Rattle & Hum
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Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Limited edition double LP vinyl pressing of U2's soundtrack to their documentary of the same name. Universal.
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The ill will that initially greeted Rattle and Hum--the follow-up to the band's massively successful Joshua Tree album--was due in large part to the bloated and self-important feature film that accompanied it, which showed the band as being simultaneously naive and pretentious as it "discovered" America. But as the film mercifully slips from memory, the music has remained, from the furious swirl of "Desire" and a clutch of live hits to insightful musical nods to heroes such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Billie Holiday. Songs like "When Love Comes to Town," a supercharged blues duet with B.B. King, suggests the quartet knew more about America from listening to its music than Phil Joanou's unintentional mockumentary suggested. --Daniel Durchholz
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Customer Reviews
Daryl Eriksen Said: In hindsight, 2 separate albums would have been the way to go. ( Jun. 10th 2010 )
I have never been a fan of combining studio recordings with live songs on the same album, unless the live songs are 'first release' versions. With Rattle and Hum, from the moment both the film and records came out, I always thought they had gotten a bit full of themselves. The idea was to record the songs they had written on the Joshua Tree tour and release them alongside live recordings from the tour--all in the same package.
And it does work for the most part. The power of the set's opening, their U2-ized (in no way an insult) version of Helter Skelter ("this is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. We're stealing it back") is undeniable, and really sucks you in. But after a while the album wears on and you find yourself wanting to hear the new songs--just the new songs--without having to wait through the JT live songs or covers. Not that the live songs aren't awesome for the most part (Their take on Dylan's All Along the Watchtower was an instant classic).
It's just that the more I listened to R&H the more the live and studio (including b-sides) the more I came to thought of them as separate beasts. What would I have done, if it were up to me? Release all the live tracks first, in summer 1988, as Rattle and Hum, as a single record. It would have been huge in its own right. All the while hint at all of this new material that was written on the tour and how the cannons are being loaded. Then in early 1989 release a new U2 album (live albums don't really count, you see, when you say a band is releasing a "new album." So in a way, for me, Rattle and Hum didn't really count) called...whatever. I'm sure they'd come up with some wonderful, appropriate one word title (maybe even self-titled).
For the longest time, though, I couldn't come up with the right track sequence for this album I always had trouble with what track to open it with. I'd tried several but none really made the album work--until I tried "Desire." Once I did, everything else fell into place: Side A: 1-Desire 2-Hallelujah Here She Comes 3-Hawkmoon 269 4-Love Rescue Me 5-God Part II. Side B: 1-Angel Of Harlem 2-When Love Comes To Town 3-Heartland 4-A Room At the Heartbreak Hotel 5-All I Want Is You. Trust me, I just got done listening to the songs in this order and it really works. What about "Van Diemen's Land" and the other b-sides, you ask? Well it's U2. of course there still need to be some b-sides.
U2 has released remastered versions of several of their early albums and I hope they do not neglect this one. And when they do, perhaps that will be the opportunity to right some obvious wrongs from the original release.
Harold L. Bartlett Said: Been through 3 copies. that good. ( May. 24th 2010 )
U2 at their best. And U2 IS up there with the music gods the critics complained they were elevating themselves to.
Jesse Ross Said: A Solid Live Album ( Jan. 26th 2010 )
U2 are an interesting band. They are sort of the precursor to Green Day, in a way -- politically motivated, intelligent lyrics, and put on a very energetic live show. This album is a mix of live tracks, studio cuts and covers of rock standards.
The first track is a Beatles cover. It is thoroughly rocked out and is a great start to a great album. There is also a cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower," a sensational duet with BB King on "When Love Comes To Town," in which BB's guitar and vocals perfectly compliment Bono, and live versions of "Pride," "Silver and Gold," and other terrific tracks. For me, however, the standout is "Angel of Harlem." That song is phenomenally good.
This is a great album that should definitely be owned by any U2 fan.
H. Jin Said: Good individual songs, but less than the sum of its parts.... ( Jan. 24th 2010 )
`Rattle And Hum' contains some great individual songs, but doesn't fit that well together as a whole. The album is basically a bits-and-pieces collection of new songs, live tracks, out-takes, and covers. As such, it's not really one thing or the other; it's not a live album, it's not a greatest hits collection, but it's not a bold new artistic statement either. What it sounds like is a confused and tentative step forward from a band that seems overwhelmed by their sudden superstardom.
Stylistically, the album continues the trend of `The Joshua Tree', focussing heavily on American music. `Rattle And Hum' is the sound of U2 paying tribute to their influences and some rock godfathers, and the blues, roots, soul, gospel and country influences are more obvious than before.
`Helter Skelter': clumsy intro by Bono, but a good, energetic version of the song.
`Van Diemen's Land': poignant, reflective track sung by The Edge. A good song but seems out of place between `Helter Skelter' and `Desire'.
`Desire': obvious ode to Bo Diddley and even more obvious single. Highlight is the out-of-nowhere harmonica blast toward the end.
`Hawkmoon': brooding, intense song that builds up slowly before a passion-filled climax. Perhaps goes on a bit too long, but the payoff is worth it.
`All Along The Watchtower': take-it-or-leave-it cover. Did Bono stuff up the lyrics or was repeating the second verse deliberate?
`I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For': outstanding gospel interpretation of the hit single. One of the highlights of the album.
`Silver And Gold' (begins with a short clip of `Freedom For My People'): this is an excellent live version of U2's anti-apartheid anthem. Quite a heavy and strident song.
`Pride': another good live cut. Bono's whipping up of the audience into some call-and-response shows why U2 were such a great live band.
`Angel Of Harlem': lyrical tribute to Billie Holliday. A soulful, horn-driven number and another obvious single.
`Love Rescue Me': okay collaboration with Dylan, but not one of the better songs here.
`When Love Comes To Town': blues-influenced duet with B.B. King. King's vocals are perfectly suited to the song, there's some excellent guitar work on "Lucille" too.
`Heartland': apparently a `Joshua Tree' out-take. Pleasant enough.
`God Part II': although this rocker seems to look ahead to U2's 90's work, I've always felt the song is clumsy and forced. It's never a good idea to explicitly make a "sequel" to such a classic song.
`Bullet The Blue Sky (short intro of `Star Spangled Banner'): better than the album version, the additional lyrics Bono adds to the last verse actually improve the song, giving it more tension before the final release.
`All I Want Is You': this string-tinged love ballad is another obvious single. Like `Van Diemen's Land', it seems a bit out of place after the leaden `God' and the bombastic `Bullet..', although the extended string coda makes it a good closer for the album.
So there are some excellent cuts here, but the way in which they're all thrown together seemingly at random makes `Rattle And Hum' feel like less than the sum of its parts. It doesn't help that the band's po-faced earnestness gives the project a very leaden and self-conscious feel, as if U2 were trying too hard to place themselves on the same pedestal as Dylan, King and The Beatles.
I would still recommend this album, because there are enough highlights to make up for the clumsy mis-steps. But I can easily see why many critics were confused and disappointed with this, and why U2 decided to lighten up on `Achtung Baby'.
Peter M. Sorenson Said: Take me away, 'Angel of Harlem'! ( Dec. 30th 2009 )
I first purchased a copy of this album at a "hole-in-the-wall" type bookstore on a cold, late fall evening back in October of 2003. Accompanied by the purchase of a warming mug of mulled, spiced cider (which was drank at the store before I left and took my cassette home), I had no regrets about purchasing it. To this date, my favorite song of all on this album is "Angel of Harlem." Regrettably, I had since misplaced the cassette that I bought back in 2003 - which is why I purchased this album on CD recently. And I'm still TOTALLY ROCKING OUT to "Angel of Harlem" - and the other tunes aren't bad, either!