Good God AB is brilliant

[Joshua_Tree_Hugger]

Achtung Baby has long been my favourite ever album. And I've just realised why:

Zoo Station - Awesome riff, as good as ever on the new tour
EBTTRT - Insatiably catchy, sounded great on Popmart
One - Probably the fans favourite all-time U2 song, constantly in top 10 songs of all time and similar awards, an absolute MASTERPIECE
UTEOTW - What needs to be said about this one, an absolute rocker. Brilliant lyrics, the bullfight on the Elevation Tour was stunning
Wild Horses - Has recently become one of my favourite songs. Wonderfully moving lyrics
So Cruel - A heartwrenching ballad
The Fly - Another corker, brilliant chorus and riff, always gets a crowd insane
MW - Another one of my all-time favourite songs, makes you wanna dance and yell out the chorus. Enormous on Popmart
Tryin' - Wonderful on ZooTV, climaxes brilliantly with the "won't you lift me up, lift me up" part
UV - Stunning multi-vocal chorus and epic buildup
Acrobat - Angry, passionate, wonderful lyrically
Love is Blindness - The perfect closer, raw, from the heart, unadultrated

Anyways I just thought I'd share this realisation with you. Going through it track by track like that made me realise that there isn't a single weak track on there, which is an absolute rarity. There is no other album anywhere as consistantly good as AB.

Adam, Bono, Larry and the Edge, for this... I salute you

 

[U2Kitten]

I doubt anyone is going to disagree with you, I'm certainly not!

 

[miss becky]

Amen to that. Everything about Achtung Baby is absolute perfection.

 

[1stepcloser]

The finest album ever made. musically and lyrically exceptional. it has no weaknesses.

 

[SiW87]

Well said!

 

[tommycharles]

Here comes Axver....

 

[FungusAmongus]

Achtung Baby has long been my favourite ever album. And I've just realised why:

Zoo Station - Awesome riff, as good as ever on the new tour
EBTTRT - Insatiably catchy, sounded great on Popmart
One - Probably the fans favourite all-time U2 song, constantly in top 10 songs of all time and similar awards, an absolute MASTERPIECE
UTEOTW - What needs to be said about this one, an absolute rocker. Brilliant lyrics, the bullfight on the Elevation Tour was stunning
Wild Horses - Has recently become one of my favourite songs. Wonderfully moving lyrics
So Cruel - A heartwrenching ballad
The Fly - Another corker, brilliant chorus and riff, always gets a crowd insane
MW - Another one of my all-time favourite songs, makes you wanna dance and yell out the chorus. Enormous on Popmart
Tryin' - Wonderful on ZooTV, climaxes brilliantly with the "won't you lift me up, lift me up" part
UV - Stunning multi-vocal chorus and epic buildup
Acrobat - Angry, passionate, wonderful lyrically
Love is Blindness - The perfect closer, raw, from the heart, unadultrated

Anyways I just thought I'd share this realisation with you. Going through it track by track like that made me realise that there isn't a single weak track on there, which is an absolute rarity. There is no other album anywhere as consistantly good as AB.

Adam, Bono, Larry and the Edge, for this... I salute you

I wholeheartedly agree on everything you just said!

The most amazing album of all-freekin'-time.

 

[impy13]

If there was a boner smilie, I'd put it.

 

[jacobus]

ACHTUNG BABY = best album ever

 

[Axver]

I doubt anyone is going to disagree with you, I'm certainly not!

I will. Achtung is shockingly over-rated.

I wish U2 had never made it.

 

[shaun vox]

I will. Achtung is shockingly over-rated.

I wish U2 had never made it.

HAHAHA you know you are the only person who thinks that hahaha!! good for you!!

did you enjoy the clay aiken show tonigh ????



lest see if there was no AB then

no ONE,fly,mw,uteotw,acrobat,uv,ebttrt!! dam the whole album is a hit!!
no ZOOTV can you imagine U2 without ZOOTV!! macphisto and the fly!!

no other u2 album has give the fans so much!!! AB

 

[Axver]

OK, maybe my comment was a tad extreme, but there was so much greatness from the Lovetown Tour to capitalise upon and instead they made THAT?!

And if there was no AB, there'd still be Acrobat as it was born at a New Zealand Lovetown soundcheck.

I would be VERY happy if there had never been ZooTV.

 

[Sken]

Achtung Baby is U2's Best Album by a country mile.

ZooTV is U2's best concert by a country mile.

As good as all the earlier albums and tours have been they were only a warmup for what U2 produced in the early 90's, and since ZooTV they have never been able to live up to that measure.

 

[MacPhistoPT]

AB it's not my favourite U2 album but I agree with your opinions about the songs...

Until the end of the world, ultraviolet, the fly and even better than the real thing are my favourites

 

[Pero]

Lovetown-sucks
ZOOTV rocks

Rattle and Hum sucks(Joshua is great)
ACHTUNG BABY ROCKS

 

[Aardvark747]

The finest album ever made. musically and lyrically exceptional. it has no weaknesses.

 

[yimou]

I would be VERY happy if there had never been ZooTV.

Holy crap !!!!!!

 

[Axver]

Holy crap !!!!!!

Well, with the commencement of the 1992 tour, U2 had two choices:

1. Continue all the good work of Lovetown. Varied setlists mixing stellar performances of new material with masterful renditions of old.

2. Destroy all that good work.

I still cannot fathom why they chose #2. Heck, they still could've had all their masks and - maybe to a lesser extent - their technology with #1.

 

[Sken]

They didn't destroy thier good work, they embraced it, learnt from it and then produced something truly exceptional, AB and ZooTV.

 

[Joshua_Tree_Hugger]

Axver, I don't believe you.

The band themselves were tired of the same old style, Larry even called them a "jukebox". AB was so creative, so unique, a completely different direction. And Zoo TV was magnificent.

You must be the only U2 fan in the world to have the opinion that you have (and how can you not like UV?? It's quality!)

 

[Aardvark747]

They didn't destroy thier good work, they embraced it, learnt from it and then produced something truly exceptional, AB and ZooTV.

(Ur turn Axver!)

 

[Axver]

They didn't destroy thier good work, they embraced it, learnt from it and then produced something truly exceptional, AB and ZooTV.

I don't think so at all. They stopped the setlist variation. They just about forgot about their past catalogue besides the hits. The shows were much more ... 'coreographed', lacking in spontaneity.

ZooTV was the opposite of Lovetown. And as I believe Lovetown was the peak of U2, what does that make ZooTV in my eyes?

 

[Sken]

Out of this world

 

[Axver]

Axver, I don't believe you.

The band themselves were tired of the same old style, Larry even called them a "jukebox". AB was so creative, so unique, a completely different direction. And Zoo TV was magnificent.

You must be the only U2 fan in the world to have the opinion that you have (and how can you not like UV?? It's quality!)

Lovetown was creative, unique, and brilliant. I wish they'd built on it, and a few other directions they could've taken in the eighties. They were churning out new material here, there, and everywhere: everything from She's A Mystery To Me to the genesis of Acrobat (something that belonged with God Part II).

Bear in mind that I think Lovetown was the most amazing U2 era ever and that U2 had built up some amazing momentum to charge into the future. But then it's like they had to forcefully decide to change the direction of that momentum and head off into some other funny territory.

What I want from a tour is reasonably variable setlists and a focus on the music, with an empty stage. Does that make you think of Lovetown? It should. This whole technological thing doesn't do anything for me. If I wanted fancy visuals, I'd go to a lighting display. All I'd like is U2 to make music. Remarkable, I know.

 

[Sken]

Ax, I don't think anyone is dissing Lovetown, but ZooTV had a different goal and it still had great music, regardless of whether or not you liked the visuals. The band were still on stage playing great songs and performing at the top fo their game.

 

[Axver]

Ax, I don't think anyone is dissing Lovetown, but ZooTV had a different goal and it still had great music, regardless of whether or not you liked the visuals. The band were still on stage playing great songs and performing at the top fo their game.

For me, it lacked the spontaneity, the quality sets, and felt over-ridden by the technology at times. Two ZooTV shows represents them all - one pre-Zoomerang leg and one from the Zoomerang leg.

 

[miss becky]

For me, it lacked the spontaneity, the quality sets, and felt over-ridden by the technology at times. Two ZooTV shows represents them all - one pre-Zoomerang leg and one from the Zoomerang leg.

And yet the band themselves have talked about how stifling Lovetown was, how bored they were, how desperate for a change. By contrast, we know they enjoyed Zoo TV and had a blast. They learned a lot about music and technology and how to push the boundaries of what they were doing.

So now you tell me. Which is the better tour?

 

[Axver]

And yet the band themselves have talked about how stifling Lovetown was, how bored they were, how desperate for a change. By contrast, we know they enjoyed Zoo TV and had a blast. They learned a lot about music and technology and how to push the boundaries of what they were doing.

So now you tell me. Which is the better tour?

As much as those quotes are often talked about, I would love to actually SEE such a quote about Lovetown dated during or after the tour.

The funny part is how the band appear to be having stacks of fun on the Lovetown tour. Meanwhile, they just seem to be acting and hiding behind masks during ZooTV. I truly don't know how any sane human being could possibly cope with opening every concert with THE EXACT SAME SIX SONGS for a whole two years. That's not even lazy. That's positively mental.

 

[miss becky]

As much as those quotes are often talked about, I would love to actually SEE such a quote about Lovetown dated during or after the tour.

The funny part is how the band appear to be having stacks of fun on the Lovetown tour. Meanwhile, they just seem to be acting and hiding behind masks during ZooTV. I truly don't know how any sane human being could possibly cope with opening every concert with THE EXACT SAME SIX SONGS for a whole two years. That's not even lazy. That's positively mental.

Have you watched the Achtung Baby videos, the Interference videotape? During the interviews Adam talks about how awful it was having to do the same thing night after night. He mentions Bono's "dream it all up again" speech and says, "When he said that....it was a relief, actually."

And as for the setlists, it's obvious the band *did* enjoy it, or they would have made a change. The technology did not lock them into a static setlist. The band did that, through their own choice. I'm sure that if they had wanted to, they could have changed things around and found a song order that worked better for them. But they didn't do that. Obviously they believed the setlist worked and saw no need to change it. I think that says something about how they felt about the tour.

 

[Axver]

Have you watched the Achtung Baby videos, the Interference videotape? During the interviews Adam talks about how awful it was having to do the same thing night after night. He mentions Bono's "dream it all up again" speech and says, "When he said that....it was a relief, actually."

And as for the setlists, it's obvious the band *did* enjoy it, or they would have made a change. The technology did not lock them into a static setlist. The band did that, through their own choice. I'm sure that if they had wanted to, they could have changed things around and found a song order that worked better for them. But they didn't do that. Obviously they believed the setlist worked and saw no need to change it. I think that says something about how they felt about the tour.

Nope, never seen that video. And who's Adam kidding? Playing the same thing every night? Sounds like he's talking about ZooTV, not JT/Lovetown. I truly can't comprehend their ZooTV mindset. It rubs me totally the wrong way and the shirking of just about everything non-hits from the eighties seriously rubs me the wrong way. They didn't even have the decency to do a complete One Tree Hill in New Zealand. But I'm sure sleazing around as The Fly and doing thrusts at a camera during UTEOTW is a whole lot more important than playing tribute to a deceased friend.