"Even Better Than the Real Thing" originated from a chorus guitar riff that the Edge composed in Los Angeles during the "Rattle and Hum" sessions. A demo of the song, called "The Real Thing," was recorded at STS Studios during the same session in which "Desire" was recorded. The band remarked that the song's guitar riff reminded them of the Rolling Stones, but that it sounded "deeply traditional." Consequently, it was shelved until the "Achtung Baby" recording sessions, when the band took the multitrack recording of the demo to Hansa Studios in Berlin in late 1990. The band made little progress on the demo there, as the Berlin sessions were fraught with conflict and difficulty in completing songs.