Achtung Baby 30th Anniversary Releases & Promo

[Hollow Island]

Haha. They probably aren't doing anything big because they don't want to take attention from that shitty Sing 2 song, miniscule as it is. Maybe they don't want to draw too much attention to their greatest period because it makes their recent work look bad. Maybe they don't want to draw attention to their "ironic phase" because it clashes with the Earnest U2 brand they've been pushing and that Sing 2 seems to reinforce. But they probably just don't care that much and are being given bad advice on how to handle their catalog. Their reissue game was excellent until McGuinness retired.

YSSML is the kind of treacly shit Zoo TV U2 - 20th century U2, actually - would have scoffed at.

 

[super fly guy]

Was really hoping the "baby" versions would end up on spotify.

 

[bono_212]

Bloody hell... was that uber-deluxe box set 10 years ago?! That's properly scary.

Oh Jesus, was it? Well that explains why I didn't have the money to buy it at the time at least.

 

[gump]

Oh Jesus, was it? Well that explains why I didn't have the money to buy it at the time at least.

It definitely was! It's a great box set, my favorite deluxe thing they ever put out (I also like the TUF and JT CD box sets from around that time too).

 

[cobl04]

Yeah I got a memory on my Facebook yesterday of the 20th anniversary boxset of AB arriving. I cannot fucking believe that was 10 years ago. I was certain it was five. I hadn't even been through the big life change at that point. It's an amazing boxset. Was there a vinyl edition?

 

[ferball415]

I don't really know why, outside of UF, they can't just do *25th* anniversaries.

I agree these two vinyls are overpriced for not much in return. Some of the merch is cool but obscenely overpriced.

Looking forward to the tracks that have never been on streaming ("Down All The Days", "Oh Berlin", "Heaven and Hell", "Near the Island", "Everybody Loves a Winner") being available there finally. Because frankly, I don't know these, which is preposterous given that I've listened to AB over 500 times. Are they any good?

 

[Javin]

Wish we could've got something like what Nirvana did for the 30th anniversary of Nevermind... Doesn't Bono own a portion of their catalogue?

Anyway I was dreaming big dreams about what a 30th Anniversary Achtung Baby tour concert setlist would look like. Here's mine, inspired by the Joshua Tree format, what's yours?

Where the streets have no name
With or without you or Heartland
All I want is you or God part II
Exit
----------------------------------------
Achtung Baby 1-12
-------------------------------------------
Dirty day
Hold me thrill me kiss me kill me
Last night on earth
Babyface
--------------------------------------------
The Blackout or Breathe
Out of control or Stories for boys
I will follow or A day without me
Stay

 

[gump]

Yeah I got a memory on my Facebook yesterday of the 20th anniversary boxset of AB arriving. I cannot fucking believe that was 10 years ago. I was certain it was five. I hadn't even been through the big life change at that point. It's an amazing boxset. Was there a vinyl edition?

There was, a separate double vinyl edition, if I recall correctly. There was no combined vinyl + all the good stuff that was in the box set. I didn't buy it then. I still have two beaten down copies of AB from the mid-1990s that I bought second-hand just before the vinyl boom, so I'd like a nice looking one (and I'm a sucker for color editions), but that price is so annoying.

 

[cobl04]

Great question, and always great to have another Aussie in here, although I'm interested to know why you're posting now, only have 13 posts, despite joining in 2005

Just off the top of my head...

I Will Follow
New Year's Day
With or Without You
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
-transition-
Zoo Station
Even Better than the Real Thing
One
Until the End of the World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
So Cruel
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Acrobat
Love is Blindness
-transition-
Zooropa
Desire
Bullet the Blue Sky
Where the Streets Have No Name
Running to Stand Still
Pride (in the Name of Love)
-transition-
Vertigo
Love is Bigger than Anything in its Way
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)

With Stay and Desire full band electric, the latter in Mirrorball Man style. Bullet through Pride in ZooTV style.

 

[Hollow Island]

Yeah I got a memory on my Facebook yesterday of the 20th anniversary boxset of AB arriving. I cannot fucking believe that was 10 years ago. I was certain it was five. I hadn't even been through the big life change at that point. It's an amazing boxset. Was there a vinyl edition?

the vinyl edition was the album over 2 lps and another 2 lps of remixes

 

[lazarus]

Looking forward to the tracks that have never been on streaming ("Down All The Days", "Oh Berlin", "Heaven and Hell", "Near the Island", "Everybody Loves a Winner") being available there finally. Because frankly, I don't know these, which is preposterous given that I've listened to AB over 500 times. Are they any good?

Down All The Days is phenomenal. I can't say it's "better" than Numb, but it's more affecting emotionally with the Bono vocal/lyrics.

 

[mikal]

Oh Berlin is pretty fun too. I didn’t realize that these songs weren’t on streaming. I must have added them on iTunes Match so long ago that I thought they were available on Apple Music. Lol.

 

[Javin]

Great question, and always great to have another Aussie in here, although I'm interested to know why you're posting now, only have 13 posts, despite joining in 2005

Just off the top of my head...

I Will Follow
New Year's Day
With or Without You
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
-transition-
Zoo Station
Even Better than the Real Thing
One
Until the End of the World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
So Cruel
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Acrobat
Love is Blindness
-transition-
Zooropa
Desire
Bullet the Blue Sky
Where the Streets Have No Name
Running to Stand Still
Pride (in the Name of Love)
-transition-
Vertigo
Love is Bigger than Anything in its Way
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)

With Stay and Desire full band electric, the latter in Mirrorball Man style. Bullet through Pride in ZooTV style.

Yeah nice ?
Macphisto made a return, why not mirror ball man and Desire... I wasn’t thinking Zoo TV style to be honest.

No particular place names
No particular song...
I'm back because I forgot my password & username, so I did a reset.

Also, probably the new song & the potential of a new album in the next year or two that is polar opposite to the new song. Will we see the Joshua Tree movie? What happened to the songs that were stripped back? I was thinking All my life could've been the Sing 2 song like Dan Smee, but I do like it. I genuinely love the single version of Window in the skies - not what is on U218, another of the beach clips. It has so much promise, hoping they don't destroy it like Mercy & North Star

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Bullet the Blue Sky
Where the Streets Have No Name
Running to Stand Still

Bullet through Pride in ZooTV style.

think you made an oopsie here

 

[lazarus]

Friggin' Cobbler.

 

[ferball415]

Down All The Days is phenomenal. I can't say it's "better" than Numb, but it's more affecting emotionally with the Bono vocal/lyrics.

Oh right, it developed into "Numb"--knew that once upon a time. Awesome.

FWIW, I called basically every record store in the Philadelphia area and none of them have the 2018 reissue of AB, nor any earlier copy of it for that matter. There just weren't enough made in '91 or '18 or in between apparently. So if that's representative of at least everywhere else in the country (Europe seems to have more), basically the only option is the 30th if one wants the vinyl (still debating it myself).

 

[cobl04]

I did indeed... and it's only my favourite thing U2 have ever done

 

[LyricalDrug]

A few years ago, I found a vintage Zoo TV tour shirt on eBay, which is my favorite U2 shirt ever: the loud, bright one with the band on the front, and the huge splashy “Achtung” and Bono on the back, with the words “BABY” and “LOVE,” in that AB font. It was a large - too big - but I got it anyway. The 90s were a baggy era, I justified it to myself, lol.

Fast forward to this week, and they re-released the shirt! Other than not including “every artist is a cannibal” on the front, it looks identical. Grabbed the long-sought-after medium size before the whole shirt sold out. Phew !

Also got that dog-tag style necklace and pin set. Blew the Xmas budget but ah well.

As for the music, ehh, I’ll wait for the 35th anniversary release lol

 

[bono_man2002]

This band and it’s obsession with remixes.

 

[ascender_RS]

This band and it’s obsession with remixes.

It served them well for Achtung Baby though. The EBTTRT remixes were huge back in the day and some of the ones were brilliant I thought.

It did seem to spell the beginning of the end for original songs as b-sides and was a trend which went on way too long I'd say. They became very much a quantity over quality thing with each passing album.

 

[pacemaker]

Yea, not that it would have increased (good) b-side production, but it would have been nice if they'd just continued with a Melon-type release of remixes after each album and kept the singles for additional material and edits.

 

[Hollow Island]

They got lost among the remixes but Pop had a respectable number of good original b sides:

Holy Joe (guilty)
Holy Joe (garage)
North & South of the River
Two Shots of Happy
I'm Not Your Baby
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Pop Musik

 

[ascender_RS]

They got lost among the remixes but Pop had a respectable number of good original b sides:

Holy Joe (guilty)
Holy Joe (garage)
North & South of the River
Two Shots of Happy
I'm Not Your Baby
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Pop Musik

Agreed, I have most of those in my regular playlist of Pop which opens with Pop Musik directly in to Mofo which is the correct sequence for that album and I won't hear any different.

I was about to say Holy Joe is underrated, but I don't think it is by people on here.

 

[DeVaul]

Agreed, I have most of those in my regular playlist of Pop which opens with Pop Musik directly in to Mofo which is the correct sequence for that album and I won't hear any different.



I was about to say Holy Joe is underrated, but I don't think it is by people on here.

People like that song? I love Pop, have since the start, but think that track is trash.

 

[lazarus]

I don't know how many people got through all the Discotheque remixes, but this one has a deranged minute-long "rap" by Bono that is priceless (starts around 5:10):

 

[womanfish]

I don't know how many people got through all the Discotheque remixes, but this one has a deranged minute-long "rap" by Bono that is priceless (starts around 5:10):

well that whole thing is just horrible from start to finish. Are we sure that's Bono? I'm not picking up much that makes me think it is. I mean I hope not. :/

 

[DeVaul]

I don't know how many people got through all the Discotheque remixes, but this one has a deranged minute-long "rap" by Bono that is priceless (starts around 5:10):

No wonder he wanted to work with the Black Eyed Peas

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

They got lost among the remixes but Pop had a respectable number of good original b sides:

Holy Joe (guilty)
Holy Joe (garage)
North & South of the River
Two Shots of Happy
I'm Not Your Baby
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Pop Musik

yes, we all love the original U2 b side ::checks notes:: Happiness Is A Warm Gun


[repeat joke with Pop Muzik and an extra winky face]


North & South of the River and Two Shots Of Happy One Shot Of Sad alone are worth the price of admission.

 

[Hollow Island]

Covers count and Happiness Is A Warm Gun barely counts as a cover.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

buuuuut it's not original?