Achtung Baby

Achtung Baby

Performers U2

Island | November 1, 2011 | Compact Disc

Based on 4 ratings | Rate this
Reinventions rarely come as thorough and effective as Achtung Baby, an album that completely changed U2's sound and style. The crashing, unrecognizable distorted guitars that open "Zoo Station" are a clear signal that U2 have traded their Americana pretensions for postmodern, contemporary European music. Drawing equally from Bowie's electronic avant-garde explorations of the late '70s and the neo-psychedelic sounds of the thriving rave and Madchester club scenes of early-'90s England, Achtung Baby sounds vibrant and endlessly inventive. Unlike their inspirations, U2 rarely experiment with song structures over the course of the album. Instead, they use the thick dance beats, swirling guitars, layers of effects, and found sounds to break traditional songs out of their constraints, revealing the tortured emotional core of their songs with the hyper-loaded arrangements. In such a dense musical setting, it isn't surprising that U2 have abandoned the political for the personal on Achtung Baby, since the music, even with its inviting rhythms, is more introspective than anthemic. Bono has never been as emotionally naked as he is on Achtung Baby, creating a feverish nightmare of broken hearts and desperate loneliness; unlike other U2 albums, it's filled with sexual imagery, much of it quite disturbing, and it ends on a disquieting note. Few bands this far into their careers have recorded albums as adventurous or fulfilled their ambitions quite as successfully as U2 do on Achtung Baby, and the result is arguably their best album. For the 20th birthday of Achtung Baby, U2 went all out and released no less than five anniversary editions: a single-disc remaster, a double-disc Deluxe Edition, a vinyl box set, a six-CD/four-DVD Super Deluxe Edition, and finally an Uber Deluxe Edition that takes the Super Deluxe Edition and adds various tchotchkes like a magnetic puzzle, badges, stickers, and a replica of Bono’s Fly sunglasses. Only those with deep wallets will need to concern themselves with the Uber edition -- most fans will debate between the Deluxe double-disc set and the Super Deluxe set. The Deluxe Edition contains only the album’s non-LP cuts -- primarily B-sides and bonus tracks, plus the unreleased outtake “Blow Your House Down.” Although the assorted covers on this collection are a bit dodgy -- U2 have never sounded as uncertain as they do on a Euro-disco cover of CCR’s “Fortunate Son” -- the originals are by and large very good, particularly “Lady with the Spinning Head,” “Blow Your House Down,” and “Salome.” The Super Deluxe Edition adds the 1993 album Zooropa, written and recorded during the supporting Zoo tours for Achtung Baby, then two discs of remixes, the B-sides discs that pop up on the Deluxe Edition, and, finally, a fledgling version of Achtung Baby called Kindergarten, which contains nascent versions of all 12 songs from the finished album. Some of the remixes sound like little more than historical curios, but a surprising amount are either vigorous or imaginative and they all underscore how Achtung Baby truly was the first U2 album that could lend itself to these kind of mixes. And if the Kindergarten version of Achtung Baby has few real revelations -- most of the differences lay in Bono’s lyrics; many of the cuts are incomplete mixes instead of demos -- it nevertheless is a fascinating listen for those who know the album by heart. Finally, there are four DVDs: a making-of documentary by David Guggenheim, director of the Edge-starring guitar doc It Might Get Loud, called From the Sky Down; a disc of videos from Achtung Baby and Zooropa; a disc of odds and ends from these years, including a Zoo TV Special, MTV shorts, and appearances on Naked City and TV-AM, plus ROM content; and, to round out the package, the Zoo TV Live from Sydney disc. Whether this is overkill is completely in the eye of the consumer: surely, it’s possible to enjoy just the simple single disc of Achtung Baby, but for those who want to live within the world U2 created in the early ‘90s -- and it surely was its own world, driven by its own sounds and styles -- the Super Deluxe Edition will be hard to resist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Usually ships in 3-5 weeks
This item is eligible for FREE SHIPPING.
See details

$118.51

add to cart
add to wish list add to gift list
Found in: Alternative

Find it in Store

See if this item is available in a store near you.

* Prices may vary in store
find it now
Write a review using your social networks

– More About This Product –

Achtung Baby

Achtung Baby

Performers U2

add to cart
Title Track Time
DISC 1: --
Zoo Station --
Even Better Than the Real Thing --
One --
Until the End of the World --
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses --
So Cruel --
Fly, The --
Mysterious Ways --
Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World --
Ultra Violet (Light My Way) --
Acrobat --
Love is Blindness --
DISC 2: --
Zooropa --
Babyface --
Numb --
Lemon --
Stay (Faraway, So Close!) --
Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car --
Some Days Are Better Than Others --
First Time, The --
Dirty Day --
Wanderer, The - (featuring Johnny Cash) --
DISC 3: --
Night and Day [Steel String Remix] - (remix) --
Even Better Than the Real Thing [the Perfecto Mix] - (remix) --
Mysterious Ways [Solar Plexus Extended Club Mix] - (remix) --
Lemon [the Perfecto Mix] - (remix) --
Can't Help Falling In Love [Triple Peaks Remix] - (remix) --
Lady With the Spinning Head [Extended Dance Mix] - (remix) --
Even Better Than the Real Thing [V16 Exit Wound Remix] - (remix) --
Mysterious Ways [Ultimatum Mix] - (remix) --
Lounge Fly Mix, The - (remix) --
Mysterious Ways [the Perfecto Mix] - (remix) --
One [Apollo 440 Remix] - (remix) --
DISC 4: --
Mysterious Ways [Tabla Motown Remix] - (remix) --
Mysterious Ways [Apollo 440 Magic Hour Remix] - (remix) --
Can't Help Falling In Love [Mystery Train Dub] - (remix) --
One [Apollo 440 Ambient Mix] - (remix) --
Lemon [Momo's Reprise] - (remix) --
Salom‚ [Zooromancer Remix] - (remix) --
Even Better Than the Real Thing [Trance Mix] - (remix) --
Numb [Gimme Some More Diginity Mix] - (remix) --
Mysterious Ways [Solar Plexus Magic Hour Remix] - (remix) --
Numb [Soul Assassins Mix] - (remix) --
Even Better Than the Real Thing [Apollo 440 Stealth Sonic Remix] - (remix) --
DISC 5: --
Lady With the Spinning Head (UV1) --
Blow Your House Down --
Salom‚ --
Even Better Than the Real Thing --
Satellite of Love --
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses [Temple Bar Remix] - (remix) --
Heaven and Hell --
Oh Berlin --
Near the Island [Instrumental] --
Down All the Days --
Paint It Black --
Fortunate Son --
Alex Descends Into Hell For a Bottle of Milk/Korova 1 --
Where Did It All Go Wrong? --
Everybody Loves a Winner --
Even Better Than the Real Thing [Fish Out of Water Remix] - (remix) --
DISC 6: --
`Baby' Zoo Station --
`Baby' Even Better Than the Real Thing --
`Baby' One --
`Baby' Until the End of the World --
`Baby' Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses --
`Baby' So Cruel --
`Baby' the Fly --
`Baby' Mysterious Ways --
`Baby' Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World --
`Baby' Ultra Violet (Light My Way) --
`Baby' Acrobat --
`Baby' Love is Blindness --
DISC 7: --
From the Sky Down - a Documentary --
DISC 8: --
Fly, The --
Mysterious Ways --
One --
Even Better Than the Real Thing --
One [Buffalo Version] --
One [Restaurant Version] --
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses --
Fly [Performance Only], The --
Even Better Than the Real Thing [the Perfecto Mix] --
Fly [Text Only], The --
Until the End of the World [Live] - (live) --
Fly [Live From the Stop Sellafield Concert], The - (live) --
Even Better Than the Real Thing [Live From the Stop Sellafield Concert] - (live) --
Love is Blindness --
Lemon --
Stay (Faraway, So Close!) --
Numb --
Numb [Video Remix] - (remix) --
DISC 9: --
Zoo TV Special - A Documentary --
MTV's "Most Wanted - ZooTV Special" --
Mtv Rockumentary --
U2 On Naked City, 1993 --
U2 On TV-AM, 1992 --
Trabantland Documentary --
Rom Content: Screensavers, Desktop Wallpapers, Weblinks --
DISC 10: --
Show Opening --
Zoo Station --
Fly, The --
Even Better Than the Real Thing --
Mysterious Ways --
One --
Unchained Melody --
Until the End of the World --
New Year's Day --
Numb --
Angel of Harlem --
Stay (Faraway, So Close!) --
Satellite of Love --
Dirty Day --
Bullet the Blue Sky --
Running To Stand Still --
Where the Streets Have No Name --
Pride (In the Name of Love) --
Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car --
Lemon --
With or Without You --
Love is Blindness --
Can't Help Falling In Love --

Editorial Notes

Reinventions rarely come as thorough and effective as Achtung Baby, an album that completely changed U2's sound and style. The crashing, unrecognizable distorted guitars that open "Zoo Station" are a clear signal that U2 have traded their Americana pretensions for postmodern, contemporary European music. Drawing equally from Bowie's electronic avant-garde explorations of the late '70s and the neo-psychedelic sounds of the thriving rave and Madchester club scenes of early-'90s England, Achtung Baby sounds vibrant and endlessly inventive. Unlike their inspirations, U2 rarely experiment with song structures over the course of the album. Instead, they use the thick dance beats, swirling guitars, layers of effects, and found sounds to break traditional songs out of their constraints, revealing the tortured emotional core of their songs with the hyper-loaded arrangements. In such a dense musical setting, it isn't surprising that U2 have abandoned the political for the personal on Achtung Baby, since the music, even with its inviting rhythms, is more introspective than anthemic. Bono has never been as emotionally naked as he is on Achtung Baby, creating a feverish nightmare of broken hearts and desperate loneliness; unlike other U2 albums, it's filled with sexual imagery, much of it quite disturbing, and it ends on a disquieting note. Few bands this far into their careers have recorded albums as adventurous or fulfilled their ambitions quite as successfully as U2 do on Achtung Baby, and the result is arguably their best album. For the 20th birthday of Achtung Baby, U2 went all out and released no less than five anniversary editions: a single-disc remaster, a double-disc Deluxe Edition, a vinyl box set, a six-CD/four-DVD Super Deluxe Edition, and finally an Uber Deluxe Edition that takes the Super Deluxe Edition and adds various tchotchkes like a magnetic puzzle, badges, stickers, and a replica of Bono’s Fly sunglasses. Only those with deep wallets will need to concern themselves with the Uber edition -- most fans will debate between the Deluxe double-disc set and the Super Deluxe set. The Deluxe Edition contains only the album’s non-LP cuts -- primarily B-sides and bonus tracks, plus the unreleased outtake “Blow Your House Down.” Although the assorted covers on this collection are a bit dodgy -- U2 have never sounded as uncertain as they do on a Euro-disco cover of CCR’s “Fortunate Son” -- the originals are by and large very good, particularly “Lady with the Spinning Head,” “Blow Your House Down,” and “Salome.” The Super Deluxe Edition adds the 1993 album Zooropa, written and recorded during the supporting Zoo tours for Achtung Baby, then two discs of remixes, the B-sides discs that pop up on the Deluxe Edition, and, finally, a fledgling version of Achtung Baby called Kindergarten, which contains nascent versions of all 12 songs from the finished album. Some of the remixes sound like little more than historical curios, but a surprising amount are either vigorous or imaginative and they all underscore how Achtung Baby truly was the first U2 album that could lend itself to these kind of mixes. And if the Kindergarten version of Achtung Baby has few real revelations -- most of the differences lay in Bono’s lyrics; many of the cuts are incomplete mixes instead of demos -- it nevertheless is a fascinating listen for those who know the album by heart. Finally, there are four DVDs: a making-of documentary by David Guggenheim, director of the Edge-starring guitar doc It Might Get Loud, called From the Sky Down; a disc of videos from Achtung Baby and Zooropa; a disc of odds and ends from these years, including a Zoo TV Special, MTV shorts, and appearances on Naked City and TV-AM, plus ROM content; and, to round out the package, the Zoo TV Live from Sydney disc. Whether this is overkill is completely in the eye of the consumer: surely, it’s possible to enjoy just the simple single disc of Achtung Baby, but for those who want to live within the world U2 created in the early ‘90s -- and it surely was its own world, driven by its own sounds and styles -- the Super Deluxe Edition will be hard to resist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Format: Compact Disc

Released Date: November 1, 2011

Genre: Alternative

Style: Rock & Pop

Number of Discs: 10

Label Name: Island

UPC: 602527793702

  • My Gift List
  • My Wish List
  • Shopping Cart