Which One ?

13 Sep 2011353

Twelve timeless tracks, twenty years old next month. But which is the one song from Achtung Baby that will always have a special place in your life ?

The single releases from the album colonised the airwaves in the early 1990's while tracks like Ultraviolet  and Until The End of the World have become live mainstays.

The Fly will always signal the moment when The Joshua Tree started toppling, Mysterious Ways has that unforgettable groove and One... what else is there to say about One?

But there are twelve tracks on this album and maybe your own Achtung Baby moment is none of these.

Which one song will always make it onto your U2 greatest hits collection - and why does it means so much to you ?

Who does it make you think of? Where were you when you first heard it? What is it about for you...  and why can you never let it go?


Comments
353
You must be a logged-in member to add comments.
Edwin
Zoo Station
I'm ready I'm ready for the gridlock I'm ready... to take it to the street I'm ready for the shuffle Ready for the deal Ready to let go of the steering wheel I'm ready Ready for the crush
musicabona
Talk like this and act like that
I remember listening to Achtung Baby for the first time sometime after coming home from school. It had been a dark and grey November day and and in the early evening I found myself in my room holding the new U2 album in my hands. I turned off the lights, lay down on my bed, closed my eyes and was extremely curious and thrilled to hear the whole album for the very first time. I was fascinated by all the new colours that had expanded U2;s sonic possibilities, but from the first listen there was one song that reached me on an emotional level that is hard to describe with words: Acrobat. I remember being totally stunned by its agitated guitar sounds and vivid drums, it was truly one of the darkest pieces I had ever heard at this time and it made me enter a new world full of mystery, imagination and creativity. The music came from a gloomy place and for me the lyrics impressively captured all the inner struggles the band had to go through at this time. The language U2 used was very different from their previous albums, but digging a bit deeper I found the whole intensity of spirituality and yearning for God;s comfort once again. The line "Yeah, I;d break bread and wine/If there was a church I could receive in" perfectly expressed that yearning I also feel. Everybody, including myself, frequently goes through periods of inner conflicts, having to "talk like this and act like that". This amazing song has been like an echo of some of my personal experiences for many times and this is one reason why I will never let it go.
kmiculich
It's no secret at all
The Fly & Zoo Station
Avion Espia
For me it´s Acrobat.
Don´t let the bastards grind you down. As simple as that. All songs are great thou...
Yogic
I Love One....
One is U2 Soul Food.... : ).
smiller1794
Its No Secret At ALL.
No doubt "The Fly" because it was the song that introduced me to the reinvented U2. Plus I think its great LIVE.
GRANMOF
From the depths of my soul ... "ONE".
I was only 14 when "ACHTUNG BABY" appeared and it was a very important album not only in those years but in all my life... I know the place, I know the moment but , and as the first time I heard it, I still feeling chills when I heard "One" and "Love is blidness". Life is not always as we expected, but I have always found in them comfort. They have been in my good moments, but also in my bad days. Today, as always, U2 forever. Thank you.
Anam
Judas
Hearing Until the End of the World instantly transports me to my 16-year-old self. Great tune, great movie. My earnest wish is that the next record is equally great lads.
JerryU3
Who's gonna ride your wild horses. and
It sumed up the album itself.When you listen to Salome and figure out how they came to do this song it makes you fall in love even more with the tune. A song that I am yet to listen to live. Happy Birthday Achtung Baby
karl20
karl20
has to be zoo station i remember sitting outside wembley 93 and they sound checked it believe me it shock wembley i thought there and then this was going to be one hell of a gig and it was and i remember waiting outside OUR PRICE remember that music store and buying AB later i got the advertising posters and cut outs which i still have cant wait for oct 31st karl
daffi
ONE
i'll allways remember the first time i heard it. I put it on repeat on the cd , and heard it on loops all night long!!!!
tina82
I'm gonna run to you... be still
Tryi'n tothrow your arms around the world reminds me of my first and last TRUE love, me and my baby used to listen to this song in each other arms. And each time I hear this song it's like she's still here, in my arms. Achtung Baby is the soundtrck of my whole life, I've grown with this wonderful, irrepetible masterpiece and I will die with it.
robertito525i
Which to choose?
All of them!! It is the best album ever. Depending on the time, day or season it can be The Fly, Acrobat, One and any of them. So Cruel, had special meaning for a while. It fit a relationship so perfectly, Her skin is pale like God's only dove Screams like an angel for your love Then she makes you watch her from above And you need her like a drug. What more can you say!!
504jumper
So Cruel
This is U2's best album and my favorite album. These were 12 perfect songs on an amazing album. To quote VH-1: Legends, "The hottest band of the 80s, became the coolest band of the 90s." With "One" and "Mysterious Ways" getting heavy airplay for the longest time, I found myself being drawn to songs that didn't get as much attention-- by radio stations. "So Cruel" is a beautiful song and is right up there with "One".
Chrismarsh
Baby baby baby
"When I was all messed up. And I had opera in my head. Your love was a light bulb. Hanging over my bed" ... sums up my teenage years and how this album got me through them...
Robin1322
On your knees boy
Mysterious Ways was my very first introduction to U2, therefore, it will always be the song that resonates the loudest for me from Achtung.
alanu2
Until the End of the World
I woke up the day before their concert in Mexico City singing Strangers in the night... That exact day Bono ask "Where is Frank?" and starts to sing it!!! what a snippet!!! The whole structure of the song is fantastic! Close your eyes and hear the solo.
pedro_nqn
UTEOTW
strong music ... beautiful lyrics
Jase
Gun to the head time
The record as a whole is the best album of all time, the songs mine new sonic colours and emotional terrain. Ultraviolet, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Zoo Station, Until the End of the World, Acrobat, what an embarrassment of riches! Everything on the album is incredible and then the live versions of those tracks are something else altogether. If a gun were put to my head to choose though I would have to go with One and also put it as the best song ever written. Thank you U2. This album has been an indispensable part of my life for 20 years.
Sailos
Ultra Violet...
20 years ago.. Listening to the radio in bed one Sunday night i heard a crazy sound that made me wonder what these boys were up to. What was 'The Fly'? What had they dreamed up? The sound of the tree being cut down? Yikes! But why? I like the tree! Well that burning star that fell from the sky brought a new sound. And the sound grew, and became a part of me, burning it's opera in my head, until it's love was a light bulb, Hanging over my bed. Ten years later i was still finding new sounds in the tracks, panned to the left or right, subtle yet strong ...and the result of dropped drum sticks. Achtung Baby is the sound that drowned out the world. It's a tough choice sometimes... choosing a favourite.. How do you choose from 'the baby'. Its all so good! In the end you just gotta let it choose you. So i did. ...Ultra violet (light my way).
Grande 3:16
The Fly
EASILY The Fly
one
has to be the best song of all time......
u2fanster
Until the End of the World
Until the End of the World was a song that I loved on the album but when I heard it live on The Zoo TV tour for the first time it blew me away. Edge's guitar solo on the live version is fantastic. Ultraviolet was also always one of my favorites. Just like many other people have said on here, Thank You for playing it live on the 360 tour and Bono, I loved the jacket, so cool.
the_silvs
The Fly
Made me want to learn guitar!
RichardHayter
To talk like this... And act like that..
This is almost the impossible question, how can you pick one over another, it's just genius from beginning to end, "The Fly" is an awesome record, the first single, and yet for me the weakest on the album, so just how good is it for that to be the weakest.. One, Ultraviolet, So Cruel, my thoughts in answering this have changed so many times in the last 30 min... But one only, going for "Acrobat"... It's all of us, we all juggle, were all capable of proclaiming one thing and being another.. It's dark and yet so enlightening, if I'm starting to feel low, I put this on and it helps lift me out which I guess is kinda odd... Maybe it's the line telling me to not let the bastards get me down...
babe2001
love whole album
I love the whole album. If I had to just pick one it would be "So Cruel". I can listen to it over and over. The lyrics and the beat are great. Also seeing ultraviolet done live at U2 360 tour was amazing too.
ze0na
ONE
Still a powerful song for me....although I love every song in this album.
MBalazs
its easy
i make an Achtung Baby.flac which is 1 song, Achtung Baby :DD
maria2200
LOVE IS BLINDNESS
Just a perfect song...
magsieboy
Acrobat
One of the darkest but greatest U2 songs, it beats even Exit, Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree are U2 masterpieces, years before their time, we are lucky the band has remained the same for over 30 years, easily beats The beatles and Stones as U2 have never released any crap music and they say if they do its time to quit, also the best live band ever.
   Newer comments    241 - 270 of 353    Older comments

RECENT NEWS

2 Nov, 2024

Apply for your seat at an exclusive advance DOLBY ATMOS playback of How To Re-assemble An Atomic Bomb.

24 Oct, 2024

Released today. From How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb. Watch the Lyric Video.

4
21 Oct, 2024

Into our gallery of videos from when How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb first arrived. 

9 Oct, 2024

 Subscribers Special
First of a two part conversation with Jacknife Lee, shot at Sphere in Las Vegas.

4

Related Topic