Achtung Baby Turns 20 in November; Special Release Planned
U2's power album Achtung Baby turns 20 this year and it hardly seems a day over 19. The album was an important moment for U2 and they handled it well. Coming off The Joshua Tree success and world wide acclaim, the band went into the studio to reinvent themselves as they felt stagnant in their musical direction.
Larry Mullen Jr. later said that he was tired of playing only the hits and fans and critics really didn't understand the Rattle and Hum collaboration with BB King. The band needed a fresh start and with the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany on the horizon, U2 went to Germany for inspiration.
Earlier this year U2 returned to Hansa Studio in Berlin to discuss Achtung Babyin From The Sky Down, directed by Academy Award winning director Davis Guggenheim (Waiting for Superman, An Inconvenient Truth). The film has been selected to open the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8th and will be included in the anniversary edition.
Click here to listen to clips from the original Achtung Baby.
Larry Mullen Jr. later said that he was tired of playing only the hits and fans and critics really didn't understand the Rattle and Hum collaboration with BB King. The band needed a fresh start and with the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany on the horizon, U2 went to Germany for inspiration.
They began recording in Hansa Studio in Berlin - a former SS ballroom. Iggy Pop's fantastic album The Idiot was recorded there and it looks like this:
But it didn't look like that in 1990. The studio was in disrepair, the landscape was gloomy and depressing, and the band fought over musical direction. The Edge listening to more industrial bands like Nine Inch Nails and KMFDM. He was also experimenting with drum machines. Conversely, Larry Mullen Jr. was listening to classic rock and felt the use of the drum machines diminished his role in the band.
The band returned to Dublin for Christmas and over that break rededicated themselves to the band. And what the world got from those fights was something that was both classic sounding, but progressive. Dark, yet illuminating. And instantly memorable.
Now the band is reissuing this iconic album for fans. They have uncovered previously unreleased songs. With a raft of unreleased material; video, remixes, b-sides and documentary footage discovered, a full album of demo and early versions of the final 1991 tracklisting has also been revealed. Five physical editions including vinyl, CD, DVD and digital options will be made available.
Earlier this year U2 returned to Hansa Studio in Berlin to discuss Achtung Babyin From The Sky Down, directed by Academy Award winning director Davis Guggenheim (Waiting for Superman, An Inconvenient Truth). The film has been selected to open the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8th and will be included in the anniversary edition.
Click here to listen to clips from the original Achtung Baby.
Here is more information on the special editions and I can't decide which one I want yet. The hipster in me wants the vinyl, but the practical side wants the magnetic puzzle.
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