This is the great career changing album for any band in history. After huge successive hits with The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum, U2 had somewhat painted themselves in a corner musically. They were the earnest, American wanna-bes, playing straightforward rock. They were making great music, but the question was how to top the success of “Joshua”?
Achtung Baby didn’t try to compete, and instead was a complete reinvention of the U2 sound. From the opening sounds of “Zoo Station” you immediately knew you were in for a different experience. Taking more cues from David Bowie’s Low than from American classic rock, U2 shows a willingness to experiment and explore through heavier dance beats and European electronica. Looking back, how did we not see the whole “Brian Eno in Berlin” thing coming?
Lyrically, Bono moved away from the political leanings and protest songs, and showed a more personal side. This is a dark record, lyrically, but it’s masked by the great music on top.
The band went too far in this direction with their next record, Pop, but since then have played off their two extremes to make some other fantastic records. But none of it would have happened without Achtung Baby.
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