Achtung Baby is an album by Irish rock band U2, released on November 19, 1991 (see 1991 in music). The album was released two years after lead vocalist Bono announced the band would have to "go away and dream it all up again", following the mixed reception of 1989's Rattle and Hum. One of U2's best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums, Achtung Baby was a vast departure for the band, adding more European than American influences, especially the avant-garde theatrics of David Bowie and other artists. It sampled techniques and sounds from other musical genres previously unused by the band, including Dance, House and Electronica, whilst maintaining their original feel of Rock & Roll. The album's new sound was a source of conflict in the band because Edge and Bono favoured the new sounds they were coming up with, while drummer Larry Mullen and bassist Adam Clayton were partial to the band's traditional sound. The fighting subdued slightly after Edge arrived at the studio with the guitar riff to "One", a stirring song that is speculated to be about a son confessing to his father that he is HIV positive. The album was darker sounding than previous albums, thanks in large part to the songs "Acrobat" and "Love is Blindness". Lead singer Bono described the album as "the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree." It includes one of their best-known hits, the radio staple "Mysterious Ways".
On the Billboard Music Charts (North America), Achtung Baby topped the Billboard 200 chart. It won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Achtung Baby the 15th greatest album of all time; in 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 65. Also in 2003, Q declared its third track, "One", "the greatest recorded song of all time".
Track listing
(All songs written by U2. Singles are in Bold.)
- "Zoo Station" - 4:36
- "Even Better Than the Real Thing" - 3:41
- "One" - 4:36
- "Until the End of the World" - 4:39
- "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" - 5:16
- "So Cruel" - 5:49
- "The Fly" - 4:29
- "Mysterious Ways" - 4:04
- "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World" - 3:53
- "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" - 5:31
- "Acrobat" - 4:30
- "Love Is Blindness" - 4:23
Personnel
- The Edge - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), String Arrangements, Mixing
- Arnie Acosta - Mastering
- Paul Barrett - Engineer
- Bono - Guitar, Vocals
- Adam Clayton - Guitar (Bass), Guitar (Electric)
- Brian Eno - Keyboards, Producer, String Arrangements, Mixing
- Flood - Engineer, Mixing
- Daniel Lanois - Guitar, Percussion, Producer, Mixing
- Sean Leonard - Mixing Assistant
- Steve Lillywhite - Producer, Mixing
- Larry Mullen, Jr. - Percussion, Drums
- Stewart Whitmore - Digital Editing
- Duchess Nell Catchpole - Violin, Viola
- Robbie Adams - Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Mixing, Mixing Assistant
- Steve Averill - Design
- Anton Corbijn - Photography
- Shannon Strong - Assistant Engineer, Mixing, Mixing Assistant
- Shaughn McGrath - Design
- Joe O'Herlihy - Engineer
- Charlie Whisker - Illustrations
- Brian Adams - Engineer
Charting singles
Billboard Music Charts (North America)
1991 The Fly The Billboard Hot 100 No. 61
1991 Mysterious Ways Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 1
1991 The Fly Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 2
1991 Mysterious Ways Modern Rock Tracks No. 1
1991 The Fly Modern Rock Tracks No. 1
1991 The Fly Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 44
1992 One Adult Contemporary No. 24
1992 Even Better Than The Real Thing The Billboard Hot 100 No. 32
1992 Mysterious Ways The Billboard Hot 100 No. 9
1992 One The Billboard Hot 100 No. 10
1992 Who s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses The Billboard Hot 100 No. 35
1992 Even Better Than The Real Thing Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 1
1992 One Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 1
1992 Until The End Of The World Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 5
1992 Who s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 2
1992 Even Better Than The Real Thing Modern Rock Tracks No. 5
1992 One Modern Rock Tracks No. 1
1992 Until The End Of The World Modern Rock Tracks No. 4
1992 Who s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Modern Rock Tracks No. 7
1992 Who s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Top 40 Mainstream No. 28
1992 Even Better Than The Real Thing Hot Dance Music/Club Play No. 27
1992 Mysterious Ways Hot Dance Music/Club Play No. 42
1992 Even Better Than the Real Thing Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 35
1992 Mysterious Ways Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 29
1992 One Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 44
1997 One Canadian Singles Chart No. 19
External links