Rattle and Hum

Infobox Album
Name = Rattle and Hum
Type = Studio
Longtype = with live tracks
Artist = U2


Released = 10 October 1988
Recorded = Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee, 1987–1988
Genre = Rock, roots rock [cite web | url = http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wcfexql5ldde | title = Rattle and Hum > Overview | publisher = Allmusic | first = Stephen Thomas | last = Erlewine | accessdate = 2008-08-01]
Length = 72:27
Label = Island
Producer = Jimmy Iovine
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:zsd1vwvva9lk link]
*Robert Christgau (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=u2 link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/234580 link]
Last album = "The Joshua Tree" (1987)
This album = "Rattle and Hum" (1988)
Next album = "Achtung Baby" (1991)
Misc = Singles
Name = Rattle and Hum
Type = studio
single 1 = Desire
single 1 date = September 1988
single 2 = Angel of Harlem
single 2 date = December 1988
single 3 = When Love Comes to Town
single 3 date = April 1989
single 4 = All I Want Is You
single 4 date = June 1989

"Rattle and Hum" is the name of both an album and its companion motion picture recorded by Irish rock band U2, released in 1988. The album, which was made to represent 1987's Joshua Tree Tour both on and off the stage, was composed of a mix of live recordings and new songs (and is thus considered the band's sixth studio album). Much like "The Joshua Tree", the "Rattle and Hum" album features the band exploring roots rock and experimenting with blues-rock, folk rock, and country music. The film documents the band's Joshua Tree Tour of the United States and its exploration into American music. Although the album and motion picture were meant to represent the band paying tribute to rock legends, critics believed that U2 were trying to place themselves amongst the ranks of these artists. The band consequently concluded their supporting Lovetown Tour with an air of uncertainty over their future.

History

The movie is a rockumentary, released in theaters in 1988 and on video in 1989. It was produced by Michael Hamlyn and directed by Phil Joanou. It incorporates live footage with studio outtakes and band interviews. The album is a hodgepodge of live material and new studio recordings that furthers the band's experimentation with American music styles and recognize many of their musical influences. It was produced by Jimmy Iovine and also released in 1988.

Because of its chaotic presentation and its unfortunate placement between the much more groundbreaking albums "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby", it is one of the more overlooked albums in their catalogue. At the time, the album and film were derided as self-indulgent by many critics who claimed U2 was trying to enshrine itself in the great pantheon of rock legends (influences ranging from B. B. King, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles are all referenced in the project) as opposed to honoring its newly-found influences. Many found the project—with its focus on earnest roots music and its many political diatribes—to be too serious.

Others, to the contrary, find the album to be a fine representation of a great band at the height of its artistic powers and popular influence. To date it has sold nearly ten million copies worldwide and earned the band its first number one single in the UK, "Desire".

Due slightly to the poor reception of "Rattle and Hum", but mostly from the exhaustion of touring (Larry Mullen Jr. was quoted as saying that he felt like a human juke box on the "Joshua Tree" and "Lovetown" tours), Bono announced at a concert in Ireland on December 30, 1989 that they needed to go away for a while to "dream it all up again". Many fans feared the band was going to split up, which it nearly did. Instead, the band took a drastic change in direction with 1991's "Achtung Baby".

tudio recordings

Most of the tracks on the album pay homage in some way to the rootsy influences the band discovered while recording 1987's "The Joshua Tree". The album itself takes its name from a lyric in "The Joshua Tree"'s fourth track "Bullet the Blue Sky."

The album opens with a live cover of "Helter Skelter" (which Bono famously introduces as "a song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles...we're stealing it back" [See Helter Skelter (Manson scenario)] ). It also has a live version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower", which can be seen as a dual tribute to Dylan and to Jimi Hendrix, who popularized the song with his own blistering rendition. Aside from the covers, a couple of songs were written for other artists. "Angel of Harlem" is a vivacious, horn-filled tribute to Billie Holiday. The bass-heavy "God Part II" is an introduction to the "Achtung Baby" sound, and is a sequel of sorts to John Lennon's "God", his stark denunciation of everything from Elvis Presley to Jesus Christ.

The songs are also musically in line with the predecessors they honor. The punchy lead single, "Desire", for instance, sports a Bo Diddley beat. "Love Rescue Me" (featuring co-author Bob Dylan on vocals) and the live performance of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (recorded with a full church choir) are gospel songs. "When Love Comes to Town" is a blues rocker featuring B. B. King on guitar and vocals.

"Angel of Harlem", "Love Rescue Me" and "When Love Comes to Town" were recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and many others also recorded.

All of the studio tracks apart from "Heartland" were performed in concert on the Lovetown Tour, which began almost a year after "Rattle and Hum"'s release.

Live performances

Most of the video from the movie is black-and-white indoor concert footage from the band's Denver, Colorado show on 8 November 1987 or colour outdoor concert footage from the band's Tempe, Arizona shows on 19 December 1987 and 20 December 1987.

The performance of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is from the band's impromptu "Save the Yuppies" concert in Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, California on 11 November 1987. The video intersperses the performance of the song with footage from the band's performance of "Pride" from the same show, during which Bono spray-painted "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" on the Vaillancourt Fountain. This caused a bit of controversy, and ultimately, the band paid to repair the damage and publicly apologized for the incident. The phrase "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" reappeared 18 years later in the video "All Because of You" when an unnamed fan appeared with the sign at 1:55 in the video. [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlBdaxB1Wy4|title=U2 All Because of You]

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is from the band's New York City show on 28 September 1987 and features the New Voices of Freedom, a gospel choir.

During "Silver and Gold", Bono explains that the song is an attack on apartheid.

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is from the Denver show, which was performed on the day that an IRA bomb killed eleven people at a Remembrance Day ceremony in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen (see Remembrance Day Bombing). As the band went into a long musical break, Bono condemned the violence in a furious mid-song rant—capped by an emotional cry of "Fuck the revolution!" — and led the crowd in a brief chant of "No more! No more!"

The noise of the crowd was sampled extensively by the The KLF for 'the Stadium House Trilogy' of singles on their 1990 album "The White Room. [cite web|url=http://cardhouse.com/x07/klf.html|title=KLF Interview|publisher=http://cardhouse.com|accessdate=2008-09-26]

Reception

After the success of The Joshua Tree, the album received a generally positive reception. Writing in Rolling Stone, Anthony DeCurtis said "The album ably demonstrates U2's force but devotes too little attention to the band's vision". The album received an 8/10 marking in the NME from Stuart Baillie but was controversial as Mark Sinker originally gave it a much poorer review which was pulled in favour of Baillie's more positive one. Sinker left the NME shortly after. [cite web|url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/writer.html?WriterID=sinker|title=Mark Sinker|publisher=Rocksbackpages.com|accessdate=September 25|accesyear=2008]

Roger Ebert slammed the movie saying the footage was badly lit and monotonous, with little use made of the crowds, however partner Gene Siskel was more sympathetic praising the music and finding the footage of the Harlem gospel choir particularly moving [cite web|url=http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/ebertandroeper/index2.html?sec=1&subsec=51|title=At the movies - Rattle and Hum|publisher=Bventertainment.go.com|accessdate=September 25|accessyear=2008] .

Album

Track listing

tracklist|
total_length = 72:27
writing_credits = yes
extra_column = Performer
title1 = Helter Skelter
note1 = live
writer1 = Lennon/McCartney
extra1 = U2
length1 = 3:07
title2 = Van Diemen's Land
writer2 = The Edge
extra2 = U2
length2 = 3:05
title3 = Desire
writer3 = U2
extra3 = U2
length3 = 2:59
title4 = Hawkmoon 269
writer4 = U2
extra4 = U2
length4 = 6:22
title5 = All Along the Watchtower
note5 = live
writer5 = Bob Dylan
extra5 = U2
length5 = 4:24
title6 = I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking
For
note6 = live
writer6 = U2
extra6 = U2
length6 = 5:53
title7 = Freedom for My People
writer7 = Adam Gussow and Sterling Magee
extra7 = Satan and Adam
length7 = 0:38
title8 = Silver and Gold
note8 = live
writer8 = Bono
extra8 = U2
length8 = 5:49
title9 = Pride (In the Name of Love)
note9 = live
writer9 = U2
extra9 = U2
length9 = 4:27
title10 = Angel of Harlem
writer10 = U2
extra10 = U2
length10 = 3:49
title11 = Love Rescue Me
writer11 = U2
extra11 = U2 with Bob Dylan
length11 = 6:24
title12 = When Love Comes to Town
writer12 = U2
extra12 = U2 with B. B. King
length12 = 4:15
title13 = Heartland
writer13 = U2
extra13 = U2
length13 = 5:03
title14 = God Part II
writer14 = U2
extra14 = U2
length14 = 3:15
title15 = The Star Spangled Banner
note15 = live
writer15 = John Stafford Smith
extra15 = Jimi Hendrix
length15 = 0:43
title16 = Bullet the Blue Sky
note16 = live
writer16 = U2
extra16 = U2
length16 = 5:36
title17 = All I Want Is You
writer17 = U2| extra17 = U2
length17 = 6:30

Chart positions and sales

Film

Infobox Film
name = Rattle and Hum


caption = Film poster
director = Phil Joanou
producer = Michael Hamlyn
writer =
starring = Bono
The Edge
Adam Clayton
Larry Mullen Jr.
music = Adam Clayton
Larry Mullen Jr.
The Edge
cinematography = Robert Brinkmann (color)
Jordan Cronenweth (B&W)
editing = Phil Joanou
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = 27 October 1988 (Ireland)
4 November 1988 (U.S.)
runtime = 99 min
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:51537
imdb_id = 0096328
gross = US$8,600,823 U.S.

#"Helter Skelter" (live)
#"Van Diemen's Land"
#"Desire" (demo)
#"Exit" / "Gloria (Them song)" (live)
#"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (rehearsal)
#"Freedom for My People" "excerpt by Adam Gussow and Sterling Magee" / "Silver and Gold" (live)
#"Angel of Harlem" (demo)
#"All Along the Watchtower" (live)
#"In God's Country" (live)
#"When Love Comes to Town" (rehearsal/live/recital)
#"Heartland"
#"Bad" / "Ruby Tuesday" / "Sympathy for the Devil" (live)
#"Where the Streets Have No Name" (live)
#"MLK" (live)
#"With or Without You" (live)
#"The Star-Spangled Banner" "excerpt by Jimi Hendrix" / "Bullet the Blue Sky" (live)
#"Running to Stand Still" (live)
#"Sunday Bloody Sunday" (live)
#"Pride (In the Name of Love)" (live)
#"All I Want Is You"

Music by U2, words by Bono, except:

*"Helter Skelter" is a Lennon-McCartney song.
*"Van Diemen's Land" was written and performed solely by guitarist The Edge.
*"Gloria", which appears as an excerpt in "Exit", was written by Van Morrison.
*"Freedom For My People" is a short interlude written and performed by Sterling Magee on guitar and percussion and Adam Gussow on harmonica. Magee and Gussow later recorded three albums as the blues duo Satan and Adam. A full-length version of "Freedom For My People" can be found on the album Mother Mojo; Gussow's description of the duo's encounter with U2 can be found in his 1998 memoir, Mister Satan's Apprentice.
*"All Along the Watchtower" was written by Bob Dylan.
*"Ruby Tuesday" and "Sympathy for the Devil", both snippeted in "Bad", are Rolling Stones songs.
*"Love Rescue Me" is based on an old gospel song and features lyrics co-written with Bob Dylan.
*"The Star-Spangled Banner" is an instrumental rendition of the national anthem of the United States. The recording used here is an excerpt of Jimi Hendrix's famous Woodstock performance in 1969.

"Desire," "Angel of Harlem", "When Love Comes to Town", and "All I Want Is You" were released as singles.

All tracks were produced by Jimmy Iovine, except "Heartland", a left-over from "The Joshua Tree" that was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

Personnel

*Bono – lead vocals, additional guitar, harmonica
*The Edge – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
*Adam Clayton – bass guitar
*Larry Mullen, Jr. – drums, percussion

Guest performers

*B. B. King – guitar and vocals on "When Love Comes to Town"
*Bob Dylan – Hammond organ on "Hawkmoon 269", vocals on "Love Rescue Me"
*The New Voices of Freedom – vocals on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
*The Memphis Horns – horns on "Angel of Harlem" and "Love Rescue Me"
*Benmont Tench – Hammond organ on "All I Want Is You"

See also

* U2 discography
* Joshua Tree Tour
* Lovetown Tour

References

External links

* [http://www.u2wanderer.org/disco/alb007.html "Rattle and Hum"] at U2 Wanderer, with comprehensive details on various editions, cover scans, lyrics, and more
* [http://www.u2wanderer.org/disco/vid003.html "Rattle and Hum" (video)] at U2 Wanderer
* [http://www.geocities.com/cirrusminor9/html/rhinfo.htm Quotes and background on each song]

succession box
before = "New Jersey" by Bon Jovi
title = "Billboard" 200 number-one album
years = November 12 - December 23 1988
after = "Giving You the Best That I Got"
by Anita Bakersuccession box
before = "Flying Colours" by Chris de Burgh
title = UK number one album
years = October 22, 1988 – October 28, 1988
after = "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straitssuccession box
before = "New Jersey" by Bon Jovi
title = Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
years = October 31 - December 4 1988
after = "Barnestorming" by Jimmy Barnes