Reviews (page 10 of 12)
I would have expected more out of U2 to be honest. It was ok but I wouldn't listen to it again
++: Even Better Than the Real Thing, Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways +: Zoo Station, One, The Fly, Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World, Ultra Violet (Light My Way), Acrobat, Love Is Blindness +-: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, So Cruel 5,4/10
This was fine, but I didn't like it as much as Bloody Sunday
I’m so neutral, if anything a little bored. As bono said, “it’s alright”
I don't get warm with U2. Listening to them for more than 3 minutes makes me want to turn on the news to get some negativity and balance out the extreme positivity I get from U2's songs. What remains after listening to the album is a monotonous blend of feel-good maskerade and the joy of having reached the end. I bet I'm missing a lot of details from their lyrics, and maybe they're indeed more critical about things, but I don't feel it when listening to them.
This is such a weird one for me, I really actually like the guitar playing and production, but it’s almost like they are playing Muzak with ego.
Not a massive fan of U2, but there’s some decent tracks here. Favourite track: Love is Blindness
Reasonable effort from U2
Bit of a meh one tbh kinda like the point U2 turned lame I guess, feels like it just never gets going
Lots of hate in the reviews. Can't say I'm surprised. Hating on U2 is almost as much of a meme as hating Nickleback. I don't hate U2. I don't find them particularly interesting either. It's music. Dull music with entirely meh lyrics about the same cliche stuff as everyone else. "Staring at the Sun" is about the only thing they've ever done that I like much. They're all competent, though.
I find a lot of this just really underwhelming. It’s accomplished enough I guess, but it’s just so uninspiring. It feels like some of these songs are supposed to be quite rousing, but they're *just* not. Whenever it starts to build towards something, you're expecting some kind of impactful moment, but it just never comes. It just meanders along instead in a kind of generally boring way. This one isn’t for me, clearly. 2.5 rounded down.
this is a melting pot of other, much better bands who i would much rather be listening to
This wasn’t bad, but later U2 for me is far less exciting than some of their earlier work. This is glossy and perfectly produced and does exactly what it should, but didn’t hold my attention. Musically it’s fine, but did nothing to make me want to listen again.
Det er nok U2 nå!
Hvorfor?? Skiller seg på ingen måte ut fra de andre U2 platene på lista.
Fatter ikke at dette bandet var så stort. Kjedelig!
Favorite tracks : One ; The Fly
Mag die nicht +1 für brian eno
Meh
Offensively bland
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
“We wanted the album to be very extreme,” said the Edge, regarding Achtung Baby. “We didn’t want it to sound in any way safe.” OK, I guess it's all too easy to poke fun at U2's delusions and self-satisfaction (enjoyable, too!), but seriously: if this counts as 'very extreme' to Mr. Edge, then I fear that little hat might have been restricting bloodflow to his brain. In fairness, though, while this might not be the most experimental record of 1991, and while Bono's presence was perhaps at its most irksome on some of these songs, I didn't find myself wanting to turn it off too often. Faint praise, perhaps, but more than I expected.
I do NOT care about U2. 1 extra point because it got One in it.
A bit of reasonable pop rock blighted by the 🐳 himself. From what I gather it’s from this album onwards that Bono fully embraced his twattery and left any remaining grit at the door. Thanks but no thanks.
Another U2 album, yeaaaah!!! First song, what's worse than Bono incessantly wailing? It's him groaning from a synthesiser pedestal with the echo turned up to max. Like one of those annoying voice changing megaphones I had as a child that I used to scream into in my sister's direction. The band just seem to be there to provide background filler to frame the 'shal-la-la-las' of Bonehead. By the sounds of it, the backing band are as bored as me, adding no dimension whatsoever other than to stroke Bono's arena anthems (bar a few minor exceptions). At least this album has somewhat of a gear change at times where his preachy darkness attempts to be unlocked, but even a rockier track like 'The Fly' gets ruined by the megaphone being jacked up even more. At least it's not quite as much looped-up shite as the other songs, I guess. I will forgive the band for 'Mysterious Ways' as well. Another bonus: this album allowed me to use a well-trodden and amusing quote from Monty Python -> 'He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!' (A reference to 'Until the End of the World', though it probably works without my intended context). Will give it an extra point for that.
The music is pretty decent, if middle-of-the-road dad rock. The songs are fine, some are pretty cringe, some are pretty good. The front man is an insufferable cunt and sounds like it when he sings. Bono sings like a loud fart, plenty of gusto, plenty of volume, no substance and annoying at parties.
I don’t like early U2, I don’t like mid-career U2, I don’t like late period U2, and I don’t trust anyone that does. Non-descript, boring, forgettable pap.
A couple catchy songs but otherwise generic arena rock. Still much better than the forced iTunes trash album
This album is just okay. Not great.
I have a strong distain for U2, but I'll give this the old college try. This sounds very 1991. I've this playing for ever, and it's so boring...
It was fine I just don’t need another U2 album on this list.
People who said old U2 is good are liars. Bono is so fucking corny. Some of the guitar work is ok but the songs are so fucking boring.
By the time “Achtung Baby” came out in 1991, I had already turned my back on U2. While I loved “The Unforgettable Fire” and “The Joshua Tree,” “Rattle & Hum” had deeply disappointed me. And “Achtung Baby!” would turn my fondness for the band into antipathy. The hype surrounding the album was unbelievable. At the time, it was truly considered the most “avant-garde” thing you could sell in the mainstream. Listening to the album again 35 years later, you find neither anything particularly avant-garde in it (aside from a few studio gimmicks by Lanois and Eno), nor anything hateful. Since “The Unforgettable Fire,” U2 had been shifting more and more toward a very ‘American’ expansive sound, which was fully realized here for the first time. In short: this is mainstream at its broadest, featuring a few good tracks (“Mysterious Ways,” “The Fly,” ‘Acrobat’), many mediocre ones, and a few bad ones (“Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”—hey hey sha la la, hey hey, sha la la). Back then, U2 were the biggest rock band on the planet, and that fame certainly went to the band’s heads; above all, though, it makes it so difficult to properly categorize their music. Without all the media hype surrounding the band and the album, “Achtung Baby” (what a stupid album title that no English speaker can pronounce correctly) is just a rock album with the sound of its time, with some highs and lows but mostly “more of the same,” which has acquired a lot of patina over the years. The album wasn’t even “groundbreaking” for the band itself, whose hubris would spiral out of control after this album and culminate in gigantic tours.
these dudes make slow clown music for clowns. im sorry. one of the most overhyped goofball bands of the century. not my thing. bland repetitive chord work. bland songs. achtbooooo baby.
Ben niet zo van u2
Какая же это ебаная скукотища Вот я знаю что такое группа u2 - это именно этот альбом Есть хит, не переслушаю
Anyone who thinks U2 is a crime against humanity would probably fall for all the propaganda they've spoken against. This album sucks but it's just "shrug and move on" bad.
Album was fine but U2 has never done it for me. One was the highlight of the album but there were other songs that I feel I’ve heard before but other than that I wasn’t blown away
didnt give a super fair chance but not for me
It's U2
Pretty much like U2 as a whole for me where I didn't mind listening to it but also not anything I'd seek out
Dull as dish water and the one song I actually enjoyed (One) is much better done by Johnny Cash.
was a big fan of this album when first released and I really remember being desperate to see the live tour with the flying trabents. Listening to it again now it feels like the dictionary definition of bland. It just washes over me with the exception of "One" which I still have a soft spot for.
Just dont like them do was extremely difficult to listen to
Unfortunately I could only find the deluxe version on Spotify, and it comes in at a whopping 1 hr and 57 mins. The remixes are a slog and honestly very bad, mysterious ways (perfecto remix) is an assault on my ears. I think that this album has really some high highs and the rest is either really bad or just mediocre. i personally, love Zoo Station, especially the intro and as introduction to the rest of the album, it's the only song that really stuck out to me. This album has a really cool concept production wise, because the fusion of electronic dance and rock was very new at that time and has soo much potential. However, the execution was mid at best: for example, the production on Even Better is kind of a nothing burger sonically, even though, again, it has so much potential. It lacks anything to write home about other than the fusion itself and relying on how good an idea is doesn't make the song itself good. All of that being said I dont think the album is necessarily trash, I definitely think there is something here, and to be honest I think that part of that is the influence it had on U2's later career and the rock genre as a whole. If we're gonna talk about rock fusions Gorillaz's Electronic rock or Wednesdays's country rock are much better examples of a practice in fusing rock and im honestly kind of reminded of how it's actually possible to fuse genres in a sonically appealing way when I listen to this album. It leaves me really disappointed if im being honest. 2/5
I don't know what to say really. This band are among the legends of pop music (deservedly so) and simultaneously insufferable. I understand why their fans love them, but I cannot fathom why anyone would want to listen to them more than once. And this is one of their landmark albums. At least it's over
This album doesn’t give in to the excess that makes me generally dislike most U2. For the most part, Bono is downright subdued, and it’s less overwrought. Still, don’t really like it that much.
This was decent. I see why it's on this list, I bet U2 was probably somewhat influential and there's more thought going on here in the composition and lyricism than a lot of other groups. But, still mid. Fave tracks: - Zoo Station - Even Better Than The Real Thing - Until The End Of The World - The Fly - Mysterious Ways
Meh
A good opportunity to learn a bit about U2, I guess. Their sound was a bit more laid-back and ethereal than I was expecting, but that was about the extent of my surprise. Many times I found myself liking the initial groove presented, only to be let down by it being corny or uninteresting when the song reveals its full hand. Being able to make a catchy groove is more than some of these other albums can say, but I don't think it's enough for me to give this album at three. There were a lot of interesting sounds and good instrumentation, but very few of the songs really grabbed me. Their whole often was not greater than the sum of its parts. The vocals didn't interest me much either
boring this might be thee most boring, white people music I can think of I would expect to hear this in an orthodontist's office or some commercial
There’s no reason this record needs to be on this list. Unless the point is to show what it sounds like when a band totally sells out. Then, yes, this is a perfect example of a good band evolving into absolute mediocrity. 2/5
Only listened to half of the album. Not a very big U2 fan. Find their music very bland and boring. But understand why people enjoy them. Not for me. 2/5
the background music to high school? the radio rock i learned to ignore? too heavy a dose of bono? less good than the other U2 albums on this list I've already rated at 3?
Whatevs
Mild and uninspiring 2
They try a bunch of different stuff on this album, but it all ends up being mid. I'm not surprised Brian Eno worked on this.
Not really my type of music, or even of rock... might need a few relistens, but I'm just not feeling it right now. it's alright
Solid
mehtung.
I listened to Achtung Baby by U2 with an open mind, but ultimately it didn’t resonate with me on a personal level. I can appreciate its significance and the band’s shift in sound—leaning into a more experimental, electronic-influenced style—but it’s not the direction I usually gravitate toward. The album has a polished, atmospheric quality that makes it suitable as background listening, yet it rarely fully engages me. While there are undeniably iconic tracks, they don’t align with what I typically enjoy from the band. I tend to prefer the more direct and anthemic style of songs like new years day, which feel more immediate and emotionally impactful. From a critical standpoint, Achtung Baby is clearly a bold and influential record, but in terms of personal taste, it falls short of being compelling. Rating: 2/5 giulitas ⭐️
3 for music - 1 for lyrics= 2. That’s all I can seem to muster to write about this album.
Best Track - "Mysterious Ways"
Once more an album from the most overrated band in the world. And as usual, it would be wrong to say it is bad. Well, «Love» and «… Wild Horses» are even decent songs. The entire album is however truly boring, and I don’t ever feel like listening to it again.
Achtung Baby 1. i don’t like the ooooohh ohhhhh and i don’t like the robotic voice or the singing 2. did not like bu hao 3. This song is nice I like it 4. i think i just didn’t like it that much 5. it’s oka i don’t like it though 6. i likely it’s good it’s emotional 7. lowkey guys let’s just say i didn’t like the rest of this because i didn’t
1/3. Boring. Nothing really caught my attention; the Edge’s guitar is cool but predictable, and this lacks any of the already limited cool that the band has on an album like Joshua Tree
voy 3 canciones. por ahora no es algo que volvería a escuchar. medio bajón como canta y la música. las ultimas 4-5 ponele me gustaron un poco mas, ya no las escuchaba con la sensación de uy q termine.
It was Ok, not a huge fan of U2
So not quite as bad as I remembered, but still not very remarkable.
Seriously milquetoast. The last two songs kind of save it. I do not understand the massive appeal of this band.
Thought this was quite bland tbf. I saved one song and that was all on the first listen. I guess there were some good guitars at points. Second listen I enjoyed a lil more, but still a 2.5/5 for me (rounded down for here)
Para muitos um grande e importante álbum, para mim um álbum aborrecido e pouco interessante. Escrito numa época de transição, marca a mudança dos U2 para pior. Não voltarei a ouvir *Possível revisão futura*
Not my fave hate one
seems kinda boring? like Pablo Honey Radiohead. it is easy listening though 2
se intento pero no gusto
Does not sound great. I like a couple of songs, but still pretty bad. Fav: One The Fly Ultra Violet 2/5
Who will ride your wild horses
boring ahh album
i’m just not a u2 guy
El 'meh' más 'meh' del universo. No es lo mío definitivamente, me emboló para el tema 2. Tiene temas recognizable and all pero estaba turbo embolada, no lo volvería a escuchar.
Not really my kind of music.
Eh
Mysterious Ways I really like, the rest is pretty forgettable.
Meh
Muito bom
It was not a good U2 album. Only one or two decent songs. This might be the low point in their catalog
Monotonous
Terriblemente mediocre, tiene alguna textura interesante, pero nada que no estuvieran haciendo otros mil grupos mejor por la época. Bono es un vocalista flojísimo, es entrar él y me dan ganas de echarme la siesta. Encima largo, me ha costado terminarlo.
I think bono channeled John Lennon to make the song One. U2 occasionally has kind of an ethereal vibe that's isn't that common in rock these days, so thats kinda fun. Maybe that's a Brian Eno thing?
This album has that one song
5/10 Will need to give a re-listen at some point because I'm behind right now. The one quick listen I gave it was alright but not too memorable.
I was surprised to learn, with my first foray into U2 album listening, that I was kind of a fan. And now, with a second album, I'm surprised to learn I'm not a fan. This is competently made elevator music. It's smooth brained soft-ish rock. I can recognize they're talented musicians, but the music they're making here is like mush. No amount of clean production and twinkly guitars and bono's overwrought crooning is gonna make it not mushy.
only good song is one and that’s bc i already knew it prior to bloody listening to this shit
If I'd had to listen to this man asking me to light his damn way a single more time I don't know what would have come of it to be honest with you
Not quiteee my music taste. Faves in album order: So Cruel Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around Me Ultra Violet Love Is Blindness
Didn’t enjoy this much, prefer War
Meh
I’m not a U2 fan. Some of their stuff is ok, but for the most part it’s just not my thing. I do enjoy Mysterious Ways, and there were a few others that caught my attention briefly, but overall it was just ok. I don’t think that any of them are particularly great musicians, they do know how to write a successful radio hit (which really is the name of the game in that business) but that’s not enough to impress me.
It was a struggle to get through, feels bit of a let's try anything and see what sticks.
Like bedre dei tidligare albumene
Ich mag U2, verstehe aber kein Stück, warum das hier als ihr bestes Album gilt.
Aw crud, u2, the less good Coldplay. The most pop-rock I've every heard, no real meaning, just somewhat basic music. The opening riff of the album not lasting more than twenty seconds ticked me off. That was the best part of this whole experience.
Ni idea, no escuché porque u2 no me interesa
A few great songs like one and even better than the real thing. But nothing else grabbed me. I did like the album but it didn’t blow me away
No amount of dizzying effects pedals and reverb can disguise Bono's voice and how much I hate it. If you like this kind of shoegazing music, you're definitely better off listening to The Cure or just nothing at all, as some of the songs were actually painful for me to listen to. This is the kind of shit your "cool" gen x liberal uncle puts on in hopes that you'll like it but you don't have the heart to tell him you think it sounds like shit. It doesn't sound like the U2 had any musical direction for these songs other than "let's play some disorienting nonsense with lyrics that vaguely reference peace and love", but ironically it just filled me with rage and hatred for this album. Mysterious Ways is my favorite from the album and truthfully the only track on here that even resembles a real "song". I can't tell if it's actually that good though or if my ears are just grateful for something that isn't garbage. That being said, my personal code is that I don't give an album a 1 unless I hated it all the way through, so it barely escapes with a 2 from me.
I’m not a big fan of U2, so I was a little pessimistic going into this. Honestly, I think my pessimism was well-deserved. The only merits I can give it is that the sound was cohesive. I just didn’t like the sound.
U2 did some good stuff early in their career. This was later.
I wasn't around to experience this as a "reinvention" of U2, but it sounds like everything else from this era and I've no real way of knowing who did it first. The Fly was good but otherwise pretty meh. 2 - a good album but not my thing
u2 is just not for me.
U2 is Adam Watt’s favourite band
Perfectly passable but ultimately uninteresting songs
Shockingly undercooked cheese. I gave U2 too much credit.
hits zijn top rest is meh
it was okay, but i find U2 completely inspirational to listen to and that is the problem
Ganske kjedelig.
Det varierer for mye mellom rock og pop. Bono har en fet stemme, soundet er tidvis fett. Men totalt sett treffer det ikke meg.
" That shark needs jumping" Bono, prolly
How dare you make me listen to U2. This album feels very long, but it is wild to think how badly U2 destroyed their legacy with that stupid automatic download Apple Music album. Rip bono, the edge, ect. You are not missed by me
Hmm. Quite a Nothingburger
ci sta, nulla di speciale
This was my first listen through of any U2 album ever, and let’s just say I was less than impressed. Pretty bland music for some supposed “generational rock band”, this was closer to like Coldplay or Imagine Dragons than anything good or important. ‘Mysterious Ways’ was the only song I sort of liked, and apparently that was the big hit on this album, so I can see why. I thought this was mostly bad, really thought I would like them more. 2/5
U2 are shite
I only listened to this because I had to. I have never, and will never understand the appeal of U2.
I hate U2, but enjoyed the album.
Casi todas las rolas suenan igual ajjaj, empezó bien pero en la tercera ya fue zzz
I've listened to a U2 album before, The Joshua Tree, but I don't really remember the record. I don't remember it being quite as annoying as this effort, though. It's just so blatantly commercial, which I think was the idea, get to as many people as possible... The production here isn't bad at all, it's just painfully dull for me. 2/5
meeh
Achtung Bono....
hard listen but i get the idea
A few thoughts will listening to this album: Do you think The Edge makes his friends call him Edge? Same question, but with Bono I'm surprised the band has had the same line-up for 50 years. Also, 50 years of U2? Wow. That said, I really don't like U2, I really don't like their hits, and their non-singles tracks aren't great either
This is a version of U2 I don’t really care for. I feel like Bono is sensually whispering in my ear, and I’m not particularly a fan of that. I enjoy hearing the drummer from U2 because I think he’s extremely underrated. He never plays just simple hi-hat snare patterns. He’s always doing something that totally works in the context of the song.
While they are a solid band I’ve never much liked U2. Revisiting this album I’d say it’s definitely on the softer side, almost reminding me of the easy listening vibes of the era. While I’m sure that contributed to its success it made it less enjoyable for me. While not a ds. In general I prefer when they are a little edgier and experimental ala Zooropa.
Not a big U2 fan
coffee shop background music. nothing about this was good, but nothing about this was insultingly grating to my ear. it was just happening for 55 minutes. i actively forgot every track as i listened to it.
Not really my taste. Most interesting track for me was The Fly, but then Bono's vocals comes in and kinda ruins it for me. I actually like One as a song, but I'm more used to the Mary J Blige version, which I remember being overplayed on Swedish radio when I was younger (to the point that I felt like something was missing from this). Overall, the album isn't really bad, but I felt like I was zoning out during parts of it.
I'm not even a professional U2 hater like a lot of the folks you'll see in the review section on this site, but this was just bland and basic. Bono's vocals on his record are so one-note, and it sounds like he can barely even manage to maintain that note at times. There's nothing particularly interesting going on with the music itself either. I won't be coming back to this one.
pas trop mon style je réécouterai pas
“Mysterious Ways” is so good just because that bass line is so fucking mint. Outside of that, it’s a pretty uninspiring album.
Its alright
A real slog for me Zoo Station is a good opener but nothing afterwards grabs me at all, by So Cruel I was checking to see how long was left
I have to say I'm disappointed. Except for "Even Better..." and "Mysterious Ways", it's a really boring and monotone record. "One" is a great song, OK, but still... Yawn!
It's a decent album, kinda bland in comparison to others in the genre these days but enjoyable enough! Picked up near the end Best = Love is blindness Skip = Mysterious ways
Ugh, no this wasn't good Too whiny and the songs all blended into one long sound 2 ⭐️
Sanctimonious supreme with, I suspect, far more plagiarism than they’ve ever been noted for. The lyrics would be shite even for a sixth former. They can have a 2 only for echoes of shit they’ve stolen.
awful album and turn for the band but 'One' was a banger
J’ai l’impression que chaque son sonne comme U2, et pas forcément dans le bon sens.. 2-3 sons bon 2.5-/5
Not too many thoughts on this one, it just came and went without really doing too much.
Meh
Wikipedia tells me this is an album filled with innovation and creativity. It didn’t capture me much. Seemed like it was more derivative than transformative.
Fine.
As someone who never really listened to U2 prior to this project I was interested in hearing what is considered one of their best after having a terrible experience with All That You Can’t Leave Behind. However now that I’ve also heard Achtung Baby I’m not so sure that I’m going to connect with U2. This was a better experience but still not one I really enjoyed.
Really neat textural work with the instrumentation just rejones by the utterly lame lyricism.
I was listening to this and everything was going ok. Sure, this was a change from the U2 of previous towards their Omnishite music of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t particularly engaging or exciting either. This all changed when One Love came on and I instantly recalled that fucking awful moment in 2020 when thousands of people were dying every day from Covid and a bunch of self-important thespians though that singing this together over the internet would make everyone feel better. Changed the game after that. Fucking Hollywood!
Meni njihov najbolji
I despise U2, but this is their best album
Minu jaoks kohutavalt igav ja Bono vokaal ei istu mulle üldse.
When I saw I got a U2 album, I got pretty exciting. However this one was a big disappointment. It really falls flat, with little excitement along the way. 2/5
Incredibly generic but has a couple of hits that pull this up to a 2.
Definitely an unnecessary inclusion alongside the other U2 here.
Lots of singles. Lame singles.
I’ve never gotten the appeal of U2. The most mid of rock bands, nothing on here really stands out. Nothing on here was offensive to the ears either, just sounds like generic background music to me. 4/10
not bad, not great
Fucking Bono man, I don't need this on a Monday morning. This is just the most empty noise of a band I've had on this list so far. Every album is just like this one too. Nothing unique to say, nothing innovative to try. Waste of time.
This was the first time hearing a U2 album all the way through. The band has a solid groove. The Edge's guitars are distinct which I appreciate during certain songs. Bassist Adam Clayton truly held these songs together for me. I like drum pads and dance music, but I do think drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. was underutilized to add more texture. I do not like Bono's voice and the more I heard it the less I wanted to hear. He is not a good storyteller; he feels "it" but he doesn't bring the audience with him. It got hard not to get grumpy while listening through this album because of his voice. I will say they know how to make an enticing intro to all their songs.
sounds so flat it actively annoys me
How could it all go so wrong?
This is so generic. Good lord. It sounds like the music they play in superdrug because they don't want to pay for the real stuff. I have never forgiven U2 for the un-deletable "free album" that appeared in my meticulously curated iTunes against my will, spoiling the vibe and not going away. The assumption that we would be grateful for this because it's so amazing?! The reason it was so egregious is because it was so mid!!! Anyway, this is like that.
Only two tunes on here that I really care about, "Even Better Than the Real Thing", and "Mysterious Ways". Not a fave of mine.
2.5 Even as someone who never got into U2, their albums are easy to listen to. Nothing about their music sticks out and makes me want to come back to it, but it’s easy to throw on in the background when I’m doing something or entertaining guests. I did enjoy this more than their previous album I reviewed (Joshua Tree), but still pretty bland for my taste.
Sterile music for the masses.
It's ok. Nothing really interesting but nothing offensive either. Best song: Mysterious Ways
There’s just something about U2 that I cannot stand
More like U2
A long, long time ago. In a small town not that far away. A younger version of myself had an iPod. Imagine…. It was a time before smartphones and music subscriptions. It’s romantic to think of a time without constant notifications and updates. At the time you primarily learned about music from the radio, friends or family. Then one day a deal made through U2 and Apple forces a download of their newest album onto every single iPod in existence. No consent was given at all. It was like a virus that found its way into your iPod the moment it was plugged in to your computer. You at first think cool a free album… But then you listen to it and realize that you don’t really care for U2. Then if you shuffle your music it ends up embedded in your life whether you like it or not. So you think whatever I’ll just delete it. Then you find out you can delete are your own personal music but not U2. This violation of user choice made apple release a tool to remove the album and forced an apology from U2. I was not a fan of U2 then and continue to not really be into their music. But I cannot deny that I sang along to many of the tunes on this album either way.
Not U2's best representation. For me its a 2.5 but rounding down feels more right than rounding up
2.3 Third U2 album on here, so I've now had late stage, early stage, and finally mid stage. Maybe it caught me on the wrong day but this was the worst of the lot. War was actually alright, the later one was generic shite, but this was the most disappointing of the lot. I was trying to put my finger on why it's so bad and the closest I can get to it is it sounds like the selection of songs David Brent puts together in that episode of the office. Just fake, cringy stadium rock. I think it's saying something that for all the albums they sold, I've never met a single U2 fan. You'll meet people both from that era or born way after that wax lyrical about the smiths, the police etc, but who actually likes them today. It's as though everyone of that era was put under a spell that's been broken. As it's shite.
Classics
Their seventh album. Rock. I've tried and tried and tried again over the years with U2. They just don't do anything for me. Like this album, it isn't bad but it doesn't do anything for me at all. It's bland and I was bored.
More like ECCH-tung 🤢
Unrelentingly bland and boring. The guitar "solo" at 2:15 of "Love is Blindness" does a good job of encapsulating the talent and ambition on display in another hour of U2's music, formulated to never stray too far from optimal mass-appeal.
Found it boring more than anything else. Some ok songs but I see no reason to listen to it again.
I have never liked U2, I have never understood it. This was a slog for me. Bono is so uninteresting, the edge may be a guitar revolutionary but that doesn't stop them from making songs that are infinitely less interesting than REM. I don't love the joshua tree but why did they need a reinvention from that sound? Even my boy Brian Eno can't save this. Mysterious ways is fine I guess. I feel like I’m being punked, so many people I know list this as a best album of all time and I truly can’t see it. It must have been a right place right time situation because I’ve never met anyone under thirty who gives a shit about this band.
I don't know why we needed this middle tier U2 album. For the most part it's fine, sometimes even good, but too many sha la las and baby lyrics. Feeling a decent 2/5
Joshua Tree proves they're capable of greatness. This just feels like a watered down version of something that could be good. Bland & flavorless.
Aspects of the sound were enjoyable. This ends up being pretty same-y by the end of the record and wears thin for me. There isn't a clear movement to the album - it stays pinned at a similar level of intensity and emotional weight throughout with little deviation. Just not really for me.
Kan inte förmå mig att bry mig om detta. Ni är jätteduktiga, men ni är också jättetråkiga.
Megh
A bit repetitive. One is a good song though
It's ok. Never enjoyed U2. Repetitive sounds, guitar and christian rock type vibes.
bono is a douchebag
Better than expected. I'm giving double the amount of stars I thought I would - two. After the malaise of the Unforgettale Joshua Tree Fire years U2 stumbled into the 90s and into a career high by trying to sound like Jesus Jones. The gutars are fantastic it could almost be Andy Gill and the electronic atmospherics are cool. But Bono is far too high in the mix. He can't let an instrumental passage go by without vocalising unneccessarily. Even in the verses and choruses he's too damn loud and delivers every bloody line with ernest passion forcing you to pay attention to lyrics, which are gibberish. A clique is still a clique and nonesense is still nonesense if you sound like you mean it man. But the guitar sound is marvelous and that's earned an extra star. Pity you can't hear them!
Not a fan unfortunately, never really have been 🤷
Wasn’t the worst thing ever but also was.
a walk down memory lane
feeling pretty meh about U2 as a whole. mysterious ways was nice, One was fine, and everything else just kinda sounds the same in my opinion. every song is a quasi-balled that never amounts to distinction.
Fine - not really doing much for me.
Boooooooooooooriiing
This was the beginning of the downturn for me with U2. Maybe a couple of good songs, with “One” being the best, but overall this album is not breaking any new ground, and it lacks the passion of U2’s earlier music. Almost feels like they are going through the motions… & beginning the shmaltzy cheesy phase. Nothing really terribly bad about it, just not great.
This is not my favorite U2 album but it has one of their best songs "One." The rest of the album is ok and I would listen to it again.
After listening, I can confirm that this is indeed an album made by the band U2.
Despite being ubiquitous throughout my childhood and teens age years, the only U2 album I’ve ever listened to all the way through was Rattle and Hum. But this album? Aside from the singles (well, some of them anyway), it’s straight trash.
Not my genre. Outside of One and The Fly I don’t think I’d delisted to any track.
Huge whiplash hitting this one right after Slayer
eh
This album serves no purpose to me other than to reaffirm what I’ve always known. U2 are almost certainly one of the most overrated bands of all time. They make my fucking teeth grind with how shit they are.
Mid.
Tiene alguna cancion curiosa pero me parecio un poco flojo
I think there are good arguments on both sides as to whether you should be able to separate art from the artist, and I'm not sure which side I come down on. What I do know, however, is that it's much easier to separate the art from the artist when the art in question is actually any good, not dull, plodding, stadium rock shite. Realistically, Bono is no bigger bell end than Morrissey, but the big difference between the two is that the Smith's made some great music. I'm going to resist the urge to add a Hat Twat Tax and give this album a two rather than a one. Either way though, I'd be happy to never hear this again.
With or without youuuuuuuuuuu, with or without youuuu
Ok
mid 2 ive often wondered, whats the deal with U2? today i learned the deal. theyre eh
Admito que no soy muy fan de U2, no conecto particularmente con las vocales ni me sorprenden las lyrics. Pocas melodías del album captan mi atención. Aún así es una buena escucha, simplemente not my jam Favs: Until the End of the World, The Fly, Mysterious Ways
The songs all sound more or less the same to me. Not upsetting, but not interesting.
Soft rock for people who think they like hard rock. Yawn.
I didn't really like U2 much in the 90s. I thought that might change with age... but it still doesn't do it for me
I'm really questioning who put this list together. It seems like the albums are less of a concern as opposed to the few songs that are on them that are timeless. Achtung Baby has massive hits like One and Mysterious Ways, which are all-timers, but the album as a whole is a noise machine, filled with vague lyrics, electropop backgrounds. I know U2 is an all-time band, but I also know they have better than this.
Expected to dig this one and was interestedly put off by the production choices to make it sound intentionally chaotic because "the world was confusion at the time." Zoo Station is one of the worst on the album for me. Apart from its singles that I already knew, only Till the End of the World and Love Is Blindness stood out to me. I found it more palatable when treated as a live album. Maybe their live shows sound exactly like the over-produced recordings. Why you'd want to intentionally make a trashier recording is beyond me, but apparently it worked for them.
Better than I expected but still not my thing. Turned it off.
U2 are just massively not my thing.
Quite dull, Coldplay for the 90s
One absolute belter of a song, but apart from that pretty mid and a bit boring. "One" does a lot of heavy lifting here.
Just generally boring. Nothing offensive there and you can leave it on the background. Spotify kept playing and I had no idea it started another U2 album.
"A lot of noise"
Werde mit U2 vielleicht nie klarkommen
The one where they got new effects pedals, but sadly not any new ideas. Plodding, uninspired music draped in a new coat woven from the offcuts of more creative musicians, and topped off with some truly awful lyrics.
Bland. Jack white’s cover of love is blindness is much more interesting than this version
There are some songs I've heard a million times. None of the other songs are terribly interesting to me. "Ultra Violet (Light MY Way)" in particular was a chore. I would be fine to never hear "Love is Blindness" again. "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" is okay.
They suck
Ehh
yeah, i mean....it's definitely music.
I was really into this album for a hot minute in middle school (it came out well before I was in middle school, but clearly appealed to an angsty tween). Bono’s vocals are giving a blend of David Bowie, Thom Yorke, and something the National-adjacent, with a smattering of 80s emotional sensibilities. The album itself feels like a middle school feeling: overblown reactions to first-time feelings, but it’s not necessarily bad, I’d say. I find Bono and U2 pretty insufferable now, so it’s hard to set that aside-but I don’t think I ever need to revisit this album. I’d properly give it a 2.5, but am rounding down since I’d not go back to it.
Absolutely not.
chli langwiilig..
Some very cheesy rhymes (talk/walk rhyme still? Did we graduate elementary?). Singer can pull off wide range of notes, but all songs sound like the same melodramatic tune about missing his baby.
I liked a few songs and the style. But it's not my favorite genre.
U2 igen. Att Joshua Tree finns med i boken är fullt rimligt. ATs plats hos de-måste-lyssnande bör emellertid ifrågasättas. Svagare låtar och tråkigare produktion (trots att det även här är herrarna Eno och Lanios som står för hantverket). Det går att se en tydlig utveckling. Tyvärr går den bakåt.
u2 means nothing to me
Just really don't like U2. Didn't find anything here that I enjoyed or caught my attention. 2/5
Everything that comes out of Bono's mouth here is preposterous. 'Did you play Jesus to the Lepers in your mind?' 'Who's gonna ride your wild horses?' 'Lips move but they cant talk, tryin to throw your arms around the world' (this one's about you, isn't it Bono?) As bad as these lines are, theyre made so much worse by Bono, who delivers them like he's giving the Sermon on the Mount. That's ultimately all that you can focus on, because everything else is made to blend into the background. Not great.
There’s a generally high bar of quality all through this album, but the two hit singles, ‘One’ and ‘Mysterious Ways’, stand in such sharp contrast to everything else that I have to wonder why you’d bother putting yourself through it all. The package feels a bit more like the band is chasing those hit singles as opposed to having something meaningful to put up. And it worked: This album helped setup U2’s run as the ‘biggest band in the world’ all the way through to the fall from grace that was How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. From this point they just kind of become a singles band, which is disappointing given their older stuff. ⭐️⭐️
Really disappointing... Not because I was expecting a U2 album to wow me, but because typically any album involving Brian Eno is pretty solid. But the 90s were kind of weird for Mr. Eno so I give him a pass on the production end of this. This is my first U2 album listen ever and Achtung Baby comes off to me as trying to emulate Simple Minds if they turned down the energy by 55%. There is a lack of depth here (lyrically and musically) that is disguised by thoughtfully placed reverb. I could imagine hearing any of these songs playing at a christian charity shop.
Achtung Baby starts off fresh enough, w/ an uncharacteristic edgy Edge riff and an assertive drum break, tho it still possesses Bono's distinctive mush: 'I'm ready to say / I'm glad to be alive / I'm ready / I'm ready for the push.' Lyricism is not only not U2's forte, it's a distraction and a diminishment, particularly when Bono sloppily evokes literary tropes: 'We're free to fly the crimson sky / The sun won't melt our wings tonight.' Contrast that w/ Joni's allusiveness and you'll see who has the edge: 'Like Icarus ascending / On beautiful foolish arms / Amelia it was just a false alarm.' Like most U2 records, it fails to be what it's meant to be: it's not pop since it's too self-serious, but it's not rock either since it extends no real punch to the gut.
Very bland
Mid -
Once again not very memorable with two or so songs that are either enjoyable or fine
YAWN. I don't feel quite as strongly about U2 as I do about Coldplay but it's pretty close. Never forget my choir's rendition of One (derogatory)
Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention, as I played this while moving into our new house. But It didn't do anything for me. The album art looks like a 2010s tryhard instagram grid
just couldn't click with it at all, but clearly something good in there
Inoffensive but incredibly dull
Very much a singles band from what I’ve heard
liked songs: Mysterious Ways, There's nothing particularly bad about this album, but I just do not understand the hype around U2 outside of some of the big hits. They're fine, but I just get bored listening to them. 2.5
I liked the album but need to listen a few more times.
Some great tunes, but lots of filler.
They're just not for me. This album isn't horrendous, but I'd never willingly play it.
Definitely some classics on it. Not a massive fan of U2 tbh.
2/5
No comment
I just don’t connect with this band. They seem like they’re capable of making cool music, but then choose not to in favor of making bland pop rock. The best moments are the noisiest and spaciest, and when Bongo isn’t singing.
This album did nothing for me ngl. Not bad at all just didn’t hit
felt like a chore
what a drag
Yep. That was U2. Still not a fan. 2 stars.
I like the mix of genres
Ouin, l’album se ressemble beaucoup et ça confirme le peu de hype que j’ai pour U2
Bien que je félicite l'essai d'ajouter des sons plus électroniques et expérimentaux à leur musique (avec l'aide de nul autre que Brian Eno à la production!), le fond reste ennuyant et manque d'inspiration. Comparez avec OK Computer à vos risques et périls.
I try so hard to have an open mind about U2. I really do. Better than the last one I listened to.
I feel less alive.
Alguna buena y ya
fu2
The beginning of the decline of U2. I remember my aunt giving me a tape cassette of U2's War once in a long and distant past, and I played the shit out of it. I enjoyed the energy, the post-punky angst, and the musicianship. Sadly, this album doesn't really embody any of that, and marks a turn towards mediocrity for U2.
I really, really just don’t like his voice.
normal nada del otro mundo
It’s the beginning of the end for U2 on this album. While the gang has some really good songs it’s apparent that their singles are far higher quality than the rest of the record. This marked the period where Bono thought he was deconstructing the idea of pop stardom only to find he really loved it and was devoted to it more than the music. From here on, they’re greatest hits only.
'I was drowning my sorrows but they learnt to swim'... This was like watching paint dry but the paint started taking a shower
Achtung Baby is supposed to be U2’s game-changing reinvention record, so I was pretty surprised by how bland this album sounds. Aside from the obvious hits, I wouldn’t be able to distinguish the songs from their late-career material. I realized for the first time how much Mysterious Ways sounds like Elevation. Both those songs are fine, but they’re also nothing mind-blowing. Even Better Than The Real Thing is decent, I remember liking it when it would come on the radio. The Fly just sounds like a mess. I also listened to the Achtung Baby episode of U Talkin’ U2 To Me. Adam Scott kept saying when this record came out, it was like nothing he had ever heard before. They talked about U2 joining the dance-rock trend but if this is Bono & Co.‘s answer to Madchester, it’s pretty underwhelming. I like U2’s 80s post-punk sound, but I find their music got progressively more boring. I guess without this evolution, they would’ve just faded away. I watched the music video for The Fly, and I think I get it. It was an image makeover that positioned them as a cool slick band for the 90s, even in the face of grunge about to take over. It was a marketing move and it worked. But the record itself doesn’t hold up for me. Maybe you just had to be there in 1991. The obvious standout here is One. It’s a timeless classic, and sounds even better because it’s so much better than everything else on the album.
This was quite boring. I thought for a second this was the polarizing flop U2 record from the 90s (Zooropa) and for that single second, I was intrigued. Sadly, I was mistaken. This is one of their big "significant" hit records and it's pretty fucking dull. Most of it has already left my brain. The 2 hits on this thing are a mixed bag. I am a little ashamed to admit that I do love One. It's GenX Imagine and it just works for me... but i understand why people hate it. Mysterious ways on the other hand...sigh... it kinda sucks. I've never liked it, but it did stick out as better and more interesting than the rest of the album, which isn't saying much. The only other track that had an interesting vibe was the closer... very moody and emotional rather than sterile radio rock sludge present on every other track. This album really fits under the too boring to hate category so it's a solid 2 for me. I do have an aside though about the lyrics.... The man loves using the word and talking about love. But in my head, Bono was a peace in love hippy guy (see One). After this record, he seems more like a sad lover boy toxic nice guy character. I didn't dig into the lyrics on this album for the most part... but the general vibe is he loves these women but they don't love him back or he's going to help these women but they don't need him and that makes him sad... and it gives me the ick. I don't like his energy around women and love at all. It also makes his big peace and love generalizations feel hollow when juxtaposed with these other tracks. On the track Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World, I thought he figured out that women don't need his shit when he dropped the line "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." I was impressed. It's a great line. Then i googled it and it turns out it's a famous feminist slogan, and Bono deserves zero credit. Then i dug into the lyrics and i don't know if i'm reading it right but i came up with 2 different interpretations. One makes Bono seem like a real asshole and one is normal famous guy shit. I'll do the neutral one first. IN that interpretation, he's trying to throw his arms around the world as an artist, but that leaves him with nothing left for love and makes it very hard for someone to date him and for him to be there as a partner but he tries (i'm gonna run to you [...] woman be still). I suppose the Dali verse contributes to this as perhaps he was another artists who neglected his personal life for his art. The Bono's an asshole take would be that feminism/women are trying to throw their arms around the world and it's a frustrating, all-consuming and fruitless endeavour trying to change things. But don't worry, Bono is gonna run to them, comfort them, be there for women... they just need to be still. I dunno. Maybe it's the fame one but i still don't like Bono's vibe on this album. His lyrics are just not good and made me like him even less than I did before.
For the life of me, I do not understand why he is singing about Shamu. That whale doesn’t seem very mysterious to me.
I thought I'd be giving it a 1, but their instrumentation has just enough hints at post-punk interestingness for me to give it an extra star. Begrudgingly.
Bland
Pretty boring. Not much of a departure from The Joshua Tree. However, as that sounded new and exciting, still fresh after all these years, with Achtung Baby, U2 have immediately just tried to capitalise on that, becoming the boring stadium rock sound that they have become. Lyrics were too saccharine for me, and just found it boring boring boring. Why did so many interesting bands decide that this was the way forward for rock music? Money I guess.
Isn't this the first bad U2 album? I certainly don't enjoy it.
Never been a huge fan of U2. This confirmed why.
Potentially the most beige album I've ever heard.
I mean, it's still Bono...but it wasn't not a vibe
At one point while listening, I asked myself “wait, have I accidentally pressed the repeat one button?”. Turned out than no.
Looking at the track listing I didn’t recognise any of the track titles but turns out I knew about half the songs here. That made it easier to get through because the songs I didn’t know were a slog to get through. Even the songs I knew weren’t that catchy and were a bit boring
U2 had a pretty good run, but this is the one where they started going downhill.
Leuk, met klassiekers. Wel meer muziek die je vanaf de zijlijn luistert op een festival. Tegen het einde was ik er wel echt klaar mee.
Two songs are okay.
Decidedly average
Eh, wasn’t massively impressed by this. Just sounds incredibly generic and Bono has the vocal tone of a wet lettuce. Acrobat was the stand out track for me and that was just ok as was the last one
One is the only good song.
U2 is a band I always think I should like, and don't.
Not interesting
I was shocked at how bland this was
NOt my favourite. Bono's etheral voice doesn't really make it for me here.
Ugh. I like old U2 alright, but this is the album I checked out on this band with. It might not be their fault, other than that they wrote this album full of hits that I’ve heard soooo many times that I just can’t handle them anymore. I’m probably leaving this record an unfair 2, but a 2 nonetheless; it’s just that everything on this record is just. So. Boring. And off-putting.
In a nutshell: gear change. Ahh yes. U2. A divisive band in rock music culture. To me, their early work is trying to be sincere but it comes off as self-righteous. Great guitar chops. Bono’s songwriting ranges from great to downright embarrassing. Achtung Baby is indeed a departure. Especially compared to Rattle and Hum. I think Brian Eno coming on board as co producer helped. Still heavily thematic (this time the reunification of Germany, cheers Wikipedia). The album got me thinking about the art of deciding the singles. For U2, went with the everyday sandwich approach: the bread is plain, the filling is satisfying. Personally I would have led with Mysterious Ways and dropped The Fly altogether. Overall: 4/10
I do not like this album :-( I got tired of Bono halfway thru There seems to be lots of earnestness, big sound. But yea came across as tiring pre coldplay dad rock that isn't for me.
Ganska wank. Har några bra stunder, främst gitarren. Bästa låten: One