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
U2 chronology
The Joshua Tree
(1987)		 Rattle and Hum
(1988)		 Achtung Baby
(1991)
Singles from Rattle and Hum
  1. "Desire"
    Released: September 1988
  2. "Angel of Harlem"
    Released: December 1988
  3. "When Love Comes to Town"
    Released: April 1989
  4. "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.

Contents

History

"I was very keen on the idea of going wide at a time like that, just seeing how big this thing could get. I had always admired Colonel Parker and Brian Epstein for realising that music could capture the imagination of the whole world."

U2 manager, Paul McGuinness, explaining his original motivation to make a movie.[2]

While in Hartford during The Joshua Tree Tour, U2 met film director Phil Joanou who made an unsolicited pitch to the band to make a feature-length documentary about the tour. Joanou suggested they hire Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, or George Miller to direct the film. Joanou met the band again in Dublin to discuss the plans and again in France in September before the band chose him as director. The movie was originally titled "U2 In The Americas" and the band planned to film in Chicago and Buenos Aires later in the year.[3] It was later decided that the Chicago venue wasn't suitable, and instead U2 used the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver to film. Following the success of Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, which had been filmed in Denver four years earlier, the band hoped that "lightning might strike twice".[4]

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.[5]

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.

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 punchy lead single, "Desire", sports a Bo Diddley beat. During the Joshua Tree tour, in mid-November 1987, Bono and Bob Dylan met in Los Angeles; together they wrote a song called "Prisoner of Love" which later became "Love Rescue Me". Dylan sang lead vocals on the original recording, a version which Bono called "astonishing", but Dylan later asked U2 not to use it citing commitments to The Traveling Wilburys.[6] The live performance of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (recorded with a full church choir) is a gospel song. "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.

The band started writing "Heartland", in 1984 during The Unforgettable Fire sessions, and it was worked on during The Joshua Tree sessions.[7]

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

The band chose to film the black and white footage over two nights Denver's McNichols Sports Arena on 7 and 8 November 1987. They chose the city following the success of their Under A Blood Red Sky video which was filmed in Denver in 1983. "We thought lightning might strike twice" said guitarist, The Edge. Seven songs from the second show are used in the film. Earlier that day, an IRA bomb killed eleven people at a Remembrance Day ceremony in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen (see Remembrance Day Bombing). During a performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which appears on the film, Bono condemned the violence in a furious mid-song rant in which he yelled "Fuck the revolution." After the film was released, the IRA were furious and threatened to kidnap Bono.

Colour outdoor concert footage is 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.[8][9]

Dennis Bell, director of New York gospel choir, The New Voices of Freedom, recorded a demo of a gospel version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".[10] While in Glasgow in late July during The Joshua Tree Tour, Rob Partridge of Island Records played the demo for the band.[11] In late September, U2 rehearsed with Bell's choir in a Harlem church, and a few days later they performed the song together at U2's Madison Square Garden concert. Footage of the rehearsal is featured in the movie, while the Madison Square Garden performance appears on the album.[12] After the church rehearsal, U2 walked around the Harlem neighbourhood where they come across blues duo, Satan and Adam, playing in the street. A 40 second clip of them playing their composition, "Freedom for My People", appears on both the movie and the album.[13]

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

"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.[14]

Reception

 Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Sputnikmusic 3/5 stars [15]
New York Times (unfavourable) [16]
Allmusic 3/5 stars [17]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars [18]
Robert Christgau (B) [19]

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.[20]

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.[21]

"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."[22]
—The Edge

U2's 1987 album The Joshua Tree brought the band critical acclaim, great commercial success, and high exposure, but it was the beginning of a backlash against them.[23] They were accused of being grandiose, over-earnest, and self-righteous.[23] The criticism increased the following year with their continued exploration of American music on Rattle and Hum motion picture and companion album. The film's director Phil Joanou called the picture "pretentious", while critics called the record "misguided and bombastic".[24] Many of them interpreted the band's intended homage to American music legends as an attempt to place themselves as peers with rock's all-time great artists.[25][26][27]

Album

Track listing

All lyrics on U2 compositions by Bono, unless otherwise noted.

No. Title Writer(s) Performer Length
1. "Helter Skelter" (Live) Lennon/McCartney U2 3:07
2. "Van Diemen's Land"   U2 / Words by The Edge U2 3:05
3. "Desire"   U2 U2 2:59
4. "Hawkmoon 269"   U2 U2 with Bob Dylan 6:22
5. "All Along the Watchtower" (Live) Bob Dylan U2 4:24
6. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (Live) U2 U2 with The New Voices of Freedom 5:53
7. "Freedom for My People"   Adam Gussow and Sterling Magee Satan and Adam 0:38
8. "Silver and Gold" (Live) Bono U2 5:49
9. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Live) U2 U2 4:27
10. "Angel of Harlem"   U2 U2 3:49
11. "Love Rescue Me"   U2 / Words by Bono & Bob Dylan U2 with Bob Dylan 6:24
12. "When Love Comes to Town"   U2 U2 with B. B. King 4:15
13. "Heartland"   U2 U2 5:03
14. "God Part II"   U2 U2 3:15
15. "The Star Spangled Banner" (Excerpt) John Stafford Smith Jimi Hendrix 0:43
16. "Bullet the Blue Sky" (Live) U2 U2 5:36
17. "All I Want Is You"   U2 U2 6:30
Total length:
 72:27

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

Album

Chart (1988) Peak Certification Sales
Australia 1[28]
Austria 1[28]
Canada 7× Platinum[29] 700,000+[29]
Finland Gold[30] 28,000+[30]
France 34[28] Gold[31]
Germany Platinum[32]
Netherlands 1 Platinum[33]
Switzerland 1[28] 2× Platinum[34]
United Kingdom 1[35] 4× Platinum[36]
United States 1[37] 5× Platinum[38]

Songs

Year Song Peak
AUS
[28]		 CAN
[39]		 IRE
[40]		 NZ
[28]		 UK
[41]		 US Hot 100
[42][37]		 US Main Rock
[42][37]
1988 "Desire" 1 19 1 1 1 3 1
"Angel of Harlem" 18 — 3 1 9 14 1
"God Part II" — — — — — — 8
1989 "When Love Comes to Town" 23 41 1 4 6 68 2
"All I Want Is You" 2 67 1 2 4 83 13

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

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 Bono
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.
No. Title Writer(s) Performer Length
1. "Helter Skelter" (Live) Lennon/McCartney U2  
2. "Van Diemen's Land"   The Edge U2  
3. "Desire" (Demo) U2 U2  
4. "Exit"/"Gloria" (Live) U2 ("Exit"), Van Morrison ("Gloria") U2  
5. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (Rehearsal) U2 U2 with The New Voices of Freedom  
6. "Freedom for My People"   Adam Gussow and Sterling Magee Satan and Adam  
7. "Silver and Gold" (Live) Bono U2  
8. "Angel of Harlem" (Demo) U2 U2  
9. "All Along the Watchtower" (Live) Bob Dylan U2  
10. "In God's Country" (Live) U2 U2  
11. "When Love Comes to Town" (Rehearsel, live, recital medley) Bono U2 with B. B. King  
12. "Heartland"   U2 U2  
13. "Bad"/"Ruby Tuesday"/"Sympathy for the Devil" (Live) U2 ("Bad"), Jagger/Richards ("Ruby Tuesday", "Sympathy for the Devil") U2  
14. "Where the Streets Have No Name" (Live) U2 U2  
15. "MLK" (Live) U2 U2  
16. "With or Without You" (Live) U2 U2  
17. "The Star Spangled Banner" (Excerpt) John Stafford Smith Jimi Hendrix  
18. "Bullet the Blue Sky" (Live) U2 U2  
19. "Running to Stand Still" (Live) Bono U2  
20. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Live) U2 U2  
21. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Live) U2 U2  
22. "All I Want Is You"   U2 U2  

Personnel

Guest performers

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rattle and Hum > Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wcfexql5ldde. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  2. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 105.
  3. ↑ McGee (2008), pp. 105, 109.
  4. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 112.
  5. ↑ Graham (2004), p. 36.
  6. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 114
  7. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 93.
  8. ↑ "U2 All Because of You". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlBdaxB1Wy4. 
  9. ↑ "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic Photo". http://seeingfurther.com/U2.jpg. 
  10. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 104
  11. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 109
  12. ↑ McGee (2008), pp. 110-111
  13. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 111
  14. ↑ "KLF Interview". http://cardhouse.com. http://cardhouse.com/x07/klf.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26. 
  15. ↑ Sputnikmusic Review
  16. ↑ New York Times Review
  17. ↑ Allmusic Review
  18. ↑ Rolling Stone Review
  19. ↑ Robert Christgau Review
  20. ↑ "Mark Sinker". Rocksbackpages.com. http://www.rocksbackpages.com/writer.html?WriterID=sinker. Retrieved September 25, 2008. 
  21. ↑ "At the movies - Rattle and Hum". Bventertainment.go.com. http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/ebertandroeper/index2.html?sec=1&subsec=51. Retrieved September 25, 2008. 
  22. ↑ atu2.com
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Fricke, David (1992-10-01). "U2's Serious Fun". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5940096/cover_story_u2s_serious_fun/print. Retrieved 2009-12-28. 
  24. ↑ Gardner (1994)
  25. ↑ McCormick (2006), p. 211
  26. ↑ Graham (2004), p. 43
  27. ↑ Gardner (1994), pp. xxiii-xxv
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 "U2 - Rattle and Hum". Hung Median. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=U2&titel=Rattle+And+Hum&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "CRIA Certification Results: U2". Canadian Recording Industry Association. 2000-12-11. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=4&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25U2%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=81&csearch=80&nextprev=1. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Kulta - ja platinalevyt" (in Finnish). IFPI Finland. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/kultalevyt/haku/?q=U2&national=0&type=album. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
  31. ↑ Disque En France
  32. ↑ IFPI Germany
  33. ↑ NVPI
  34. ↑ IFPI Switzerland
  35. ↑ "Album Chart History". The Official UK Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history.php. Retrieved 2009-11-26.  Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  36. ↑ BPI
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 "U2: Charts and Awards". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifwxqr5ldde~T50. Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  38. ↑ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 2010-01-23.  Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  39. ↑ "Introduction - RPM". RPM, archives hosted by Library and Archives Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/index-e.html. Retrieved 2009-11-26.  Note: Songs must be searched manually.
  40. ↑ "Search the charts". Irishcharts.ie. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2009-10-29.  Note: U2 must be searched manually
  41. ↑ "U2 singles". Everyhit.com. http://everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2009-10-29.  Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 "U2 songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/search/?Nty=1&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntk=Keyword&Ns=FULL_DATE%7c1&Ne=125&N=129&Ntt=U2. Retrieved 2009-10-29.  Note: Songs must be searched manually

References

External links

Preceded by
New Jersey by Bon Jovi		 Billboard 200 number-one album
November 12 - December 23, 1988		 Succeeded by
Giving You the Best That I Got
by Anita Baker
Preceded by
Flying Colours by Chris de Burgh		 UK number one album
October 22, 1988 – October 28, 1988		 Succeeded by
Money for Nothing by Dire Straits
Preceded by
New Jersey by Bon Jovi		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
October 31 - December 4, 1988		 Succeeded by
Barnestorming by Jimmy Barnes
Rattle and Hum track listing

"Helter Skelter" · "Van Diemen's Land" · "Desire" · "Hawkmoon 269" · "All Along the Watchtower" · "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" · "Freedom for My People" · "Silver and Gold" · "Pride (In the Name of Love)" · "Angel of Harlem" · "Love Rescue Me" · "When Love Comes to Town" · "Heartland" · "God Part II" · "The Star Spangled Banner" · "Bullet the Blue Sky" · "All I Want Is You"
U2
Bono • Adam Clayton • The Edge • Larry Mullen, Jr.
Studio albums
Boy • October • War • The Unforgettable Fire • The Joshua Tree • Rattle and Hum • Achtung Baby • Zooropa • Pop • All That You Can't Leave Behind • How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb • No Line on the Horizon
Compilations and EPs
Three • Wide Awake in America • Please: PopHeart Live EP • The Best of 1980–1990 • 7 • The Best of 1990–2000 • Exclusive • The Complete U2 • Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge • U218 Singles • Wide Awake in Europe
Other albums
Under a Blood Red Sky • Melon: Remixes for Propaganda • Original Soundtracks 1 • Hasta la Vista Baby! U2 Live from Mexico City • The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack • Live from the Point Depot • U2.COMmunication • Zoo TV Live • U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland • Live from Paris • Medium, Rare & Remastered • Artificial Horizon • U2:DUALS • Best of U2
Videos and films
U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky • The Unforgettable Fire Collection • Rattle and Hum • Achtung Baby: The Videos, The Cameos, and a Whole Lot of Interference from Zoo TV • Zoo TV: Live from Sydney • PopMart: Live from Mexico City • Elevation 2001: U2 Live from Boston • U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland • Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago • Vertigo 05: Live from Milan • U218 Videos • Live from Paris • U2 3D • Linear • U2 360° at the Rose Bowl
Tours and concerts
Boy Tour • October Tour • War Tour • The Unforgettable Fire Tour • A Conspiracy of Hope • The Joshua Tree Tour • Lovetown Tour • Zoo TV Tour • PopMart Tour (concert in Sarajevo) • Elevation Tour • Vertigo Tour • U2 360° Tour
Additional personnel
Anton Corbijn • Brian Eno • Dik Evans • Flood • Howie B • Jimmy Iovine • Daniel Lanois • Steve Lillywhite • Paul McGuinness • Willie Williams
Lists and miscellany
Awards • Discography • Songs • Covers of U2 songs • Concert tours • Mother Records • The Dalton Brothers • Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Wikipedia book Book • Category Category • Portal Portal • WikiProject WikiProject • U2 Timeline • Singles