In 1991, U2 hit their peak with “Achtung Baby.” I remember I bought that album on the same day I picked up Nirvana’s “Nevermind” (What a shopping trip!) The album doesn’t have a bad song on it! It’s a perfect album of complete, radio-ready singles. What does that mean? Well, it means that since they all couldn’t be chosen, some real gems ended up being missed.
This album produced a sonic avalanche of singles. “The Fly,” set it off, followed by “Mysterious Ways,” “One,” “Even Better Than The Real Thing,” and “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?” Even “Until The End Of The World” got some radio play. Two key tracks were forgotten. Both “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” and “Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World” were ready-made hits, demanding placement, but they weren’t singles. In recent years, “Ultraviolet” has been redeemed. When the band last appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” they used it to close the show. “Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World,” however stands as an untested and unused possible blockbuster. It’s a waste, if you ask me!
What makes this track so great? Well, it’s a ballad in the mold of “With Or Without You” and “All I Want Is You,” but it’s built around a pleasantly repetitive groove, giving it an almost anti-gravity-like vibe. It seems effortless and easy, yet Bono’s delivery is still slickly confident as he spouts lines like, “How far are you gonna go, before you lose your way back home?” It’s a deeply haunting, penetrating slow-jam. In addition, it’s profoundly catchy. It’s virtually impossible not to sing along to the refrain, “I’m gonna run to you, run to you, run to you. / Woman be still.” Any other band would kill for this song and yet it remained as a mere album-cut.
Had “Zooropa” not followed “Achtung Baby” so closely, maybe this track would’ve gotten its time to shine. It showcases the band at their peak. “In A Little While” off their 2000 album, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” shows a similar strong side. Since that track, they have yet to show us another ballad of that caliber. They are currently working on another record. Let’s hope we hear ballads this strong, again!
