Achtung Baby

It's hard for me to judge U2 objectively, because they were such a huge part of my youth. But, it has been a long time since I listened to this album the whole way through, so it sounds quite fresh. This really was a big departure from U2's earlier work, and their experiments really paid off. It's arguably their last great album - and definitely their creative peak.

There are some really interesting sounds on this; right from the start with the industrial intro to Zoo Station, the jagged electronic sounding guitar on Mysterious Ways, and the growling bass and vocals on The Fly. I thought I would have found One hard to listen to, since it was so overplayed, but I was actually quite moved listening to it again yesterday. The production is fantastic as well, Brian Eno doing his usual excellent work. I forgot just how dark the lyrics on this are, and I think I most of the allusions to the German reunification and the Bible went over my head listening to this as a young teenager. So I enjoyed having a read of the meanings of the lyrics on the deeper cuts like Until the End of The World, Acrobat, and Love is Blindness.

A true milestone in music over the past few decades; there are albums that mark a clear “before” and “after”—this is one of those albums and one of the most iconic

Dit album moet breken met hun verleden. Het zou dus heel anders moeten zijn dan bijvoorbeeld War, wat we eerder geserveerd krijgen. Muzikaal merk je wel iets. Ik zou zeggen dat het soms wat meer richting Depeche Mode gaat. Iets elektronischer, iets vager, iets gevarieerder. Allemaal met de nadruk op 'iets'. Uiteindelijk zet U2 haar handtekening met de zang. Met af en toe een kleine uitzondering, is die zang nu niet heel anders. En als ze dan echt wilden breken met het verleden. Waarom zijn het dan juist de minder elektronische, minder vage nummers die tot single zijn verheven?

Heti, kun ekassa biisissä alko laulujan ääntelyt, muistin taas mikä U2:ssa olikaan vikana. So Cruelin kohdalla oon todella kyllästynyt tähän levyyn. 2/5

So I've always had a prejudice against U2, or maybe to be more fair against Bono. Sure, he's done good things, but he's one of those people that needs to give up his ego and self-importance and just be a decent person because it's the right thing to do rather than for personal gain. And I don't know how but his arrogance seems to carry through to his vocals.

Bono aside, this album has some good high points. One, of course, but I also really enjoy Until The End Of The World, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, and Acrobat. They build songs really well and I love The Edge as a guitar player, stupid name aside. Apart from their early albums which may be considered some kind of punk-lite, they layer instruments and arrange the music really well and always have a super full sound.
I guess I've always just kind of written most of U2 off because Bono is not my favorite person. They have written some songs that I really like, Joshua Tree is a fantastic album, maybe I should try to get over Bono and appreciate them for their music. Giving this one a solid 3.5 stars but rounding down because...Bono.

Hey alright I liked this, and mostly didn't know the songs before. I might have been done a disservice with the order I heard the U2 entries in. Apparently this one was pitched as a major reinvention of their sound, which might have made "All That You Can't Leave Behind" make more sense if I'd listened that one after this? maybe unlikely, and I'm definitely not going to listen to that one a second time to find out

It's not bad. Nothing really stood out to me. Just kind of faded into the background.

4.5 even if Bono is a narcissist.

ngl - easily one of my favourite albums ever. As soon as I saw this was the album, it was time to crank up the volume and let Larry's heavy boot reverberate around my skull. Yes, they became bloated pompous stadium rockers, but this album was an absolute masterclass.

"Waves of regret, waves of joy. I reached out for the one I tried to destroy". Indeed.

That wasn't unpleasant. But I do not understand why this band took off.

There was a time when I would've given this album a 5, but listening to it now, it sounds a bit overproduced. Still, the power of their songwriting shines through, especially on anthems like "One." Perhaps their last truly great album.

Pretty much what I expected from them at this point in their career - safe, over-produced, more effects than guitar playing, but still very enjoyable.
"...wild horses" and "the fly" probably my favourite tracks, but so many of them are classic rock staples already.

I was suprised by how many songs I knew off of here, whether that be songs I knew as Johnny Cash songs or just didn't know were U2. Sadly, while I do like this more than Joshua Tree, still nothing I care for whatsoever. I just don't get the appeal of U2. I suppose at least everyone was right and they do sound different between albums. Not good, perse, but different, made it less monotonous.

I think that culturally, we're all a bit tired of U2 - well, mostly Bono, and probably because of that iPod thing, ramming some album down everyone's throats.

That aside, with Achtung Baby, it's a mix of killer and filler. The standout tracks are great: "Even Better Than the Real Thing", "One", "The Fly", and "Mysterious Ways" - they're all very well produced. The rest of tracks feel boring in comparison.

I guess I'm just not a fan of U2, either. It's alright, nothing to write home about, though. Some of the guitar sounds are pretty interesting, but overall this is just not something I'm going to go back and listen to.

u 2 again

Solid but not spectacular. Has some good songs but certainly not the best U2 album. The famous songs like One and Mysterious Ways clearly the best. 3/5

One of U2 better albums, I prefer the songs on Joshua Tree, can see why this is on the list, but wouldn’t chose to listen to it.

This is boring and toothless. God its the softest rock conceivable.

I want to like U2, they just make it so difficult sometimes! After an epic start it nosedives into Bono at his most indulgently awful, punctuated by a few decent singles.