ZZZZZZzzzzzzz ... Station

Reviewing the recently released cover album AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered, also provides me with the chance to extol the virtues of another rare completely-awesome album: U2's Achtung Baby.


First, the original:


Achtung Baby was released in 1991, after a tremendously successful tour for the incomparable masterpiece that is The Joshua Tree (but on the heels of the highly criticized Rattle & Hum film / album).  A neat little fact I barely remembered, is that this album was recorded shortly after the reunification of Germany in 1989 (yes, there used to be two Germanys).  Achtung is arguably more experimental than is Joshua Tree, featuring more electro-pop rhythms, and the birth of the Bono alter-ego he used on the ZooTV tour (The Fly). Nevertheless, Achtung contains some of the band's biggest and longest-sustained hits: Mysterious Ways, One, and Even Better Than the Real Thing.


As with Joshua Tree and the later All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 created a very balanced and mature album, where the freneticism of Zoo Station and Even Better introduces the listener to the pop power of this album, only to then seamlessly transition you to the uplifting traditional anthem One (I wonder how many tributes and charities have used that song over the last 20 years?).  Adam Clayton's driving bass and The Edge's guitar lines push Bono's lyrics of betrayal to new heights on Until the End of the World, and Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?.  More subdued songs like So Cruel, Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World, and Love is Blindness contain Bono's ruminations on relationships (and their failure), and provide balanced juxtaposition to the sexual pop energies of Ultraviolet (Light My Way), Mysterious Ways and The Fly.  One of the most interesting songs on the album - Acrobat - illustrates a certain disillusionment that was felt by Bono at the time ("No nothing makes sense" ... "I'd join the movement if there was one I could believe in / I'd break bread and wine if there was a church I could receive in").


There's now several "extra" "ultra" "deluxe" versions of the album available in honor of the record's 20th Anniversary, some of which might be worth checking out.  But if budget's a concern, at least get the basic classic version of Achtung Baby; it is a must-own.


Now, about that cover album ...


It is hard for me to give a negative review of AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered for a couple of reasons.  First, sales revenues of that album go to charity (Concern Worldwide helping east African poverty; a worthy goal).  Secondly, by all accounts it should be awesome: it's a classic U2 album covered by Nine Inch Nails, U2 (remix), Damien Rice, Patti Smith, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Gavin Friday, Snow Patrol, The Fray, The Killers, Glasvegas, and Jack White (of White Stripes / Raconteurs fame).


However, by-and-large, AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered is an uninspired re-hash of the songs on Achtung Baby, most of which are turned into miserably melancholy pieces.  Achtung Baby has power, balance, and a really well-integrated flow, while this cover album is overall very mono-tempo.  Ever wonder what it would sound like if U2 were heroin addicts?  Then this cover album is for you.


Some of the greatest disappointments are Until the End of the World (which Patti Smith turns into a thoroughly depressing country song); Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (which Garbage - whom I normally like - fail to really explode in guitar rock & vocals); Mysterious Ways (only Snow Patrol could turn a sexually-charged pop hit into a sad emo song); Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World (The Fray make it altogether too "top-40"); and last, but most offensive, Damien Rice's rendition of One.


I'm not familiar with Rice's music, but I understand he is an Irish folk-rock musician, and I'm sure he's fine at what he does.  However, U2's One has been an inspiring, uplifting song for a generation of men and women ("Love is a temple; love, the higher law" ... "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers" ... "One life, but we're not the same; we get to carry each other") and Rice's cover of One is slow, soft, and sad.  To say that it is melancholy would be an overstatement of it's emotion; it is perhaps the most depressing thing I've heard in the past decade.

How long, how long must we sing this song?

With all that said, there are some bright spots on AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered.  Some of the high-lights include Nine Inch Nails' cover of Zoo Station to open the album.  Contrary to my post's title, if you liked the Social Network soundtrack, you'll enjoy Trent Reznor's re-invention of Zoo Station here.  The Jacques Lu Cont mix of U2's Even Better Than the Real Thing is also really good, as it captures the original pop energy of the ZooTV tour (but with a 21st century electronic conception), without going too far afield of the original song.  I love the ethereal cover of So Cruel performed by Depeche Mode, as it strikes the right balance between emotional lyrics and aural energy; again being quite true to the original performed by U2.  Ultraviolet (Light My Way) covered by The Killers is a bit more down-tempo than the original, but is still pretty good as it lives up to my expectations for them.


In my opinion, the shining star of this cover album is Love is Blindness performed by Jack White.  I admit that - although I do consider Achtung Baby to be an overall great album - I never cared for the last song (Love is Blindness) because I felt it was an awkward way for the album to end on such a down note.  But Jack White injects his raw, garage-rock energy to this song and performs the lyrics, guitar and organ with painful intensity.  This cover would be at home on any White Stripes or Raconteurs record, and sort of reinvigorates the listener after the many down-tempo renditions on AHK-toong BAY-bi.


In sum, although AHK-toong BAY-bi is generally a far cry from its titular parent, there are several tracks worth purchasing; not only because they support a good cause, but also because they are interesting versions of some of U2's best songs from this era.