Happy Anniversary: U2’s Achtung Baby
30 Years Later, A First Listen
I’m 38 years old and last week (Nov. 19, 2021) marked the 30th anniversary of the release of U2’s Achtung Baby. I have a confession to make that’ll discredit me with every Gen Xer — I’ve never listened to this album.
A critic who I consider an old friend and colleague (back when we both worked for The Onion in Milwaukee), alerted me to the occasion last week.
Unlike Steven, I am not a Gen Xer. In fact, I fall into the microgeneration called Xennials (born between 1977–1985), as I was born in 1983. So, U2 had already released Boy (1980) and War (1983) by the time I was born, and by the time I was a wild toddler, The Joshua Tree (1987) was released and they were legitimately a worldwide phenomenon.
It was those songs from those albums I remember as a kid, the ones my dad played while I played with toys.
So by the time 1991 rolled around, U2 had released six albums. Achtung Baby was their seventh album, which alone is an achievement — how many bands don’t make 5?!
Here is some of the cultural hindsight be praised upon Achtung Baby last week:
So, it begs the question, have I missed out? It is with that mentality that I decided today was the day to listen to the album, and here is my hot take on a 30-year-old album upon first listen with little context as to why many consider this album so important.
“Zoo Station”
It seems like the 1980s version of U2 still exists here but is definitely moving into the 90s. The Edge’s grinding guitar to start the song is new, and Bono’s distorted vocals are a change.
Learn more about “Zoo Station” here.
“Even Better Than The Real Thing”
The 80s sound is gone, the guitars and other sounds are more distorted and strange, but Bono’s vocals are back to his classic sound. (Background)
“One”
Admittedly, it is almost impossible to remove context from this song. It is easily one of their biggest hits and well established as a highlight of their social justice songs.
It feels so authentically U2 that I find myself unable to describe what it would be like to hear this for the first time.
Read more about the legacy of this song here.
“Until The End Of The World”
What a change to follow “One” with! From ballad to this one is quite surprising. There’s a lot going on in this song with the guitars, bass, and drums. The bass line is really prominent. As you get into the 4th song, it’s really clear that U2 was changing their sound intentionally from the 80s. This is the heaviest song yet on the album.
“Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
Part industrial distortion, part cousin to “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”.
“So Cruel”
Back to ballad time. Substituting a bass line for a bass drum to highlight the song. Bono croons.
“The Fly”
This was released as the first single on the album (context), and it sounds very different than anything else from U2 up to this point. In line with the earlier tracks, this song is heavily distorted until the chorus when it backs off to allow Bono and Edge to shine a bit.
It’s also the namesake for Bono’s touring persona on this album (more context).
The Edge certainly has a distinctive sound, the guitar solo around 2:30 is so identifiable.
“Mysterious Ways”
The song I know best from this album. I can honestly say I never sought this song out to hear on its own, but its airplay was so abundant throughout the 90s for me on the radio that it was inescapable.
I could have sung this chorus for you without even having any prompting. I suppose that says enough about the song to solidify its success.
It is equal parts classic U2 and equal parts alternative energy of its time. In a way, it sounds timeless today, 30 years after its debut.
“Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World”
This song is weird. Bono’s lyrics are like a hodgepodge of things that rhymed.
“Yeah, I dreamed that I saw Dali/ With a supermarket trolley”
“It took an open top beetle (open top beetle)/ Through the eye of a needle (Eye of a needle)”
“Ultra Violet (Light My Way)”
This song is very U2. It actually feels like a precursor to what would come throughout the rest of the 90s. If I was hearing this clean in 1991, I’m guessing this could feel like connecting tissue back to The Joshua Tree in a lot of ways.
“Acrobat”
Maybe the sonically heaviest on the album. It might actually be my favorite too. I can imagine this being a potentially 8-minute long jam session for the band during the tour.
“Love Is Blindness”
Ahhhhh, the organ. I can’t help but feel like I’m in a church at the start of this song. It’s a bit of a slow build song. The Edge bides his time before coming in with a quick hit. Which is odd because the song fades out equally as quick as that solo came in and ends the album.
Final Thoughts
It is so unequivocally a U2 album. As someone who is about as casual a fan of U2 as there is, I don’t know what to say other than it feels like this album is very much a moment of its time. (You can read a lot more about this album’s legacy on Wikipedia.)
If you heard this in 1991 at the height of U2s dominance, I can easily see how it would embed itself into your musical psyche. Today for a first listen? There are better U2 albums for me, personally.
As a whole, Achtung Baby feels like an older brother for All That You Can’t Leave Behind which I remember being a massive hit 21 years ago. It lead into the iconic Super Bowl halftime tribute to 9/11 victims in February 2002. This show was as huge as it was cathartic. This was my U2 moment.
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