Quite possibly the most ambitious and certainly the most comprehensive reissue project ever for a stand-alone album, the 20th anniversary remastered edition of Achtung Baby comes in no less than five different physical versions – from the basic album, as it was originally released, to multi-disc sets containing a raft of b-sides, bonus tracks, re-mixes, outtakes and “other stuff” including a full album of demo and early versions of the final 1991 track-listing. Put it another way: depending on your budget and your appetite for the extras, you can either opt for a no frills, one-disc version of U2’s seventh studio album or a 10-disc Uber Deluxe Edition that certainly doesn’t come cheap. Not counting the DVD material bundled with several of the packages on offer (spread over four discs) this amounts to no less than 86 different versions of the songs from U2’s most creative period!
Where to start? The basic 12-tracker may be enough for the casual fan or those wanting a better quality version of the original. More than any other U2 album before or since, Acthung Baby has stood the test of time, its futuristic, clubby rhythms and post-modern industrial textures, not to mention great songs, ensuring its longevity. This is an album without a sell-by date if ever there was one. Beginning with ‘The Fly’ (in retrospect, the least obvious choice for the lead single) The Joshua Tree spawned four other hits in the impeccable shapes of ‘Mysterious Ways’, ‘One’, ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ and ‘Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses’. Also worth revisiting are the “deeper” cuts such as ‘Zoo Station’, ‘Love is Blindness’ and ‘Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World’. Soundwise it’s a clear improvement over the earlier version. Though the album was well recorded, produced, engineered and mastered at the time, the re-master is punchier, with an extended dynamic range and a wider soundstage.
However, most fans will want to investigate at least some of the bonus material and there are reasonably priced versions such as the 2CD Deluxe edition, which includes additional b-sides and bonus tracks like ‘Mysterious Ways (Pefecto Remix)’, ‘The Lounge Fly Mix’ and the band’s versions of Lou Reed’s ‘Satellite of Love’, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Fortunate Son’ and the Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’.
For analogue junkies out there, a four-disc LP set (in sexy blue translucent vinyl) includes the original album over two discs and a double collection of re-mixes. Things get serious with the Super Deluxe 6 CD + 4 DVD package which comprises the original album along with its sister record Zooropa, two discs of remixes, a disc of b-sides and other stuff plus, wait for it, Kindergarten: The Alternative Achtung Baby, which contains the entire track-listing in early versions and demo form. Is it worth hearing? Definitely – the pared down version of ‘One’ alone is worth the price of admission while the work-in-progress version of ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ is a fascinating insight into the creation of this masterpiece in the studio.
The four DVD’s include the recently broadcast documentary on the making of Achtung Baby, From The Sky Down, plus 18 official video clips from the period, a disc of bonus clips and “shorts” and the entire ZOOTV LIVE FROM SYDNEY concert set featuring performances of twenty-three songs. Finally, for those of you who’ve money to spare – and time on your hands! – the limited edition Uber Deluxe version includes all of the above plus a box of goodies including the Achtung Baby double vinyl album, five clear 7” vinyl singles in their original sleeves, 16 art prints taken from the original album sleeve, an 84-page hardback book, a copy of Propaganda magazine, four badges, a sticker sheet, and a pair of Bono’s trademark ‘The Fly’ sunglasses.
Phew! Truly the last word in Achtung Baby – and a benchmark for future anniversary editions!