![]() ![]() Indeed, some of the more epic songs are highly underrated. The overwrought pomposity of many of the live tracks is still evident here and there, but for the most part the grandeur plays better without stage chatter and with studio magic. “Desire” is one of my favorite U2 singles, and the band was rewarded with their first number one hit in the UK. The studio tracks generally come across much better. The only live track that really works is “Pride,” partly because they mostly leave it alone, and partly because it’s just that good a song. His windbag stage patter mars generally worthy versions of both “Bullet The Blue Sky” and Joshua Tree b-side “Silver And Gold.” He also manages to mangle “All Along The Watchtower” with his overwrought performance. We’re stealing it back.” All of the criticisms of Bono as a frontman are on display here. It doesn’t help that the leaden version of “Helter Skelter” that opens the album begins with Bono’s posturing statement: “This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. The gospel choir in that cut is very typical of Rattle And Hum, a performance filled with big obvious musical flourishes that are mostly empty. ![]() Nowhere is this more evident than on the live version of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” As a song it had some gospel leanings, but the live version draws a circle around those leanings and underlines them just to make sure we pick up on them. The Americana they embraced on The Joshua Tree is now in full force, to the point where it threatens to overwhelm all of the U2ish elements. It serves as a sort of documentation of The Joshua Tree Tour, when U2 could for the first time really claim to be the biggest band in the world. Rather than ten or eleven new studio tracks, it combines those tracks with live cuts that were in the movie. The original film isn’t very good, but it does at least explain the format of the album. Rattle And Hum wasn’t intended as a standalone album, but as a soundtrack to U2’s concert film of the same name. It’s a strange beast indeed.Īt least some of the reputation comes from a loss of original context. There aren’t many albums from well-regarded artists that sold so well (14 million copies!) that are regarded so poorly. All of the accusations of pomposity, sanctimonious posturing,and arrogance that defies explanation, all of those are on full display here. Unfortunately it also contains moments of U2 at their absolute worst. There are some amazing moments on the album that will not be denied. Rattle And Hum was voted Best Album by Rolling Stone readers and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Group Performance.The best parts of Rattle And Hum show U2 at their high point, a band who has reached the mountaintop and are using their platform to reach as high as they possibly can. In Switzerland, Rattle And Hum reached No.1 on the album charts and stayed in the charts a total of 27 weeks and was certified Double Platinum. It was certified as multi-platinum by the RIAA with 5 million units sold. In the US, it peaked at No.1 on the album charts and No.39 on the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. Stranger still, the New Zealand LP was mispressed as a black vinyl mixed with about 40% brown vinyl swirls. A limited edition CD was released in Mexico as part of the Serie Millennium with a different picture sleeve while a Colombian release of Rattle and Hum featured a different back cover. The other two songs were the versions from the album - Hawkmoon 269 and God Part II. Three of the songs were live versions taken from the movie - Bad, In God's Country, and With Or Without You. A five-song CD known as Excerpts from Rattle and Hum was released in the UK in 1989. The album highlighted live performances from U2's successful 1987-88 Joshua Tree tour as well as additional songs recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis. Rattle And Hum was released as a companion 2-LP set to the Phil Joanou-directed film of the same name. ![]()
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