The Super Deluxe boxset of Achtung Baby is by far the heaviest boxset I've ever owned. The 6 CDs and 4 DVDs are placed securely at the front and end of the hardcover book respectively. Apart from the iconic photographs taken from that era, the book also contains essays by people close to the band (Brian Eno, Danny Lanois, Anton Corbijn) and music critics. I'll start with the Achtung Baby album. Technically it is NOT remastered, because the original record was already mastered pretty well. But there are some improvements to the sound, more apparent when heard on a hi-fi system. The volume is noticeably higher, and also the bass is more defined, which is a good thing. A few tweaks have been made here and there, and to my ears it sounds like Bono's voice is clearer. Some of the little instruments that were kinda buried in the original are now brought more to the front. Achtung is still one of the best sounding records of its time, and I guess there's no huge need to properly remaster it. Zooropa is also included in the boxset (not remastered). It's a decent record, no real bad songs, but some of them are forgettable. However there's no denying that the title track is one of the most outstanding songs U2 has put out.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Achtung Baby 20
The Super Deluxe boxset of Achtung Baby is by far the heaviest boxset I've ever owned. The 6 CDs and 4 DVDs are placed securely at the front and end of the hardcover book respectively. Apart from the iconic photographs taken from that era, the book also contains essays by people close to the band (Brian Eno, Danny Lanois, Anton Corbijn) and music critics. I'll start with the Achtung Baby album. Technically it is NOT remastered, because the original record was already mastered pretty well. But there are some improvements to the sound, more apparent when heard on a hi-fi system. The volume is noticeably higher, and also the bass is more defined, which is a good thing. A few tweaks have been made here and there, and to my ears it sounds like Bono's voice is clearer. Some of the little instruments that were kinda buried in the original are now brought more to the front. Achtung is still one of the best sounding records of its time, and I guess there's no huge need to properly remaster it. Zooropa is also included in the boxset (not remastered). It's a decent record, no real bad songs, but some of them are forgettable. However there's no denying that the title track is one of the most outstanding songs U2 has put out.
