U2 are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their pivotal 1991 album ‘Achtung Baby’ with a spectacular array of box sets spanning five different formats.
The album was described by Bono at the time as “the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree”, in reference to the band’s courageous binning of their sound up until then.
The set comes in five versions:
1. The Uber Deluxe Version, which features a “magnetic puzzle tiled box” with six CDs including the original ‘Achtung Baby’ album, the (not so acclaimed) follow up album ‘Zooropa’, B-sides, remixes, “re-workings” (whatever that means), previously unheard material from the ‘Achtung Baby’ sessions, four DVDs including ‘From The Sky Down’, ‘Zoo TV: Live From Sydney’, all the videos from ‘Achtung Baby’ and “bonus material”, a double vinyl pressing of the album and five clear 7” vinyl singles, 16 art prints from the original album sleeve, an 84-page hardback book, a copy of “Propaganda Magazine”, four badges, a sticker sheet and a pair of the “fly” sunnies that Bono wears, so you too can look like a twat.
2. The Super Deluxe Edition has the same six CDs and four CDs as above, a 92 page hardback book (although it doesn’t explain what’s different between this one and the 84-page book found in the other version), as well as the sixteen art prints.
3. The Vinyl Box Set features four LPs, two of which are in translucent blue wax with remixes and B-Sides, as well as a sixteen page booklet.
4. The Deluxe Edition is a double CD reissue of the album including B-sides and rarities.
5. The Standard CD is just a reissue of the original album.
You can pre-order the lot from http://achtungbaby.u2.com/. They’ll be shipped out to you from October 31st.
