Vocalist cited friendship with the Irish and their ironic attitude that inspired his band shortly after
In the early 1990s, some artists from the alternative scene of the 1980s began to better define their style, adding lyrical depth to the post-punk sound from which they originated. This is the case of REM and of the U2who in 1991 released iconic albums.
In March, REM made available Out of Timehis seventh studio album, containing the hit “Losing My Religion”. At that time, U2 was still recording the work that would be released in November, also the seventh of their career: Awakening Babywhich brought songs like “One”, “The Fly”, “Mysterious Ways”among others.
REM frontman, Michael Stipespoke about the strong impact the Irish band’s album had on him. The vocalist explained that the basis of what he heard in Awakening Baby would only be used by your group in Monster (1994). Before that, the Americans still launched Automatic For the People (1992), without major differences in sound.
To Kyle Meredith With (via Far Out Magazine), Stipe told:
They were applying this ironic distance to themselves, to be able to tear themselves down as public figures. That had a profound impact on me. As a music lover, and also a friend of those guys, I thought what they were doing was fantastic and it was my favorite thing they’ve ever done. So we took that same kind of ironic distance, accidentally, I think. I don’t think we did it on purpose, but using glam rock as a base, that’s what we did. Monster became.”
Michael Stipe and “Beautiful Day”
Awakening Baby wasn’t the only moment U2 had that left Michael Stipe impressed. The artist also commented on the single “Beautiful Day”from the album All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000), which caused him to have mixed feelings:
I love that song. It makes me angry that I didn’t write it.”
The track really seems to be special. In an interview with the magazine Mojo in 2010 (via Songfacts), the guitarist of U2, The Edgetalked about the composition and the final touch added by Brian Enowho signs All That You Can’t Leave Behind as one of the producers, alongside Daniel Lanois. The duo also produced Awakening Baby. The musician said:
The song went through several different incarnations and while we always felt like it had something, it was kind of hard to see where it was going. Really, the moment it got fun was when Bono came up with the lyrics: ‘It’s a Beautiful Day’. In some ways it seems like a pretty banal lyric, but combined with the music, something crazy happened and we all recognized that. So Brian’s contribution was that fantastic intro with the Euro bass drum beat and the keyboard line, and that gave us the clue as to where we should go from there.”
Achtung Baby, Zoo TV and the reinvention of U2
Before Awakening BabyU2 had its ups and downs. If Joshua Tree (1987) made the band be taken seriously and achieve a higher status, Rattle and Hum (1988), accompanied by its film, caused the group to be labeled “too serious” and “pretentious” by critics. Clearly, it was time to move in a new direction.
In sessions that were split between Berlin and Dublin, the Irish band experimented and experienced internal tensions, even coming close to breaking up at times. The album cover and title were chosen to cause confusion, so that no one would understand what was coming next.
Awakening Baby also gave rise to the tour Zoo TVone of the most famous shows ever made by U2. The super production had many screens showing images ranging from the war in Sarajevo, Bosnia, to commercials, random videos and all sorts of things, with the intention of creating a kind of “sensory overdose” in the audience.
During the show – which featured eight songs by Awakening Baby right off the bat, representing a break with the band’s past – Bono played a few characters. With The Flythe vocalist was provocative and satirized the concept of the egocentric and megalomaniacal rockstar. Mirror Ball Man was a critique of American televangelists and other media salesmen, while the MacPhisto it was basically the devil “translated” into the modern world.
The concert’s dynamic was one of much criticism and a certain self-deprecating humor, going against the serious image that U2 had had until then. Bono filmed scenes with a small camera that were shown on the big screens, in addition to literally “zapping” through TV channels, something that would be innovative even by today’s concepts.
The presentation gave rise to the following album, Zooropa (1993) and was responsible for the major turning point in the Irish band’s career. The tour is celebrated to this day by fans, with references to it being common in the band’s live appearances. Awakening Baby represents U2 finding their true place in the world, in what seemed unthinkable just a few years earlier.
Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
