Song · U2
“So Cruel” by U2
From the album Achtung Baby (1991)
“So Cruel” by U2 appears on 7 radio countdowns from 1 station between 1999 and 2005. It was first released in 1991 on the album Achtung Baby. Its best result is #1841 on the CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,480 alternative song of all time.
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"So Cruel" closes side one of Achtung Baby, U2's 1991 album, and it arrived almost by accident. At Elsinore in Dalkey, while Flood was swapping reels to play back a demo of something else, Bono started making up a song on guitar, the others fell in behind him, and that jam became the first take. It began as an acoustic piece, with Flood layering on overdubs and extra touches later; Adam Clayton and Flood both credited the studio technology with turning it into the finished mix. Nell Catchpole adds violin and viola, Daniel Lanois produced, and Brian Eno and Flood mixed it.
The sessions were shadowed by the Edge's separation from his wife, Aislinn O'Sullivan, and Bono poured that heartache into the words: a torch song about unrequited love, jealousy, obsession and possessiveness. The critics liked it.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1897 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1897 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1897 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1882 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 1850 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 1852 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1841 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
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