Q Magazine's all-star tribute to U2's Achtung Baby, dubbed AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered, hits U.K. newsstands tomorrow, but another handful of covers has appeared online. And not to sound blasphemous, but these versions from Depeche Mode, the Killers, Garbage, Damien Rice, and especially Nine Inch Nails all -- gasp! -- improve on U2's recordings. Well, maybe not "improve on," since U2's originals are well-deserved classics, but each artist brings their unique sound to the songs to make the 20-year-old tracks appear brand new. It's very rare that a tribute album elevates itself above merely a scattered collection of cover songs, but AHK-toong BAY-bi is a fascinating listen in its own right.
Depeche Mode's "So Cruel" is the most structurally similar of the Achtung covers, but the group adds a propulsive layer of synths and ambience to their rendition. The Killers bring their patented gleam and theatricality to "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)," and Garbage's version of "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" re-imagines the track as if Bono had co-written Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You." Damien Rice's "One" could have easily been a straight "open mic night" cover version, but instead the Irish crooner turns the ballad into something off his stellar debut O. But the real highlight is Nine Inch Nails, with Trent Reznor dialing back the group's dark, industrial habits to deliver a "Zoo Station" that feels like a long lost shoegaze anthem.
Compare these new renditions with U2's originals:
Depeche Mode - "So Cruel"
(Achtung version here.)
The Killers - "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"
(Achtung version here.)
Garbage - "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses"
(Achtung version here.)
Damien Rice - "One"
(Achtung version here.)
Check out Nine Inch Nails' "Zoo Station" over at Consequence of Sound. Add Jack White's growling delta version of closer "Love Is Blindness" to the equation, and it's hard not to develop a newfound respect for Achtung Baby. There was no debate that U2's 1991 disc was a seminal album, but who knew it also inspired such greatness? Maybe that $658 reissue, due out on Halloween, is worth the money after all.