Quick — name some bands who hit creative peaks on their seventh studio albums… the Beatles, Revolver; the Rolling Stones, Beggar’s Banquet; and U2, Achtung Baby.

By November 1991, it had been four years since The Joshua Tree and three years since the half-live, half-soundtrack Rattle and Hum; U2 moved away from the folk and blues influences on those records to embrace a new sound, inspired by industrial music, hiphop, and madchester, forged in Berlin and Dublin with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

The band struggled to find their new sound — nearly breaking up at one point — until a spontaneous set of chords inspired the song “One.”  Achtung Baby would sell 18 million copies, introduce the world to Bono’s wraparound-shade-wearing rockstar parody the Fly, and soon they would be filling football stadiums as one of the biggest bands of the past 40 years on Zoo TV tour.

Released November 18, 1991, this week we celebrate U2’s Achtung Baby on Teenage Kicks.

Program playlist, hour 1

Program playlist, hour 2