Betcha thought I had abandoned my U2 project, didn't ya?

OK, I'll admit, reviewing the entire U2 back catalogue does get a little more formidable with each album. Part of reason for that is because the Irish foursome seemed to make more and more sense as they developed more of a history against which to compare one of their more recent albums. Another factor is the fact that I've only been listening to music in any form since about 1993. So I'm now attempting my first review of an album that predates my experience with contemporary music. In my worldview, Achtung Baby, the album that started off their 90's techno-trilogy, could be considered "classic rock". But heck, it's a classic in the minds of most U2 fans. And perhaps that's the third and most formidable fact looming over me as I attempt to analyze the album. Zooropa and Pop weren't that difficult for me to write about since they were the "weird" albums, the underdogs that I had a lot of fun defending. From here on back it's mostly classic, well-loved material with perhaps a few misfires here and there.

Let's face it, I don't have as much to go on as the folks who had kept up with U2 all through the 80's and had the wonderful experience of being thrown a curveball by the band's most drastic attempt to reinvent themselves at the turn of the decade. Working backwards as I did, Achtung Baby can sound almost normal at times. Sure, it's a complete recasting of the band's vision from the urgent but comfortable arena rock that characterized them in the 80's, with electronica influences looming over pretty much every track, and the sweeping political and religious messages mostly exchanged for more introverted, sobering ruminations on relationships (of the horizontal and vertical variety). But to me, this isn't a surprising paradigm shift. It's the side of U2 that I know best.

In case you're like me and you're just tuning in to some of U2's past work, let me assure you that Achtung isn't the all-out cynical techno-fest that many fans thought Pop to be later in the 90's. There's a pretty fair balance between the dance/pop influence and the blazing arena rock here - the machinery has only begun to infect the band's bloodstream at this point. Sometimes that results in some darn catchy concoctions that rightfully went on to become classics, sometimes it results in tinny percussion and over-processed guitar parts that mask the true talent of Larry Mullen, Jr. and The Edge (but not too often), and sometimes it results in darkly ironic poems that most of us love but few of us understand. Achtung Baby seems to be most rewarding when you put your expectations of being dazzled by the music on the back burner for a little while and learn to soak in Bono's often heartbreaking and highly quotable lyrics. In other words, heed the warning given by the album's title and pay attention! (And don't worry, there are still enough musically dazzling moments to hit you where it counts.)

Zoo Station
Time is a train, makes the future the past
Leaves you standing in the station
Your face pressed up against the glass...
I love it when bands have the creativity to incorporate the hustle and bustle of everyday life into their songs and make it sound meaningful. The Edge does a great job of that here by starting the album off with a cold, mechanical guitar riff that is meant to imitate the sound of a train car's door closing (or perhaps the warning that sounds when this happens - I'm not exactly sure which), and then Larry takes off with a kinetic rhythm to depict that train zipping along through a dark underground tunnel. When Bono's voice breaks in, it's electronically distorted, sounding like he's a madman trying to get your attention from the from the next train car. "I'm ready for the laughing gas", the wavering voice tells us, "I'm ready for what's next". My guess is that most U2 fans weren't able to agree with that statement at first. Ultimately, "Zoo Station" is a catchy song, but not due to a soaring chorus like several past U2 efforts - what we get instead is a wordless melodic break over which Bono speaks as if he's trying to catch his breath. What drives this song and keeps it from being too chaotic is mostly its beat, and that helps to back up the notion that it's an allegory for human desire, the various animal voices in our heads that drown out the solitary voice of reason. Listen closely - this idea of multiple voices will be revisited later.

Even Better than the Real Thing
Give me one last chance and I'm gonna make you sing
Give me half a chance to ride on the waves that you bring...
The first of a string of hits on this album comes rushing in like an electrical storm (so to speak!), a heavily processed guitar riff and a light dance beat drawing the band closer to the rubbery sound of 80's pop than they had ever come during that decade. Fear not, this isn't a lyrically void song leftover from the "me" decade - this is a song about grace cleverly disguised as a commercial slogan. A more familiar, jangly sort of strum from The Edge begins to fill the space in between the electronic noise as Bono starts to plead with an unspecified lover for another chance, and another, making promises that just seem too good to be true. But there's an air of confidence and celebration to the song, because Bono is assured that this lover is "the real thing", and the song very nearly has a "Gospel" moment during the bridge as he excitedly sings "You take me higher!" (This tendency was well-exploited in a remix of the song later on.) Ultimately this one's more pop than rock, and I think that along with much of the album, it could have used a little more work in the production department (the echoing voice as the song comes to a close always seems to fade out way too abruptly), but it's still a bona fide classic and I can't argue with that, especially when such an obvious pop hit can defy me to dig deeper.

One
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl...
Here it is - the classic early 90's rock ballad that probably got put on repeat in college dorm rooms as much as "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. I can't help it, the two songs always seem intertwined in my memory, even though they are very different on a musical level. Musically, this is honestly one of U2's more straightforward songs, especially for this era, with The Edge mostly sticking to subdued and slightly bluesy guitar riffs, and an organ lending more of an organic vibe to the song. Honestly, I probably wouldn't notice it as much if the lyrics weren't some of the most befuddling and highly debated lines the band had ever written. "You act like you never had love, now you want me to go without." "You gave me nothing, now it's all I got." "Have you come here to play Jesus to the lepers in your head?" Some have speculated that this song is a plea for acceptance from a homosexual boy to his strict father, and some have taken it as an allegory for different hot-button political crises that were going on at the time. As for me, I don't have a clue. But it moves me all the same. Still (and I'll likely get hung out to dry for saying this), I have to admit it's never been one of my favorite U2 songs. Musically, it just doesn't grab me as much.

Until the End of the World
I took the money, I spiked your drink
You miss too much these days if you stop to think...
Now here's one that I honestly overlooked until it cropped up on The Best of 1990-2000. I guess I never knew that it was that popular amidst so many other giants on this album. I always appreciated the upbeat, chiming guitar riffage (gotta love that Edge) and the synths that flirted with the guitar, giving the song an appropriately haunting, apocalyptic sort of feel. I guess the lyrics just seemed like a bit of a letdown at first - it sounded to me like Bono had met some girl at a party and he was very coldly and purposefully trying to break her heart. Then someone casually informed me that the whole thing was actually an account of Jesus' betrayal from the point of view of Judas. That just blew my mind. Sorry, I probably just ruined it for you, but you gotta love U2 for writing a song from the point of view of the dastardly perpetrator, and the way things are left hanging at the end - does Jesus forgive him? It's an interesting theological issue that would have turned a lot of heads had those heads been listening in the first place. It's time to take that Achtung warning a little more seriously!

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Well, you stole it 'cause I needed the cash
And you killed it 'cause I needed revenge
Well, you lied to me 'cause I asked you to
Baby, can we still be friends?
Like much of Achtung Baby this song is deceiving. It has an almost cinematic quality to it, it's upbeat and has some triumphant guitar work going on, and overall it's very radio-friendly, but at its core it's a very sad and lonely song. I always think of heavy rain when I hear this song, probably because I first heard it a few years ago during an extremely rainy weekend when I was moving into a new apartment all by myself, and a local radio station was playing a U2 marathon all weekend. The beginning of the song has this weird electronic noise that reminds me of a little kid saying "Uh-oh!", and then a saddened guitar part comes in, hitting a note and dragging it down the scale, evoking images of a man watching the water drip down his window as his lover pulls out of the driveway and heads off to who knows where. I've heard that this song is about a divorce. It really resonates with me, having watched my parents split up and having been through a difficult breakup - Bono is far too apt at describing the conflicted emotions of two people who are tempted to lie to each other and pretend everything will be OK so that they can stay together. "You're dangerous", he informs her. "You don't know what you want." In the end, he realizes that she's too temperamental to be tamed, and he'd be better off letting her go... but how empty is his life going to feel without her?

So Cruel
I disappeared in you
You disappeared from me
I gave you everything you ever wanted
It wasn't what you wanted...
This song can feel like an extension of "Wild Horses" at times, since it seems to continue the story of a heartless ex-lover with a mellower musical backdrop (mostly piano, a steady drumbeat, and strings). It's actually uncharacteristic of U2 to devote two songs in a row to the subject of breakups, but perhaps I'm missing something here. Anyway, this is probably another of the album's less musically astounding moments, since the song remains in its slow groove and the piano isn't an instrument U2 usually bases their sound on. It's got its share of quotable lines as well, though a few of Bono's metaphors aren't as razor-sharp this time around (such as the line about men passing through her like a ghost - sometimes it works better for songwriters to circumvent the word "like" and avoid making the metaphor so obvious). But it's honestly not that big of a deal compared to some of the more embarrassing lyrical missteps that happened on the albums after this one (see "Some Days Are Better than Others").

The Fly
It's no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest
It's no secret ambition bites the nails of success
Every artist is a cannibal every poet is a thief
All kill their inspiration and sing about the grief...
This song was U2's first single in the 90's, and while it's nothing short of heroic in terms of re-establishing The Edge as a guitar wunderkind, it was a bit of a baffling choice since it isn't really structured with the sort of "hook value" that would make it work on the radio - the lyrics are half-sung, half-whispered in several sections, and Bono sings in two very distinct voices that can be difficult to keep track of if you're not listening carefully. Now, if you know me, you'll know that I don't care much about what's radio friendly, so ideally none of that should matter, because this is a great song. I guess I'm just surprised that U2 was able to get away with such a daring move (one could argue that this paved the way for "Numb"). I've heard that this one is supposed to be a brief telephone conversation between heaven and hell - Bono's lower register being his sinister side, and the falsetto voice (which he would explore more on the next few albums) being more of a heavenly voice of reason. I guess we get to be the "fly on the wall". Much like "Until the End of the World", this one doesn't really come to a satisfying resolution - it leaves you hanging because the person making the call runs out of change. Clever.

Mysterious Ways
Johnny, take a dive with your sister in the rain
Let her talk about the things you can't explain...
I'm sure most of you know this one. Slick, heavily processed guitar lick, early 90's hip-hop inspired beat, and a catchy chorus that doesn't seem to even make sense at first - "It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, she moves in mysterious ways". Though I can't unravel the significance of the characters described in this song's verses, I can offer a little bit of perspective on this monstrously catchy track, because the phrase "mysterious ways" is likely to get any Christian listener's synapses firing. Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah... God works in mysterious ways. But who's this she that Bono's singing about? Well, there's no reason God has to be described as being male. Actually, read carefully and you'll realize that the Bible often describes the Holy Spirit in more feminine terms. Bono was clever to take such a subtle concept and frame it in a song, and of course he wouldn't be Bono if he didn't infuse it with a little bit of sexiness in the process. Lines like "If you want to kiss the sky, you'd better learn how to kneel" are just begging to be interpreted incorrectly, but then, is it always taboo for spiritual and sexual metaphors to mix? (See the Song of Solomon.)

Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
You've been falling off the sidewalk
Your lips move, but you can't talk...
This might be the most subtle number on the record, mostly driven by a gentle beat and Adam Clayton's bass chugging along in the background. Once again, I likely wouldn't pay as much attention if I didn't relate to the lyrics. Bono seems to be reaching out to a girl in this sing who has a false sense of self-sufficiency. Let's be honest, we all know someone like this, who has bitten off more than he/she can chew and is acting like they can handle it when they're getting three hours of sleep a night and never fully engaging themselves in any of their supposedly beloved activities. Bono sounds like he's content to let her go her way if she can't open her eyes to the damage she's doing to herself with her insane lifestyle, but at the same time he makes it clear that he sees through her façade and knows she really needs somebody. If she wants to continue to believe that "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" (great job hijacking a popular feminist quote there!), I guess that's her business.

Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
I remember when we could sleep on stones
Now we lie together in whispers and moans...
This is the one song on the album that I still manage to overlook. I think it's got the double curse of having a quiet opening that takes too long to really become audible (one thing U2 does frequently to annoy me), and masquerading as an uneasy cross between "Even Better than the Real Thing" and "Until the End of the World" with a less interesting melody than either song. It also relies on the overused metaphor of a lover (whether human or God) being a light to Bono's path, and the lyrics are honestly a lot more simplistic than most of the band's work. There are still a few interesting lines, especially the opening declaration that "I want to get it wrong, can't always be strong", but then an ultra-cheesy chorus of "Baby, baby, baby, light my way" comes along and wrecks the whole thing. I guess even classic U2 can't win 'em all.

Acrobat
And I'd join the movement
If there was one I could believe in
Yeah I'd break bread and wine
If there was a church I could receive in...
The band easily redeems themselves here with an unexpected left turn into a grittier musical landscape, with edgy guitars tumbling along on a 6/8 beat. Bono seems to really be battling some personal demons here, once again addressing his contrary nature, hearing the voice of reason in his head but opting to go with his more basic urges instead. As if aware of the criticism he and the band were likely already getting from the Christian subculture, he acknowledges that "I must be an acrobat to talk like this and act like that". Basically, he knows he's a hypocrite, and this act of self-realization has made him an outcast in a cultural landscape where no one else wants to admit it. There's a thread of encouragement running through the song, albeit an angry one - Bono seems to be telling a fellow believer to "Dream out loud, and don't let the bastards grind you down". Strong words from a man who sounds like he's been sobered by the reality of his own sin and who is baffled by other Christians' inability to accept it.

Love Is Blindness
A little death without mourning
No call and no warning
Baby, a dangerous idea
That almost makes sense...
Surprisingly, this dark, brooding song in 3/4 time ended up being my favorite on the album. There's something about the organ, the echoing bass, and the descending chords (hey, didn't Delirious? use those same bass notes in "Obsession"?) that just grabs me. I've heard this song described as "disturbing", and I guess it could be unsettling to someone who's used to U2 preaching grandiose sermons about how great love is and how humanity should stop fighting, but to me it's a rather apt description of unconditional love. Despite the wretched sin and the battles of conscience that we humans so often lose, and the inability of other humans to look past the messy stuff and see our value, we are loved by One who chooses, in a sense, to be blinded to the things we have done to make ourselves unworthy. At least that's my take on this chilling song. There's a definite feeling of giving up and slipping away into the darkness here - not so much succumbing to sin, but simply learning to accept the reality that life on Earth isn't all bright and cheery and chock full of bright arena rock anthems. The Edge's temperamental guitar solo - which really leaps out in the middle of the song - does a great job of describing this tension without using a single word.

And that's pretty much it. Many listeners probably felt betrayed by such an ending, and of course that only hinted at the strange mind trip that was to come as U2 further experimented with their sound and message on the next few albums. But when you think about it, if you're paying attention, there's always been a "sobering" element to U2's music. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" wasn't all fun and games, after all. Neither was "Bullet the Blue Sky" or "Running to Stand Still" or a lot of The Joshua Tree. Perhaps the difference is that instead of trying to sober you up about the injustice in the world around you, this time around the band's giving you fair warning about the injustice within their own hearts, as if to say, "Danger! Don't emulate everything we do, because we can be sinful, and cruel, and we're capable of betraying the ones we say we love." That's the message that I get from Achtung Baby, and while it might not seem all that uplifting, it's one that I think people - especially Christians - need to hear in order to lessen their reliance on themselves and their fallible rock god heroes.

There I go waxing theological again. I can't help it; U2 inspires me. Next time around, we'll take a look at the strange collage that is Rattle and Hum.

ALBUM WORTH:
Zoo Station $1.50
Even Better than the Real Thing $1.50
One $1.50
Until the End of the World $2
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses $2
So Cruel $1.50
The Fly $2
Mysterious Ways $2
Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World $1.50
Ultraviolet (Light My Way) $.50
Acrobat $1.50
Love Is Blindness $2
TOTAL: $20.50

Band Members:
Bono: Vocals, guitar
The Edge: Guitar, keyboards, vocals
Adam Clayton: Bass
Larry Mullen, Jr.: Drums, percussion

Website: http://www.u2.com

Great Music to Play While: Pretending you "got it" the first time around. (Or pretending you "get it" now. Like I'm doing.)

Recommended: Yes