Argue Achtung to me ;)

[U2morrow]

So I have noticed AB always ranks really really high on people's 'favorite album' threads and I was wondering why. AB does happen to be the album that got me hooked on U2 when it first came out but over the years it has fallen towards the bottom of my list(although I do still enjoy it). So I am just interested in hearing others' opinions on why they think this is a truly great album and/or why it's their favorite. Thanks

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"And when it's raining,
raining hard, that's when the rain will break my heart."

 

[Hallelujah Here She Comes]

I don't even know where to begin. Achtung is and probably always will be my favorite U2 album. And I don't really know if I can explain why. I could say something about the "deep introspective lyrics" or the "new sonic territory" that U2 explored with the album. Or I could explain how every song's a masterpiece, from the rough, cutting opening cords of Zoo Station to the bittersweet perfection of One to the bitter, pithy revalations of The Fly to the final, desperate notes of Love is Blindess. Or I could talk about how amazing it is that each song stands on its own but at the same time fits into a larger, cohesive whole that tells the story of a man being lured away from his true love, the sun by the seductress the Moon. I could go on for hours just trying to convey the sheer brilliance of One.

I could talk about all that. But basically I just like the album because it fucking rocks.

 

[pax]

I think it's the first time Bono uses "baby" in a lyric without referring to a literal infant...

Perhaps part of it has to do with the fact that it's an unabashedly earthy, sexual work and all of the floodgates that held back the underlying sexuality in their music just came crashing down. And yet, all that sexuality doesn't impede how meaningful, raw, and beautiful it is at the same time. I can't think of another single, cohesive work that ever mixed sexuality and spirituality so seamlessly as Achtung Baby did. Only in the U2niverse could "One" and "Mysterious Ways" exist on the same album and not seem weird.

For example, at the end of "Mysterious Ways," I think Bono is saying...

"Ohhh, she moves, yes she moves, the spirit moves..."

Now isn't that just lovely?

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If you cannot live together in here, you cannot live together out there, let me tell ya. --Bono

You've got to cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice... --Bono

[This message has been edited by paxetaurora (edited 12-11-2001).]

 

[bullet the blue sky]

It's better than the other ones.

 

[notiti]

AB is my favorite U2 album without question, and probably my favorite of all time, if not in the top five. I love it for the same reasons everyone does, the lyrics, the increadible guitar work, etc etc. But I have to say that I love it the most probably because it is so powerful that it can bring me to tears. There is so much raw emotion packed into the album that it demands a response from the listener. AB is an exhausting experience, and I will argue that it is U2's best work till the death.

 

[baker6621]

One reason: Baby

Seriously though, this CD is like a greatest hits. Every song is good. ATYCLB comes close in that respect but they both have 11/12 rattling songs.

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"Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, live like there is no tomorrow, dance like no one is watching." --Bono

"The only limits are the limits of our imagination. Dream up the kind of world you want to live in. Dream out loud. At high VOLUME".

 

[U2morrow]

Originally posted by bullet the blue sky:
It's better than the other ones.

muaha like this answer

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"And when it's raining,
raining hard, that's when the rain will break my heart."

 

[pax]

BUMP (i wanna hear more on this)

 

[HelloAngel]

I don't think I could aptly describe AB and do it justice at all.

But I will say briefly (brevity is VERY new to me) that the darkest depths of the lyrics is what gets to me everytime.

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No alarms and no surprises, please.

 

[hippy]

AB helped me through a very dark time and so has always held a special place in my heart. Like others have said, I couldn't do it justice with my meager words. But everything about the album makes it one of the best that I've ever heard...lyrics, music, and the overwhelming chemistry between Bono, Edge, LArry, and Adam...and so much more!

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One love, one life...
Give peace a chance!
Don't let the bastards grind you down!

Bono: I don't walk, I swagger! I sashayed once, but just once. It wasn't for me.

 

[ONElife]

Achtung Baby, is U2's Sgt Pepper, and it could be played live! This was an extraordinary departure for the Band of the 80's. This was the final nail in the heart of anyone who wanted to box U2 into any category of music. U2 proclaimed that they would not be defined by anyone else. They would make whatever music they wanted to make. If the fans came along for the ride, more power to them, but they would not cater to the people who wanted Joshua Tree pt.2. In every AB is like nothing U2 had done before and it was like nothing it was competing with at the time. This was the era of grunge, and here U2 embracing rock stardom! Aside from all that revolution though, the songs on AB are so deeply layered that every song has infinite interpretations. One, for example, has been vehemently claimed to be about marriage, the breakup of marriage, homosexuality... and infinite other things. What is it really about? Who cares, these songs will be whatever they need to be to get you through the night. Plus, the album friggin rocks. The fly, particularly in its current incarnation, is acid rock! UTEOTW, EBTTRT, Zoo Station, U2 was never a hard rock band till they released this album. this album had bass that could take down houses, this was an album you cranked as you were rolling down the street. This is an album you could be proud to annoy your neighbors with. What more could you want?

 

[Salome]

Originally posted by U2morrow:
AB does happen to be the album that got me hooked on U2 when it first came out but over the years it has fallen towards the bottom of my list(although I do still enjoy it).

been there, done that

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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it

 

[Hawk269]

ONELife said it perfectly....

Well done!

AJ

 

[U2DMfan]

frankly all things considered, I think the impact, the change, the sound, the songs, the lyrics, the guitar, bass and drums. A record made out of desperation almost, it really is the best album I have ever heard, but to compare it to say the Joshua Tree, which AB & JT are the consensus top 2 labums my U2, so comparing it to the Joshua Tree it was more ballsy, more of a departure, it also represented a record that stood up to its counterparts not only REM but Nirvana and newer bands. Joshua Tree was up against Bon Jovi, not to make JT less of an album but it had less impact on the actual sound of contemporary rock music. Now I won't even compare AB to ATYCLB, ATYCLB is a pop album by a bunch of 40 year old rock stars, and IT IS GOOD, but its not in the same solar system as AB or JT, or even Pop in my mind. I like artists who push the envelope, which U2 did for the better part of 20 years, to me they are in a different phase of their lives, musical and personal, they are in a position where pushing the envelope is not in their best interest but to make the best record they can make and be relevant, not necessary sell alot of records but BE relevant. I think if you look at the measure of the bands 21 or so years together they have many highs and lows and great records and very good records and a few average records. But in 25 years when U2 are no longer in the conscience of popular music at all, they will be a historical landmark and most people will look back and say The Joshua tree was their big seller, a great album with alot of hits, and Achtung Baby will be the one that reminds people that this band is more than the sum of its parts, more than just a rock band, but a band that can change its image and sound completely different and still be brilliant, they risked alienating an audience that was massive, they risked commercial failure with the ensuing tour, we'll all look back 25 years from now or so and say it might possibly be what I truly think it is now, the greatest rock and roll album ever made for all of the above.

 

[U2morrow]

Thanks for all your insights everyone. You made me want to go and listen to AB more carefully and in a different light which is what I was aiming for with this thread

so thanks again.

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"And when it's raining,
raining hard, that's when the rain will break my heart."

 

[ericb]

I think Achtung Baby has the most amount of energy on it, and maybe it is the best Bono ever sounded. I mean, I love Joshua Tree, but parts of it, like towards the 2nd half get a little dull I think, and Unforgettable Fire I think he is screaming too much. Once I heard A Sort Of Homecoming and Bad live, I couldn't go back to the studio versions. Achtung Baby just sounds soooo good.

 

[david]

Adam's penis is on the front.

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The more of these I drink the more Bono makes sense.. - Bean from the KROQ Breakfast with U2.

 

[MrPryck2U]

I'll keep this simple since so many others said it best. For me, when AB came out, Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry stopped being U2 and became my brothers instead. On Achtung Baby, the listener feels like they're part of an intimate secret, not just an album.

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The goal is ELEVATION!