LogFAQs > #953721693

U2 - Achtung Baby results

Participants sorted by deviation from final results:
CasanovaZelos (12)
ZeroSignal620 (12)
VeryInsane (20)
Jesse_Custer (24)
Seanchan (24)
Johnbobb (26)
Snake5555555555 (28)
Raetsel_Lapin (32)
SpikeSetsFire (36)

General Album Comments:

CasanovaZelos: Achtung Baby is my #567 album of all time and #11 for 1991. This is one of those all-time classics that never fully clicked with me, though I'm happy to give it another listen after Zoo Station and The Fly grew on me over the last couple years. While I vastly prefer The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby is where U2 became the coolest band on the planet. At the same time, this change set them up to become the most easily hateable. Are U2 trying too hard to appeal to everyone? Their sound is almost unclassifiable; this is 'rock' at its purest level, not quite classic nor alternative. There are few if any other artists I classify as 'rock' and nothing more specific. In that sense, U2 is fascinating. On another, they teeter on the edge of the generic. In fact, this album might represent the finest tip before falling over; U2 really hits it out of the ballpark with these tracks, a quality they never again achieved. At the same time, there's a noticeable gulf in quality between the big hits and the other tracks here; they could have dropped a couple and had a much tighter record. "One" is easily the highlight, an all-time great questioning the concept of unity in a fractured world. Bono's vocals there blow me away every time.

Jesse_Custer: In my view, Achtung Baby is U2 at their best, breaking away from the idealistic sound that made them famous in the 80s for a more experimental and darker style, without losing the earnest soul-searching of The Joshua Tree. Id also say its U2s most consistent album to date, on which almost every track is great.

Seanchan: I did a first listen of Achtung Baby and it mimiced my feelings on U2; it's fine but ultimately unremarkable. It felt like the type of album I'd stick on at low volume in the background of a party just to have some noise.

Snake5555555555: I ended up liking this album a lot more than I thought I would. The Fly crafts a wall-of-sound that feels industrial inspired, approaching almost Ministry-levels of vocal distortion with a superb guitar solo, the track exudes an eerie atmosphere while still being a scorching rocker. Mysterious Ways truly lives up its name with a dance-rock groove that lures you in with addictive percussion and Bono's entrancing vocals. My Preacher bias shines through on Until the End of the World, a truly heartfelt story that turns the tale of Jesus & Judas into a slow-burning rock song with biting lyricism. One is a classic for good reason, I love the song's message and it's well written musically of course but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it. Love is Blindness wowed me with sparse but impactful guitar work and a throbbing bass you can feel in your chest. The next few songs are just solid rock tracks, a tad forgettable but if they came on they would be a fun listen! Acrobat's time signature is at first uncomfortable to get in to but it ends up really working as further experimentation of U2's sound on this album. The last couple of songs are just bloated slogs, way too long while lacking any true distinct features for me even if I can appreciate some of the sentiment in the lyrics.

Overall there's some good songs on this album but it really suffers from bloated track lengths and some sameness in the vocals despite wild experimentation in the instrumental side. I like what this album represents in terms of its impact on the music landscape and for U2, but I'm not in a rush to listen to it again; I'll just stick to the cream of the crop on this one.

VeryInsane: I think it was pretty good! I cant get into their newer stuff, and if I listen its generally to Unforgettable Fire or Joshua Tree, but I think this was actually better than both.

Seanchan (further thoughts): So, I guess the album grew on me a little bit. I feel like it falls off a cliff after Mysterious Ways though.

I can understand a little more why U2 is popular. Their sound can be all over the place, sometimes in a very cool way. I enjoyed a lot of the instrumentality (if that's the right word) but I'm still maybe not always the biggest fan of Bono's vocals.

Johnbobb: I normally like U2, but I really didn't care for this album much beyond Mysterious Ways, which is a classic.

---

My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/