Rattle & Hum [Live]

U2 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000001FS6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  VHS Tape  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (137 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,169 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

Product Description

U2 RATTLE AND HUM

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars U2 in America December 11, 2000

By Thomas Magnum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

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.

67 of 78 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars U2 + American music = Great record October 20, 2000

By S. Baker

Format:Audio CD

U2 were completely panned by the press and some hardcore U2 fans for 'Rattle & Hum' (1988), which is purported to be U2's ill-fated egocentric exploration into American music. Leaving pretentiousness in the eyes of the beholder, a lot of people liked this record, a mix of studio songs and live tracks from 'The Joshua Tree' tour and for good reason. Here's a song-by-song:

1. "Helter Skelter" [Live]. OK, the ego does get a bit out of hand here, but this is one of the standout cover tunes.

2. "Van Diemen's Land". The Edge takes vocals on this nice ode to the working man which is abruptly cut off in mid-verse.

3. "Desire". The first single, an obvious musical tribute to blues legend Bo Diddley, continues to be one of their most popular and infectious songs.

4. "Hawkmoon 269". Although there is some lyrical help from Bob Dylan, this is one of the studio tracks that really does not work.

5. "All Along the Watchtower" [Live]. An uninspired cover which is memorable only if you saw the movie.

6. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" [Live]. With embellishments by a real gospel choir, the song is performed the way it was meant to be.

7. "Freedom for My People". This is just a snippet of a street performer.

8. "Silver and Gold" [Live]. A great live version of a non-LP track, seethingly delivered by Bono toward an apathetic American audience.

9. "Pride (in the Name of Love)" [Live]. What live record would be complete without the consumate U2 anthem.

10. "Angel of Harlem". As one of the songs recorded at the historic Sun Studios, complete with a horn section, this lyrical ode to Billie Holiday is a U2 classic.

11. "Love Rescue Me". With the accompanyment of Bob Dylan, this one never really picks up.

12. "When Love Comes to Town". Although many U2 fans did not appreciate the prominent vocals and guitar of B.B. King, the lyrics are "fantastic" (as the King puts it in the movie), and if you love the blues . . .

13. "Heartland". You can almost see the Mississippi going by on this song, a mood piece which works much better than "Love Rescue Me".

14. "God Part II". A great rocker about contradiction and a lyrical and musical prequel to U2's "reinvention" in the 1990s.

15. "Bullet the Blue Sky" [Live]. With a recorded intro of Jimi Hendrix doing "Star Spangled Banner", this is the consumate version of this song.

16. "All I Want Is You". Although it seems a bit out of place on this record, this is simply one of the best U2 ballads ever.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE album of 1988 November 28, 2004

By Dr Jeremy Buddle

Format:Audio CD

This was THE album of 1988. U2 had toured extensively and conquered the rock world in 1987, and this 17-track album was a mix of live tracks from the Joshua Tree tour, studio demo type stuff, a couple of bits of sound they found on their travels (Freedom For My People) and a few really good new songs. I happen to love all the new songs on here, and the live stuff is also pretty good, though having seen the Rattle&Hum movie, they left off the two highlight live tracks: Sunday Bloody Sunday and Where The Streets Have No Name.

My rating of the new studio songs:

Helter Skelter- A raucous Beatles hard-rock cover version opens this disc (and the movie) stunningly.

Van Diemen's Land - This emotional folk ballad is about the leaving of the Old World for the New. It has special relevance for we Tasmanians as Van Diemen's Land was the old name for Tasmania when it was a harsh, brutal European penal colony in the 19th Century.

Desire - Driving 3-minute rock at its basic best. It's all about the energy and the passion. A great #1 hit single

Hawkmoon 269 - densely packed thunderous rock song, full of yearning intensity. Really good.

Silver And Gold - makes its first appearance on a U2 album as a live cut. Dates from U2's Amnesty crusade in 1986.

Angel Of Harlem - I love this tribute to the giants of 20th Century American music. Works even better live in concert as a guaranteed singalong favourite.

Love Rescue Me - slow building, guitar based blues-styled song.

Heartland - My favourite song on the album. This is a wonderful U2 song evoking glorious imagery and feelings about the Heartland of America the band had been discovering during their 80's tours of the USA.

God Part II - "You glorify the past when the future dries up" Here, U2 writes a sequel to John Lennon's famous track God. It's really good too.

When Love Comes To Town - Strong imagery, impassioned vocals and inimitable slide guitar from master musician B.B King make this a truly memorable song

All I Want Is You - it is U2's most direct love song - a classic hit and a fitting way to end an epic album

5 stars from me