The Winners of Talenthouse Achtung

Talenthouse has annouced their winners for the 20th anniversay reinvention of U2’s Achtung Baby album cover after launching Creative Invite. Designers, Photographers were asked to submit their interpreations of todays global environment in the form of photography or artwork.

Shaughn McGrath and Anton Corbijn have chosen the winners.

Talenthouse Design

Of the 15 winners, Jana Beier has been chosen to receive a custom designed, original Achtung Baby styled Trabant car.

• Ana Coello
• Roman Soloviev
• Olga Bannikova
• Gene Jimenez
• Lucie Bascoul
• IIona Muis
• Ryan O’Neill
• Eugenio Gonzalez
• Julian De Angelis
• Susan Hamilton Peterson
• Lilit Simonyan
• Irmak Akcadogan
• Keri Huber
• Jacob Baldwin

Each of these 15 winners will have their submissions created into a collage and featured on U2.com, giving them global exposure. Their work will be promoted across U2′s social media channels and website. They will each receive a feature about their work, a copy of the final collage, a deluxe box set, and a digital camera.

Take a look at all the submissions and judge for yourself.

From the Sky Down

From The Sky Down ,would make a worthy Christmas present for a music-loving friend, family member or, even better, a treat for yourself. It ranks alongside Pearl Jam’s Twenty and Kings of Leon’s Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon as one of the top rock DVD releases of 2011.

From the Sky Down is a documentary focusing on the recording of Achtung Baby, which is seen as the crucial transition of the biggest rock band in the world.

Achtung Baby is the reason we are still here now,” says guitarist The Edge in the doccie.

The doccie is told via the band in present time with scenes in and around the recording of the album.

Achtung Baby found the band in a rather bloated position. With 1987’s  The Joshua Tree U2 went from just an Irish alternative rock group to being the biggest band in the US. The media and fan worship that borders on idolatry, and comes with making it big in in the US, went to their heads. They were absorbed in the consumerism and fast-paced materialism that comes with that country’s culture, which resulted in the terrible Rattle and Hum album. This was a group that had lost their identity as a band and as individuals.

The opening lines of the doccie begin with the words: “They say that a band is a clan. You may not be related, but you have pledged loyalty to each other.”

It then goes on to show band members Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullins jr waiting to go on stage at Glastonbury. (Of course they have to do it in slow motion, it being U2 and all.)

The narrative includes earlier footage of the band and shows exactly how much creative input Daniel Lanoi and Brian Eno, in particular, had on their creativity both in their music and emotional well-being. In fact, from the very beginning one of the secrets of the band’s success was the number of super-talented and intelligent people who surrounded them.

Bono initially comes across as a pretentious twat. But as the doccie evolves into a musical exploration you remember that he is essentially a musician, and a good one at that.

The doccie strips away all that bloated bull U2 are known for, and just as what Achtung Baby did for them then, this DVD brings out the real musician in each of them.

In parts the explanations are musically technical, but user-friendly enough that the average fan won’t get bored.

The story is told with frank honesty from all four members’s perspectives.

When they decided to record in Hansa, Germany, it was 1990, just after the Berlin Wall had been pulled down. But, say the band, it was a very dark time for them. They couldn’t find their groove. The breakthrough finally came when Bono found the chords to the song One. The rest of the creative process then flowed organically.

But what was interesting is that even though they had a straight-up rock sound with no special effects, their ensuing tour, ZooTV, was anything but.

“If we’re accused of megalomania then let’s do something to enhance it,” says The Edge. “Let’s give them rock star.”

Enter The Fly with his Lou Reid glasses, Jim Morrison leathers and Elvis Presley attitude. Throughout the tour U2 took on the role of the media, the concepts of truth and democracy, and Bono as we know him was born.

The question is: was Achtung Baby the way back to the roots of U2, or the beginning of a bigger and more bloated U2?

U2: From The Sky Down is available online

Achtung Baby Packs a Punch

To call 1991 a busy year would be a gross understatement. While the nation was still transitioning from the not-so-subtle 1980s, news of great significance was being made every day around the globe.

For instance, the Persian Gulf War came to an exhaustive end, South African Parliament abolished Apartheid laws and Russia elected its first president, Boris Yeltsin. And if that weren’t enough, out of the entire decade 1991 was quite possibly the best year for music, as well. It saw the release of monumental records such as Metallica’s self-named Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Pearl Jam’s Ten and of course, Nirvana’s revolutionary release Nevermind. Oh, I almost forgot, there was one other particularly good release that year. What was it again?…It was something foreign sounding…German maybe…oh yeah! It was U2’s Achtung Baby!

U2 may have just chosen the worst possible year to release a stellar album. With a nation already transfixed by the otherworldly funkiness of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the entirely new grunge assault of Nirvana, there was no more room for greatness. The grunge movement had drained all musical curiosity from music fans dry to the last drop. So when Achtung Baby was released in November of that year, U2 found themselves bewildered by weak sales and little hype for an album they thought be to nothing short of spectacular. They were right.

Frustrated by harsh criticism for Achtung Baby’s predecessor Rattle and Hum, the band was not in a good state: sales were low and moral was even worse. Determined to get themselves out of this depressing slump, they took a drastic detour out of their comfort zone.

Seeking musical inspiration that would electrify their souls and reignite the musical creativity inside of them, they set out for Berlin, Germany, a nation thriving on a new found and long overdue personal and political freedom. The trip was successful, and U2 created an album surging with electricity. European influences of industrial, electronic and techno flood the entire album. Distorted guitar riffs and dynamic percussion assault your ears while Bono’s voice takes on a raw and intimate aspect never before heard. U2 was suddenly transformed from earnest rockers to post-modern art-pop stars. Achtung Baby redefined the band and as Rolling Stone put it, “quite simply put them back in the running for the greatest rock band in the world.”

Even though a lengthy 20 years has gone by since its initial release, Achtung Baby hasn’t aged a bit. It still surges with that energy and authority it found in Berlin.

Luckily, U2 decided to reissue this album. Working alongside Universal Records, the album will be released in five very different packages, ranging from a reissue of the original album with no bonus material to the Uber Deluxe Edition, which features (take a deep breath) six CDs, five Vinyls, four DVDs, 16 art prints, an 84 page hardcover booklet, a magazine, four badges, a sticker sheet and a pair of sunglasses worn by Bono. College students beware: to have this mammoth set, be prepared to fork over a hefty $500. I’d leave that one to the wealthy and die-hard fans.

Back in 1991, U2 was robbed of the praise and acclaim they deserved for their innovative masterpiece. Its release was greatly overshadowed by new and more popular acts that brought a different and original sound to the musical landscape.

Luckily, with the 20th anniversary reissue set to hit shelves, fans and new listeners alike can listen to Achtung Baby in a new light, a light all its own and will finally discover the innovation that fans 20 years ago failed to recogniz

Baby Edition Track Listings

How many of you own a copy of Achtung Baby ? You could own the Vinyl, CD, or Digital copy at least once over the last couple of years. So when you heard about the release or we call it a reissue you really had only one major question right ? Well the bonus stuff is pretty interesting and of course we will provide you the full details of everything that is avialable on all verisions.  Check out our special Achtung Baby section which will break down everything for you.

For example: Extremely limited numbered Uber Deluxe Edition is a magnetic puzzle tiled box contains six CDs including the original Achtung Baby album, the follow-up album, Zooropa, b-sides and re-workings of previously unheard material recorded during the Achtung Baby sessions. Four DVDs including “From The Sky Down”, Zoo TV, all the videos from Achtung Baby plus bonus material. Also includes five clear seven inch 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. Band members sold separately.

Song Highlight:

“One“  It is the third track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and it was released as the record’s third single in March 1992. During the album’s recording, conflict arose between the band members over the direction of U2’s sound and the quality of their material. Tensions almost prompted the band to break up, until guitarist The Edge composed a chord progression that inspired the group to improvise the song, which was written as a ballad. The band worked on the mix for “One” throughout the remainder of the album’s sessions. The lyrics, written by lead singer Bono, describe fracturing interpersonal relationships, but they have been interpreted in other ways.

“One” was released as a benefit single, with proceeds going towards AIDS research. The song reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, and it topped the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. In promotion of the song, the band had several music videos filmed, although they were not pleased until the third video was created.

The song has since been acclaimed as one of the greatest songs of all time, and it is consistently featured in listener and critic polls. The song has been played by U2 at every one of their tour concerts since the song’s live debut in 1992, and it has appeared in many of the band’s concert films. In a live setting, “One” is often used by the band to promote human rights or social justice causes, and the song lends its namesake to Bono’s charitable organization, the ONE Campaign. In 2006, U2 re-recorded the song as part of a duet with contemporary R&B singer Mary J. Blige.

Band's Early Struggles With 'Achtung Baby'

By Karen Bliss ( Rolling Stone Article)

“Making Achtung Baby is the reason we’re here now,” Bono says early on in Davis Guggenheim’s new U2 documentary, From The Sky Down, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night. 

The film – which focuses on the tumultuous time in the band’s career 20 years ago – shows how Bono, guitarist the Edge, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton got back on track: After considerable infighting and “creative differences” while the four hunkered down at Hansa Studios in Berlin in 1990 to try to make an album, the song “One” finally and miraculously sprouted from the unfinished “Mysterious Ways.”

“The movie has this pretty long [section] where you hear them write that song – and it’s goose bumps,” Guggenheim told Rolling Stone in Toronto. “The writing of that song really saved the band. They had come out of the height of Joshua Tree as the biggest band in the world. Rattle and Hum was a disaster from their point of view, a lot of bad reviews – they weren’t happy with what they had become. They take that bridge section out of ‘Mysterious Ways’ and they go back into the room at Hansa. They write a song on the fly in a matter of minutes. ‘One’ is written and the band is saved and we have all that on tape.”

There are other telling inclusions in the film, from footage of Bono getting angry in a dressing room after a Joshua Tree concert in 1987 (culled from Rattle and Hum director Phil Joanou’s amazing leftovers) to candid, present-day sound-only interviews that Guggenheim was able to draw from each band member. “The soul of the movie is these interviews I do with them,” he said.

“I didn’t know how they’d react to the things that I put in the movie,” said Guggenheim. “There are some very sensitive things. And to their credit, they said, ‘This is truthful; this is real; it’s not sensational.’”

The day after the TIFF gala screening, Bono, the Edge and Guggenheim spoke at a press conference about the film. “I found it a little humiliating to realize that we were so inept and these days we’re a better band,” Bono said. “We’ve learned our craft – and therein lies the huge danger, which is there’s a giant chasm between the very good and the great, and U2 right now has a danger of surrendering to the very good.”

Guggenheim had earned the Edge’s trust from the documentary they did together in 2008, It Might Get Loud, alongside two other guitar greats, Jack White and Jimmy Page. Still, it’s a relationship in progress, Guggenheim noted: “There’s a something adversarial about making a movie about something that neither side wants, but it’s naturally there.”

“For me, when Davis agreed to do this, I felt like I could relax because I knew the thing that he was most interested in was actually the truth as opposed to what was a great shot or what might be sensational,” said the Edge. “The stuff that’s in the film are those moments where we’re really being honest.”

“A little bit of sensationalism would have been good, a few great shots,” joked Bono. “I felt like I was mugged.”

In addition to the tension, intensity and struggle that plays out in the film, there is a lot of levity too, including a satirical montage of bands that have imploded or lost members, references and demonstrations of Bono’s unique gibberish singing, dubbed “Bongalese” and yes, the band in drag.

“What’s interesting is Larry really didn’t like the idea and thought he looked like he was in some skin flick,” said Bono. “Edge took to it with a perfectionist’s eye.”

 “I just freaked myself out because I looked so much like my sister, I was shocked,” the Edge said.

Added Bono: “Adam looked like the Queen of England and I looked like Barbara Bush.”