Achtung Baby (is the seventh studio album by Irish  band . It was produced by  and , and was released on 18 November 1991 on . Stung by criticism of their 1988 release, , U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate influences from , , and  into their sound. Thematically, Achtung Baby is darker, more introspective, and at times more flippant than their previous work. The album and the subsequent multimedia-intensive  were central to the group's 1990s reinvention, by which they abandoned their earnest public image for a more lighthearted and self-deprecating one.

Achtung Baby by  Released18 November 1991RecordedOctober 1990 – September 1991Studio (Berlin) Elsinore () STS () (Dublin) Length55:27,  chronology
(1988)Achtung Baby
(1991)
(1993) from Achtung Baby ""
Released: 21 October 1991 ""
Released: 24 November 1991 ""
Released: 24 February 1992 ""
Released: 8 June 1992 ""
Released: August 1992

Seeking inspiration from , U2 began recording Achtung Baby at Berlin's  in October 1990. The sessions were fraught with conflict, as the band argued over their musical direction and the quality of their material. After tensions and slow progress nearly prompted the group to disband, they made a breakthrough with the improvised writing of the song "". Morale and productivity improved during subsequent recording sessions in Dublin, where the album was completed in 1991. To confound the public's expectations of the band and their music, U2 chose the record's facetious title and colourful multi-image sleeve.

Achtung Baby is one of U2's most successful records; it received favourable reviews and debuted at number one on the US , while topping the charts in many other countries. Five songs were released as commercial singles, all of which were chart successes, including "One", "", and "". The album has sold 18 million copies worldwide and won a  in  for . Achtung Baby has since been acclaimed by writers and music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time. The record was  in October 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its original release.

Contents

Background

After U2's 1987 album and the supporting brought them critical acclaim and commercial success, their 1988 album and film  precipitated a critical backlash. Although the record sold 14 million copies and performed well on music charts, critics were dismissive of it and the film, labelling the band's exploration of early  as "pretentious" and "misguided and bombastic". U2's high exposure and their reputation for being overly serious led to accusations of grandiosity and self-righteousness.