Come una scarica elettrica.
Gli U2 di "The Joshua Tree", immersi in sconfinati paesaggi e armoniose composizioni, si risvegliano bruscamente con l'infernale suono di una mosca in testa.
Lo shock è totale, un'inversione di marcia completa, un cambiamento a 360 gradi. E' il pazzesco riff di "The Fly", canzone simbolo di "Achtung Baby", che apre la seconda era U2: la "Zoo Era".
È il 1991, e uno strano uomo in pantaloni e giacca di pelle, con occhiali a mosca, tutto rigorosamente in nero, si aggira dirigendo il traffico per le strade di Berlino. Un momento! Che fine ha fatto quel ragazzo con lo sguardo caldo e profondo vestito da vecchio bluesman americano? Scomparso, disperso nei deserti dell'Arizona. Al suo posto c'è "Mr. The Fly", "La mosca" appunto.
Avvolgenti arabeschi elettronici, intense ballate o suoni cupamente metropolitani: sono gli U2 di "Achtung Baby". Variegati, come la copertina di 16 mattonelle, ma estremamente coesi a formare un unico grande lavoro.
È da poco caduto Il Muro. Sono cadute le sue barriere e sta invece sorgendo definitivamente la civiltà e la cultura del consumo. Gli U2 lo sanno. Lo intuiscono, immersi nel torpore di una fredda Berlino che comincia a svegliarsi da mezzo secolo di divisione, e a proiettarsi, finalmente unita, verso il nuovo millennio. C'è molta euforia in Europa, si sprecano le parole sull'abbattimento delle frontiere politiche ed economiche. Troppa euforia. Nel vecchio continente, sotto le macerie del Muro, cova ancora quel senso di irrequietezza e paura che da sempre lo contraddistingue. Gli U2 sanno anche questo. Lo sanno e lo trasfigurano in "Achtung Baby", rendendone una sorta di grande mosaico dei sentimenti e della condizione dell'uomo nel mondo moderno e metropolitano. Le barriere sono abbattute, ma dove si va ora? C'è chi tenta di trovare una soluzione con taglienti verità ("The Fly"). C'è chi ne approfitta per distribuire luminescenti illusioni per il futuro ("Zoo Station"), ma ci si accorge ben presto che la realtà è un'altra. Gli uomini si tradiscono ("Until the End of the World"), scoprono le due facce dell'amore. Un amore che se prima guida ("Ultraviolet") poi risulta cieco ("Love is Blindess"). Ma è un uomo che scopre anche la speranza e celebra la sua unità pur riconoscendosi nelle sue diversità ("One").
Da molti considerato l'album degli anni '90, o semplicemente "l'album", il dato oggettivo è uno solo: ad oggi ha venduto 17 milioni di copie. E' un successo incredibile considerando la portata della svolta. Tutt' altro che oggettivo, almeno all'epoca, è il giudizio su di esso. C'è chi, shockato e deluso, lo rompe in due davanti agli occhi dei propri amici, c'è chi al contrario grida al capolavoro. Gli U2 (come preannunciato da loro stessi all'uscita del disco) perdono migliaia di fans e ne conquistano altrettante migliaia. Si apre un nuovo mondo, come concezione musicale, lirica, ma anche e soprattutto del live.
Inscindibile dal progetto di "Achtung Baby" è infatti il conseguente e storico tour: lo "Zoo Tv", un gigantesco spettacolo multimediale di immagini e musica. Le canzoni di "Achtung Baby" prendono vita vera e propria e vengono riplasmate perfettamente a immagine e somiglianza dello show. E così "Mysteryous Ways" diventa una sinuosa danza orientale rimbalzante tra gli amplificatori grazie a mastro Edge; "The Fly" è il pretesto per una raffica di messaggi proiettati a tutta forza verso il pubblico su imponenti mega schermi. "EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG," WATCH MORE TV"... sono questi alcuni di quelli che i più ricorderanno. Sono messaggi ambigui, irriverenti e ironici.
Si, perchè gli U2 cambiano pelle. Si scrollano dal pesante ruolo di profeti del rock per proiettarsi in una dimensione più fredda e disillusa. E' l'inizio di un altro percorso. Di una trilogia che se proseguirà molto bene con "Zooropa" sarà purtroppo costretta a finire nel modo più tragico col nefasto "Pop". Ma questa, come si dice, è un'altra storia.
A presto dal vostro Alevox!
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Zoo Station (04:36)
I'm ready
I'm ready for laughing gas
I'm ready
Ready for what's next
Ready to duck
Ready to dive
Ready to say
I'm glad to be alive
I'm ready
I'm ready for the push
In the cool of the night
In the warmth of the breeze
I'll be crawling around
On my hands and knees
She's just down the line ... Zoo Station
Got to make it on time ... Zoo Station.
I'm ready
Ready for the gridlock
I'm ready
To take it to the street
Ready for the shuffle
Ready for the deal
Ready to let go
Of the steering wheel
I'm ready
Ready for the crush
Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright
It's alright ... it's alright ... it's alright ... it's alright
Hey baby ... hey baby ... hey baby ... hey baby ...
It's alright
It's alright
Time is a train
Makes the future the past
Leaves you standing in the station
Your face pressed up against the glass
I'm just down the line from your love ... Zoo Station
I'm under the sign of your love ... Zoo Station
I'm gonna be there ... Zoo Station
Tracing the line ... Zoo Station
I'm gonna make it on time ... make it on time ... Zoo Station
Just two stops down the line ... Zoo Station
Just a stop down the line ... Zoo Station
02 Even Better Than the Real Thing (03:41)
Give me one more chance, and you'll be satisfied.
Give me two more chances, you won't be denied.
Well my heart is where it's always been
My head is somewhere in between
Give me one more chance, let me be your lover tonight.
(Check it out)
You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing.
Give me one last chance, and I'm gonna make you sing
Give me half a chance to ride on the waves that you bring
You're honey child to a swarm of bees
Gonna blow right through ya like a breeze
Give me one last dance, we'll slide down the surface of things
You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing.
We're free to fly the crimson sky
The sun won't melt our wings tonight.
Oh now, oh yeah, here she comes
Take me higher, take me higher
You take me higher, you take me higher.
You're the real thing
Yeah, you're the real thing.
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing.
Even better than the real thing.
Even better than the real thing.
03 One (04:36)
Is it getting better?
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you, now
You got someone to blame
You say one love, one life
When it's one need, in the night
One love, we get to share it
It leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it
Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well, it's too late, tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One...
Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much, more than a lot
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got
We're one, but we're not the same
Well, we hurt each other
Then we do it again.
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on, to what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love, one blood
One life, you got to do what you should
One life with each other: sisters, brothers
One life, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other.
One (lone)
One...
Make in it, make in it, higher...
04 Until the End of the World (04:38)
Haven't seen you in quite a while
I was down the hold just passing time
Last time we met was a low-lit room
We were as close together as a bride and groom
We ate the food, we drank the wine
Everybody having a good time
Except you
You were talking about the end of the world
I took the money
I spiked your drink
You miss too much these days if you stop to think
You lead me on with those innocent eyes
You know I love the element of surprise
In the garden I was playing the tart
I kissed your lips and broke your heart
You...you were acting like it was
The end of the world
(Love...love...)
In my dream I was drowning my sorrows
But my sorrows, they learned to swim
Surrounding me, going down on me
Spilling over the brim
Waves of regret and waves of joy
I reached out for the one I tried to destroy
You...you said you'd wait
'til the end of the world
05 Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (05:16)
You're dangerous, 'cos you're honest.
You're dangerous, you don't know what you want.
Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot
For any spirit to haunt.
You're an accident waiting to happen
You're a piece of glass left there on a beach.
Well you tell me things
I know you're not supposed to
Then you leave me just out of reach.
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee?
Well you stole it 'cos I needed the cash
And you killed it 'cos I needed revenge.
Well you lied to me 'cos I asked you to.
Baby, can we still be friends?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee?
Ah, the deeper I spin
Ah, the hunter will sin for your ivory skin.
Took a drive in the dirty rain
To a place where the wind calls your name
Under the trees, the river laughing at you and me.
Hallelujah! Heaven's white rose
The doors you open I just can't close.
Don't turn around, don't turn around again.
Don't turn around your gypsy heart.
Don't turn around, don't turn around again.
Don't turn around, and don't look back.
Come on now love, don't you look back.
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna taste your saltwater kisses?
Who's gonna take the place of me?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna tame the heart of thee?
06 So Cruel (05:49)
We crossed the line
Who pushed who over?
It doesn't matter to you
It matters to me
We're cut adrift
But still floating
I'm only hanging on
To watch you go down ... my love
I disappeared in you
You disappeared from me
I gave you everything you ever wanted
It wasn't what you wanted
The men who love you, you hate the most
They pass right through you like a ghost
They look for you, but your spirit is in the air
Baby, you're nowhere
Oh love
You say in love there are no rules
Oh love
Sweet-heart
You're so cruel
Desperation is a tender trap
It gets you every time
You put your lips to her lips
To stop the lie
Her skin is pale like God's only dove
Screams like an angel for your love
Then she makes you watch her from above
And you need her like a drug
Oh love
You say in love there are no rules
Oh love
Sweet-heart
You're so cruel
She wears my love like a see-through dress
Her lips say one thing
Her movements something else
Oh love, like a screaming flower
Love
Dying every hour
And you don't know if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug that takes you higher?
Head of heaven
Fingers in the mire
Her heart is racing, you can't keep up
The night is bleeding like a cut
Between the horses of love and lust we are trampled
Underfoot
Oh love
You say in love there are no rules
Oh love
Sweet-heart
You're so cruel
Oh love
To stay with you I'd be a fool
Oh... sweetheart
You're so cruel
07 The Fly (04:29)
It's no secret that the stars are falling from the sky
It's no secret that our world is in darkness tonight
They say the sun is sometimes
Eclipsed by a moon
You know I don't see you
When she walks in the room
It's no secret that a friend is someone who lets you help
It's no secret that a liar won't believe anyone else
They say a secret is something
You tell one other person
So I'm telling you
Child
That, love, we shine like a burning star
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
We're falling from the sky tonight
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
A man will beg
A man will crawl
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
On the sheer face of love
Like a fly from a wall
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
It's no secret at all
No secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest
No secret ambition bites the nails of success
Every artist is a cannibal
Every poet is a thief
All kill their inspiration
And sing about their grief
Oh love
Love, we shine like a burning star
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
We're falling from the sky tonight
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
A man will beg
A man will crawl
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
On the sheer face of love
Like a fly from a wall
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
It's no secret at all
Love, we shine like a burning star
We’re falling from the sky tonight
A man will beg
A man will crawl
On the sheer face of love
Like a fly from a wall
It's no secret at all
It's no secret that the stars are falling from the sky
The universe exploded 'cause of one man's lie
Check, I gotta go
Yeah, I'm running outta change
There's a lot of things
If I could, I'd rearrange
08 Mysterious Ways (04:03)
Johnny, take a walk with your sister the moon
Let her pale light in, to fill up your room.
You've been living underground, eating from a can
You've been running away from what you don't understand.
She's slippy, you're sliding down.
She'll be there when you hit the ground.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways, oh.
Johnny, take a dive with your sister in the rain
Let her talk about the things you can't explain.
To touch is to heal, to hurt is to steal.
If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel
On your knees, boy!
She's the wave, she turns the tide
She sees the man inside the child.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways, yeah, oh, ah.
Lift my days, light up my nights, oh.
One day you'll look back, and you'll see
Where you were held now by this love.
While you could stand there,
You could move on this moment
Follow this feeling.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways.
Move you, spirits move you
Move, spirits 'its move you, oh yeah.
Does it move you?
She moves with it.
Lift my days, and light up my nights, oh.
11 Acrobat (04:30)
Don't believe what you hear
Don't believe what you see
If you just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy
When I first met you girl
You had fire in your soul
What happened your face
Of melting in snow?
Now it looks like this!
And you can swallow
Or you can spit
You can throw it up
Or choke on it
And you can dream
So dream out loud
You know that your time is coming 'round ...
So don't let the bastards grind you down
No, nothing makes sense
Nothing seems to fit
I know you'd hit out
If you only knew who to hit
And I'd join the movement
If there was one I could believe in
Yeah I'd break bread and wine
If there was a church I could receive in
'Cos I need it now
To take a cup
To fill it up
To drink it slow
I can't let you go
I must be an acrobat
To talk like this
And act like that
And you can dream
So dream out loud
And don't let the bastards grind you down
Oh, it hurts baby
(What are we going to do now it's all been said)
(No new ideas in the house and every book has been read)
And I must be
An acrobat
To talk like this
And act like that
And you can dream
So dream out loud
And you can find
Your own way out
You can build
And I can will
And you can call
I can't wait until
You can stash
And you can seize
In dreams begin
Responsibilities
And I can love
And I can love
And I know that the tide is turning 'round ...
So don't let the bastards grind you down
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di giov
Appuntamento con la storia.
Rock fatto con i controca**i; ecco solo questo si può dire.
Di pinkoSpallino
Uno dei dischi più belli di sempre.
Gli U2 rimangono sempre la band rock più importante al mondo, e lo dimostrano in "One", la più bella ballata di tutti i tempi.
Di iuppiter2
Il disco è un caleidoscopio dal quale vengono proiettate stupefacenti immagini.
Una ventata inattesa d’aria “fredda” che lascia un segno indelebile nei fan degli U2.
Di deckard2019
Bono Vox: "Per un po' non ci vedremo, dobbiamo andare a sognare tutto quanto da capo".
L'album richiede diversi ascolti prima di essere assimilato e viene dichiarato un capolavoro assoluto.
Di vicio
Quegli U2 erano e resteranno per sempre irripetibili ed irraggiungibili.
Il vero successo si trova solo nella buona musica.
