Achtung Baby

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

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

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

I thought I was rather indifferent towards U2, but Bonos lyrics are so bad here it’s almost unbearable.

Der er mange catchy numre men det må også være omkring her Bono begynder at blive ægte træls at høre på. Kan godt lide One og skammer mig en liiiille smule over det.

I don't know if this one is a "had to be there" but I found it kind of dull. Still has some great sound (I'm sure this is much better live) but it wasn't quite the loud stadium rock I guess I expected from U2 after them being omnipresent for my entire life... Perhaps that's what people like about this one? Mysterious Ways definitely was a highlight but overall the album just didn't catch my attention. Maybe I'll give it another try eventually in the context of their other albums.

I don’t know what irks me about Bono’s voice so much. Maybe it’s the way that every note he sings is drawn out longer than it should be and it sounds like he’s moaning. One extra star for some interesting instrumentation on some of the songs

God Bono is fucking annoying and he's not that talented (not every note needs to held to orgasm moan threshold). I don't know what's more unbelievable: that these assholes thought it was so important to listen to their crap music that they forced it onto every iPod, or that they were at one point the most popular "rock'n'roll" band on earth (humanity is fucked). At least two members didn't give themselves dipshit nicknames, I hope no more of their albums are on this list, but I know I won't get so lucky. Rant aside, this album has a couple of decent tracks, and the otherwise is ... completely unremarkable

Overall: 4/10 Very glad to say that I don't hate this. I still don't think it's a great album but I've been talking smack about U2 since I got The Joshua Tree and it's nice to know that not everything they made is unbearably bad...just slightly not great. This album still has some elements that I hated about JT. Most of the songs are whiney (thanks Bono) and I don't really enjoy the guitar tone. U2 tend to write very droney songs most of the time that irritate me. But there's also some more upbeat songs that add some variety to this album. Mysterious Ways is my favourite U2 song that I think is genuinely really great. One is also a great jam, Ultra Violet has my favourite guitar work in any U2 song and theres a couple other songs on here that didn't piss me off. This still isn't a good album in my opinion, but it's at least listenable at times. Brian Eno's production is obviously really good and adds a lot to the songs. I'm praising it more than it deserves honestly but I'm just glad it's not horrible. Fav Song: Mysterious Ways Least Fav Song: So Cruel

It's weird, when this came out, it felt like a huge departure for U2, maybe because the music press said it was. But in retrospect it doesn't seem that different from their previous stuff. One is decent enough, but I still don't really like Bonos voice.

U2 is a talented band, but they are not for me.

When I was a kid and this record came out I made an interpretative dance to Mysterious Ways. Some things are better forgotten - you’ve been warned. . . Baby.

I've listened to U2 a few times before thanks to being an Apple user. They have a good sound, and I found a few songs I enjoyed lyrically. It wasn't a bad album, but it didn't excite me either. It's not one I would revisit at any point. Unfortunately, I think due to overexposure I'm just a bit bored by them now. Apple ruined U2 for me.

idgaf!

in the words of U2, "it's alright, it's alright, it's alright."

Terrible; Bono's caterwauling is particularly grating. The production in this album is slightly improved from Joshua Tree, inching out of a 1 rating.

Classic & light / not my flavour of rock

alveg fínt, það var samt ekkert lag sem mér fannst eitthvað spes

# Album Name: Achtung Baby # Artist: U2 # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Generally a poor album. Lots of mediocre vocal and guitar on this thing. Not sure what they were thinking. "One" was the odd one out. Genuinely a great song. The rest of the album was below par. Im still not convinced on U2's legendary status. # Top Tunes: One # Would I listen to it again? Dont think so.

A lot of boring background music rock with a few bangers mixed in

This album has aged terribly. It was huge when it came out, but it sounds so small now. Weak melodies, safe chord progressions, busy bass guitar, passionless guitar, and Bono singing like a drunken hack at karaoke night. I'm surprised at how amateur the band sounds, even though they had long been professionals by this time. Boring and nearly talentless.

I never knew this was a cultural phenomenon until much later, but I still harbor unfettered hatred for U2 from their stunt with iTunes. Coercively listening to music is never pleasant and I can't overcome my disdain for their sound. Even if I try to be partial, this would never be greater than 3/5 because there's just something interesting missing from U2 - an edginess maybe? Stick to featuring on Kendrick albums, buddy.

Non gradisco granché gli u2

Who likes this stuff? Its boring, its not good. Yuck.

Maybe 1 decent song but the rest seemed like filler. Not sure how people are so up on this one

As previously mentioned, I have a complicated relationship with U2. I liked their early songs, full of righteous anger from four young men growing up in the middle of the troubles. However, their songs quickly became preachy and pompous, and they lost their edge (but not their Edge). The mega successful Joshua Tree had its moments, but as with this album the good bits are entirely down to the production work of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The high points are the singles ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ and ‘The Fly’, but there’s still a lot of tedious filler on here (I’m looking at you, ‘One’). Pay your taxes Bono.

Please excuse me, but The Beatles in the mid-60s were reinventing themselves, U2 are just turning themselves into a grey blob with this album. Their early work has an interesting edge, something to convey. The phoenix rising from their ashes is a worldwide phenomena, but bland (no texture, no taste, nothing).

there's a vast emptiness at the center of this music that I can't seem to shake. given that Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite (among others) are handling production duties, this should be an easy shoe-in for me. and yet, it's U2 themselves that hold me back from a fuller enjoyment and, in fact, actively grind my gears. granted, there weren't many rock albums that sounded like this in 1991. it's a grandiose experimental sound involving a lot of electronics, strings, and other "recording studio as an instrument" layers. at times, I almost found myself captured by Achtung Baby just off of the pure textural thrill that sometimes comes through on songs like "Until the End of the World" or "Zoo Station," but then I started paying attention to the actual songwriting again. that's where it all came crumbling down. these songs are dreadfully boring. the rock instrumentation at play (y'know, the actual band) is utterly sterile. the producers and extra bells/whistles get all the best moments. Bono's voice (specifically his grating falsetto, a defining feature for him on this LP) is among the most punchable I've ever heard. The Edge's guitar tones are among some of the least edgy (and most pillowy) in all of rock music. the only interesting layer of stuff coming from the members of U2 themselves is Larry Mullen Jr.'s drums. this was very nearly my second DNF for this series. U2's music, especially this album and The Joshua Tree, reek of a kind of pomposity that simply doesn't feel earned. there's this feeling I get like the band thought they were making the hottest shit any rock band had yet thought of, and yet the final results are so tepid, predictable and uninteresting. not to mention how cloying the absolute worst moments are. fun fact: "One," which has become an anthem for social justice causes in the last few decades, is actually just a song where Bono negs a woman he made up. stop it! get some help! decent 3/10.

how. how do you put together a group of four pretty talented musicians, get production from Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, and Flood, and make something so... meh. like, i think this is it, right? this is what proves that good art is more than the sum of its parts, that and supergroups. prestige-era U2 sound like a supergroup of people who you don't know and are just expected to know already. and you know what else they sound like? CHRISTIAN ROCK. i'm familiar with the South Park gag of writing love songs and just replacing any mention of a woman with Jesus and God -- U2 are doing it backwards. look: "[He's] slippy You're sliding down [He'll] be there when you hit the ground It's alright, it's alright, it's alright [He] moves in mysterious ways It's alright, it's alright, it's alright [He] moves in mysterious ways, oh" - "Mysterious Ways" "Gonna run to you, run to you, run to you [Jesus] be still I'm gonna run to you, run to you, run to you [Jesus] I will" - "Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World" "No, nothing makes sense Nothing seems to fit I know you'd hit out If you only knew who to hit 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 'Cause I need it now" - "Acrobat" i didn't even need to change that last one. to cap things off, another reference: you know that episode of Regular Show with the Every Meat Burrito? it's got like 90 different exotic meats on it, and Mordecai, Rigby, and co. gotta go rent a police beater that still has a criminal hiding in the shag carpeting. it's a great episode. anyway, they finally get the burrito that they've been hyped for the entire episode, and the first thing Rigby says when he bites in is: "huh. tastes like chicken." this album tastes like chicken. make of that what you will.

U2? Not 4Me.

Not a u2 fan, best songs are the singles. Would nott listen again!

Not a big U2 guy and this album did nothing to change that.

The songs I recognised didn’t sound the same as the big music video or radio productions, I wondered if there was a rights issue ir re-recording so I ended up on the u2 Reddit page, when it was proclaimed as the greatest thing ever and to doubt that was insanity. Colour me insane, because this was a bit bland.

Nothing interesting about this album at all. Super sleeper music. Best - ??? Worst - ??? 2.50/5

Pretty fun

It feels like I listened to multiple genres throughout this album, very inconsistent.

Not a huge U2 fan. So acknowledging my Bias.

Sounds like a Diet Coldplay album. I didn't see that one coming at all. Favorite Track: "One".

Ugh whatever

Idc

I was surprised about the modern sound considering when this album got released. It still didn’t really entertain me and I really had a boring time listening to this.

Peak mid

Pretty inane stuff. Sonically pleasing but overstayed it's welcome.

It's amazing how a girl can affect a score.

It’s okay. Nothing is objectively bad, but just not very interesting either. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again

I didn't hate it - this album doesn't justify that large of an emotional response. I certainly don't want to hear it again.

Surprisingly listenable despite having to hear Bono the whole way through.

Had a tought time deciding how to rate this one. On one hand I don't like U2 very much, they always seemed bland and boring, with unimaginative melodies and this "wall of sound" that they create with effects. This kind of ruins the musical experience because of several reasons. One being it removes sound stage and imaging out of the equation, which makes the songs really boring to listen to, because there is no feeling of space and coexistance of frequencies and different instruments which are supposed to create the song together. On the other hand there are some famous songs on this album, the band have achieved significant mainstream success, and the songs aren't bad per se, there is just not that much positive I can say about them. During listening to the album, I figured out that all of their hits are actually just songs which have a melodic chorus, where the vocals create the actual melody, and not the instruments. So people just remember those few words of the chorus, which are honestly, sometimes pretty good. Was between a 2 and a 3, giving it a 2 in the end.

After an off-putting opener, U2 settles into their sound nicely on “Even Better Than The Real Thing”. “One” is a very simple, timeless hit that can still be appreciated to this day. “Mysterious Ways”, on the other hand, to me is largely overrated and shes not as well. Everything in between is kinda just ho-hum. This whole album is a blueprint for bands like Radiohead to take and experiment with / iterate on.

what's going on

Bit mid Not very interesting

Another band who would be a lot more my style if they had a different front man.

It's U2. It's deeply U2. If you like U2, you'll like this. If you don't, this ain't gonna change your mind.

Phony

meh. Not U2s finest, by far. It was a new sound and expanded them. Has a few hits (loosely defined), but did little for me.

Only really cared for One, not amazing

I legit knew 2 U2 songs before this. And now I knowore than 2 songs but probably like 4 songs now. It was alright. Started off strong IMHO but then it gradually descended into something I kinda didn't care for. I did like the instrumentals for a few of the songs, loved the industrial drums type sound a few times but overall I liked the instrumentals. Bono's voice is just... okay. It felt more annoying, cloying and trying too hard. Maybe I just don't like Bono lol Fave Songs: - Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses - The Fly (I think it was sunny that day) - Acrobat (the drums on this are so Tool vibes idk why) For Love Is Blindness, I prefer the Jack version. Not sorry.

Decent from a band I truly dislike

boring

I've always thought I disliked U2, turns out it's Bono who I don't care for. There's a lot of cool intros and interesting guitar tones and solos, but then Bono's preachy whispering vocals come in and it kind of loses me. I imagine this is a good album if you enjoy U2, but for me it was a bit of a slug to get through

Ehh, it’s ok. Not a big U2 guy, and their 80’s stuff is better in my opinion. Perfectly ok middle of the road album that I was ready to be done with before the nearly hour long run time. 2.5 ⭐️ that is rounding down. I have not forgotten about how hard it was to get rid of that dumb Songs of Innocence album these cunts forced onto everyone’s IPhone back in the day. Not without my consent, Bono!