The Achtung Baby Working Tapes
Compendium
© 1991 - 2002 Sira Vista <e-mail:
sira-vista>
Portions also Copyright 1993 Rock Bottom Press
(If you haven't read the intoduction you can read it here.)
In the autumn of 1990, the members of U2 were hard at work in Hansa Ton recording studios in Berlin, Germany. The ultimate result of this effort would be the November 19, 1991, release of their next album, ACHTUNG BABY. However, in October, 1990, that album was a great ways off because U2 (unlike most other bands) entered the studio with very few lyric or song ideas.
Instead, U2 came into the studio to create as well as record. Here they sought inspirations for songs from playing together. They would ‘sketch out’ ideas while improvising around some basic idea or riff. Since all this ‘jamming’ was taking place in a recording studio, even the simplest of ideas was captured on tape. The highlights of these analog recordings were then edited down and compiled into working tapes recorded onto DAT (Digital Audio Tape) cassettes. Tapes of this nature were used to hold possible song ideas, as well as a means for Brian Eno (and others) to hear the band's progress and make suggestions about the music.
In late April of 1991, it was revealed that some of U2's working tapes had found their way into the hands of bootleggers. The theft took place at the hotel were U2 were staying. Bono had left them in his room one morning and it's suspected that cleaning personell assisted in their removal. It was approximately three months before the first bootleg copies recieved wide distribution. Since then, the U2 working tapes have been pressed in a variety of forms.
May 1991 - THE NEW U2: REHEARSELS AND FULL VERSIONS(sic)
The debut pressing of the sessions. Available on vinyl only, as two separate double album packages. The covers were identical except for the colors of the lettering. One cover featured silver lettering, while the other had gold. In this pressing both LP's of the silver lettered album proved to be identical. This resulted in four LP's being released, but with only three LP's worth of material.
Jun. 1991 - THE NEW U2: REHEARSELS AND FULL VERSIONS(sic)
It was widely rumored that the set had been pressed again, but this time without any duplication between the LP's. If true, this meant that there were now four LP's worth of material available.
Nov. 1991 - THE NEW U2: REHEARSELS AND FULL VERSIONS(sic)
This time the pressings were released as a boxed set of 5 LP's. Surprisingly, there was only two duplicate tracks within the set. All of these LP's were pressed on translucent vinyl, in either blue or green (pink pressings have also been rumored). There were now 5 LP's worth of material available, which resulted in a staggering running time of nearly 3 1/2 hours.
Feb. 1992 - SALOME: THE [AXTUNG BEIBI] OUTTAKES(sic)
This was the release that had been deemed "too hot" to ever be pressed. The complete 3 hours, 27 minutes, and 28 seconds worth of material were now available as a triple compact disc set. Since these CD's were mastered from the original DAT cassettes, there's no quality loss between the original working tapes and these CD's. Thus the sound quality is far superior to the LP's. The back of the CD packaging offers reasonably accurate running times for each of the tracks, plus total running times for each disc. It is interesting to note that the bootleg CD title, SALOME, was somehow known by the bootlegger to be the title of the song featured the most on these recordings, despite the fact that Bono does not sing the song's title on any of these early versions. This is especially interesting considering U2's commercially released version of Salomé did not come out until four months later in June of 1992. Also of note is the fact that the cover artwork is similar in spirit to that found on ACHTUNG BABY.
May 1992 - TOO HOT TOO HANDLE
This release was too little, too late. The title seems to have been derived from an article in ICE Newsletter, regarding the ACHTUNG BABY WORKING TAPES as being "too hot to handle" for CD bootleggers. Unfortunately, this compact disc will leave you cold. It is mastered from vinyl and suffers from surface noise and hiss. The packaging leaves much to be desired; it has a plain black & white photocopied cover, and the disc itself is completely unadorned. It contains selections from the working tapes totaling approximately 60 minutes. The bootleg does offer titles, but does not even attempt to acknowledge their fabrication.
Aug. 1992 - U2 STUDIO SESSIONS '91
The packaging on this German made pressing features color photographs and semi-generic printing on the disc. This CD is a compilation of tracks from the SALOME CD set, thus the sound quality is equal to that of SALOME. While the titles listed on this pressing are more accurate in some cases (e.g., Fragments Of The "Real Thing"), the bootleggers do not acknowledge their fabrication.
Many other releases followed as the years went by. All of them take their source from the original SALOME tripple CD set. Most all of them use the FWT's set forth in this document.
There has been a recent edition of these working tapes containing new material not covered (as of yet) in this document. Look forward to an expanded edition of The Achtung Baby Working Tapes Compendium that will contain a full examination of this seven disc release.
With these releases U2 found themselves in the dubious position of being:
"The first major band to have studio sessions bootlegged before the finished product was either released, abandoned, or the group disbanded."
In late April 1991, Island Records reacted to the theft of the DAT working tapes by purchasing advertising space in several UK music periodicals in hopes of catching the thief, and to warn bootleggers of Island's intent to press charges against anyone caught pressing the tapes. Shortly after these notices reached the news stands (mid-May) someone was arrested for attempting to press copies of the tapes. The original DAT tapes were recovered in the bust, but not before digital copies had already been made and sent off to another bootleger. Island Records was able to follow the trail to a CD pressing plant, stop production, sieze materials, and make arrests. Nevertheless, copies still made it to another bootlegger who rushed to get the sessions out the only way he could, on vinyl. The release on CD eight months later proved that the original DAT tapes had been copied digitally more than once.
U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, reacted to the bootlegs by releasing a press statement accusing the bootleggers of cheating the fans by distributing inferior material. He also claimed that the finished product had evolved by leaps and bounds from what was being circulated on bootleg.
Regardless of the superior polish of the finished material released as ACHTUNG BABY, the material found on the bootlegs is fascinating in and of itself. The most compelling aspect about the bootlegged material is that, rather than offering slightly alternative versions of tracks found on the finished product, they instead reveal the song writing process itself. Familiar solos, bass lines, bridges and riffs abound, and there is also a host of interesting songs that didn't find their way onto ACHTUNG BABY.
What follows are "liner notes" for the ACHTUNG BABY WORKING TAPES. For the purpose of these notes, the triple CD set, SALOME, is used as the source of reference.
Each track is examined one at a time. The first piece of information is the location of the track (Disc 2, Track 9 for example) followed by the running time of the track.
Due to the nature of the recordings, most of the songs titles are unknown. This makes discussion of the material very difficult unless one happens to have the CD's available for play at the moment of conversation, or is able to remember the running order of each disc. Therefore, "Fan Working Titles" (hereafter referred to as FWT's) have been created. These are only meant as an aid to discussion of untitled material, and do not represent what U2 might have actually titled the songs. FWT's also help keep a lineage evident as a song evolves.
The only known song titles from these sessions are: Salomé, Where Did It All Go Wrong?, Even Better Than The Real Thing, and Acrobat. All other tracks have FWT's because of significant differences from their finished form. For a comparison of the session tapes to finished works please refer to the Overview of The Achtung Baby Working Tapes chart.
"Notes" attempt to describe the working tapes musically and provide an association with the FWT's. These are followed by one or more "sound bites" of lyric from Bono. These bites of lyric further aid in the identification of a track for conversational reference. Take note that these are approximations of what Bono may be singing (often Bono sings in his "Bongloese"). The quoted material under "Bono -" are items of interest and/or amusement that Bono says (as opposed to sings), and are labeled with the approximate time of occurrence in brackets.
Most all tracks also feature an ACHTUNG BABY WORKING TAPES
snippet of audio. These snippets are supporting aid to the notes section as
a mens of identification and discussion. Click on the 
button to hear such a snippet. You will need a RealPlayer capable of decoding
G2 streams to hear the snippets.
If you have any questions about the preceding history of the following "liner notes" please feel free to drop me a note via e-mail. But please note that I can not assist you in obtaining copies of the ACHTUNG BABY WORKING TAPES.
Ok, let's start!
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Disc 1, Track 1 (5:56) |
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TITLE: |
Salomé |
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NOTES: |
This song must have been the most painful to evolve, since there are more takes of it (eight total) than any other song in these working tapes. This track is duplicated on disc 3, track 4. |
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This track sounds very close to the released version, with the exception
of slightly different words (at this stage the song may have been titled
Got To Get Together Now). The bassline leads one to theorize that
this might be an early form of Zoo Station. Later
takes also support this theory. |
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words? |
"Oh love, baby please don't go" |
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"Baby stop, baby look right" |
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"We got to get together now...break!" |
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"Check it out! Ow! Ow! Hey hey hey!" |
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Disc 1, Track 2 (4:04) |
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TITLE: |
Where Did It All Go Wrong? |
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NOTES: |
Here, all four members of U2 keep up a frantic pace resulting in a fast,
hard driving song that sounds GREAT! Click here |
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The words are very difficult to understand. |
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The music "skips" at 2:21. |
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When the track ends, there is a six-second countdown until the next song. At the very beginning you can faintly hear someone say "Track two, take two". At minus four seconds you can hear a single click of Larry's drumstick that belongs to the next track. |
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words? |
"Did you get it? |
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"When something sweet |
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"Talk in your sleep. |
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Disc 1, Track 3 (3:42) |
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TITLE: |
Where Did It All Go Wrong? |
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NOTES: |
At first it is difficult to distinguish between this track and the last
one, since they sound very similar. The main differences are at 0:58 and
1:35. Click here |
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Neither of these takes ended up on the CD single of Even Better Than The Real Thing, although it's possible that the commercially released version is a mix from these two. It is also possible that U2 chose the best from these two takes and then recorded another take altogether. |
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words? |
"Did you get it? |
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"We've all got it wrong. |
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"Did you need it? |
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"Where did it all go wrong?" |
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Disc 1, Track 4 (6:44) |
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FWT: |
Heaven And Hell |
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NOTES: |
U2 playing a similar instrumental backing as Doctor, Doctor (Disk 1, Track 5), but with Bono singing completely different words. |
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A great slow song with a nice "fat" organ sound. |
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words? |
"Once you get a chance, |
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"Wishing her out of my life. What on Earth am I to do They said you oughta call her back. |
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"Oh, heaven and hell. All the time... |
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"Darkness |
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"Heaven" |
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Bono- |
"F"[1:06] and again at [2:20] (In reference to a change) |
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"E"[3:49], and "F"[5:23] |
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"The organ, just organ."[4:24] (The
band stops, a Love Is Blindness style organ plays, and then the
band comes back in.) |
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"Organ"[5:36] (The
organ cuts in beautifully.) "This time when
we come in, I want it quietly. Not the drums, but everyone else."[5:44]
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Disc 1, Track 5 (2:35) |
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FWT: |
Doctor Doctor |
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NOTES: |
U2 plays a similar instrumental backing as Heaven And Hell (Disk 1, Track 4), but Bono sings completely different words. |
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Bono is singing in his thickest "Bongloese". |
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The music "skips" at 1:47, fades out at 1:51, back in at 1:55, and then back out again at 2:35. |
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words? |
"I can't hold you back" |
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"I been thinking, |
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"I been ‘round by the river land |
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"Any wanna gonna man of wanna buy a taking you down |
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"I was all in the grave |
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Disc 1, Track 6 (3:56) |
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FWT: |
Jitterbug Baby |
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NOTES: |
This song fades in with a bouncy guitar riff and Bono singing in a low voice. There's plenty of reverb on Bono and plenty of Edge "cutting" to ensure this song being scrapped early on. |
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The words are quite lost in the mix. |
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words? |
"I got my heeled shoes, |
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"Jitterbug Baby" |
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"Ahhhhhaaaahhhh |
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"Jitterbug, I got my high heeled shoes" |
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"I’ve got my heels on the floor" |
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"Baby, I’m hip! |
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"Ooohhhhoooooh |
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"Jitterbug Baby, |
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Bono- |
"Put a little stop in it"[1:09] |
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"OK, here we go!"[2:28] |
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Disc 1, Track 7 (9:15) |
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TITLE: |
Salomé |
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NOTES: |
You can hear U2 take a song that wasn't working for them, change it drastically, and try to make something out of it. The change was for a slower "less crowded" sound which results in a bored sounding band. Towards the end of the song you can hear some of the familiar Zoo Station-ish sounds coming forth in bursts. At 0:17, Bono says "yeah, that's better Larry". This leads one to believe they've been playing for a while already and we just get to hear the end of this jam session. |
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At 5:31 Bono sings something that prompts Larry to drum a little faster, this in turn influences the Edge (around 6:40) to change his guitar melody. It changes the whole sound. At 7:00 Bono re-introduces lyrics from the beginning of the song, but soon calls out "We're going into the F, going down to the F," which brings them into some place completely different. "E minor" from Bono changes the sound of things even further. It sounds like something happens on the spur of the moment that changes the song more than the simple chord changes. At 7:37 things really start coming together, so much as to prompt Bono to say (at 7:55) "That's really great stuff, Larry Mullen." Further toying with the song ultimately wears them down, and at 9:10 the steam runs out very suddenly. |
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words? |
"We got to, got to get it together..." |
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"Oh, we got to, got to get together now..." |
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"Oh, honey child, oh honey child, honey child." |
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"I like when the hi-hi-hi-hi-hi-lights burnin’" |
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"I feel this love is getting higher." |
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Bono- |
"Chorus! Ah, la la got to get together now. |
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Disc 1, Track 8 (5:34) |
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TITLE: |
Salomé |
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NOTES: |
U2 seem to be taken by the idea of radically changing songs in an effort to spur creativity. This track seems to be the result of such an action in the form of heavy remixing and post-production work done to the take of Salomé found on disc 1, track 1. The song has been livened up quite a bit by plenty of assorted effects and sound loops. One can hear the final form of Bono's 12 string guitar overdubbing (from disc 3, tracks 8 through 12) in context and the result is very pleasing. |
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This song's later evolution into Zoo Station is most evident in
this take, especially toward the end (i.e., the fuzzy booming sound at
3:14). The familiar Zoo Station loop of clanking bells can also
be heard throughout the song. |
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Words? |
"Well, you're high as a kite |
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Disc 1, Track 9 (8:49) |
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FWT: |
Sunset In Colors |
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NOTES: |
A loose melody, mostly instrumental with a very bright sound. A very
good song consisting mainly of Edge on guitar. Bono starts singing at
4:04. |
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words? |
"Here comes the sunset, it comes in colors... |
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"Here comes the overcast. |
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"It works searching. |
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"It come highway, |
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Bono- |
"Louder voice!"[4:11] |
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"I still can't hear my voice. Turn up my voice? Yeah, nice... A little
reverb?"[4:25] |
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"Adam, just change back! Back to the way you were."[5:25] |
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"Can you do the voice, yeah? Turn the voice up."[6:40] |
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[Editors note: On the SALOME CD, the following track is erroneously indexed as part of track 9, at 8:52. Therefore, what is discussed here as tracks 11 and 12, are indexed as tracks 10 and 11.]
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Disc 1, Track 10 (6:08) |
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FWT: |
Chances Away |
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NOTES: |
Demo sounding with only a few words from Bono (though he seems to know the music!). Bono sings bits of (FWT:)Take You Down. |
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This is an early form of Until The End Of The World. The familiar riff is heard at the end of the choruses (ex.: indexed: 4:14, non-indexed: 10:22) |
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words? |
"Don't hide away. |
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"You've got to take your chances" |
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Bono- |
"Verse."[indexed: 0:48; non-indexed: 9:40] |
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"Verse."[indexed: 1:38; non-indexed: 10:30] |
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"Give me a better vocal sound or something."[indexed: 1:55; non-indexed: 10:47] |
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"Ok, Adam you come in and just play around maybe... Adam? Verse."[indexed:
2:41; non-indexed: 11:33] |
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"Verse."[indexed: 3:07; non-indexed: 11:59] |
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"Adam go around until you can hear the drums. You know the chords by now. It's the same thing."[indexed: 3:16, non- indexed: 12:08] |
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"Okay, it's the verse. Okay, verse- one, two three..."[indexed: 5:20, non-indexed: 14:12] |
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Disc 1, Track 11 (1:40) |
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FWT: |
Chances Away |
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NOTES: |
Fades in for short while and then back out again. Perhaps there is something in this short clip that U2 wanted to keep for future reference. |
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Disc 1, Track 12 (6:35) |
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FWT: |
I Feel Free |
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NOTES: |
Both Bono and Edge sing vocals on this track, making it sound more planned, than the brainstorming session heard in (FWT:)Chances Away. Almost immediately we hear the familiar riff from (FWT:)Chances Away, only this time it is the basis of the song instead of the second half of the chorus. |
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This sounds like an early form of Until The End Of The World. The guitar and bass sound very similar to the commercial release. |
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words? |
"Down by the motion ooh ooh ooh ooh |
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Edge- |
"Out you go. Out you go. Out you go. |
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"Free as a bird in a tree. Free as a bee."[3:50] |
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Disc 2, Track 1 (4:31) |
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FWT: |
I Feel Free |
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NOTES: |
A piercing guitar is followed by a fantastic shriek from Bono at the
beginning of this take. |
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The Until The End Of The World guitar riff is the basis for the whole song. Vocals are mostly Bono, but Edge provides backup. |
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This take is much more free-form than disc 1, track 12. |
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This is an early form of Until The End Of The World. |
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words? |
I! I was aching, the darkest night So you enter to give me love And I... Oh, where did you go, babe? Free Digging to love you, baby |
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Disc 2, Track 2 (2:02) |
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FWT: |
Sweet Baby Jane |
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NOTES: |
Bono sings the first verse a cappella (and stammers on a word!) in a thick 'Bongloese'. The Edge follows him with guitar, then they both join up. Adam comes in later on bass, however Larry does not provide percussion. |
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words? |
"And I'll come in to say good-bye. |
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Disc 2, Track 3 (5:35) |
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TITLE: |
Morning Child / Don't Turn Around |
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NOTES: |
Bono sings "sweet morning child" a few times then later sings "don't turn around" to the same melody. This track is an early form of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. |
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Bono asks for lyrics! |
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Bono tells Edge "Say 'don't turn around' over and over again."[4:17] And Edge creates instant backup vocals. |
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The audio cuts to silence for about one second at 4:48 and when it returns Bono says, "Try not to do that again." |
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At the end of the take Bono says "That all right mates?", someone replies, "Yeah, that was real perfect." |
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words? |
"Say lonely child, And I know you wear the high. |
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"And it's suddenly" |
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"Yeah, suddenly" |
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"And a sunny day |
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"Lonely, |
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"Babe, on Wilgerland. I want you now. Don't turn around. |
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"Don't turn around. |
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"Oh, morning child |
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Bono- |
"I don't know too many words"[1:12] |
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"Is this the chorus?"[1:16] |
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"That's good, hold it now."[1:31] |
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(laughs) "Something..."[1:59] |
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"What's the verse again?"[2:06] |
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"This is the chorus, yeah..."[2:34] |
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"Hey Edge, sing ‘Don’t turn around’ over again, you see?"[4:18] |
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Edge- |
"Turn around, |
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Disc 2, Track 4 (4:00) |
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TITLE: |
Morning Child / Don't Turn Around |
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NOTES: |
In this take you can really hear the acoustic guitar. The bridge here
is similar to how it turns out on the album (only better in my opinion;
Bono barely sings at all during this bridge). |
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Bono starts singing "morning child" towards the end of the take. This track is an early form of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. |
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words? |
"And it’s time to bring it so. No, don't you...ask why. Mercy, mercy I give you. Mercy, mercy child. Mercy mercy, |
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Disc 2, Track 5 (5:09) |
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FWT: |
Morning Child / Don't Turn Around |
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NOTES: |
This song is an early form of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. The music for the bridge in this take most closely resembles how it sounds in Always. |
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Bono sings "don't say good-bye" several times in the same melody as he sings "don’t turn around". |
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Bono goes for some vocal calisthenics towards the end of the take. |
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Words? |
"Ahh |
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"Oh, in your eyes an angel dies |
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"Oh, don’t say |
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Disc 2, Track 6 (6:29) |
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FWT: |
Take Today |
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NOTES: |
A calm and pleasant instrumental with harmonica and horns. This same
backing track is later overdubbed with vocals and appears on disc 2, track
12. |
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Disc 2, Track 7 (4:51) |
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TITLE: |
Even Better Than The Real Thing |
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NOTES: |
This is pretty much an instrumental version of the finished Even Better Than The Real Thing. Obviously a song they had down very early on. |
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You can almost sing along with this one. |
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Disc 2, Track 8 (7:44) |
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FWT: |
She's Gonna Turn Your Head Around |
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NOTES: |
This take sounds very little like the others do. The vocals have a heavy, plate sounding reverb. The audio is quieter than other tracks, and it fades both in and out. |
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Bono sings "she's cold and take her chances, gonna take her chances" to what will be the melody of "She's gonna turn your head around". He also sings some other stuff to the same melody. |
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| At 6:38 we hear a line similar
to what we know from Lemon.
It is interesting to hear Bono direct edge to follow vocal lead for a guitar
idea at 7:11. |
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Makes you wonder- doesn't Larry ever get tired? |
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words? |
"She did go |
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Bono: |
"Break."[0:48] |
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"Just drums."[2:55] (The band cuts to just drums for a bit.) |
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"And again."[4:46] |
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"Nice."[5:24] |
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"Edge- dooh dooh dooh"[7:11] |
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"Doo doo dooo dooo dooo"[7:37] |
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Disc 2, Track 9 (7:38) |
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FWT: |
She's Gonna Turn Your Head Around |
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NOTES: |
There is now much less echo, more song structure, and a normal volume level. The song clearly starts and ends - no fade outs here! |
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The chorus, "she's gonna blow your house down, she's gonna turn your head around, she's gonna blow your house down", is consistently used here. This take sounds very much like it sounds when U2 were working on the song during the Joshua Tree Tour. |
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This take KICKS! |
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After the song ends there is some unintelligible mumbling present. |
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words? |
"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! She's, she's gonna blow your house down Ah, ah, ah... |
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Bono: |
"Bridge!"[2:36] |
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"And chorus!"[2:51] |
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"Let's do the bridge again"[3:48] |
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"Keep going."[3:52] |
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"Bridge. dah, dah, dah, dah.. and into the chorus!!!"[4:10] |
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"Again!"[4:29] |
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"Chorus!"[5:35] |
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Disc 2, Track 10 (5:33) |
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FWT: |
Sick For Love (Woman) |
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NOTES: |
This is an early form of So Cruel. The connection becomes more evident in other takes. |
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There's plenty of percussion playing backwards behind the band. The sound is slow and depressing. Bono mumbles through most of the song (a la Elvis Presley And America). Toward the end it becomes mainly instrumental, although at 4:51 we hear a line we know from Ultraviolet (Light My Way). |
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words? |
"And the day is dry. Woman. She hides behind you openly, Woman. Girl that leave you, may be a woman. Empty heart. Away from the moving heart. To high, anymore. |
[Editors note: On the SALOME CD, the following track is erroneously not labeled on the artwork. However the disc is properly indexed with twelve tracks.]
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Disc 2, Track 11 (7:41) |
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FWT: |
She's Gonna Turn Your Head Around |
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NOTES: |
Bono says "wake up!" a lot. The melody has changed a little bit. Bono sings a new chorus to the melody of the She's Gonna Turn Your Head Around chorus. |
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Bono sings in a very high pitched voice towards the end [6:35], "She's gonna blow your house down, she's gonna turn your head around, she's gonna blow your house down". |
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words? |
"She smokes. "Wake up. You got to give so. You better wake up. You better wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up! Ah, Ah, Ah... She's got soul. Better wake up. She stares at me. What does it feel like when you hear it's full of soul? Better wake up. You better wake up. Oh, Sugar, sugar, sugar... You better wake up. Better wake up. You better wake up. This is my baby, so why don't you leave now! Check it out! (Repeat several times) Gonna reach the sky... Better wake up. Better wake up. Better wake up. She's gonna blow your house down. She's gonna blow your house down. She's gonna blow your house down. She's gonna blow your house down. |
|
Bono: |
"Here comes the chorus"[0:27] |
[Editors note: On the SALOME CD, the following track is erroneously labeled on the artwork as track eleven. However the disc is properly indexed with twelve tracks.]
|
Disc 2, Track 12 (6:32) |
|
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FWT: |
Take Today |
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NOTES: |
This version has Bono singing, and Edge doing backup. This ballad sounds quite "family" like in comparison to the sobering nature of it's final form as North And South Of The River. |
|
The audio cuts to silence for about 1/10th of a second at 5:14. A drop out is heard at 6:28. |
|
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It appears that Edge makes up the ending chorus and teaches it to Bono. |
|
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words? |
"Love. Anytime you want, For time and you turn on. 'Round to take a love, And you know, I came by Ahh, ooooh hooooh oooh ahh... By, you come by. If you want to take tomorrow, Doo doo doo dah... (repeat several times) If you want to take tomorrow, |
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Bono: |
"You're on the air. Okay, here we go."[0:14] |
|
Disc 3, Track 1 (1:05) |
|
|
FWT: |
Someone |
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NOTES: |
This is a short clip of a song that sounds like a jam session. Something must be in this clip that U2 wanted to save for later development. |
|
words? |
"You feel it’s upon yourself |
|
Disc 3, Track 2 (3:11) |
|
|
FWT: |
Sick For Love (Woman) |
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NOTES: |
This is an early form of So Cruel. This is evident not only in the percussion, but also in the general emotion of the song (specifically, the last two lines of the take). |
|
words? |
"When the night turns mean on you, |
|
Disc 3, Track 3 (4:19) |
|
|
TITLE: |
Acrobat |
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NOTES: |
This song is Acrobat with slightly different words. It is one of the few songs that survived these sessions virtually unchanged. |
|
Bono sings "Don't let X take you down", where X seems to be assorted different things, people, etc. It is difficult to clearly hear any but a few of the assorted items. |
|
|
A GREAT guitar solo from the Edge. |
|
|
words? |
"Don't let them take you down." |
|
"Don't let the teardrops grind you down." |
|
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"Don't let the tears take you down." |
|
|
"And you know that you try, and you try |
|
|
"How does it feel to be burned by the sun?" |
|
|
Disc 3, Track 4 (5:56) |
|
|
TITLE: |
Salomé |
|
NOTES: |
Same take as disc 1, track 1, except here the beginning is almost one second longer. |
|
Disc 3, Track 5 (5:08) |
|
|
FWT: |
Morning Child / Don't Turn Around |
|
NOTES: |
Same take as the disc 2, track 5, except here the beginning has been partially clipped. |
|
Disc 3, Track 6 (5:16) |
|
|
FWT: |
Take You Down |
|
NOTES: |
This song is an early form of Lady With The Spinning Head, which later evolved into Ultra Violet (Light My Way). The guitar solo was used again in The Fly, and the bridge moved on to be used as the introduction for Ultra Violet (Light My Way). It is interesting to compare this take with the Lady With The Spinning Head remix (on the CD5 of Even Better Than The Real Thing.) |
|
Edge is NOT singing backup, it's Bono! The left and right channels are different takes of Bono singing to the same backing music. Each channel sounds quite different from the other, and the two only come together in one or two places. The vocals are not completely isolated to the left or right channels. In each channel you can faintly hear the other. During the guitar solo and bridge you can only hear one vocal track (in both channels). At the end of the guitar solo the single vocal track fades from left channel to the right channel mid way through. |
|
|
This song has it all; Edge doing a Hendrix like guitar solo, Larry doing his famous drum thing; there's great overall balance and speed, and what a terrific ending! |
|
|
words? |
RIGHT CHANNEL: Uh huh, uh huh, Get it, I can get it my Heart in the sunlight. I don't get it you're Going to the back light, Going back to the way we were. Ah, huh |
|
LEFT CHANNEL: I look for you. Oh... Sugar I'm about dance. Get up, |
|
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BOTH CHANNELS: You come over chances. I know she wants you burning. |
|
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Bono: |
"I'll sing in the middle eight here."[3:16] |
|
Disc 3, Track 7 (5:24) |
|
|
FWT: |
Southern Instrumental |
|
NOTES: |
This song is perhaps an early form of Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World. Here, however, it is a groovy repetitious instrumental. It sounds like U2 turned into some 'Hill Billy' rock band. |
|
Admittedly, after enough listening it will grow on you. |
|
|
Disc 3, Track 8 (3:52) |
|
|
TITLE: |
Salomé |
|
NOTES: |
These next few tracks are recordings of Bono and Edge working with a
12-string guitar while Salomé (disc 1, track 1) is playing.
They're trying to work out assorted second guitar parts for Salomé.
Although it is difficult to tell at first, there are particular goals
Bono is trying to reach. You can hear the result of these guitar overdubs
in context on disc 1, track 8. These takes can become repetitive after
a couple of minutes of listening (then again they were never meant to
be listened to), yet they are still very interesting. |
|
This track is Bono working on a "lead twanging". It can be heard, in finished form, on disc 1, track 8 at 4:20. |
|
|
Disc 3, Track 9 (13:08) |
|
|
TITLE: |
Salomé |
|
NOTES: |
This track is portions of Salomé (disc 1, track 1, 1:15 to 3:00) playing while guitars are overdubbed. After a while, and in later takes, the range is from about 2:04 (the end of first verse) through to 3:00 (the beginning of the next one). Often the tape is interrupted for rewinding and then is restarted. This leaves short gaps in the playback. Some gaps are silent and others are filled with guitar. The most interesting pause in music, at 10:59, is filled with two bursts of control-room chatter. |
|
This track is Bono working on more "lead twanging". |
|
|
At 2:11, Edge starts working on a "second lead" guitar part. |
|
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At 11:55 the music jumps and the guitar sounds very reminiscent of Zoo Station. |
|
|
CHATTER: |
"That last... last version was on the green Gretch. The one previous the Ricky, obviously. And now we're going for the BC--"[Edge] "What... what was the... uh..."[Bono] "Skeleton Ash?"[Edge] (The tape is paused) |
|
"-good thing is the..."[Bono] "This is the last of the Rickenbackers."[Edge] (Music resumes at 11:18) |
|
|
"Gretch take, track three."[Lanois; 13:02] |
|
|
Disc 3, Track 10 (6:03) |
|
|
TITLE: |
Salomé |
|
NOTES: |
This take starts from the beginning of Salomé (again disc 1, track 1). This is Bono working on the "fast noise" we hear on disc 1, track 8 in finished form at 0:54. |
|
At 2:43 we hear the new "slide" effect added to the song. |
|
|
Edge can be heard at especially at 3:39 with his "second lead". Bono is still present for his "fast noise" from the start, and then his "bright twanging" (heard finished on disc 1, track 8 at 2:29) at 4:26. |
|
|
Note how the song doesn't really fade out. The copy on the working tape does, but it's much slower and fades later than the one they were playing along with. |
|
|
This take is very close to being complete, and allows one to hear what they were trying to accomplish in the first place. |
|
|
Disc 3, Track 11 (8:05) |
|
|
TITLE: |
Salomé |
|
NOTES: |
The take starts with someone announcing: "Bono, 12-string...take 2". Here again the take starts from the beginning of the song. Bono starts his "bright twanging" at 1:23, but this take seems to be from earlier in the session (before he found out what he wanted to do). |
|
The mix is adjusted during this take at around 3:23. Shortly thereafter
the bass and lead guitar are turned down. When the song fades out, the
percussion, guitar, and vocals are heard much longer than the rest of
the instruments due to the adjusted mix. When the song ends (6:00) the
tape is rewound to the end of the first verse and started again. |
|
|
Disc 3, Track 12 (12:04) |
|
|
TITLE: |
Salomé |
|
NOTES: |
This track begins with a little bit of the previous track (with its bass and percussion biased mix). At 0:35 the tape is started again and continues until 3:08. The guitar sounds faint and distant. The tape fades in again at 3:17 at it's usual point for more work at this overdub. The guitar is running through heavy effects and sounds slower and more melodic. At 6:56 we can hear the song end again in it's biased mix. At 7:19 the song has been rewound and restarted. |
|
At 8:30 thick vibrato distortion is put on Bono's guitar giving it close
to the same sound we hear during the end-of-song guitar solo for Zoo
Station (especially at 9:07) |
|
Whew! That's a lot of it! More is on the way! Expect to see all seven discs reviewed in the near future.
Listening to the ACHTUNG BABY WORKING TAPES proves to be a very rewarding experience. One is sure to discover something new with each listen. The fidelity is such that several tracks will astound the listener, especially when listened to on headphones. Almost every track is recorded in such a way, that if the left and right channels are merged, the resulting phase cancellation causes the sound to resemble something similar to a "back", or "surround" channel. While one may not have the ability, or desire, to have two front speakers reproducing the stereo image and back speaker as a surround channel, it can be quite three-dimensional and deliver a satisfying "being there" effect.
These studio sessions allow a peek at U2 in the creative process of song writing. Although a peek of almost 3½ hours might be better labeled as spying, the long overview of these sessions can enable one to feel as if they were in the studio instead of shut-out and teased with glimpses (e.g. THE MAKING OF THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE). These recordings will always be remembered as a gemstone among bootlegs, and a milestone in unauthorized documentation.
Read here on what Bono himself had to say about these recordings. It's quite interesting to note that it was the interviewer that made Bono upset, not the talking about the recordings.
If you have any questions or comments, please send me e-mail. Please note: I can not assist you in obtaining copies of the ACHTUNG BABY WORKING TAPES.
Copyright © 1991-2002 Sira Vista <e-mail:
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