Why didn't Achtung Baby win the Grammy for Album of the year?

[U2One]

?

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"Miami, New Orleans, London, Belfast, CHICAGO!" ~ Bono (during Stay) at Chicago 10/16/01

"Home, that's where Chicago is!" ~ Bono (during Walk On) at Chicago 10/16/01

 

[UCLAforU2]

in short, Eric Clapton was the Sentimental pick for the Grammy.

U2 got robbed big time.

 

[brettig]

Clapton Unplugged is a nice coffee table album...but yeah they wuz robbed

 

[doctorwho]

But it did win "Rock Album of the Year."

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Eric Clapton's son died and the Grammy voters genuflected with sympathy. They only music they could reward him for was, of all things, a live album consisting primarily of older songs and one new hit single about the death of his son. Clapton won seven grammies that year. (This was likely the biggest crock of shit since Carly Simon's Let the River Run beat out I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For for best song.)

MAP

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

From what I've read, Clapton himself was shocked about winning. He honestly didn't think he deserved it. Damn straight.

 

[melon]

Sentimentalism will always beat out talent, but I don't think it's necessarily an insult to lose out to Eric Clapton. The man is an icon, and his "Unplugged" album is quite a modern classic like "Achtung Baby" is.

Now U2 losing to the Spice Girls, which was the case in 1997 was a truly revolting moment.

Melon

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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time

 

[Giant Lemon]

Originally posted by melon:
Now U2 losing to the Spice Girls, which was the case in 1997 was a truly revolting moment.

U2 lost to the SPICE GIRLS?!?! What is this world coming to?

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Originally posted by melon:
Sentimentalism will always beat out talent, but I don't think it's necessarily an insult to lose out to Eric Clapton. The man is an icon, and his "Unplugged" album is quite a modern classic like "Achtung Baby" is.

I hate to be disagreeable but "Unplugged" is a pretty unremarkable album. The dreadful reworking of Layla alone is enough to stigmatize this cd for all time. "See if you can spot this one" my ass. I spotted a great song with its heart torn out.
"Unplugged" isn't even the best MTV unplugged concert. It pales in comparison with Nirvana's Unplugged in New York, with Pearl Jam's performance and with REM's first Unplugged show.
"Quite a modern classic like Achtung?" Goodness no.
Clapton IS one of the all time greats but as is often the case with the Grammies they were rewarding him for his career and not for his current work.

MAP

 

[tomtom]

ROCK in the USA ROCK in the USA ROCK in the USA I am drunk so so drunk

 

[Saracene]

Could it be also because they've already won "Best Album" for Joshua Tree less than five years before Achtung Baby?