Rattle and Hum

Rattle and Hum
Studio album with live tracks by U2
Released	10 October 1988
Recorded	Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee, 1987–1988
Genre	Rock, roots rock[1]
Length	72:27
Label	Island
Producer	Jimmy Iovine
Professional reviews
Allmusic link New York Times (unfavourable) 1988 Robert Christgau (B) link Rolling Stone link Sputnikmusic link
U2 chronology
The Joshua Tree (1987) Rattle and Hum (1988) Achtung Baby (1991)
Singles from Rattle and Hum
"Desire" Released: September 1988 "Angel of Harlem" Released: December 1988 "When Love Comes to Town" Released: April 1989 "All I Want Is You" Released: June 1989

Rattle and Hum is the name of both an album and a companion motion picture recorded by Irish rock band U2. Both were released in 1988.

The album, which was made following the band's 1987 Joshua Tree Tour, is a mix of live recordings, covers, and new songs. To a greater extent than their previous album, The Joshua Tree, the band explores roots rock, and incorporates elements of blues-rock, folk rock, and country. The accompanying documentary film documents the band's Joshua Tree Tour of the United States and the band's experiences with American music. Although the album and motion picture were intended to represent the band paying tribute to rock legends, some critics accused U2 of trying to place themselves amongst the ranks of these artists.

History

The movie is a rockumentary, which was initially financed by the band and intended to be screened in a small number of cinemas as an independent film. After going over budget, the film was bought by Paramount Pictures and released in theaters in 1988, before arriving 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 mix of live material and new studio recordings that furthers the band's experimentation with American music styles and recognizes many of their musical influences. It was produced by Jimmy Iovine and also released in 1988.

The title, Rattle and Hum, is taken from a lyric from "Bullet the Blue Sky", the fourth track on The Joshua Tree.

Studio recordings

The album opens with a live cover of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter." Its inclusion on the album was intended by the band to reflect the confusion of The Joshua Tree Tour and their new found superstar status. Bono's introduction of the song—"this song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles...we're stealing it back"—was interpreted as U2 claiming to be the new Beatles.^[2][who?]

Bono said "Hawkmoon 269" was in part as a tribute to writer Sam Shepard, who had released a book entitled Hawk Moon. Bono also said that the band mixed the song 269 times. This was thought to be a joke for years until it was recently confirmed by The Edge in U2 by U2, who said that they spent three weeks mixing the song. He also conflicted Bono's assertion about Shepard, saying that Hawkmoon came from a section of a town in the midwestern United States.^{[citation needed]}

The album contains 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 everyone from Elvis Presley to Jesus Christ.

The songs are also musically in line with the predecessors they honor.^{[citation needed]} 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.

U2 recorded "Angel of Harlem", "Love Rescue Me" and "When Love Comes to Town" at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and many others also recorded. They also recorded an unreleased version of "She's a Mystery to Me" and Woody Guthrie's "Jesus Christ," which appeared on Folkways: A Vision Shared.

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.^[3][4]

"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 Star Spangled Banner" is an excerpt of Jimi Hendrix's famous Woodstock performance in 1969.

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

Roger Ebert slammed the movie saying the footage was badly lit and monotonous, with little use made of the crowds. However, review partner Gene Siskel was more sympathetic, praising the music and finding the footage of the Harlem gospel choir particularly moving.^[7]

"Rattle and Hum was conceived as a scrapbook, a memento of that time spent in America on the Joshua Tree tour. It changed when the movie, which was initially conceived of as a low-budget film, suddenly became a big Hollywood affair. That put a different emphasis on the album, which suffered from the huge promotion and publicity, and people reacted against it."^[8]

—The Edge

Album

Track listing

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.

Charts and certifications

Film

Rattle and Hum
Film poster
Directed by	Phil Joanou
Produced by	Michael Hamlyn
Starring	Bono The Edge Adam Clayton Larry Mullen Jr.
Music by	Adam Clayton Larry Mullen Jr. The Edge
Cinematography	Robert Brinkmann (color) Jordan Cronenweth (B&W)
Editing by	Phil Joanou
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	27 October 1988 (Ireland) 4 November 1988 (U.S.)
Running time	99 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$5,000,000
Gross revenue	US$8,600,823 U.S.

Personnel

• Bono – lead vocals, additional guitar, harmonica
• The Edge – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Van Diemen's Land"
• 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

Notes

References

• Graham, Bill; van Oosten de Boer (2004). U2: The Complete Guide to their Music. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9886-8. 

External links

• Rattle and Hum at the Internet Movie Database
• Rattle and Hum at Allmovie