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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
U2's magnum opus, March 10, 2001
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.
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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Achtung, World!, December 25, 2001
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.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An experience of love, April 25, 2000
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"...
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