U2
Achtung Baby

THE REVIEW

After the success of "The Joshua Tree" (28 million copies sold to date) and the excellent reception of "Rattle and Hum" (14 million to date), U2 withdrew from the scene. The period from 1990 to 1991 was terrible for the four from Dublin. There were multiple risks of disbanding. Bono effectively described these two years as "our effort to climb down from the Joshua tree"; Edge, on the other hand, described it as "our struggle to deflate the myth balloon created by Joshua." This reaction to the myth of "The Joshua Tree," which brought them to the brink of a nervous breakdown, resulted in this magnificent album, one of the most beautiful ever - for me, the best album of 1991 after "Nevermind."

I remember perfectly when I put it in the CD player. I press play and find myself faced with a song that, in hindsight, means: if you’re looking for another Joshua, you’ve come to the wrong place. I don't like the song, with that muffled voice giving me the impression of a pathetic desire to astonish at any cost. What a drag, what a bore. I almost want to turn off the stereo, but I give them another chance. I hear a fairly simple riff that I don't like much; I'm about to curse them, but after 20 seconds the song clicks, and I realize it's not bad at all. Then comes Edge's solo, who isn't Steve Vai, but knows well how to enchant me with his sound and brilliant simplicity. Here, however, the sound isn't the metallic U2 that I've loved and continue to love; but it’s a nice round of notes anyway. The song concludes; it's not a masterpiece, but I liked it a lot. Okay, I won't turn off the CD player. Then comes the sound of drumsticks... From beginning to end, I'm enchanted, until those poignant notes from Edge arrive, with the classic U2 sound, and that divine vocalization from Bono that brings tears. No comments are needed. One is more than a song, and it's understood by the way it was born. One day, amidst depression, ready to quit the band, Edge started playing; Bono, struck by the sound, improvised on a table. One was born, a gift from Heaven, with which God told them not to give up and not to disband. It was One that gave them the confidence to write other beautiful songs and the awareness that the best doesn’t always belong to the past.

I tell myself: my goodness, what a mistake to place this song third. The rest won’t be as beautiful. They’ve killed the album. Never was my arrogance more misguided. A cacophonic sound arrives. I tell myself: another alternative nonsense like the first track. But it isn't so. It begins with the toms, and one of the most beautiful pieces ever recorded by U2 starts. A sober melody, but one that gives you goosebumps. It seems like Michael Stipe. Edge does his duty but with sobriety, so as not to disturb Bono's voice with his glimmers. Then he takes his space with an excellent solo. Then Bono's "abyssal" vocalization introduces the third verse and the conclusion. Wow. What's next?

Two masterpieces in a row weren't enough. The third arrives, this time a masterpiece of emotion. Sweet melody, and hard guitar in the background. Then at 3:18, that goosebumps-inducing change, and then Edge preparing with his ding-ding Bono's voice imploring "Don't turn around, don't look back." I'm floored.

"So Cruel" arrives, which isn't "October" as a piano sonata, but it has nothing to envy from "Running to Stand Still." Perhaps a bit too long.

Again a riff, this time nicer than the second track. This time the strange melody of the verses dominates, followed by Bono's splendid falsetto playing with paradoxical and uncomfortable phrases that shouldn’t be said: "Consciousness sometimes is a plague. Everyone kills inspiration, and then sings of its pain." It's the fly. Edge's solo arrives: when delay becomes art. Another jewel.

The two following passages are a bit more pop, but two minor songs on an album are tolerable - after all, even in "Sgt. Pepper" there are two lesser songs like "A Little Help from my Friends" and "Lovely Rita." We approach the grand finale.

There’s a splendid falsetto from Bono. "Ultraviolet" develops on conventional ideas, but the superb melody and Edge's "rhythmic" accompaniment make the song memorable. Perhaps not an absolute masterpiece, but undoubtedly a minor masterpiece, as the following stunning song is a minor masterpiece: "Acrobat." I'm delighted, but I don't know what awaits me.

There’s a funeral organ. The sober drums and the stunning piano introduce Bono's splendid singing. Then Edge enters with his indefinable guitar. Then Bono's melancholy final vocalization that shakes. This song talks about Edge's marriage failure. Bono asked Edge to do his best with the guitar. While Bono sang, Edge, listening to the words, began to cry, started playing his pain, and even broke a string. The restrained anger for the end of his love is in that solo that Bono defined as "incredible" (see Wikipedia English version for this song's history).

This album is the "Sgt. Pepper" of U2. There's no album with so many splendid songs side by side, though perhaps the major masterpieces (aside from some episodes) lie elsewhere. The balance between the desire for newness and good taste is at the origin of this jewel. Even if "The Joshua Tree," perhaps, is superior, the depth of this album is superior to the Tree, which, though a masterpiece, is a bit too easy in some episodes.

After the release of "Achtung Baby," a journalist asked Bono: "Do you realize it might disappoint many?" Bono replied: "I don't care. I’m sure the true U2 fans will like it. Maybe we'll lose the pop-kids, but we don't need them." A sign of the great sincerity with which this album was made: without thinking of the audience and the sales. It's cliché to say it, but how many beautiful albums could be made if composed with this inner freedom.

Thank you, U2, you've enchanted us.