Bono, onstage with U2 in London, during the Achtung Baby tour. © Mauro Carraro/Sygma/Corbis
Bono has described Achtung Baby as "the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree," and indeed, the 1991 release, which saw U2 drawing upon alternative rock, industrial and electronica dance influences, was miles away from their straight-ahead rock, blues and roots approach from four years earlier.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Achtung Baby - yes, it's been that long already - U2 are releasing a reissue in a variety of packages, each designed to fit your level of fan devotion and/or bank account.
There's the Standard CD edition, which is a remastered and spiffed up version of the original 12 tracks, and then there's the Deluxe 2 CD-edition, which features these bonus tracks and B-sides:
1. Lady With The Spinning Head (UV1)
2. Blow Your House Down
3. Salomé
4. Even Better Than The Real Thing
5. Satellite Of Love
6. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix)
7. Paint It Black
8. Even Better Than the Real Thing (Fish Out Of Water Remix)
9. Mysterious Ways (Perfecto Remix)
10. Night And Day (Steel String Remix)
11. The Lounge Fly Mix
12. Fortunate Son
13. Alex Descends Into Hell For A Bottle Of Milk/Korova 1
14. Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Next we have the Vinyl Box Set, including the remastered album, "uber" remixes, and "unter" remixes on vinyl records.
Up from there is the Super Deluxe 6-CD + 4-DVD edition, which includes Zooropa, "uber" and "unter" remixes, B-sides and previously unreleased demos, the "kindergarten" disc, Davis Guggenheim's From the Sky Down documentary, music videos for Achtung Baby and Zooropa, various Zoo TV Tour documentaries, Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, a hardback book and 16 art prints.
Need more? If you've got the cash (it's about $600), you can have the whole shebang with the Uber Deluxe 6-CD + 4 DVD-edition. This includes same content as Super Deluxe set, plus the album's singles on clear vinyl records, a copy of the U2 fan club magazine Propaganda, four badges, stickers and a pair of Bono's "Fly" sunglasses.
Important note: Should you buy a copy of the Uber Deluxe edition, you simply must send us a picture in which you're wearing the sunglasses.
Below: The affordable Deluxe 2-CD edition
