"U2 - Rattle And Hum"

Picking up How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb last week has got me listening to my old U2 albums again. I've been spinning The Joshua Tree every night when I go to bed, and I started digging into Rattle and Hum again last night as well.

Rattle and Hum is an interesting and oftentimes frustrating album. It's comprised of both live cuts from The Joshua Tree tour and new studio tracks.

The problem with the album really lies with the live tracks. U2 has always been about bombast, over-emoting, and going for the gusto, but the live tracks on Rattle and Hum are too pompous, too pretentious even for U2. Whether they're including a gospel choir on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" or chugging through a lackluster cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" (or, even worse, their cover of "All Along the Watchtower," where Bono adds his own lyrics: "All I've got is a red guitar, three chords, and the truth." Ugh), U2 go too far with the live tunes. In "Silver and Gold," an otherwise excellent tune about the need for sanctions against South Africa, Bono tells Edge to "play the blues," at which point Edge rips into an extremely short guitar solo that is not the least bit bluesy.

Thankfully, the subpar live cuts are balanced out by an excellent selection of new studio cuts. Some of U2's best songs make their appearance on this album--the driving "Desire," the stomping blues duet "When Love Comes to Town" with B.B. King, the somber and subdued "All I Want is You," and the soul-inflected "Angel of Harlem" are all among U2's finest cuts. Several other, lesser-known songs, such as "Van Diemen's Land," "Hawkmoon 269," and the Bob Dylan collaboration "Love Rescue Me" are all worthwhile minor gems in U2's catalog.

Ultimately, Rattle and Hum is a challenging but rewarding record. The live cuts drag the album down, but the studio cuts more than make up for the weak live tracks.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: U2, "Hawkmoon 269"