Time is a Train: 20 Years of Achtung Baby
"I'm ready, ready for the laughing gas/I'm ready, ready for what's next." These opening words ushered U2 into the 90's, complete with Bono's distorted voice and the industrial sounds of the band behind him. After 20 years it still sounds like nothing else out there and it signaled a new phase and a new decade for the four Irish rockers. Achtung Baby was described by Bono as "the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree" and the heavy European sounds of the album couldn't be further from the sound that made them famous in the 80's. I won't get too deep here; I just wanted to talk about why this album is brilliant and why everyone should hear it at least once. Achtung Baby is also the record that nearly did the band in. After the worldwide success of The Joshua Tree , the band followed it up with the album and film Rattle and Hum. It was met with mixed critical reception and the band began looking for ways to reinvent themselv...