Weakest Link: U2 "Achtung Baby" - Round 3

While I love most of Achtung Baby, I voted for Zoo Station and The Fly, my two least favorite tracks, as I have every round. I finally saw U2 on the Joshua Tree tour in 2017, where they did three tracks from Achtung Baby. I was a huge fan when Joshua Tree came out through Zooropa, and kind of fell off them after that. I couldn't afford tickets during my main period of fandom. I still remember when they came through on the Joshua Tree tour during my sophomore year of high school and this one guy managed to go in my class, and spent the next day rubbing people's noses in it. Nobody liked him anyway though.

 

"...Horses" & "Ultra..." again

Never.

 

Wow, had no idea people didn't like "Horses". I have a very deep-seated bond with that song. I saw the '92 show in Tempe AZ, I was 15, and in the third row, by myself (my friends hung back in the 10th row while I made my way towards the stage. The crowd was all standing on the folding chairs, there was a beautiful girl next to me wearing no shirt, just a blue bra that is forever etched into my brain. She kept losing her balance standing on the chair and grabbing on to me, and during Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses I guess she just decided eff it I'm just going to hold onto this guy cause she just wrapped both her arms around me, it was maybe the most beautiful moment of my 15 innocent years. So no, I'm not going to vote "Horses" off the island.

 

This is my second favorite album by them. Voted Horses, but won't vote any more on these songs.

 

I feel like I've let down the entire SHF community and will never overcome this horrifying sense of shame!

 

Probably because this isn't a U2 fan forum. You get all sorts of people in these polls, including those with only moderate interest in the artists in question.

Preferences among major fans are always gonna differ from casual fans...

 

Amnesty 1986 was also my first U2 show, and I agree 100% that the crowd was just rabid to see them. Seemed like half the crowd had U2 shirts or banners with them.

Don't think they played as well as you do, though. Kinda recall them seeming a bit off!

 

Horses only. I want no blood on my hands.

 

Me too! Whoever thinks this bridge is weak - or that this isn't one of the best songs on Achtung Baby - is listening to a different song than I am! The "turn around" section gives me goosebumps!

 

At the time, they could have sounded awful and I would have loved them anyway! I was at the show in Rosemont, and fangirl memories aside, I genuinely remember them sounding great. It could have been the beer, though.

 

Yup. Zoo TV was a mind-blower at the time. Just like you, I see it as one of my all-time favourite shows and I don't know what I'd give to relive that concert again.

 

To be clear, I enjoyed it. I don't think I viewed the performance as less than great until I watched it on TV a couple days later. That whole day was an endurance test for me!

I left VA at probably like 6AM to drive to NJ - without a ticket. I trolled the parking lot and found some women with a spare - and they were cute, too, so double cha-ching for 19-year-old me!

Looong day - got sunburned, rained on, and then still had to drive home after the show. Car died on the NJ Turnpike - had to get a jumpstart at a rest stop to make it home.

And it was damned worth it! U2 and the Police were the reward that came at the end of that whole thing!

 

Fly and Ultraviolet.

Dos eQuis: Saw them at the LA sports arena in April 1987 during their Joshua Tree tour. It was great---no frills, IIRC.

Bono announced at the beginning of the show, "We will play No Achtung Baby songs!!"
He was right.

 

Really tough. Went with Horses and Ultraviolet, even tho I love them both.

 

Went with Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Until the End of the World?!? I assume we're voting strictly on the album versions and not considering remixes / live versions. I enjoy the "Temple Bar Remix" of Horses more than the album version but not as much as the dance remixes for 'Even Better Than The Real Thing' and 'Mysterious Ways' so it got the heave-ho.

I guess I'm ok with Ultraviolet getting axed this round since I think I may like its sister song 'Lady With the Spinning Head' more plus I'm always disappointed now when they play the song live and don't use the lyric "Your love's like a lightbulb, it just goes over my head".

Not gonna count again how many times I've seen U2 live but I did enjoy one time during the Elevation tour when they decided to mix things up and play 5 tracks from Achtung Baby after the typical Elevation opener. The ZooTV tour was fun and all but this was better since it was so unexpected...

 

I love deep cuts... I wish they would play drowning man now that they finally played acrobat

 

I saw numerous shows on that tour, including the closer in the rock n roll mecca of Moncton NB... it was the tunes in that album...i never got the love for moment of surrender by the way, which closed most shows....

 

I never noticed they omit that line.hmmm. I love lady w spinning head too!!!

 

Zoo and World to go again.

Saw them on a beautiful late summer night at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison in September 1992. Great show. They played "Zoo Station", "The Fly", "Even Better Than The Real Thing", "Mysterious Ways", "One", "Until The End Of The World", and "Love Is Blindness" from AB.

 

This is a near impossible task...for years I’d say Zoo Station should go, but 2020 has changed my stance on that. It’s as good as everything else and sets the tone for the entire album.

I’m shocked that UV is on pace to go...it’s the most beloved “deep cut” in U2 fandom.

I chose The Fly and Even Better but it was certainly tough as hell.

 

Man. How is anyone voting off the Fly this early? Or Zoo Station?

While I’m not actually playing, The Fly would likely be the last song standing for me. And Zoo Station a possible runner up.

 

Always thought "Lady" had more in common with "The Fly" than "Ultraviolet"!

 

I think their masterpiece is: TJT, and will never be topped. AB was ok, always thought it was a bit overrated.

 

It's kind of a mix of both songs, but even its official full title is Lady With The Spinning Head (UV1)

"UV" being Ultraviolet.

 

Yeah, I can't argue that!

But not knowing that and just listening to the songs... I always heard "The Fly" mainly.

So there!