Poll: most influential U2 album

[Slipstream]

Achtung Baby is timeless. If they came out with that album tomorrow it would be huge. At a time when grunge was the big thing U2 come out with a rock album laced with pop and hip hop beats. At the forefront with ingenuity and balls these guys pull off what no other band could do since the Beatles. This is their Sgt Peppers. Definitely their best album, most definitely the best album of the 90s and arguably the best album of all time.

 

[RavenBlue]

I'd have to say Achtung Baby.

 

[roy]

What bands has Achtung Baby influenced up to now?

 

[Bono's shades]

Aren't we talking about influence on other musicians?

In that scenario, I'd have to nominate The Unforgettable Fire and the Joshua Tree. AB is brilliant, but I'm having trouble thinking of any artists that were influenced by it.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

The really funny thing about all of this is that the Joshua Tree absolutely influenced Achtung Baby.

 

[Utoo]

Again, the problem here is in what sort of influence you are looking at. I would assume we should be looking at influence on music, musicians, and the music industry.

With that in mind, the poll shouldn't become a popularity contest for which album you like the most....

 

[bsp77]

Why are so many saying JT and AB? They may be the best, but who has been copying them? Maybe they will start influencing more bands in the future. But based on current bands out there, I have to definitely say Unforgettable Fire, with Post Punk stuff like Boy close behind.

 

[The Disciple]

Achtung Baby is timeless. If they came out with that album tomorrow it would be huge. At a time when grunge was the big thing U2 come out with a rock album laced with pop and hip hop beats. At the forefront with ingenuity and balls these guys pull off what no other band could do since the Beatles. This is their Sgt Peppers. Definitely their best album, most definitely the best album of the 90s and arguably the best album of all time.

HALLELUJAH AND AMEN, BROTHER!!!!!!!

 

[Hallucination]

It's not my favorite U2 album but for some reason I think The Unforgettable Fire will be their most influencial album. I think that's really when The Edge's guitar style took off and I think that's what will be most influencial about U2. their ability to rock with ambience.

 

[Hallucination]

Achtung Baby is timeless. If they came out with that album tomorrow it would be huge. At a time when grunge was the big thing U2 come out with a rock album laced with pop and hip hop beats. At the forefront with ingenuity and balls these guys pull off what no other band could do since the Beatles. This is their Sgt Peppers. Definitely their best album, most definitely the best album of the 90s and arguably the best album of all time.

I agree with most of that post. Though just becasue it's their "Sgt. Pepper" and it was a ballsy move it doesn't mean it's been a huge influence on other/newer bands. Also Grunge was not the Big Thing When Achtung Baby came out. It had yet to explode. Nirvana and Pearl Jam were barely, if even, on the popular sceen yet. Though I agree with you about Achtung Baby being the best album of all time.

 

[roy]

Aren't we talking about influence on other musicians?

AB is brilliant, but I'm having trouble thinking of any artists that were influenced by it.

Why do you think that is? The U2 of the 80s seems to be much more influential than that of 90s. It seems strange that so many people on here state that U2 from AB->Pop were so experimental and unique yet so few bands have been influenced by this era.

 

[susanp6]

Achtung baby

 

[Bono's shades]

Why do you think that is? The U2 of the 80s seems to be much more influential than that of 90s. It seems strange that so many people on here state that U2 from AB->Pop were so experimental and unique yet so few bands have been influenced by this era.

Maybe it's too soon to see the influence of U2's '90s work yet. I never really thought of The Unforgettable Fire being influential until Coldplay came along and everyone started saying how much they sounded like UF era U2. Personally I think they do a lacklustre imitation that's so dull it's barely recognizable, but I guess boring music can be influenced by great music. And Chris Martin did say in Rolling Stone how much he loves UF.

Maybe we will start hearing musicians talk about being influenced by U2's '90s work in five or 10 years.

 

[catlhere]

The really funny thing about all of this is that the Joshua Tree absolutely influenced Achtung Baby.

Yea I think this is true.

Someone could come along and say "well TUF influenced TJT" which is also true. If you look at U2 however, the thing that I believe puts The Joshua Tree at the top of the list is that everything before it seemed to be leading up to it, and everything since has been a result OF it. It's like their apex. Everything either comes from, or goes to that album. So logically I think the most obvious answer would be TJT because of the huge impact it had on the music world, and more importantly on U2 themselves. I think it changed them forever, more than anything else they have ever done, which in my opinion proves it's the most influencial, for the boys and for the fans and music in general.

I have a feeling most people are just voting for what their favorite album is though. Because I really don't know how AB influenced anyone. Especially after reading the comment on "none of my friends who know of u2, know AB" which I thought over, and realized is pretty true. Even my friends who enjoy U2's songs, don't know the name Achtung Baby, but they could tell you The Joshua Tree, it's just THAT famous.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

U2 have influenced pretty much no-one musically, which is why the only thing you can even remotely name is the atmospheric Eno-esque sound, mostly the Edge's playing. That's been taken on elsewhere, but even then it's extremely limited and a stretch depending on the artist.

U2's real influence is in career. Decisions made, an attitude, a strength or whatever. When most bands namecheck U2 as an influence, I don't think they are talking about a style of music at all. It's why a hip-hop act is as likely to namecheck U2 as a punk rock act or a pop act. You may not realise, but their dealings in music industry boardrooms are also highly respected. Music-business-wise, few bands have ever manoeuvred themselves as brilliantly as U2. Few bands have the record companies bent over in from them, and have been in that situation since virtually Day 1.

 

[Hallucination]

Yea I think this is true.

Someone could come along and say "well TUF influenced TJT" which is also true. If you look at U2 however, the thing that I believe puts The Joshua Tree at the top of the list is that everything before it seemed to be leading up to it, and everything since has been a result OF it. It's like their apex. Everything either comes from, or goes to that album. So logically I think the most obvious answer would be TJT because of the huge impact it had on the music world, and more importantly on U2 themselves. I think it changed them forever, more than anything else they have ever done, which in my opinion proves it's the most influencial, for the boys and for the fans and music in general.

I have a feeling most people are just voting for what their favorite album is though. Because I really don't know how AB influenced anyone. Especially after reading the comment on "none of my friends who know of u2, know AB" which I thought over, and realized is pretty true. Even my friends who enjoy U2's songs, don't know the name Achtung Baby, but they could tell you The Joshua Tree, it's just THAT famous.

I disagree with your first paragraph. I don't think Boy, October or WAR lead up to Joshua Tree at all. That's my opinion anyways. I definately see the transition from Unforgettable Fire to Joshua Tree though. Sure Achtung Baby was infuenced by Joshua Tree but only because they wanted to get as far away from it as possible. It's kind of a "negative" influence even though Achtung Baby is brilliant. Also I think Achtung Baby changed the band more than any album prior to or since. Achtung Baby allowed the band to be the U2 that everyone had come to expect but with a rockstar image. Before that U2 were the nice guys preaching to the world so to speak. After Achtung Baby they were the preachy guys who endulged in excess. They had become rockstars and were comfortable with it. Achtung Baby also broke down the barrier of what was to be expected from a U2 album, it made them a more diverse band. Commercially yes Joshua Tree was a turning point in how huge the band did and would become but Achtung Baby was their apex in my opinion. It's success afforded them them the opportunity and likely the confidence to be whatever and whoever they wanted. Musically and personality wise. Here's how I look at their albums:

Boy - War: The band in it's infancy, innocent and wide eyed

Unforgettable Fire - Rattle and Hum: The band in adulthood. Serious and self aware but unaware of it.

Achtung Baby - Pop: The band as adolescant teenagers. Endulging themselves, self aware and aware of it.

Funny how they went staright to adulthood and then back to their teenage yeasr. At least that's my take on it.


As for your second paragraph I completely agree. Achtung Baby is my favorite though I did vote for Unforgettable Fire.

 

[jcool]

zooropa

 

[Ellay]

AB's my favourite, but JT wins this one for me

 

[youtooellen]

I think either Unforgettable Fire or Joshua Tree.

 

[Peter]

Achtung Baby.

Rediscovering yourself as a band in such a perfect way is something to be very proud of. Songs like The Fly and Until the end of the world are simply mindblowing...

 

[ozeeko]

I'd have to say Unforgettable Fire. This is just theoretical and I have nothing factual to back it up, but I speculate that many of the early 90's shoegazing bands were influenced by it. Listen to The Verve's first album "Storm In Heaven" or My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" or anything else remniscient of that hazy drugged out sound. 2ndly, The Joshua Tree. Any band striving for that driving anthemic sound has no doubt listened to that album.

 

[Zoocoustic]

Joshua Tree.

It has already done this.

 

[XHendrix24]

Yeah, it's definitely either UF or The Joshua Tree.

I mean, name one band who has been influenced by Achtung Baby. I think a lot of people are missing the point of this poll.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I don't think so. I think it's whether you are voting on musical influence, or career influence. If it's musical influence, it's very very limited, and you'd have to say be default The Unforgettable Fire. However, I think most bands really admire U2 for their career, and if there's a lightning rod moment that defines all that has been brilliant about U2's career it's Achtung Baby. I think U2's actual musical influence is incredibly tiny. I think their influence as a unit, as a creative force, as a world striding band, is far more relevent and has had a far far greater reach. For that, I reckon it's Achtung Baby in first, ATYCLB in second, with ATYCLB needing a decade or so to see it fully realised.

 

[XHendrix24]

I don't think so. I think it's whether you are voting on musical influence, or career influence. If it's musical influence, it's very very limited, and you'd have to say be default The Unforgettable Fire. However, I think most bands really admire U2 for their career, and if there's a lightning rod moment that defines all that has been brilliant about U2's career it's Achtung Baby. I think U2's actual musical influence is incredibly tiny. I think their influence as a unit, as a creative force, as a world striding band, is far more relevent and has had a far far greater reach. For that, I reckon it's Achtung Baby in first, ATYCLB in second, with ATYCLB needing a decade or so to see it fully realised.

I'm not sure if I agree with you. I took it as musical influence since...well, when someone mentions "influences" in regards to bands, they generally mean musical influence. For example, most people would agree that early U2 is "influenced" by post-punk bands like Echo and the Bunnymen because their music had a similar sound to it. Also, I think that the whole Zoo TV concept was much more influential rather than just Achtung Baby judged alone as an album. And to be honest, I'm not quite sure I completely get what you're saying about Achtung. It seems to me like you're suggesting that Achtung represents everything that is great about U2, and therefore it is the most influential album. I don't really see how that works.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Well, the point is, U2 have barely barely influenced anyone with their actual music. That's what I'm saying. If it's strictly the music, then Unforgettable Fire wins hands down, but even then the influence is incredibly limited.

Ignore the music and look at U2's influence elsewhere, and suddenly it becomes far larger and noticeable. A 30 year band, with all 4 original members still together, who have taken many twists and turns and risks in musical style, which have in reality never majorly hindered their progress as artists or as a unit, all while with a gargantuan ambition to be the biggest and the best, always. Far more often when you read other artists talking about U2's influence on them it is somewhere in the above rather than the actual music. The ambition and ability to continually overhaul and evolve, while never losing a shred of what was there in the very beginning (although of course in these boards that has started to become debatable with the last album) is their most envied characteristic, where their greatest influence is. That was never as bold or striking, nor as successfully pulled off, as it was with Achtung Baby and everything that came with it. ATYCLB comes 2nd as it is at the other point where most bands would flame out or crash and burn. Love or loathe the album, it boomed them back into front and centre.

 

[catlhere]

This thread again?

It's The Joshua Tree, seeing as they have never matched anything in terms of music(although this is relative)/sales/popularity/attention&recognition/critical acclaim/awards/hatred-jealousy/blahbityblah... I could go on. Hell even most people who don't even know anything about U2 know one album's name, and that name is The Joshua Tree. If this had not been released, I really don't even think 90's U2 would have existed in the way they did. Absoultely they did the most evolution during AB, but that evolution would not have been acceptable without the clout given to them from TJT/R&H, so even in a completely different style and swagger we see that The Joshua Tree sparked basically everything to come in the boy's careers. It all came from this. It's their flagship recording that will always go down as their pinnacle. If that doesn't scream the most influencial and important of their CD's, I really don't know what else to say but there's really no point voting anymore, we all know what album wins every poll around here besides a "biggest piece of crap" thread.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Who/what has the Joshua Tree influenced?

 

[catlhere]

Who/what has the Joshua Tree influenced?

likewise for AB?

If it's a discussion of "well if u2 can evolve, then my band could too, they're a huge influence" then who's to say the transition of RAH/AB is the most important. I would say Pop/ATYCLB is just as drastic an evolution as anything they did in the 90's was. If this was a poll about what bands they influence, then really I wouldn't vote for any albums, because while a good amount of bands say that U2 is an influence, i hardly ever see any of said bands naming names when it comes to albums. Another point to remember is that when comparing a band like Coldplay to U2, saying that they sound alot like U2, they're basically talking about the whole ambient/tranquil/clean "sonic landscapes" with ringing guitars, which was most evident and recognizable in late-80's U2. so if that's what people know as "u2" sounding, isn't that another sign pointing to which album is most influencial/important? I don't hear people saying "that's a totally u2 sound" when a porn guitar form MW kicks in to some random bands music.

 

[U2DMfan]

had to edit*
For nearly twenty years bands all across the board have made their attempts at a huge commercial, critical success which was the Joshua Tree.

Hands down it is the biggest influence.

Achtung is their best album, JT is the gold standard of U2 influence, you see it in the new bands like Linkin Park and Blink 182 (shit bands, I admit) but they don't talk about Achtung, they talk about JT. YOu had to have been in a cave in 87/88 to miss it, you could easily missed Achtung.

It's the same principle why some hard rock bands strive for a Zeppelin IV rather than Physical Graffiti, overall, in a mass sense, the more populist album has the bigger influence.