Rattle and Hum

by

U2

Edit

Rattle & Hum is the soundtrack to the band's documentary on their 1987 tour through America. The album is a mix of live tracks and studio recordings. The album takes on an American sound to it as the band traveled through the States visiting such places as Harlem, Graceland & Sun Studios. "Angel Of Harlem" is a tribute to Billie Holliday and the band shows they've got some soul with the song's stirring horn section. "When Love Comes To Town" is a duet with blues legend B.B. King and he lets loose with some terrific guitar playing. "God Part II" is the band's sequel to John Lennon's "God" from his Plastic Ono Band album. Much like the original, U2 question their own beliefs and the beliefs about them. "Desire" is a blistering song and Bono's harmonica work is impressive. "Van Dieman's Land", "Hawkmoon 269" and the appropriately titled "Heartland" find the band playing sounds with a folky, Midwestern vibe. "All I Want Is You" closes the album with a powerful beauty. The live tracks include a gospelized version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", a take on the Beatles "Helter Skelter" in which Bono adds one of his more famous lines "three chords and a dream", a simmering take of their anti-apartheid song "Silver & Gold". "Bullet The Blue Sky" shows all the power and force of the band on stage. It opens with a snippet of Jimi Hendrix's take of "The Star Spangled Banner" and then merges into a booming Larry Mullin drum beat. Adam Clayton plays an extremely heavy bass while Bono expands on his sermon in the middle of the song and The Edge's guitar soars up and down. The critics dismissed this album when it first came out as bombastic and egotistical, but that probably had a lot to do with the film. U2 had been untouchable up to that and the project gave them a chance to jump on them. The album is uneven in places and the film is precocious at times, but their overall passion and feeling override any flaws and ten years later those feelings are still strong.

When U2 made Rattle and Hum, they confused people. They started out with a live album to go with their concert film, but then they added some new live tracks --- one of their own (Silver and Gold) and one by the Beatles (Helter Skelter). They cut 6 or 7 new songs. Some of them were with guest stars like BB King and Bob Dylan. Then the Edge got a lead vocal. Then they added a bit of Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner.

Okay guys. Are you really wondering why people were confused and/or disappointed? You have to commend the band for taking a few chances, of course. They took a perfectly good live album and squeezed an EP of "American roots music" songs into it. They thought it would work, but it didn't.

The whole thing would be an afterthought, but this is U2. When they make an album between "proper" albums, they have trouble making it modest. It happened again with Zooropa: After a big tour, they tried to make a little post-tour CD of outtakes and experiments, but it grew into a full-sized album.

In the end, just about everyone likes half of Rattle and Hum. But few people agree on exactly which half. I prefer the studio tracks that either sound like Joshua Tree outtakes (like Heartland) or the noisy stuff like God Part 2. I don't have any use for live versions of the Joshua Tree songs. They're overproduced and dull. Fans will always come back to this CD for their favorite parts. Non-fans can probably live without it.