What does it sound like?:

In 1993 this sounded like the zeitgeist – its confused and hazy title track, spilling over with advertising slogans and buzz phrases – ‘better by design / fly the friendly skies / through appliance of science / we’ve got that ring of confidence’. Listening to it walking round Berlin at the time, still scarred from the Cold War years and despite reunification the divide between the post WW2 zones still visible before the city planners rolled in – it made perfect sense. The light industrial work of ‘ Achtung Baby’ is fuzzier round the edges, less sure of itself and none the worse for it.

Fuzzy enough to let the guitarist sing one again. His deadpan vocal on ‘Numb’ is a perfect counterpoint to the broken dance-y backing and Bono’s fine falsetto stabs which riddle the album, coming to the fore in the sexy ‘Lemon’. The album’s most conventional track ‘Stay’ with its big yearning chorus and impassioned vocal also has some of it’s most interesting lyrics – “You used to stay in to watch the adverts / You could lip synch to the talk shows”.

Still infused with their experiences in post Wall Berlin its unsurprising to hear ghosts of Bowie, Eno and Iggy in tracks like ‘Daddy’s Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car’ , that gorgeous distorted, metallic, grinding riff. However ‘The First Time’ which appears to be quite a slight, piano driven thing at first actually has great emotional weight and one of Bono’s best vocals on the album. Their masterstroke is the chance happening of getting Johnny Cash to sing a song of redemption in guise of an old preacher as the lead singer takes the back seat and croons the album to a close ij the background.

Heard now, separated from history and possibly an echo of a more hopeful time – this may be U2’s best record as they dared to dream out loud.

(I picked up a hooky vinyl copy of this yesterday which lead to this review – a proper remastered CD n vinyl is needed)

What does it all *mean*?

Dismissed at the time as a “tour EP” or something dashed off to keep touring the Zoo TV behemoth ennui at bay – it may well be U2’s best record cos it exists in the nowhereland between reinvention pop irony and aimless millionaire hoteliers. Akin to REM’s ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’ in the criminally misunderstood and ignored stakes – your loss.

Goes well with…

Brexit and chips

Release Date:

Might suit people who like…

U2, who don’t like U2, like annoying ganglesprocket and like Bono despite himself