Achtung Baby was an important release for U2, a band who had been stung by the reception to their previous release. The less than enthusiastic reception to Rattle & Hum led the band to question if their American-influenced rock was going to continue to be as successful for them as it had been over the past ten years and to consider altering their sonic landscape. And that they did. Achtung Baby completely uprooted the band's sound and pointed it towards and more European, Bowie-esque electronic sound, all while maintaining the solid song structure which had served them so well up to this point. The resultant effort was, arguably, U2's best ever album.
The album is full of raw sounding guitar effects, something that the Edge hadn't really experimented too much with up to this point but would go on to be one of his defining characteristics over the next twenty years. The album is layered with sound effects, electro beats, distorted vocals (like that of album opener 'Zoo Station') but, crucially, they're never overplayed, as they were on 1996's Pop.
Bono's flair for songwriting and, as a whole, the bands knack for arrangement is apparent many times over. 'Even Better Than The Real Thing' is as satisfying a pure rock n' roll song as U2 have ever released and 'One', with its raw visceral imagery is an obvious highpoint. Others like 'The Fly' and 'Mysterious Ways' are now, twenty years later, all part of our collective rock consciousness whether we like it or not.
U2 clearly took a chance on Achtung Baby. They were already one of the biggest bands on the planet in advance of its release and took a chance by wildly altering their range and output, but the gamble clearly paid off. It seems that now, in 2011, U2 might have to consider this approach once again.
