10 Perfect Follow Ups To Masterpiece Albums

The entire appeal of U2 should have made for an absolute disaster once the ‘90s kicked in. The over the top sounds of the Joshua Tree may have been too big for some to handle, and the self importance behind Rattle and Hum didn’t help their case, so how were they going to fit in an era that was all about grunge and taking things back to basics? U2 should have died at this point, but the next phase of their career saw them drowning themselves in the one thing the decade couldn’t get enough of: irony.

Outside of their bombastic sound, most of Achtung Baby revolves around the band sort of taking the piss out of their own rock star status, with Bono playing the role of the kind of over the top frontman that everyone thought he should be at the time. While the look may have been larger than life, the music was something a lot different, making songs that were indebted to the more over the top sounds of dance music, including more than a few dance textures added to songs like Zoo Station and Until the End of the World.

The real importance behind this album came with the lyrics, where Bono gives you a pretty harsh look at what being a pompous rock star would actually be like. As much as it may seem like the biggest dream come true, these songs are almost too honest in what actually happens, from struggling to find a connection with someone to trying your best to carry on through the pain on songs like One. Rock is a much more jaded business than most people realize, and it takes the true human underneath all of the makeup to make sure it doesn’t consume you.