Achtung Baby!

Popmartijn

force-10 wrote:

Yeah, at least they warned their fans at the time. Bob dylan just went electric without notice in a matter of 7 months!

Well, to be precise, Bob Dylan already went electric in 1962 with the release of his single Mixed Up Confusion. But, just like the re-invention that U2 did (signalling the change with God Part II and Night And Day from the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue), no-one was really paying attention to these clues.

tremors

Newch91 wrote:

tremors wrote:

I didn't know that about the Edge, and the songwriting - but that makes a lot of sense. I think Achtung Baby has some of the best lyrics and songwriting of any album I know actually. Gonna have to give this baby a spin before breakfast!

I definitely agree with you about the lyrics. This album may be Bono's best.



"Time is a train, makes the future the past"

Was listening this morning, and thinking how strong the lyrics were, especially with the phrasing bono gives them to emphasise certain parts - some of the echoes, and whispers of lines - his voice throughout the album really emphasises some key lyrics. The way he sings 'slide down the surface of things', and the whole 'deeper I spin verse' - gets me every single listen. Without doubt some of bono's finest delivery of his songwriting on this album.

restlesssoul

was one of my first CDs ever, christmas 1991 or 2. Perfect album agreed on that. I remember the phone lines in vancouver went down when the tickets for this tour went on sale. Seeing them on saturday, would love the Fly or zoo station...

Newch91

I love having the Amazon Prime/student discount. Free two-day shipping and no taxes! Ordered ZOO TV on Saturday and checked the tracking and it's out for delivery today!!

Now I know what I'll be watching tonight.

Newch91

ZOO TV DVD arrived today and I just finished watching it...

WOW

That might've been the best concert DVD I've ever seen by any band. Tough to believe that was probably going to be their last show ever as a band. "Love Is Blindness" blew me away and The Edge absolutely tore up that solo!! I found a new appreciation for "Dirty Day" after that performance. "Bullet..." was phenomenal. I also loved "Running to Stand Still" and the lead up to "Streets".

I can't wait to watch all the extras that came with this and I am definitely watching the show again real soon.

Whoever saw the band on the ZOO TV tour are some of the luckiest people ever.

force-10

Only the intro and zoo station alone had blown my mind the first time i saw it. Great entertainment there in that dvd.

Newch91

force-10 wrote:

Only the intro and zoo station alone had blown my mind the first time i saw it. Great entertainment there in that dvd.

Yeah, that was pretty awesome. "The Fly" straight up kicked Sydney's and my ass. The Edge blew everyone away on that song; well, in general, the whole show.

Newch91

And people say The Edge is overrated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybU084Cymd8

direwolf74

I've never understood why people think the Edge is overrated. You don't need to "shred" or show off your noodling skills to be a great guitar player. To quote Bruce Springsteen:

"There are only a handful of guitar stylists who can create a world with their instruments, and he’s one of them. The Edge’s guitar playing creates enormous space and vast landscapes. It is a thrilling and heartbreaking sound that hangs over you like the unsettled sky".

I also love this comment from an unidentified Youtube poster: "If aliens exist and if they land on earth, Edge’s guitar can talk to them."

Newch91

direwolf74 wrote:

I've never understood why people think the Edge is overrated. You don't need to "shred" or show off your noodling skills to be a great guitar player. To quote Bruce Springsteen:

"There are only a handful of guitar stylists who can create a world with their instruments, and he’s one of them. The Edge’s guitar playing creates enormous space and vast landscapes. It is a thrilling and heartbreaking sound that hangs over you like the unsettled sky".

I also love this comment from an unidentified Youtube poster: "If aliens exist and if they land on earth, Edge’s guitar can talk to them."

I definitely agree. It's people who listen to metal that say that and only think a great guitarist is someone who shreds. I think it's more about emotion and the way you put your emotion into a song, like his solo on "Love Is Blindness" from Zoo TV.

I love that Bruce quote. He's definitely right about that.

I love that comment and remember seeing it, but can't remember what video it was from.

rick1zoo2

When they began as a band, they really didn't know how to play instruments. Edge and his brother basically built a guitar. The band started with Larry posting a note at school looking for people to join a band and they gathered in his kitchen to 'rehearse'.

I like that The Edge basically figured out how to play the guitar and continues to create new and different sounds. Sometimes it sounds like there are two or three guitars playing at the same time. I know he loops a lot of the sounds, uses echos and a lot of effects. Some say that is not really playing, but I think of all that as part of creating the music and all those effects extensions of the instrument.

Edge was featured in the Documentary: It Might Get Loud, and that showed a little bit of his technique, and I have seen short clips and read things about how he creates some of his sounds, but I would really love to see in more detail just how he does it for certain songs.

I remember the one thing I saw, he played notes without any effects, it was amazing just how few notes he actually played, then adding the effects it turned into a whole different thing.

Newch91

rick1zoo2 wrote:

When they began as a band, they really didn't know how to play instruments. Edge and his brother basically built a guitar. The band started with Larry posting a note at school looking for people to join a band and they gathered in his kitchen to 'rehearse'.

I like that The Edge basically figured out how to play the guitar and continues to create new and different sounds. Sometimes it sounds like there are two or three guitars playing at the same time. I know he loops a lot of the sounds, uses echos and a lot of effects. Some say that is not really playing, but I think of all that as part of creating the music and all those effects extensions of the instrument.

Edge was featured in the Documentary: It Might Get Loud, and that showed a little bit of his technique, and I have seen short clips and read things about how he creates some of his sounds, but I would really love to see in more detail just how he does it for certain songs.

I remember the one thing I saw, he played notes without any effects, it was amazing just how few notes he actually played, then adding the effects it turned into a whole different thing.

Yep, knew all that. I really enjoyed his segments on "It Might Get Loud" and learning more about his style. I think there was a part where he showed "Elevation" and what he does. That was cool.

Have you seen these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gpe5cAkIo0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpVOPWLg ... re=related

tremors

The guitar playing on Joshua Tree is spectacular. I don't claim to be a great authority on all of U2, or the edge - but on that album his guitar playing surely competes with any of the great guitar albums, in terms of its impact on the listener, and how much it carries the songs

Newch91

tremors wrote:

The guitar playing on Joshua Tree is spectacular. I don't claim to be a great authority on all of U2, or the edge - but on that album his guitar playing surely competes with any of the great guitar albums, in terms of its impact on the listener, and how much it carries the songs

Agreed. His solo on "With or Without You" carries so much more emotion than one of those 80s ballad solos. He did the complete opposite and went with so little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkgvIPpdboA

Streets and Bullet are also really good examples of his playing. And his guitar on "Mothers of the Disappeared" accommodates the song and has a sad feel to an already sad song.

tremors

Newch91 wrote:

tremors wrote:

The guitar playing on Joshua Tree is spectacular. I don't claim to be a great authority on all of U2, or the edge - but on that album his guitar playing surely competes with any of the great guitar albums, in terms of its impact on the listener, and how much it carries the songs

Agreed. His solo on "With or Without You" carries so much more emotion than one of those 80s ballad solos. He did the complete opposite and went with so little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkgvIPpdboA

Streets and Bullet are also really good examples of his playing. And his guitar on "Mothers of the Disappeared" accommodates the song and has a sad feel to an already sad song.

I just love all the shimmering rhythm guitar - so central to what gives that album it's unique feel. The guitars and the bass.... they manage to create such an amazing mood across the whole album. I think I gotta listen to that right now! That's the trouble with coming into the other music section, I always end up having to log off and play something!

rick1zoo2

tremors wrote:

Newch91 wrote:

tremors wrote:

The guitar playing on Joshua Tree is spectacular. I don't claim to be a great authority on all of U2, or the edge - but on that album his guitar playing surely competes with any of the great guitar albums, in terms of its impact on the listener, and how much it carries the songs

Agreed. His solo on "With or Without You" carries so much more emotion than one of those 80s ballad solos. He did the complete opposite and went with so little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkgvIPpdboA

Streets and Bullet are also really good examples of his playing. And his guitar on "Mothers of the Disappeared" accommodates the song and has a sad feel to an already sad song.

I just love all the shimmering rhythm guitar - so central to what gives that album it's unique feel. The guitars and the bass.... they manage to create such an amazing mood across the whole album. I think I gotta listen to that right now! That's the trouble with coming into the other music section, I always end up having to log off and play something!

exactly! I have been listening to U2 for a very long time, and each album has its own 'mood' and places me in a certain setting when I listen to it. Joshua Tree is very much about America, especially the desert out west. Unforgettable Fire is the USA. Achtung Baby and Zooropa are Europe, Berlin, very edgy. Pop for me is a very hot humid day, No Line on The Horizon is Morroco, Noth Africa, Mediterranean. I could go on. But a lot of the mood and feel for each album is created by Edge's guitar along with the lyrics.

Cool thing about U2 is that they do not try to do the same album each time. They purposely move on to new things and Edge is a major part of that.

I love Pearl Jam, but I did not get to know PJ music by listening to the albums, I listen mainly to live bootlegs, so I don't get the same sense of placing each song in it's album, nor do I equate an album with a certain mood or setting. I can't tell which album a song comes from because PJ's sound is similar throughout their albums (for the most part). And there is nothing wrong with that at all.

bburpee

I don't even like U2 and I used to LOOOVE this album.

It's not heralded because it's not as artistically pure as their previous work... like if Win Butler showed up on the next Arcade Fire album/tour singing a bunch of pop songs with a glittery jacket and slicked-back hair. Even if the album were amazing, there would still be some head-shaking and finger-wagging.*

*Not an intentional slight to Muse, whose latest album I quite like.

tremors

rick1zoo2 wrote:

tremors wrote:

I just love all the shimmering rhythm guitar - so central to what gives that album it's unique feel. The guitars and the bass.... they manage to create such an amazing mood across the whole album. I think I gotta listen to that right now! That's the trouble with coming into the other music section, I always end up having to log off and play something!

exactly! I have been listening to U2 for a very long time, and each album has its own 'mood' and places me in a certain setting when I listen to it. Joshua Tree is very much about America, especially the desert out west. Unforgettable Fire is the USA. Achtung Baby and Zooropa are Europe, Berlin, very edgy. Pop for me is a very hot humid day, No Line on The Horizon is Morroco, Noth Africa, Mediterranean. I could go on. But a lot of the mood and feel for each album is created by Edge's guitar along with the lyrics.

Cool thing about U2 is that they do not try to do the same album each time. They purposely move on to new things and Edge is a major part of that.

I love Pearl Jam, but I did not get to know PJ music by listening to the albums, I listen mainly to live bootlegs, so I don't get the same sense of placing each song in it's album, nor do I equate an album with a certain mood or setting. I can't tell which album a song comes from because PJ's sound is similar throughout their albums (for the most part). And there is nothing wrong with that at all.

I don't prize all of the U2 output as much as you do - but I own a lot of records, and love great albums - (I rarely watch tv or movies, I spend most of my spare time listening to albums), but for me both Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree are up there with the best albums I have heard. I am curious about people that run down U2, because I would say that any music lover that takes the time to listen to these albums should be able to find some great inspiration in them. I just listened to side 1 of Joshua Tree, and it was out of this world - it literally takes you to a whole other place.

Whilst I don't have the same deep appreciation for some of the other U2 albums (although I know Unforgettable Fire and Pop pretty well) - I do agree with you about them creating a very different sound and mood with each record. I'm going back to side 2 of Joshua Tree now, but I really find it hard to see how any music lover wouldn't appreciate it - I find Bono irritating, and kind of dislike the 'brand' of U2 - but Joshua Tree is right up there amongst the greatest records I own!

Rant over.

Popmartijn

Newch91 wrote:

rick1zoo2 wrote:

I like that The Edge basically figured out how to play the guitar and continues to create new and different sounds. Sometimes it sounds like there are two or three guitars playing at the same time. I know he loops a lot of the sounds, uses echos and a lot of effects. Some say that is not really playing, but I think of all that as part of creating the music and all those effects extensions of the instrument.

Edge was featured in the Documentary: It Might Get Loud, and that showed a little bit of his technique, and I have seen short clips and read things about how he creates some of his sounds, but I would really love to see in more detail just how he does it for certain songs.

I remember the one thing I saw, he played notes without any effects, it was amazing just how few notes he actually played, then adding the effects it turned into a whole different thing.

Yep, knew all that. I really enjoyed his segments on "It Might Get Loud" and learning more about his style. I think there was a part where he showed "Elevation" and what he does. That was cool.

I love that part. It always reminds me of a sketch Bill Bailey did about a failure at a U2 concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8dZwXnMrRU

Well, it appears that in real life The Edge is out-Bill Baileying Bill Bailey. Truth is stranger than fiction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHlU2ukrCoU

Newch91

Popmartijn wrote:

Newch91 wrote:

rick1zoo2 wrote:

I like that The Edge basically figured out how to play the guitar and continues to create new and different sounds. Sometimes it sounds like there are two or three guitars playing at the same time. I know he loops a lot of the sounds, uses echos and a lot of effects. Some say that is not really playing, but I think of all that as part of creating the music and all those effects extensions of the instrument.

Edge was featured in the Documentary: It Might Get Loud, and that showed a little bit of his technique, and I have seen short clips and read things about how he creates some of his sounds, but I would really love to see in more detail just how he does it for certain songs.

I remember the one thing I saw, he played notes without any effects, it was amazing just how few notes he actually played, then adding the effects it turned into a whole different thing.

Yep, knew all that. I really enjoyed his segments on "It Might Get Loud" and learning more about his style. I think there was a part where he showed "Elevation" and what he does. That was cool.

I love that part. It always reminds me of a sketch Bill Bailey did about a failure at a U2 concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8dZwXnMrRU

Well, it appears that in real life The Edge is out-Bill Baileying Bill Bailey. Truth is stranger than fiction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHlU2ukrCoU