Album of the day (#3604): Achtung Baby by U2 - Music

EyeKanFly

Head Bear Master/Galactic Emperor

Age: 34

Location: Gotham

IMO the second half ("The Fly" through "Love is Blindness") is right up there with the first half of Joshua Tree ("Where the Streets Have No Name" through "Running to Stand Still") as U2's best. Personally I like some of their more recent albums like How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb but I think this was probably U2's last great album.

If anyone's interested and hasn't listened already, check out AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered by Various Artists
Jack White's cover of "Love Is Blindness" and The Killers' cover of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" rank better than the originals for me. Overall a wonderfully curated and crafted cover album.
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NewsFromHome

U2 hasn't made a great album since War tbh. Don't find them rewarding at all. So many people are out here trying to tell me that the Edge is a genius guitar player for how he uses effects and it's like... listen to any delay dub masters or experimental shoegaze acts I beg you.

mickilennial

The Most Trusted Name in News

Gender: Female

Age: 36

Location: Detroit

NewsFromHome wrote:

U2 hasn't made a great album since War tbh. Don't find them rewarding at all. So many people are out here trying to tell me that the Edge is a genius guitar player for how he uses effects and it's like... listen to any delay dub masters or experimental shoegaze acts I beg you.

Eh, I still find The Joshua Tree pretty great but I haven't cared to listen to any U2 outside of 80s single songs in a few years.

Skinny

birdman_handrub.gif

For whatever reason (maybe I saw someone reference it in an article I was reading?), I actually stuck on No Line On the Horizon the other day, for the first time ever, and it was... not bad, actually. The first half is waaaaay stronger than the second half, and a few numbers felt like post-Pop U2 by numbers, but nowhere near as reliant on big arena-rockers full of meaningless platitudes as I expected it to be. In fact, sonically it was actually very pleasant, quite austere at times, with songs that didn't make me want to puke (again, in the first half). Like, the first five songs on their own, as an EP, would probably be my favourite U2 release since, I dunno, The Unforgettable Fire.
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

LedZep

Skinny wrote:

For whatever reason (maybe I saw someone reference it in an article I was reading?), I actually stuck on No Line On the Horizon the other day, for the first time ever, and it was... not bad, actually. The first half is waaaaay stronger than the second half, and a few numbers felt like post-Pop U2 by numbers, but nowhere near as reliant on big arena-rockers full of meaningless platitudes as I expected it to be. In fact, sonically it was actually very pleasant, quite austere at times, with songs that didn't make me want to puke (again, in the first half). Like, the first five songs on their own, as an EP, would probably be my favourite U2 release since, I dunno, The Unforgettable Fire.

No Line On The Horizon is a on the verge of being a good album. But I may be biased since that was one of the first albums I've bought, just before seeing U2 live in 2010 at my first ever concert.
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2020s

Skinny

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LedZep wrote:

No Line On The Horizon is a on the verge of being a good album. But I may be biased since that was one of the first albums I've bought, just before seeing U2 live in 2010 at my first ever concert.

I mean, I pretty much hate U2 and I didn't hate the first five songs, so that's something, right? Felt a little like they were doing The National cosplay, but given U2's influence on The National that's probably understandable. Not sure whether I'm insulting or complimenting either act there, but hey ho.
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

LedZep

Skinny wrote:

I mean, I pretty much hate U2 and I didn't hate the first five songs, so that's something, right?

Three highest praises you can get in the internet music community are P4K 10/10, Fantano 10/10 and Skinny's "I hate this band, but I didn't actually hate those few songs".
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2020s

Yann

30 years later, i'm still amazed by the reinvention of their sound, comparing to their previous (great) album. Do you guys know a band who shifted their sound so drastically (David Bowie with Let's Dance maybe)?