Track Listing

1. Zoo Station
2. Even Better Than The Real Thing
3. One
4. Until The End Of The World
5. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
6. So Cruel
7. The Fly
8. Mysterious Ways
9. Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World
10. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
11. Acrobat
12. Love Is Blindness

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #442 in Music
• Released on: 1991-11-19
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com essential recording
"I'm ready / Ready for what's next," Bono announces at the outset of Achtung Baby, the album that proved the so-called "band of the '80s" was capable of blazing into the '90s by replacing its flag-waving arena-rock stance with screaming synths, clubby rhythms, and industrial skronk. The group advances its sound without losing accessibility on "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," "Even Better Than the Real Thing," and "Mysterious Ways," while pushing the envelope a bit more on "The Fly," "Zoo Station," and "Acrobat." The moody ballad "One" is arguably the finest song the band has produced, full of sorrow, compassion, and hope all at the same time. --Daniel Durchholz

Amazon.com
Achtung, Baby is U2's christening voyage into the postmodern, a brave venture into unknown territory and a brilliant musical transformation for the band. The album is packed with just as much passion as previous albums, but the lyrics are much more emotionally poetic and far less political. Musically, the tracks are a metropolis of intoxicating dance beats and lush guitar riffs. "The Fly" opens with guitarist The Edge's trademark reverberations cutting through the opening verse like a speedboat slicing through choppy water; on "Mysterious Ways," Bono's one-man gospel choir belts out the praises of an adored woman. --Beth Bessmer

Album Details
Same as USA Version.

Customer Reviews

My favorite cd from U2
Out of my whole U2 collection, I'd have to say this is my favorite one. U2 is a band that comes out with albums that never sound the same, but you know it's them. I love this album because it was an area U2 never explored as far as modern rock. Just like Bono said on the "Achtung Baby" Video, it's the most serious album with the least sounding title.
I love the whole allum, but "One", "The Fly", and "Ultra Violet" are my favorite tracks. Just like any other album they came out with, all 4 band members shine through with they're playing skills. I'm so glad the always do "One" when in concert. This is A MUST album to get for any U2 fan. I love this album so much, I can never get sick of it!

My favorite U2 album....
This is my favorite U2 album. I saw them on their legendary, amazing Zoo TV tour (at the World Music Theater in Tinley Park, Illinois, more on the show later). This is a wildly creative, ambitious album. It's not the work of idle artists, but vibrant ones. U2 has managed that rare feat in rock and roll to keep exploring and pushing themselves without sounding self indulgent (except for Zooropa).

The opening track, Zoo Station, is a favorite, and the song they kicked the concert off with. One is one of their best ballads, and I absolutely love Until the End of the World. It was written for the Wim Wenders film, and it's one of the best things about Wenders's film (which, honestly, is a bit of a mess). The single Mysterious Ways (replete with a belly dancer during the show) is one of their best singles ever. I love the CD booklet as well, which has some amazing photographs and is one of the best examples of making a great CD jacket. It's like a great album cover, which is quickly becoming a lost art.

When I saw this concert, one of the best things was when Bono called the local police (honestly). The sound system that U2 was using was for huge arenas, and the World Music Theater, while a large outdoor arena, wasn't a huge one, but the sound system didn't know that. The Tinley Park police department received many complaints about the noise, so Bono called them on the third show they did in that venue to complain about the noise. Us in the crowd cooperated with Bono to let the police know that there was too much noise, if you know what I mean. It was a sensory overload type concert, with many monitors, lights, and even a car hanging above the stage (or a fake car). It was a very memorable concert, one of the best I ever saw. And this is my favorite U2 album....

achtung achtung!!
the time is the early 90's, gone are the excesses of the 80's, technology is trickling down to the hands of the masses. the world is in transition as the cold war has thawed. europe is changing, as mindsets, politics and geographic borders are different.

music is changing as it is going away from slick production to a more grimier, less polished finish.

U2 is aware of the world changing and are influenced by it.

rumors circulate about how U2 are changing their sound. a sample of it is released on "red, hot and blue", the song, "night and day" and it just made my jaw hit the ground.

then in the fall of 1991 "the fly". i heard it at 6AM, waking up to the dj talking about the new U2 song and how it was being played for the second time that day. when i heard that opening guitar lick, U2 had put rattle and hum and the joshua tree into a wood chipper (mind you there is nothing wrong with both albums).

when i finally purchased the album, it was just incredible.

from the opening "zoo station" all the way through "love is blindness", i was plugged in and could not put down my headphones.

every song stands out for me, with no favorites as i love them all.

this is U2's best album, hands down, no other album even comes close.

the tour was way ahead of its time, a mobile television studio, a true multimedia experience before the phrase was ever used in popular vernacular.