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33⅓ Main Series #49
U2's Achtung Baby: Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall
Achtung Baby is a sobering album - U2's troubled, troubling, and most fully-realized effort. While many parts of the world were awakening from the assorted nightmares of the 20th century, U2 seemed to be entering the dark night of the soul. Once, the band summoned the sound of the trumpet blast that brought down the walls of Jericho. On Achtung Baby, the trumpet is often muted, somberly playing taps over the ashes of lost love, lost hope. In many ways, this dazzling and prophetic album seems to foreshadow the disintegration of the old world order and the splintering of traditional alliances which have marked the start of the third millennium. Add to that its nervous ruminations on the many facets and demands of love (romantic, erotic, and filial) and you have an album that Bono rightly called a "heavy mother".
This book considers Achtung Baby through the prisms of politics, spirituality, and music. In the words of the author, "While this book is written chiefly as a series of reflections, it is not entirely meditative. Arguments are advanced and there is some wrestling with the mysteries of life, death, love, betrayal, God, man, woman, sin, salvation, time, and eternity. I invite the reader to pause from time to time to simply think about those mysteries - and I offer no apology if any of that sounds pretentious. Without a fair amount of pretension, rock and roll would never have made it past 1955, and U2 would never have made it out of Dublin."
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
April 7, 2008
Throughout my grade school years, my mother was a born-again Christian. She wasn’t much for subtlety, but there was no questioning her gusto. Since hiring a sitter was cost-prohibitive, I was often taken along to prayer meetings, where I sat in the back of the room with a library book while everyone else did their thing. A clear memory is the evening a coupla dozen folks convened to assemble what I’d later come to call “Stealth Bibles” — that is, they’d pick up pulp paperbacks at the local Goodwill, remove the covers, and glue those covers onto small bibles, of which the diocese seemed to have an endless supply. These would then be left sitting around our local homeless shelter — the idea, of course, being that visitors to the shelter would pick up a paperback with a Raymond Chandler-esque cover hoping for a spicy read and instead find themselves surprisingly (and joyously) engrossed in the plot twists of the Old Testament. That was the plan, anyway.
I hadn’t thought of this Stealth Bible Initiative for, oh, twenty years or so, but it all came back when I started reading the 33 1/3 volume on U2’s Achtung Baby. As it wasn’t in stock at my local joint, I mailordered this one. Had I sampled it first from a store shelf, it would have been back on the shelf in under a minute. If you’re a U2 fan looking for a good read about U2’s most vibrant (and undeniably brilliant) album in which the band reinvents themselves completely in a number of ways, this is not the book you want. If you’re hoping for the author’s own story of discovering the album, conveyed in a series of experiences that will ring universal among readers, you’re gonna come up empty on that count as well. If you’re looking for a bloated religious tract masquerading as a book about Achtung Baby, however, then rejoice. You’ve hit paydirt.
“This is not a book about U2,” reads the first line of the preface. Hmm. Coulda fooled me, considering the title of the book is Achtung Baby — and hey, there’s U2 on the cover! Hi, fellas!
“‘Zoo Station,’” the album opener, “recreates our fall from grace.” I didn’t know that. Cool. And “The Fly”? “‘The Fly’ is the sound of humanity free-falling from Babel’s penthouse suite.” No kidding. Wow.
I expected a book about one of my very favorite albums, but instead I get quote after quote from some dude named Richard John Neuhaus (author, according to the bibliography, of Death on a Friday Afternoon: Mediations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross.) It’s a shame, because Achtung Baby is such a rich album. Is it a spiritual album? Absolutely. Is that one of the aspects of the record that could be explored? Sure. Would a fascinating, engrossing approach be the one Stephen Catanzerite chose, typified by chapters that open with lines such as “Free love is neither” and “Love was easy in Eden…”? An approach that (barely) uses the album as a vehicle for his own, gratingly pompous Higher Message? You can make that call. Try before you buy, though.
I love good books. I don’t even mind bad books; someone gave it their best shot, and that’s cool. What I do mind is fraud.
I hadn’t thought of this Stealth Bible Initiative for, oh, twenty years or so, but it all came back when I started reading the 33 1/3 volume on U2’s Achtung Baby. As it wasn’t in stock at my local joint, I mailordered this one. Had I sampled it first from a store shelf, it would have been back on the shelf in under a minute. If you’re a U2 fan looking for a good read about U2’s most vibrant (and undeniably brilliant) album in which the band reinvents themselves completely in a number of ways, this is not the book you want. If you’re hoping for the author’s own story of discovering the album, conveyed in a series of experiences that will ring universal among readers, you’re gonna come up empty on that count as well. If you’re looking for a bloated religious tract masquerading as a book about Achtung Baby, however, then rejoice. You’ve hit paydirt.
“This is not a book about U2,” reads the first line of the preface. Hmm. Coulda fooled me, considering the title of the book is Achtung Baby — and hey, there’s U2 on the cover! Hi, fellas!
“‘Zoo Station,’” the album opener, “recreates our fall from grace.” I didn’t know that. Cool. And “The Fly”? “‘The Fly’ is the sound of humanity free-falling from Babel’s penthouse suite.” No kidding. Wow.
I expected a book about one of my very favorite albums, but instead I get quote after quote from some dude named Richard John Neuhaus (author, according to the bibliography, of Death on a Friday Afternoon: Mediations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross.) It’s a shame, because Achtung Baby is such a rich album. Is it a spiritual album? Absolutely. Is that one of the aspects of the record that could be explored? Sure. Would a fascinating, engrossing approach be the one Stephen Catanzerite chose, typified by chapters that open with lines such as “Free love is neither” and “Love was easy in Eden…”? An approach that (barely) uses the album as a vehicle for his own, gratingly pompous Higher Message? You can make that call. Try before you buy, though.
I love good books. I don’t even mind bad books; someone gave it their best shot, and that’s cool. What I do mind is fraud.
December 7, 2010
I almost gave this two stars because I like the album so much, but ultimately I'm giving it one because I like the album so very much, and it deserves better. Catanzarite’s feeble analysis is sexist and proselytizing in the precise way that U2 is (99 percent of the time) not. I suspect we are not actually listening to the same album. Example one: Catanzarite fails to see (or possibly, desperately ignores) the intense homoeroticism of “Until the End of the World,” casting it as a conversation between a man and a woman instead of Jesus and Judas. COME ON. This is a song that, when they perform it, Bono and the Edge practically make out.
This is one of the tamer versions:
[Ugh, GoodReads apparently hates my embed code. Have a link instead.]
That is two men miming fucking with a guitar in the middle.
Whatever. Catanzarite can keep his version of this album; mine’s a lot more fun.
This is one of the tamer versions:
[Ugh, GoodReads apparently hates my embed code. Have a link instead.]
That is two men miming fucking with a guitar in the middle.
Whatever. Catanzarite can keep his version of this album; mine’s a lot more fun.
March 19, 2015
Solid work.
Many readers here have dismissed Catanzarite's book as being a subjective and overly Christian reading of U2's greatest album. But, the thing is, Catanzarite admits that this is just what he's doing - he's offering ONE interpretation among many possible interpretations. Nowhere does he claim authority.
True, Catanzarite spends little to no time on a musical analysis of the album. He focuses instead on the lyrics, which he uses to transform the album into a novel about the Fall. He knows his theology and philosophy (and cites his sources), so the book not only functions as a novel but as a work of criticism written from a Christian perspective.
And his interpretations aren't that far off. "One" and "Until the End of the World," in particular, have overt Christian themes - and, by my reckoning, three of the four members of U2 are Christians. So what's the big deal about writing about Achtung Baby in Christian terms?
Drawbacks? Some of the interpretations of the songs - especially "Love Is Blindness" - seem stretched to fit the overall narrative of the Fall.
Also, Catanzarite is a tad conservative in his understanding of the essential natures of men and women. I wonder what he would have to say about LGBT? He skirts this issue.
But what's ultimately so cool about this book is that Catanzarite argues that Achtung Baby reflects the mystery at the heart of reality - as the song goes, "she moves in mysterious ways."
Many readers here have dismissed Catanzarite's book as being a subjective and overly Christian reading of U2's greatest album. But, the thing is, Catanzarite admits that this is just what he's doing - he's offering ONE interpretation among many possible interpretations. Nowhere does he claim authority.
True, Catanzarite spends little to no time on a musical analysis of the album. He focuses instead on the lyrics, which he uses to transform the album into a novel about the Fall. He knows his theology and philosophy (and cites his sources), so the book not only functions as a novel but as a work of criticism written from a Christian perspective.
And his interpretations aren't that far off. "One" and "Until the End of the World," in particular, have overt Christian themes - and, by my reckoning, three of the four members of U2 are Christians. So what's the big deal about writing about Achtung Baby in Christian terms?
Drawbacks? Some of the interpretations of the songs - especially "Love Is Blindness" - seem stretched to fit the overall narrative of the Fall.
Also, Catanzarite is a tad conservative in his understanding of the essential natures of men and women. I wonder what he would have to say about LGBT? He skirts this issue.
But what's ultimately so cool about this book is that Catanzarite argues that Achtung Baby reflects the mystery at the heart of reality - as the song goes, "she moves in mysterious ways."
Read
July 2, 2022Occasionally I lament how the 33 1/3 series seems to have found a default mode, drifted away from some of its more unusual directions and settled into an outlier of that dreadful faux-jazzy mode which Americans somehow regard as acceptable music journalism. And then I pick up something like this, an exegesis of U2's one truly great album as an allegory of the Fall. To be honest, I was always likely to shudder at the words "It is the record on which U2 could be said to have discovered its genitals", even had it not been on the same page as the author's avowal of his staunch Catholic faith, and when you put those two things in such proximity...well, there are associations, aren't there? Even aside from that, this is a book happy to spaff a whole page of its scant length on an extended quote from Cardinal Newman, and reference other theologians even when they're making points you could get across far better with a mention of the Silmarillion, only to then prove that the author can't really have learned much from the field if he's as happy as any rube officiating a provincial wedding to bring in the Hymn to Love from Corinthians as though it had anything to do with love in the conventional sense of the word. I spent much of the book with the sneaking suspicion that an analogy comparing pre-marital sex to toothbrushes* was lurking just around the corner, especially after the line "Mankind is unique among the animals for our willingness to trade real experiences for artificial ones." The prelude to an overfamiliar grump about porn and celebrity culture and these young people with their screens, this betrays all the scientific ignorance and/or determined mendacity one expects from the anti-condom church; just look at herring gull chicks, happy to determinedly peck away at something yellow with a red spot which looks more parent-y than the actual parent with food for them does. A section on how feminism has actually harmed women, and not helped them like you think, is already fairly repulsive in its own right before it veers into outright hypocrisy with a complaint about the limited roles modern media offers for female characters – this despite the fact that Catanzarite's own narrative of fallen man and woman in their post-Eden wanderings gives the man all the fun stuff to do while woman is left to alternate nagging and moping. But don't worry, a defence of hypocrisy is coming too, as I guess it would have to be from anyone still loyal to an organisation as steeped in it as the Church. Although, quite remarkably, none of these was the passage which appalled me most, that honour going to the section about how any love which ends can't have been love at all. A notion demonstrating even greater ignorance of the human heart than we've already had of ornithology. All of this unedifying material deployed in no greater cause than turning the album into something like Pilgrim's Progress for the other lot, while not really saying a great deal about the record as it is.
This is a shame, because for all that it seems a bonkers claim to make about one of the biggest albums by one of the biggest bands in the world, I still feel like Achtung Baby is underexamined as a particular thing in itself, rather than just another chunk in the story of U2. I'm not aware of anything substantial since Bill Flanagan's* U2 At The End Of The World, which was more than a quarter of a century ago, and even that to some extent approached the topic obliquely in the course of following the attendant tour and the band's history. There's definitely something further to be written with all that hindsight, about how U2 seemingly faltered after nobody else on their scale picked up the gauntlet they'd thrown down, dragged out a few rejected Achtung Baby tracks for the will-this-do Pop, then settled back down into what they'd been doing beforehand, except not so well anymore. The back cover, alongside an enthusiastic quote from the biographer of a nun, does promise the story of Achtung Baby's "use of irony to emphasize honesty", pulling off "the ultimate post-post-modern fast one". Leaving aside that, despite a mistake authenticity bores have somehow been making solidly for centuries without ever twigging, this is not a remotely rare deployment of that tool – that's a story I want more of, not Lee & Herring's trendy vicar in full 'Aaaaaaah' mode.
And yet. As a great sort-of-Catholic critic once wrote, in the course of anticipating 90% of the critical theory seminars I ever grudgingly endured, the whole point of criticism lies in seeing the thing as it really is not. Yes, he also wrote that there are no moral or immoral books, only well written and badly written ones, and I'm not convinced this book is particularly well-written. But if I take against a book just for being entirely wrong, isn't that sinking to the Church's level? True, it's a particular flavour of wrong that still holds far too much power in the world, and yes, when I said I wanted more idiosyncratic 33 1/3s, this could be considered a prime example of 'Not like that'. And granted, even when I'm in the mood for being belaboured with popery, Chesterton does it so much better. But somehow the sheer cheek of the project feels deeply appropriate to its subject, a card Catanzarite is canny enough to play early on: "Without a fair amount of pretension, rock and roll would never have made it past 1955, and U2 would never have made it out of Dublin." It's definitely not a book I'd recommend, but gods help me, the sheer audacity of the man means I'd be lying if I said reading it had been altogether devoid of enjoyment.
*Seriously, that one has always blown my mind as being intended to prove a damn thing, because isn't the whole idea with toothbrushes that you don't keep them for life, you dispose of them after [period of time that is shorter than the period of time for which I keep toothbrushes]? So it would only apply if, rather than ''til death do us part', the creep dispensing the guidance were thinking in terms of the wedding vows of Ming the Merciless.
**Or in this book, Flannagan. Just to make sure you know not to trust a single thing in here.
This is a shame, because for all that it seems a bonkers claim to make about one of the biggest albums by one of the biggest bands in the world, I still feel like Achtung Baby is underexamined as a particular thing in itself, rather than just another chunk in the story of U2. I'm not aware of anything substantial since Bill Flanagan's* U2 At The End Of The World, which was more than a quarter of a century ago, and even that to some extent approached the topic obliquely in the course of following the attendant tour and the band's history. There's definitely something further to be written with all that hindsight, about how U2 seemingly faltered after nobody else on their scale picked up the gauntlet they'd thrown down, dragged out a few rejected Achtung Baby tracks for the will-this-do Pop, then settled back down into what they'd been doing beforehand, except not so well anymore. The back cover, alongside an enthusiastic quote from the biographer of a nun, does promise the story of Achtung Baby's "use of irony to emphasize honesty", pulling off "the ultimate post-post-modern fast one". Leaving aside that, despite a mistake authenticity bores have somehow been making solidly for centuries without ever twigging, this is not a remotely rare deployment of that tool – that's a story I want more of, not Lee & Herring's trendy vicar in full 'Aaaaaaah' mode.
And yet. As a great sort-of-Catholic critic once wrote, in the course of anticipating 90% of the critical theory seminars I ever grudgingly endured, the whole point of criticism lies in seeing the thing as it really is not. Yes, he also wrote that there are no moral or immoral books, only well written and badly written ones, and I'm not convinced this book is particularly well-written. But if I take against a book just for being entirely wrong, isn't that sinking to the Church's level? True, it's a particular flavour of wrong that still holds far too much power in the world, and yes, when I said I wanted more idiosyncratic 33 1/3s, this could be considered a prime example of 'Not like that'. And granted, even when I'm in the mood for being belaboured with popery, Chesterton does it so much better. But somehow the sheer cheek of the project feels deeply appropriate to its subject, a card Catanzarite is canny enough to play early on: "Without a fair amount of pretension, rock and roll would never have made it past 1955, and U2 would never have made it out of Dublin." It's definitely not a book I'd recommend, but gods help me, the sheer audacity of the man means I'd be lying if I said reading it had been altogether devoid of enjoyment.
*Seriously, that one has always blown my mind as being intended to prove a damn thing, because isn't the whole idea with toothbrushes that you don't keep them for life, you dispose of them after [period of time that is shorter than the period of time for which I keep toothbrushes]? So it would only apply if, rather than ''til death do us part', the creep dispensing the guidance were thinking in terms of the wedding vows of Ming the Merciless.
**Or in this book, Flannagan. Just to make sure you know not to trust a single thing in here.
February 22, 2013
This book seems to take a lot of criticism because of the author's choice of analyzing the album through a religious (specifically, Christian) perspective. While I understand that this can turn off some readers who aren't looking for an exploration of the sacred in an art form that is decidedly more secular, this criticism does not speak to the actual quality of the material. Moreover, the author is very upfront in the preface about what the book is and isn't. Even the entire title: "Achtung Baby: Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall" speaks to the tone and objective for what is to follow. The author uses theological and biblical ideas in order to dissect the layers of theme of the classic album, both sonically and lyrically. What emerges is a engaging and provocative allegorical narrative that runs through the album: Achtung Baby is the soundtrack to what happens after the Fall of Man and the banishment from the Garden of Eden. Although very much an essay, the narrative evokes imagery that when juxtaposed with the music allows the reader to appreciate the album in a whole new light. All great art and literature help us understand more about what it means to be human; both Achtung Baby and the Bible share this distinction. You don't have to be a Christian to see the truth of the author's points; like it or not, the Bible has come to define so much of who we are as people. It is a commentary, like Achtung Baby is a commentary. This book is a commentary on that commentary that is just as valid as what you think "One" or "Mysterious Ways" is about. If there is one criticism I could levy it is that I wish the author could have reprinted the lyrics, though I assume the rights could not have been secured. While not rendering his points ineffective, I believe the inclusion would have made for a much more impactful meditation. Overall, a very interesting perspective on one of the greatest albums of all time.
May 18, 2015
5 stars might be a little high for this book, but I thought I should off-set some of the people who *really* *didn't* *understand* this book. (4 to 4 1/2 stars would be my grade) It is a Christian (specifically Roman Catholic) interpretation of the U2 album. The author isn't trying to "save" anyone and doesn't "trick" readers into buying the book. (In fact, the first line of the book is "This isn't a book about U2").
The author gives a close Christian reading about most of the songs on the album. Sometimes I don't agree with his interpretation, but what a boring world this would be if everyone saw art the same way.
This book does a very good job at what it sets out to do. If you want a Roman Catholic interpretation of U2, then read this book, and if you don't, then read something else.
The author gives a close Christian reading about most of the songs on the album. Sometimes I don't agree with his interpretation, but what a boring world this would be if everyone saw art the same way.
This book does a very good job at what it sets out to do. If you want a Roman Catholic interpretation of U2, then read this book, and if you don't, then read something else.
June 27, 2019
This book is incredible. One of my favorite books that I’ve read. BUT I say that as both a huge U2 fan and a Christian. The book is surprising very theological and spiritual, and while it does not abandon the spirit of Achtung Baby, readers may be surprised to find that it is not a lyric-by-lyric exposition of the album. Catanzarite, who is Catholic, shares HIS understanding of the content of the album, and does not claim to know what the band originally intended for the album to mean. Not only did this book lead me to dig deeper into the lyrics, but the musical aspects as well. With very well-written descriptions of the sounds of each song, the author paints the relationship between the music and the lyrics. Many times while reading the book, I even found myself digging deeper into my faith— a very pleasant surprise.
November 3, 2020
What, precisely, am I getting into? I got a couple of these 33 1/3 audiobooks and am kind of banging them out. I just listened to GNR Use Your Illusion 1 AND 2, an album released around the time of Achtung Baby, so I thought they would go well to listen together.
Wrong.
This, and I am barely into this, is some kind of meditation on religion and has little to nothing to do with the album. Or maybe it does, I havent listened to Achtung Baby since the early 90's.
At least this is very short.
Wrong.
This, and I am barely into this, is some kind of meditation on religion and has little to nothing to do with the album. Or maybe it does, I havent listened to Achtung Baby since the early 90's.
At least this is very short.
December 31, 2023
My sweet husband who has indulged my U2 fandom for almost 20 years gave me this, so I wanted to love it. Alas. I did not.
Achtung Baby is a rare perfect record from start to finish and my favorite of U2’s, by far. I was expecting a song-by-song breakdown of the record, but instead got a Catholic guy’s ramblings and forced aha moments. Bro. It ain’t that deep. Look, I’m a lifelong Christian who clearly sees U2’s faith all over their music, but this dude has gotta relax.
Also, he misspelled Bill Flanagan’s name which to a U2 fan is a crime punishable by eternal exile from the fandom.
Achtung Baby is a rare perfect record from start to finish and my favorite of U2’s, by far. I was expecting a song-by-song breakdown of the record, but instead got a Catholic guy’s ramblings and forced aha moments. Bro. It ain’t that deep. Look, I’m a lifelong Christian who clearly sees U2’s faith all over their music, but this dude has gotta relax.
Also, he misspelled Bill Flanagan’s name which to a U2 fan is a crime punishable by eternal exile from the fandom.
April 16, 2020
Gave it an extra star for being different.
December 27, 2024
This really is a disappointing book. It reads like the work of a youth pastor with the twin goals of convincing his charges that music with religious themes can be cool and proving to the church elders that some rock music can be used as a tool to bring youth to the Lord... and failing on both counts. I also imagine someone constantly Googling his own name in the hopes of reading somewhere that Bono confirms his convoluted take on things.
One star for the attempt. Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation, so if the author truly believes this about the record, more power to him. But reading this actually made me like the record less. I only finished it in the hope that the previously invested time would be rewarded with something of worth. All I learned was a lesson about sunk costs.
One star for the attempt. Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation, so if the author truly believes this about the record, more power to him. But reading this actually made me like the record less. I only finished it in the hope that the previously invested time would be rewarded with something of worth. All I learned was a lesson about sunk costs.
January 14, 2019
Describing music is impossible. It's like asking what the color red tastes like. This doesn't mean we shouldn't try to do it, because in the right hands you'll get interesting results.
Stephen Catanzarite's interpretation of 'Achtung Baby' is an interesting journey through the tracks of album by way of new characters (a man and a woman) of elemental themes (love, faith, temptation, to name a few).
I was already a fan of the album going in, but after reading through his interpretations of tracks, I got the urge to go back and re-listen to them.
Stephen Catanzarite's interpretation of 'Achtung Baby' is an interesting journey through the tracks of album by way of new characters (a man and a woman) of elemental themes (love, faith, temptation, to name a few).
I was already a fan of the album going in, but after reading through his interpretations of tracks, I got the urge to go back and re-listen to them.
August 20, 2021
Having gone to Christian school for my entire pre-college education, and having grown up in the Catholic church, I have seen my fair share of religious figures utilizing pop music as a way of preaching. I remember going to a Catholic conference where a priest (wrongfully) explained that Trent Reznor named his band Nine Inch Nails after the nails that went into Jesus on the cross. I remember in Christian school having an entire semester of Bible class where we talked about popular music. I even remember a mass one Sunday where the priest talked about the power of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” It seems that in Christian religions, secular music is something that should be avoided, unless it can be harnessed as a way to reach a naïve audience, or reconfigured as a way to preach your own personal beliefs.
I thankfully haven’t had to deal with that type of ignorance for year now, until I read Stephen Catanzarite’s 33 1/3 book on U2’s album, “Achtung Baby.” The 33 1/3 series exists as a series of books about various albums, usually diving deep into the artist, the music, and what it all means, either to the musician, the writer, or both. The first sentence in Catanzarite’s book about one of U2’s greatest albums is, “This is not a book about U2.” I should’ve taken that as a sign to get out while I could.
Instead of writing about “Achtung Baby,” Catanzarite takes this opportunity to preach to his newfound audience. Catanzarite does this through his own wild interpretation of the album, seen through a strained Christian lens. In telling his interpretation, he creates a story about a couple - which may or may not be Adam and Eve? - leaving paradise, going to a seedy city of pleasure, which tears the two apart, and more importantly, tears the man away from God. It’s never clear what exactly the man is doing that is wrong. He goes out at night and drinks, but Catanzarite makes it seem as though the man is seeking the deepest depravities known to man.
But in Catanzarite’s mind, every song on U2’s album is centered around religion. “Zoo Station” is about the Fall of Man, half of these songs are about man pulling away from God, and in one particularly frustrating chapter, Catanzarite talks about how putting women on a pedestal above men is far more important that “sexist” ideas like “equality.” If Catanzarite’s forced preaching wasn’t bad enough, he lost me in his rants about the awfulness of feminism. Catanzarite ends up being ignorant, misogynistic, and thematically, a ridiculous stretch that never warrants these mental gymnastics.
In the final chapter, Catanzarite does finally explore “Achtung Baby” somewhat, discussing what this album meant to them at the time, and in the context of their career. But even in these moments, Catanzarite can’t help but inject some religion into this explanation. Catanzarite even saves his explanation as to why he thinks this album is about the Fall of Man until the very end of the book. Why not put that at the front of the book, so I don’t think you’re some insane person pressing your own beliefs on me? Why not give the evidence upfront so your book makes a lick of sense?
But what really frustrates me about “Achtung Baby” is that if you were going to do a deep dive into Christian theology with a band, U2 is an excellent choice. For decades, U2 has always been assumed to be a Christian band, who just so happens to be one of the biggest bands in the world. That symbolism is absolutely there, and it’s not even that hard to find. For example, Catanzarite even mentions “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” - the most recent album released at the time of this book’s publishing - which is one of the band’s most deeply religious albums. Why didn’t Catanzarite try to use this tactic with that album - an album where it makes sense - instead of stuffing this nonsense in an album where it sounds absurd?
Catanzarite’s “Achtung Baby” is one of the most frustrating, idiotic, and difficult reads I’ve suffered through in years. I wanted a book about one of U2’s best albums, and instead, I was preached at by an ignorant writer for 100+ pages.
I thankfully haven’t had to deal with that type of ignorance for year now, until I read Stephen Catanzarite’s 33 1/3 book on U2’s album, “Achtung Baby.” The 33 1/3 series exists as a series of books about various albums, usually diving deep into the artist, the music, and what it all means, either to the musician, the writer, or both. The first sentence in Catanzarite’s book about one of U2’s greatest albums is, “This is not a book about U2.” I should’ve taken that as a sign to get out while I could.
Instead of writing about “Achtung Baby,” Catanzarite takes this opportunity to preach to his newfound audience. Catanzarite does this through his own wild interpretation of the album, seen through a strained Christian lens. In telling his interpretation, he creates a story about a couple - which may or may not be Adam and Eve? - leaving paradise, going to a seedy city of pleasure, which tears the two apart, and more importantly, tears the man away from God. It’s never clear what exactly the man is doing that is wrong. He goes out at night and drinks, but Catanzarite makes it seem as though the man is seeking the deepest depravities known to man.
But in Catanzarite’s mind, every song on U2’s album is centered around religion. “Zoo Station” is about the Fall of Man, half of these songs are about man pulling away from God, and in one particularly frustrating chapter, Catanzarite talks about how putting women on a pedestal above men is far more important that “sexist” ideas like “equality.” If Catanzarite’s forced preaching wasn’t bad enough, he lost me in his rants about the awfulness of feminism. Catanzarite ends up being ignorant, misogynistic, and thematically, a ridiculous stretch that never warrants these mental gymnastics.
In the final chapter, Catanzarite does finally explore “Achtung Baby” somewhat, discussing what this album meant to them at the time, and in the context of their career. But even in these moments, Catanzarite can’t help but inject some religion into this explanation. Catanzarite even saves his explanation as to why he thinks this album is about the Fall of Man until the very end of the book. Why not put that at the front of the book, so I don’t think you’re some insane person pressing your own beliefs on me? Why not give the evidence upfront so your book makes a lick of sense?
But what really frustrates me about “Achtung Baby” is that if you were going to do a deep dive into Christian theology with a band, U2 is an excellent choice. For decades, U2 has always been assumed to be a Christian band, who just so happens to be one of the biggest bands in the world. That symbolism is absolutely there, and it’s not even that hard to find. For example, Catanzarite even mentions “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” - the most recent album released at the time of this book’s publishing - which is one of the band’s most deeply religious albums. Why didn’t Catanzarite try to use this tactic with that album - an album where it makes sense - instead of stuffing this nonsense in an album where it sounds absurd?
Catanzarite’s “Achtung Baby” is one of the most frustrating, idiotic, and difficult reads I’ve suffered through in years. I wanted a book about one of U2’s best albums, and instead, I was preached at by an ignorant writer for 100+ pages.
April 3, 2019
I don't enjoy giving such a low rating - the author clearly enjoys rock music and calls out many of my own favorite groups, songs and albums. And that starts with the choice of Achtung Baby as a topic. Catanzarite makes an argument late in the book that 1993's Achtung Baby deserves to be considered one of the handful of greatest albums in the history of rock-and-roll. I have believed this and proclaimed it loudly since 1993. And Catanzarite appears to be someone quite knowledgeable about religion as well, and I have no issue with a religious spin on a rock-and-roll masterpiece (Note to the 33 and 1/3 people - drop me a line when you need someone to do one about The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway).
The problem is, as many other reviewers have noted, this book presents almost no analysis of the actual music and lyrics at all. If the lyrics are quoted, I missed it - familiar passages from the Bible are quoted much more freely but I think the typical reader receptive to a religious spin on the album is already familiar with the Bible passages. Instead of bringing an expert's spin to the music and lyrics, the author instead uses the album as a loose background soundtrack to a morality drama of his own creation, a drama that is rather tedious and repetitive. Intriguing details about the making of the album do finally appear in the final chapter, but mostly these are not original but taken from another author's book.
I briefly wondered if the lack of lyrics and musical analysis was actually part of the 33 and 1/3 concept - to see what a critic could do in the abstract. Then I started reading a second entry I had bought from the 33 and 1/3 series, the entry on Elvis Costello's Armed Forces. The entry on Armed Forces is so knowledgeable and dense, and so packed with insights that never occurred to me or that I lack the musical training to have discovered for myself, that I can only read a few pages before my brain is full. At one point, the author goes into a high-detail analysis of why "Busy Bodies" is a weak song (and only reinforces the song's greatness). Achtung Baby is an album that richly deserves an analysis like this, but the current text, sadly, isn't it.
The problem is, as many other reviewers have noted, this book presents almost no analysis of the actual music and lyrics at all. If the lyrics are quoted, I missed it - familiar passages from the Bible are quoted much more freely but I think the typical reader receptive to a religious spin on the album is already familiar with the Bible passages. Instead of bringing an expert's spin to the music and lyrics, the author instead uses the album as a loose background soundtrack to a morality drama of his own creation, a drama that is rather tedious and repetitive. Intriguing details about the making of the album do finally appear in the final chapter, but mostly these are not original but taken from another author's book.
I briefly wondered if the lack of lyrics and musical analysis was actually part of the 33 and 1/3 concept - to see what a critic could do in the abstract. Then I started reading a second entry I had bought from the 33 and 1/3 series, the entry on Elvis Costello's Armed Forces. The entry on Armed Forces is so knowledgeable and dense, and so packed with insights that never occurred to me or that I lack the musical training to have discovered for myself, that I can only read a few pages before my brain is full. At one point, the author goes into a high-detail analysis of why "Busy Bodies" is a weak song (and only reinforces the song's greatness). Achtung Baby is an album that richly deserves an analysis like this, but the current text, sadly, isn't it.
March 4, 2008
The conceptualization -- viewing the album through the lens of a mediation on the Fall -- works well, and the overview of some theological/philosophical issues is more relevant than I thought it might be. The book's problem lies in the use of the relationship story that runs throughout, which often seems too forced to fit the songs (in a way that the author's more precise readings of the songs don't).
Read
September 16, 2008Not so hot. One of those "instead of writing about the album, I think I'll write about what the music evokes for ME" kinds of books. Returned to library before truly finishing it.
May 31, 2024
The most important thing to know upfront is that this is a theology book, not a music book or biography. The book's raison d'etre is to provide a new interpretation of the album, in this case a religious interpretation firmly founded in not just Christian belief but specifically looking at the Fall of Man. If you want to know about the album itself, read U2 At The End of The World by Bill Flanagan.
The author never pretends this book is more than their own interpretation of the album, and accepts other interpretations, and indeed the band's intentions, are all perfectly valid (though Bono apparently says the book's interpretation is very accurate). It generally makes for interesting reading but there are some points where it loses track. Firstly, the author too vehemently sticks to his own narrative invention, which although working very well at some times falls apart in the middle of the record, proving that a strict narrative overlay doesn't sit well on something as abstract as a musical album.
The main area it falls apart though is in the more theological passages where it fails to take account of other historical viewpoints, cultures, or even objective facts. What sounds like it may be the word of God if you are a patriarchal, white European sounds absurd and is instantly discredited if you aren't in that group. It gets particularly cringeworthy when a whole chapter is dedicated to the innate gender binary and how feminism is Bad. But this is a problem not with this book alone, or even with modern theological writing, but rather with how organised religion as a whole, which has over time become more of a cultural practice than a spiritual one, finds it can't quite succeed in the face of a globalised world where making universal declarations from very narrow perspectives just doesn't cut it anymore.
The author never pretends this book is more than their own interpretation of the album, and accepts other interpretations, and indeed the band's intentions, are all perfectly valid (though Bono apparently says the book's interpretation is very accurate). It generally makes for interesting reading but there are some points where it loses track. Firstly, the author too vehemently sticks to his own narrative invention, which although working very well at some times falls apart in the middle of the record, proving that a strict narrative overlay doesn't sit well on something as abstract as a musical album.
The main area it falls apart though is in the more theological passages where it fails to take account of other historical viewpoints, cultures, or even objective facts. What sounds like it may be the word of God if you are a patriarchal, white European sounds absurd and is instantly discredited if you aren't in that group. It gets particularly cringeworthy when a whole chapter is dedicated to the innate gender binary and how feminism is Bad. But this is a problem not with this book alone, or even with modern theological writing, but rather with how organised religion as a whole, which has over time become more of a cultural practice than a spiritual one, finds it can't quite succeed in the face of a globalised world where making universal declarations from very narrow perspectives just doesn't cut it anymore.
November 18, 2022
I’ve read a number of the 33 1/3 books now and they seem to fall into 2 camps. On one side are those who offer you new insight into the album in question, whether that’s in terms of how it was made, the people involved, or the subsequent influence it’s had on other artists. On the other side are the books which have been written by an author who has a very distinct point of view or opinion that they’re desperate to share with the world, and have managed to convince the publishers to let the, do that via a book in this series.
This book is, unfortunately, very much in the second camp. Catanzarite browbeats the reader with his religious views, shoe-horning them into songs where they don’t apply and joining them with his misplaced and misunderstood narrative about a relationship breaking down. Any insight into the album itself is lifted from other books and articles and the book lends no real he world as an appreciation of the album.
There was a brilliant box set reissue of Achtung Baby back in 2011 when it was 20 years old (hard to believe it’s now over 30!). There’s more insight and pleasure to be found in the articles and pictures in there, not to mention the music itself, than any amount of time spent in the company of Mr Catanzarite and his one note, one star book.
This book is, unfortunately, very much in the second camp. Catanzarite browbeats the reader with his religious views, shoe-horning them into songs where they don’t apply and joining them with his misplaced and misunderstood narrative about a relationship breaking down. Any insight into the album itself is lifted from other books and articles and the book lends no real he world as an appreciation of the album.
There was a brilliant box set reissue of Achtung Baby back in 2011 when it was 20 years old (hard to believe it’s now over 30!). There’s more insight and pleasure to be found in the articles and pictures in there, not to mention the music itself, than any amount of time spent in the company of Mr Catanzarite and his one note, one star book.
December 15, 2017
"This is not a book about U2...This is also not a story about the 'making of' an album." (xiii)
"Throughout this book, I have superimposed my particular narrative over the songs on Achtung Baby." (96)
I don't see it. To note the Christian overtures in U2's lyrics is low-hanging fruit, but what the author does is imagine a narrative where there isn't one, something he does with very little reference back to the lyrics themselves. Two points stuck out as a something I'd never considered: "Even Better Than the Real Thing" being about instant gratification of the physical world and "Until the End of the World" having a Judas-to-Jesus quality about it. But the author's bold claims that this album conveys the nature of love after the Fall of Man are a step too far; with his reasoning any album that depicts the ways love can fall short could be on the same theme...which they most certainly are not. The author's chosen to right band that might deliver such a message, but without more references back to the actual content of the songs, it is difficult to get on board with this.
"Throughout this book, I have superimposed my particular narrative over the songs on Achtung Baby." (96)
I don't see it. To note the Christian overtures in U2's lyrics is low-hanging fruit, but what the author does is imagine a narrative where there isn't one, something he does with very little reference back to the lyrics themselves. Two points stuck out as a something I'd never considered: "Even Better Than the Real Thing" being about instant gratification of the physical world and "Until the End of the World" having a Judas-to-Jesus quality about it. But the author's bold claims that this album conveys the nature of love after the Fall of Man are a step too far; with his reasoning any album that depicts the ways love can fall short could be on the same theme...which they most certainly are not. The author's chosen to right band that might deliver such a message, but without more references back to the actual content of the songs, it is difficult to get on board with this.
Read
July 31, 2022In spite of announcing at the beginning of the book that he’s writing a *catholic* book and not a *Catholic* book, there is an astonishing amount of Very Catholic ranting about the depravities of “modern life” in this book. Not great. However, the entire book is worth having read for the following anecdote: “… the album was very nearly called Adam, and was to feature as its cover a nude photograph of the eponymous bass player.” OMG CAN YOU IMAGINE. 1991 was not ready for that level of shitposting. I did also like the flight of fancy about Until The End Of The World, wherein Jesus visits Judas in Hell for a little chat. That was fun. Overall, though, if you’re looking for a thoughtful literary or cultural analysis of this powerhouse of an album, you’ll be disappointed because this ain’t it.
July 21, 2025
I just realized how long it took me to finish this. It happened honestly: this book was an absolute slog to read and a waste of time. In fairness, the author says upfront that it wasn’t a book about U2. Instead, it was the author’s fever-dream interpretations of the songs and his own religious beliefs. It was more of a sermon than a music book. I believe in God and am a Christian, so I have no problem with religious discussion. That does not, however, mean that I want it in a book that should have been about one of my favorite albums of all time by a writer whose opinions I don’t value at all.
I have several other 33 1/3 books to read. I was excited to read them, but desperately hope none of them are like this one.
I have several other 33 1/3 books to read. I was excited to read them, but desperately hope none of them are like this one.
March 18, 2019
An original and very Augustinian imaginative interaction with Achtung Baby. The book is structured as if the album was a meditation on a romantic relationship after the Fall, in all of the disintegration of late 20th Western culture. The chapter on the songs Mysterious Things and Trying to throw your Arms Around the World was the stand out for me, for its' reflections on difference in sex and gender in the context of the feminist revolution. Achtung Baby is the only U2 album that I am very into and I've been listening to it a lot in the last year so this was another interesting lens for engaging with one of the great rock albums of all time.
October 7, 2021
This book is ostensibly about the authors take on U2’s classic album, “Achtung,Baby.” What it turns into is a preach philosophical treatise on why the album mirrors the story of Adam and Eve and humanity’s fall from grace.
There are some definite parallels with this story and the songs on the album. However, that author heavy-handedly lays on the reader some serious Old Testament preaching. This is not what I was looking forward to as I bought this book. Again, some good points, but not an enjoyable read.
The book is redeemed a bit by the final chapter which gives a nice review of mid-period U2 albums. Not really recommended.
There are some definite parallels with this story and the songs on the album. However, that author heavy-handedly lays on the reader some serious Old Testament preaching. This is not what I was looking forward to as I bought this book. Again, some good points, but not an enjoyable read.
The book is redeemed a bit by the final chapter which gives a nice review of mid-period U2 albums. Not really recommended.
July 19, 2025
I've never hated a book more than this one. It's a shame because I was excited about a dive into this album. What a bunch of religious, self-righteous nonsense that often cites one of the songs from U2's album, Achtung Baby.
Imagine picking up a Stephen King book, and the first page reads, " This is not written by Stephen King, so don't expect his writing." So be warned if you want to read about this landmark album this book will not do that.
Imagine picking up a Stephen King book, and the first page reads, " This is not written by Stephen King, so don't expect his writing." So be warned if you want to read about this landmark album this book will not do that.
March 20, 2023
This simply doesn't belong in this series. It sheds no light whatsoever on the album and gives free range to the author's religiosity for over one hundred pages. I really wish I'd known it was magical thinking nonsense before I bought it. Please , I beg you, steer clear. It's a fraud within the context of this series of books.
February 15, 2020
If I could give 3.5 stars, I would. This is quite an interesting interpretation of a phenomenal album, and I applaud the author's attempt at this new sort of literary criticism. I would love to have him write a follow up on Zooropa.
May 17, 2018
The phrase “radical feminist” popped up and I tapped out, luckily it was short!
August 15, 2020
Imagine writing an entire book about U2's Achtung Baby, and an entire chapter of said book on the song "One", and not mentioning the AIDS crisis even once.
August 29, 2025
Enjoyed the over-aching interpretation of redemptive history.
December 13, 2008
It was an interesting concept to run U2's least messianic record (or at least in the bottom three messianic U2 records) through the theological sieve like Catanzrite did, but it was executed successfully. The author works braids together discourses from Neuhaus, the U2 album, and a narrative about a couple duking it out on the mat of love and marriage in a way that recalls Kierkegaard's weighings-in on the relative merits and failings of love in Either/Or. His Christian viewpoint is the spoken undercurrent to this record, but restrained enough to keep a heretic like myself from rolling his eyes. It is also an engaging and extremely quick read, a trait for which I wish more philosophical texts would aim.
I got the feeling that Catanzarite could have inserted nearly any pop album of substance into this context and pulled out the bits and pieces that supported his theme, but it is readily apparent that this is the album that spoke to him and inspired this quasi-sermon. He claims in the first sentence that this is not a book about U2, and really, it isn't. Instead it is an intelligent, impassioned and convincing book about actual human adult love and is in that a manifestation of what art is supposed to be in the first place - a springboard for the greater topics of discussion.
I got the feeling that Catanzarite could have inserted nearly any pop album of substance into this context and pulled out the bits and pieces that supported his theme, but it is readily apparent that this is the album that spoke to him and inspired this quasi-sermon. He claims in the first sentence that this is not a book about U2, and really, it isn't. Instead it is an intelligent, impassioned and convincing book about actual human adult love and is in that a manifestation of what art is supposed to be in the first place - a springboard for the greater topics of discussion.
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