On the heels of their “Achtung Baby” reissue announcement, U2 has gone further in celebrating that album’s 20th anniversary.
Q Magazine has commissioned a covers set of that 1991 album, and Jack White, Depeche Mode, Damien Rice and Patti Smith are all on board. Bono made the announcement during his tenure at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, in support of U2 band documentary “From the Sky Down.”
“Jack White does ‘Love Is Blindness,’ Depeche Mode do ‘So Cruel,’ Patti Smith did ‘Until the End of the World,’ Damien Rice does ‘One.” It just goes on,” the frontman said at a press conference, according to Rolling Stone.”And it”s strange, because when I hear the album, when U2 do it, all I hear is what”s wrong with it. But when I heard all these artists doing it, I thought, ‘It”s really good.'”
No word when this magical exploration arrives, but it may be part of the mega-boxed set due in November if Q has made it license-able.
Bono also revealed that a video of “Even Better Than the Real” has been completed, by renowned English artist and sometimes-collaborator Damien Hirst. (Hirst also recently made the cover art to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “I’m With You.”) Bono seemed to insinuate that the “extraordinary piece of art” may inspire a push for the song as a renewed single, to go to radio. Which doesn’t sound like a bad idea. “Real Thing” was a perfect, fitting second song of second songs, with that singles stadium thump and sensual UNGH of a chorus.