Baby is the greatest moment from U2!!!In fact, this may be one of the best albuns of ALL the time!!!It's trully amazing... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rio Fluzăo
"No Secret That Ambition Bites The Nails Of Success"
Suddenly becoming one of the most universally recognized bands in the world after the release of "The Joshua Tree", U2 began to use their newly-found widespread fame to focus... Read more
Published 3 months ago by kabalabonga
Best U2 album
I love U2. I have seen them live in 2 different countries over 3 different decades. I own nearly all of their albums. I came of age listening to their music. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Softball guy
Your Face Pressed Up Against the Glass...
First, I'll say something that will get a few people PO'd.
If you are listening to this disc on a stereo system whose total cost was under $5,000. Read more
If you are listening to this disc on a stereo system whose total cost was under $5,000. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jo A. Taylor
Finally
I've been waiting for this to be remastered for some time, it does't dissapoint. Packaging is minimal and the extra songs, although I previously had them, are nice to be all on... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Frastus
Excellent Baby
Double the fun. The original album was almost perfect and the extras are almost as good. Contiues the nice job they are doing on their double remasters. Read more
Published 4 months ago by jm
LOVE MY BOX SET!
I ordered the Achtung Baby Deluxe Vinyl Box set for my fiance who is a huge U2 fan. It arrived in time, as described, in excellent condition! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jessica
Proving their Power
U2 was at a crucial moment after the backlash from Rattle & Hum. Many figured they peaked with The Joshua Tree and would never come close to that again. Read more
Published 4 months ago by C. O'Grady
Mike Towne's opinion
Achtung Baby is an outstanding piece of work, in my opinion probably U2's best work. I really like the second disc, in particular the "Mysterious Ways" track (No. 9). Read more
Published 5 months ago by Michael W. Towne
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