The last time you heard U2 (in 1988) they were playing Desire and When Love Comes to Town. They had a harmonica and Bono was wearing a cowboy hat.
There was no doubt that the U2 of Achtung Baby was a completely different beast.
Imagine expecting Angel of Harlem part 2, but getting The Fly. To me, U2 were absorbing the sounds that were bubbling around the world at the time (the Madchester dance scene, industrial music, grunge, etc) and distilling them through their own lens. While the music is contemporary, the subject matter is as old as time. This is a classic break up album (the Edge was going through a divorce) and lyrically this ties the album together. The key songs aren’t actually the singles - Until the End of the World, So Cruel, Acrobat, Ultraviolet. But it’s all distilled in the timeless classic One. A breakup song for the ages.
I’ve said previously that musical success is all about timing. By pushing themselves outside their comfort zone, with Achtung Baby U2 were just a little ahead of their contemporaries, which made them feel like part of the new wave of bands coming through in the 90s, rather than the older bands still stuck in the 80s.
No comments:
Post a Comment