Ranking the Top 5 Songs on ‘Achtung Baby,’ U2’s Thrilling Change of Pace Album

U2 decided that they needed an image adjustment heading into the 1990s. After leading with earnestness for so long, they decided to let some humor and irony into the picture on Achtung Baby in 1991, while also dirtying up their sound a bit.

The result was an album that surprised even the band’s diehard fans in the best possible way. Here are the five songs that we feel rise above the rest on U2’s Achtung Baby.

5. “Zoo Station”

If you’re going to change things up a bit on a record, you need to make a statement early in the proceedings. U2 did just that with “Zoo Station,” a song full of askew angles and sonic question marks, so much so that you’re just never quite sure where it’s going to take you and if it’s going to get there on time. Luckily, it does by the time we get to chorus, which smooths things out ever so briefly before we head back into the verses and more chaos. This was the perfect choice for the opening track on what would be a big divergence for the band.

4. “Acrobat”

U2 rarely gets the chance to rock out in the way they do on this track. And it’s not in a macho, posturing kind of way. Instead, the Edge’s furious guitar assault, Larry Mullen Jr.’s pulverizing drums, and Adam Clayton’s tunneling bass are let loose on a track that’s unrelentingly urgent. Being able to maintain that intensity in the way they do is no small feat. Bono is in full bellow as well, and give him credit for lyrics that are trying to uplift somebody who’s hurting without skimping on the toughness that’s emblematic of the musical approach.

3. “So Cruel”

It’s telling that Daniel Lanois wasn’t too far removed from making So with Peter Gabriel when he helped out U2 with Achtung Baby. His production on this slow one recalls some of the atmospheric touches he lent to Gabriel’s work. There is enough open space in the mix that the song can breathe a little bit and let the tension build, while Mullen’s rickety drum beat pushes things forward in stops and starts. Bono took inspiration from the Edge’s marital problems for the lyrics, which is why this song sounds like U2 doing Blood on the Tracks.

2. “Until the End of the World”

On top of all the ambitious stylistic shifts, clever production, and instrumental brilliance throughout the album, you have to give a lot of credit to Bono, whose lyrics were never better than on Achtung Baby. On paper, the idea of a song featuring Judas speaking to Jesus sounds like it could have gone wrong a hundred different ways. But Bono does an amazing job by focusing on their humanity, even if it meant making them sound petty or base. Put that together with a riff that sounds like an army of Edges and you can’t miss.

1. “One”

Here’s the thing: “One” would be a classic regardless of any context. But by loosening up a bit on the songs surrounding it, the band made this track hit ever harder on Achtung Baby. The chord pattern somehow conjures defeat and resilience even before a note of the melody steps forward. The Edge measures his performance just right, his soulful licks in the opening portions of the song eventually giving way to a potent wail by the end. Bono matches him in that journey. It’s the kind of track that can bring profound emotions to the surface even when you’ve heard it countless times.

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