Say something negative about Achtung Baby

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I typically get crucified for this one. But I do not care for Acrobat. It is OK, love Edge's solo but otherwise the song does nothing for me. It is interesting reading this thread as most complain about So Cruel being the weak link. It is one of my favorite songs from the album and I know there is mad love for Acrobat by a lot. So I guess I'm not the typical U2 diehard on this one.

It is U2's second best album for me and I can listen to it all the way through. However, if I skip a song on occassion it would be Acrobat and sometimes TTTYAATW. I also sort of have to be in a particular mood for Achtung Baby to hit me as outstanding all the way through. Whereas The Joshua Tree I can listen to anytime, in any kind of mood, all the way through and it always sounds good to me.

So that is my negative on Achtung Baby. Bottom line is there is not a lot of negative about the album other than some of the negative subject matter of it, which actually helps make it a great album.
 
The only weak track on the album, I think 'Wild Horses suffers from being so sonically unfocused. I think a better mix could be made, combining elements of AB version, Temple Bar mix, and 'Baby' version.

I am also really burned out on Mysterious Ways every time I hear it, but that's not the album's fault...
 
Good:
  1. 12 Songs - so many of U2's albums have 11 songs, when a 12th strong song is either left off, made as a special release in the U.K. or Japan, or made into a b-side. But that 12th song would have helped the album. It did for AB.
  2. U2 finally rocked out with some great pop-rock songs! The more somber JT and R&H era made me wonder if U2 could do that.
  3. U2's JT era look and sound probably would have worked with in the grunge era. In fact, one might even argue they helped set that stage with serious songs like "Bullet the Blue Sky", their longer hair and ripped jeans. But had U2 released JT-Part 2, they might not have been around today. AB both blended in with the grunge era and also was a wonderful respite from it.
  4. Color! So much color after years of B&W.
  5. The album still sounds fresh today.
  6. U2's bravery of starting the concerts with 7 or so AB songs before finally dipping into their catalog.
  7. U2 became "fun" - a side they hadn't shown in a while.
  8. The tour was great! Sites and sounds I had never seen or heard before!
  9. The music was top-notch. Hard to believe that the same members and producers who created the sweeping JT sound now created this harder industrial sound.

Bad:
  1. "Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World." I know many love this and U2 usually performed this song in concert, but I feel it is one of U2's weakest, throwaway tracks. It reminds me of "Trip through Your Wires" - another throwaway song. Both seem out of place on the albums and are early signs of what U2 would later have on ATYCLB, HTDAAB and, to a lesser extent, NLOTH. This type of poppy-folksy nonsense that - I admit - doesn't suit MY tastes.
  2. Bono's vocals. The goal of AB was to change. But one of the many things I loved about U2 was Bono's soaring vocals, best show-cased on UF, JT and R&H. Spoken songs, whispered songs, altered voices, or singing in a narrow range were part of Bono's plan - but I did miss that glorious wailing (heard snippets on songs like "Until the End" and "Horses").
  3. One could relate more to JT era U2. You could imagine having a drink with those guys in a pub. AB era U2 was very shiny. This was intentional, I know, but suddenly, it made U2 rather unapproachable. One good thing about ATYCLB is that this approachable factor returned, even if U2 were bigger than ever.
  4. Lastly, the lack of openly political songs is another dislike. U2 did a LOT of charity and were highly political during the ZOO era - but it's not showcased, at least directly, on AB.

Please note, these are MY thoughts. With all of the pros and cons stated, this does not detract from the fact that AB is my first or second favorite U2 album ever (and has remained that way since 1991) and is one of the best albums of the 90's. :love:
 
I can't relate to many of the lyrics on AB, but that's a personal thing.
Many lyrics seem to come out of a very "male" perspective, but that's just my feeling and I hate the whole femme fatale theme.
Many songs are monotonous and long-winding.
I find So Cruel boring and Wild Horses confusing and undecided.
Ultraviolet is boring, too, the Baby Baby Baby chorus still makes me cringe.
I loved to see it live because of the show, but the song itself never impressed me on the last tour.
I loved the Kindergarten version of Until The End of the World more than the album version and wish they would have kept the bridge that way.

The rest is fine for me, great flow, great ending, LIB is perfect as closer. And I even love Trying to Throw your Arms, maybe because it's such a throwaway song, but funnily it's one of the songs I can relate to most, lyrically, because it describes a feeling I know quite well :lol:

Generally, AB is certainly among my favourite U2 albums but not my favourite U2 album.
 
Achtung Baby isn't that great. I thought it was when I was 14 and then got tired of it. People seem to mostly think it's so good because of the events surrounding it. Case in point:

20 Years of Achtung Baby: Why Achtung Baby Is U2's Greatest Album

Also, when I watch the first few songs on the ZooTV Sydney DVD, I can't help but think, "Wow, this is so stupid." It doesn't get good until "One" and afterwards.

There, I confessed.
 
What's stupid about the run of Zoo Station, The Fly, Even Better and Mysterious Ways? (This is an actual question.)

Do you hate awesomeness? (This is a rhetorical question.)
 
I think Rachel is saying she was 14 when it came out, loved it then and now that she's older, she likes it alot less.

I find that hard to reconcile though..most mid-30s U2 fans I know from that - shall we call it 2nd generation of U2 fans - are still firmly calling AB their favorite U2 album, and quite possibly favorite album of all time.
 
Here's some negatives:

-It's only 12 songs long.
-Heaven And Hell never made it on the album
-Same with Down All The Days (wish they had kept this instead of turning it into Numb)
-And same with Oh Berlin
-I like "Baby" Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses and the bridge section on "Baby" Until the End of the World a lot more than what's on the album
 
I think Rachel is saying she was 14 when it came out, loved it then and now that she's older, she likes it alot less.

I find that hard to reconcile though..most mid-30s U2 fans I know from that - shall we call it 2nd generation of U2 fans - are still firmly calling AB their favorite U2 album, and quite possibly favorite album of all time.

I agree. I'm in my mid 30's and although I got into U2 in 1985(when i was 10) AB is my favourite U2 album and my favourite album of all time by anybody.
 
I don't find Rachel not loving the album as curious as her statement about the concert. I honestly would like to hear why she doesn't like the opening bunch of songs.
 
So cruel is the poorest track on there but achtung baby is a masterpiece so it still makes it a decent track.
 
Can I just say that I will never understand people dissing 'So Cruel' and then praising the (overlong, over-boring, overblown) 'Moment of Surrender'?

'So Cruel', I love you. 'Moment of Surrender', I think I don't like you, but I'm not sure because I haven't been able to stay awake to your end yet.

There! I said it.
 
WGRYWH is the only track that is not perfection for me, but that all changed with the 'Baby' version from the Kindergarten set - replace the album version with that and we have absolute perfection.

All just my humble opinion, of course. :D
 
The Panther said:
Can I just say that I will never understand people dissing 'So Cruel' and then praising the (overlong, over-boring, overblown) 'Moment of Surrender'?

'So Cruel', I love you. 'Moment of Surrender', I think I don't like you, but I'm not sure because I haven't been able to stay awake to your end yet.

There! I said it.

:bow: :bow: :bow:
 
Can I just say that I will never understand people dissing 'So Cruel' and then praising the (overlong, over-boring, overblown) 'Moment of Surrender'?

'So Cruel', I love you. 'Moment of Surrender', I think I don't like you, but I'm not sure because I haven't been able to stay awake to your end yet.

There! I said it.

So Cruel is the song I always fall asleep to because it's so monotonous and lyrically, IMO, not really interesting. MOS can't be compared, it's true beauty. But hey, that's called different tasts in music. I think we all can accept that without bashing other people for liking other songs.
 
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