Achtung Baby is the...

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wolfwill23

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...best album ever. I listened to it a few times yesterday and that album is amazing. I feel that it's the best album of U2's career. Here's why:
1. The album as a whole-Each song fits on the album. The record would not be the same if one of those songs were replaced with another song, even a great song like HMTMKMKM.
2. Foot tapping factor-Every tune forces you to tap your foot along. It's like each song can get stuck in your head at any moment.
3. Breaking new ground-When U2 made this album, they were totally ahead of their time. They experimented and it paid off. Edge's guitar sounds like nothing before and nothing since. The growl of Zoo Station, the whir of EBTTRT, the blues of One, the insanity of UTEOTW etc, etc. This kind of ties into the album as a whole idea.
4. Lyrics-Forget about it. Bono was out of control on this one. Every fucking WORD on this album is perfect and HAS to be there. There are metaphors a pleanty and some very dark songs. Great stuff, my hat's off to you Bono.

Now, let me say that ATYCLB is a GREAT album. It's actually my second favorite. However, there is very little cohesion (sp?) on this record. It's almost a greatest hits from U2 at that period. There are some beautiful songs on the record, but many of them could be easily exchanged for something else and it would not affect the overall album. U2 even added TGBHF to the Europe albums.

Not just all of that, but U2 backed up Achtung Baby with THE GREATEST TOUR EVER. And again, the tour fit the music. They were indulging on the tour because they were indulging on the record. Again, ATYCLB is amazing, I'm listening to the Turin show right now. However, I just don't think that it gets any better than Achtung Baby and ZooTV.
 
no, it isn't the best album ever

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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
 
Yep, it's on my list Top 5 albums ever. I just wrote an essay about U2's transition from the Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby. I think it's fucking amazing.

biggrin.gif


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Proud owner of Larry's Drumstick!

Still Elevated...
 
Achtung Baby is usually my favourite U2 album.. very close to Joshua Tree but my tastes change frequently.
 
I couldn't agree more.

Achtung Baby -- the songs, the tour, the booklet, the look, the shock, the fly shades, the fly, one, mysterious ways,

This will always be the pinnacle for me.

------------------
You Just Can't Get Enough Of That Lovey Dovey Stuff...
 
Achtung Baby is the best album by any band of any genre, of any country, ever created!
 
... is my favorite album ever. But, being as that music is an art, and art & beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I have no idea what the best album ever is.
 
Achtung Baby is one album in a U2 collection that should be where it is, and stand for what it is...From Boy to Unforgettable Fire, to Joshua Tree to Pop to ATYCLB...U2 continues to make albums that have defined a generation for 20 years and to put "their best ever" or "their pinnacle" is something I've never chosen to do, and something I know that U2 would never say about their career as well...the fires of creativity are still there, and who knows, not even U2, what landscape of music they will create in the future...all I know that as a fan, it is awesome to sit back and wait with expectation with what this band can and will produce...and find comfort that it will ultimately define them as people and musicians, and it will be what they felt was the best representation of themselves, and we get to be recipients of this beautiful thing between band and fan.

Chris

[This message has been edited by spanisheyes (edited 10-20-2001).]
 
baby baby baby light my way...HOO-AH!!!!

also WGRYWH is a wonderful song! I've been listening to it every day recently.

I loooove to say Aaacccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhtung and then I can't speak the rest of the day.

------------------
~*Mona*~ the Shamrock n' rolla
Bono Rep. of the Ambassadorship of the World for L.E.A.T.H.E.R.

"Joe Houdini!" ~Charlie Brown~

"What you don't have you don't need it now. What you don't know you can feel it somehow." -U2-
 
Originally posted by spanisheyes:
Achtung Baby is one album in a U2 collection that should be where it is, and stand for what it is...From Boy to Unforgettable Fire, to Joshua Tree to Pop to ATYCLB...U2 continues to make albums that have defined a generation for 20 years and to put "their best ever" or "their pinnacle" is something I've never chosen to do, and something I know that U2 would never say about their career as well...the fires of creatity are still there, and who knows, not even U2, what landscape of music they will create in the future...all I know that as a fan, it is awesome to sit back and wait with expectation with what this band can and will produce...and find comfort that it will ultimately define them as people and musicians, and it will be what they felt was the best representation of themselves, and we get to be recipients of this beautiful thing between band and fan.

Chris

[This message has been edited by spanisheyes (edited 10-20-2001).]
Click to expand...

Well said, Chris!!
smile.gif


------------------
Proud Owner of Larry's Stick!!!


Bubble poppin' sugar droppin' rock and roll

~*April*~
(AIM-POPLemonGirl)
 
Spanish Eyes wrote:

Achtung Baby is one album in a U2 collection that should be where it is, and stand for what it is...From Boy to Unforgettable Fire, to Joshua Tree to Pop to ATYCLB...U2 continues to make albums that have defined a generation for 20 years and to put "their best ever" or "their pinnacle" is something I've never chosen to do, and something I know that U2 would never say about their career as well...the fires of creatity are still there, and who knows, not even U2, what landscape of music they will create in the future...all I know that as a fan, it is awesome to sit back and wait with expectation with what this band can and will produce...and find comfort that it will ultimately define them as people and musicians, and it will be what they felt was the best representation of themselves, and we get to be recipients of this beautiful thing between band and fan
Click to expand...

Come on Chris stop being so neutral..pick the album that you get most out of even if its just a songs difference between your No1 and No2..you know ya wanna!!!!
biggrin.gif
 
yup

[This message has been edited by Salome (edited 10-20-2001).]

[This message has been edited by ACROB@T (edited 10-20-2001).]
 
I'm staying on my tightrope baby, because U2 has taught me that there may be no net for me to fall in with them....we move in mysterious ways, we move in miracle days. But if I ever do get off, I know she'll be there when I hit the ground.

Chris

[This message has been edited by spanisheyes (edited 10-20-2001).]
 
....just pick one!!
biggrin.gif
no more cryptic passages or ironic statements..you know you want to say Joshua Tree......
 
...the best U2 album ever. I just listened to it again in my car in the past days, and it always feels so fresh. You can always find something new and exiteing on it - and I listened it for tens of tousands of times over and over.
The difference between it and all the other u2 cd's is that now when I wan't to listen to U2 I don't go for ATYCLB, I always go for AB first... ten years after and I still can't get enough of it, and I never skip a track
 
Achtung Baby was the album that made me a fan. Some of U2's other albums took me some time to get into, even Joshua Tree, which sat in my cd rack unlistened to for 4 years(OUCH!, I know), but Achtung Baby I loved immediatedly. It's just, perfect.
 
Originally posted by ericb:
Achtung Baby was the album that made me a fan. Some of U2's other albums took me some time to get into, even Joshua Tree, which sat in my cd rack unlistened to for 4 years(OUCH!, I know), but Achtung Baby I loved immediatedly. It's just, perfect.
Click to expand...

Ditto!
 
AB is the album that made me a U2 fan so I'm a bit biased about it being their best album. But it is.

------------------
"Things will not be the same in this city for us." -Bono, Dublin, February 1980
 
Originally posted by ~LadyLemon~:
Yep, it's on my list Top 5 albums ever. I just wrote an essay about U2's transition from the Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby. I think it's fucking amazing.

biggrin.gif


Click to expand...
Wrote the same type of essay back in fall '97.

CK



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MSG: I will give you 2 NJ1 GA's for 2 NY1 GCs or 2 NY1 $85!! Email or IM me. Help a desparate man out!!
Email:U2_Kennedy@yahoo.com
AIM: ckennedy77
 
I think AB is certainly one of the best -- the best of U2, and the best of rock in general, but a few observations are due:

1) "I listen to AB all the time" indicates that it's your favorite; it's not really a reason for any of the rest of us to think it's the greatest.

2) It's not just a comparison between AB and ATYCLB. The Joshua Tree HAS to be considered as one of their best, if not their best. And, one *could* make arguments for Boy, War, The Unforgettable Fire, and even POP.

At the moment, I think it's a toss-up between JT, AB, and ATYCLB.

3) JT and ATYCLB are just as cohesive as AB. JT has a consistent sonic landscape -- a very open, bluesy sound. ATYCLB has a consistent perspective -- the sound of an older man looking at the most important things in his life (God, his father, his kids, his wife).

Beyond that, there is no one thread that runs through all of Achtung Baby. Sonic chaos and experimentation? Nope (see "One"). Love and betrayal? Nope ("Zoo Station", "Tryin to Throw Your Arms"). Honestly, "Mysterious Ways" and "Love is Blindness" almost sound like they were made by two different bands.

4) A couple of the remarks against ATYCLB were unfair. Specifically...

Originally posted by wolfwill23:
Now, let me say that ATYCLB is a GREAT album. It's actually my second favorite. However, there is very little cohesion (sp?) on this record. It's almost a greatest hits from U2 at that period. There are some beautiful songs on the record, but many of them could be easily exchanged for something else and it would not affect the overall album. U2 even added TGBHF to the Europe albums.
Click to expand...

U2 added TGBHF in England only. The reason they did this was because English CD's are much more expensive than European imports, and their British label wanted to add an extra track as an incentive for the Brit's to buy the UK version. U2 DID NOT want TGBHF added -- they wanted an album with the same tracks in the same order worldwide -- and relented to their British label.

All That You Can't Leave Behind seems very cohesive to me; I can't imagine trading out one song for another -- or even using the "original" leaked tracklisting. True, "Wild Honey" is a very relaxed number in comparison to "Stuck" or "Walk On", but the same observation applies when comparing "Tryin to Throw Your Arms" to "Even Better" and "Until the End of the World" -- or comparing "Trip Through Your Wires" to "With or Without You" and "Bullet".

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- Achtung Bubba

I believe in truth, beauty, freedom, and -- above all things -- love.
 
All of the songs on AB, in my opinion, have the same sound. There is somthing about them that makes them all brothers and sisters. What I was saying about ATYCLB is that there may be a few cousins too.

Don't get me wrong, ATYCLB is amazing. I think it's just a bit more eclectic than AB.
 
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