NEWSFLASH! Achtung! It wasn't just U2!

[Axver]

I'm not sure what you mean by flow and cohesiveness. If anything, AB is incredibly cohesive if you consider the lyrics. I think it flows pretty well musically from track to track as well.

Sonically, I don't think it has much in the way of cohesion at all, and I'm not seeing much of the lyrical cohesion you say is there either. Again, the EBTTRT/One/UTEOTW example. Not only is the transition abrupt and lacking cohesion sonically, but the songs' lyrical meanings are vastly different and I don't see any thematic flow.

 

[Zoots]

I love Zoot...only 15 years late buddy...but then again never TOO late to join the pah-tay!!

But are you suggesting that I'm new to Achtung Baby?

Duuuuuude, I grew up watching the Even Better Than The Real Thing video and wanting to be as cool as Bono.

Achtung is the good old stuff.

 

[LMP]

I have decided that there was some sort of divine intervention when Achtung Baby was being recorded in Hansa Studios, Berlin back in 1990/1991. It couldn't have been U2 alone in that room. Surely they were possessed by some kind of higher power. Somebody or something out of this world had to have had a hand in it. How else do you explain the intensity of this creative outburst and cultural explosion that occured???



Zoo Station
The Fly
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
One
Until The End Of The World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?
So Cruel
Lady With The Spinning Head
Night And Day
Tryin To Throw Your Arms Around The World
Ultraviolet
Acrobat
Love Is Blindness



And I've not even included anything from Zooropa here.

I mean... how can there be so much stellar material all from one era??? How???

The Sgt. Pepper of the '90s

 

[J_NP]

After all can you believe that I still don't own Achtun Baby ........

After all there's something I agree with Axver , the mix on the album isn't quite stellar ..... Sometimes I hear some bits of it and get wondering .... Why people love this so much , I mean the songs ARE great , but live , the album not so much ...... Other times I hear it better , and actually feel encourage bout buyin it , if only the price would go down .....

But back to this production discussion , I show what I think are flaps on the production of it , myself consider that save from Fly and One which was just perfect , all the songs have some "downs " on it

1- Zoo Station : Sounds a joke when compared to live , Edge's guitar which is the best thing of the song , sounds weak on the record .

2- It's one I don't have lots of complain save from I wanted to hear more backings from Edge , and overall a more alive rhythm section , you hear the original version of it , and it sounds way much better

4- The song should raw as live , they almost made it boring with all those other "noises"

5- Wild : Sounds like a soap opera song sometimes , little bit too much dramatic sometimes , Hell even the band was never happy with it's final mix , why should I .....

6- So Cruel : Was never really a big fan of it

8- M Ways : It sounds incomplete without all the live additions , edge's wah-wahs , the keyboard , the solo , edge's vocals , and without mention the lack of the ending climax

9- This song sounds good live , coz it's more raw , there's again too much "aditional " sounds , that make edge's and specially larry's on the 2nd plan .

10- Ultraviolet : Great great song , but again pales when compared to live , live the drums and guitar are agressive , and to me that's the heart of it a very quick tempo and agressive guitar , when played live , and on the albums misses all this , specially on the "UV" section of the song , one of the most excitings ..... the album Edge's vocals almost can't be heared and so that great riff on this area . The best example of all this , look at how the intro ended in the final mix , and listen Wake Up Dead Man/Take me Down from the Outtakes , how the original intro sounded ......

11 - Acrobat , again another great song which loses it's magic with too much " noises " goin on ..... it kinda loses the focus on the song . The very bit of it live I heard of the Hershey tapes , only B and E sounded perfect , you can actually pay attention to the lyrics

12 - Same situation of 9 , 10 , 11 , without mention the best thing of the song , the real and best prayer as Bono says , edge's solo in the end is ruined by Bono's "noises" . Actually not only Edge's solo , but his whole sound is in the background

 

[BVS]

After all can you believe that I still don't own Achtun Baby ........

After all there's something I agree with Axver , the mix on the album isn't quite stellar .....

How can you make all these observations without owning it?

 

[Yahweh]

Achtung Baby in my mind will always be U2s gold standard and the album that they want to beat by the end of their career and I think that U2 themselves will tell you this.

Are they capable of besting this album maybe I wouldnt put it past them but its going to be one tough task to accomplish especially considering all the different issues the band has right now that they didnt have back then, eg. family, politics, the internet leaking material before its even close to being done...many different things.

 

[Axver]

I think that U2 themselves will tell you this.

Which, given U2's - especially Bono's - track record with comments about their own music, is pretty meaningless.

 

[J_NP]

How can you make all these observations without owning it?

Coz I'm pretty much have it on my itunes I meant I don't have the actual cd , but I have the songs , without mention 5 of them are in the best of 90s

Or You Think I had made up all of this , just by imagination

 

[ozeeko]

I'll admit the only area of the album where the flow is disrupted is EBTTRT into One. The ballad kind of comes too quick. Conceptually, Zoo Station and EBTTRT are like the two introductions to the album, announcing the new rockier and danceable U2. I don't mind that these two rockers go directly into One, well i guess I'm just used to it and didn't consider these things when I first heard it (being at that young age, what would i care about flow and cohesion?). However, if u want to get tough and critical about it, then it should be said that One does come too quick, and should've been saved for later in the album. One idea: perhaps UTEOTW should've came after EBTTRT. It's still a rocking track, would keep everyone's attention, and if anything it would be the first glimpse into the lyrically darker underbelly of Achtung. Also, it's introducing one of the main themes of the album: "betrayl". I think One could've followed UTEOTW, musically and lyrically. Then from One, which is about betrayl and heartbreak, would seep into WGRYWH, continuing the betrayl/love theme. So Cruel would follow, which needs no explanation. Side B: The Fly is the tear and the rip in the middle of the album. It opens it up and takes an outsiders view of what's going on. Then Mysterious Ways puts our focus back on the subject of what's causing the emotional crisis: be it your lover or your faith. TTTYAATW is the calm before the storm, where in a drunken haze the protagonist things he has everything figured out. He then comes home to his problems in Ultraviolet, which is upbeat and bouncy but lyrically down in the gutter. And then we dip further down the spiral into Acrobat and Love is Blindness, which is almost leaving the listener with no hope or closure. The answer to the whole album, if any? - Love sucks. Well maybe something more profound.

 

[BVS]

Or You Think I had made up all of this , just by imagination

No, I was just confused. So you pretty much do have it, just not in a pretty AB package?

 

[~BrightestStar~]

Now for something completely off topic

Duuuuuude, I grew up watching the Even Better Than The Real Thing video and wanting to be as cool as Bono.

Poodle, when you wear your fancy pants, I daresay you're cooler.

 

[Zoots]

My name is not Poodle!

 

[~BrightestStar~]

It isn't?!



Oh! How disrespectful of me.

....My sincerest apologies, Poodlesque.

 

[tlt29]

Sonically, I don't think it has much in the way of cohesion at all, and I'm not seeing much of the lyrical cohesion you say is there either. Again, the EBTTRT/One/UTEOTW example. Not only is the transition abrupt and lacking cohesion sonically, but the songs' lyrical meanings are vastly different and I don't see any thematic flow.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I haven't been here for a while, but it's good to see you're still the same pretentious assclown.

Bravo.

 

[Zoots]

Oh! How disrespectful of me.

....My sincerest apologies, Poodlesque.

:bitchslap:

 

[LMP]

:bitchslap:

 

[WalkOn21]

Which, given U2's - especially Bono's - track record with comments about their own music, is pretty meaningless.

Very true. If we would believe Bono, all their albums are the best U2 album ever.

"betrayl" (...) betrayl (...) betrayl

I think the word you're looking for is 'betrayal'.

 

[Axver]

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I haven't been here for a while, but it's good to see you're still the same pretentious assclown.

Bravo.

Bla, bla, bla, bla, bla.

You haven't been here for a while, but it's good to see you're still the same insulting wanker who seems to hate me for some unexplained reason.

Bravo.

Oh, and next time? Just don't bother coming back.

 

[Zoots]

 

[phillyfan26]

Achtung Baby should have been in order of the actual ZooTV show, with the edits for the songs not performed live, so something like this:

Zoo Station
The Fly
Even Better Than the Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
One
Until the End of the World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
So Cruel
Acrobat
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
Love is Blindness

But really, it is a good album. I don't love it like some do, it is definitely one of the worst albums in comparison to its live counterpart (the worst being Zooropa, which is hard to listen to in its studio version).

WGRYWH, TTTYAATW, and So Cruel have never done anything for me. I agree completely with Bono that they never got WGRYWH right, because it sounds confused. You can see the potential, but it's just not right.

I think Acrobat and Ultra Violet are decent songs, but are nothing special.

Even Better Than the Real Thing has also been overrated, for lyrically it isn't that good.

Zoo Station, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, UTEOTW, One, and Love is Blindness are all excellent songs, though.

BTW, post number 300 - I must be an Acrobat!

 

[LMP]

Achtung Baby should have been in order of the actual ZooTV show, with the edits for the songs not performed live, so something like this:

Zoo Station
The Fly
Even Better Than the Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
One
Until the End of the World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
So Cruel
Acrobat
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
Love is Blindness

I like the idea, change the order:

Zoo Station
The Fly
Even Better Than the Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
One
So Cruel
Until the End of the World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
Acrobat
Love is Blindness

 

[ozeeko]

[B
I think the word you're looking for is 'betrayal'. [/B]

Yea I know. Sometimes I just spell things differently for fun. Like instead of the word through I'll say thru and night I'll say nite. I'm kind of like Prince.

 

[~BrightestStar~]

Bri goes ghetto?

:bitchslap:

Oh, don't go there girlfriend.

Mmm mmm
*snap snap*



Bring it on, Poodle

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Poodle?

Bri is stirring the $h*t up!!!

AB = U2 at its finest....

 

[Bono's shades]

Sonically, I don't think it has much in the way of cohesion at all, and I'm not seeing much of the lyrical cohesion you say is there either. Again, the EBTTRT/One/UTEOTW example. Not only is the transition abrupt and lacking cohesion sonically, but the songs' lyrical meanings are vastly different and I don't see any thematic flow.

That's strange, because when I put all the lryics together I get a story of temptation, betrayal, heartbreak and disillusionment.

 

[Axver]

That's strange, because when I put all the lryics together I get a story of temptation, betrayal, heartbreak and disillusionment.

Where?

I do not see how EBTTRT, One, and UTEOTW share lyrical themes at all. I mean, UTEOTW is a song from Judas's perspective to Jesus, so I definitely don't see how it is meant to fit with One or especially EBTTRT.

 

[shart1780]

I always saw UTEOTW more as a song about one lover betraying the trust of another.

EBTTRT - Lust

One - Breaking up

UTEOTW - Broken trust

WGRYWH - Looking back at breakup sorta

So Cruel - How the breakup went down

The Fly - Ummm... stuff (?)

Mysterious Ways - About how weird women are

TTTYAATW - Some more stuff about women

Ultraviolet - Love song

Acrobat - Frustration towards someone you love

Love is Blindness - Self explanatory

 

[BVS]

I always saw UTEOTW more as a song about one lover betraying the trust of another.

No, it's definately Judas...

 

[shart1780]

No, it's definately Judas...

It is, but I don't care. Art is subjective. It's whatever I want to to be about!!!

 

[Bono's shades]

I always saw UTEOTW more as a song about one lover betraying the trust of another.

I did too when I first heard the song. I think it was written ambigously on purpose.

Even if you use the Judas interpretation only, it's still about betrayal. When I said one of the themes of the album was betrayal, I didn't mean just betrayal in a romantic relationship.