The U2 Canon - Rattle and Hum

Along with Pop, Rattle and Hum gets derided often as a U2 "misadventure," as a failed experiment and a generally unworthy album. And, in the sense of an "album" as a cohesive, focused artistic statement in which all of the pieces, all of the songs, work together towards one common goal, together, in the order presented, creating a valuable and organic piece of art, well, the received wisdom is right.

But see, Rattle and Hum was not conceived as an "album" in that sense. It was conceived as no more nor less than a scrapbook designed to document a moment in time, a very important moment in time for the band--the moment when they became not just a good, critically appreciated band, not just a cult band, but a huge band on a global scale--the moment when they became huge, especially in America.

And to the metric of this goal Rattle and Hum succeeds quite well. The hodgepodge collection of live songs, new songs, and aural collections from their massively successful Joshua Tree tour contains some good stuff, some great documents of that time, and some real gems.

1. "Helter Skelter" - There's been a lot of talk about how much gall it took for Bono to introduce this live cover of the Beatles classic with his now-infamous "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles. We're stealing it back." The thinking is that he was basically claiming the mantle of "greatest band" from the Beatles--announcing U2 as being as big as the Beatles, in effect. I've never understood this. To me, it was always pretty clear that he was saying that the song "Helter Skelter" had become famous not for being a kick-ass Beatles tune but for being connected somehow to a serial killer, and that the band's intention was to reclaim the song as a song, not as a connection to evil. That all said, I do love the band's cover of the song,which is more muscular and aggressive than the original, and which feautures a great vocal from Bono, who was really in the peak of his vocal powers on this tour, a fact really evidenced nicely by the live stuff on this album.

2. "Van Diemen's Land" - The odd solo Edge number--written, played, and sung by his Edgeness. This is one of those rare exceptions to the "U2 really don't write 'songs'" rule I've discussed before--this is a solidly crafted, elegant little folk ballad that many a singer with a guitar would be happy to play.

3. "Desire" - The Bo Diddly homage that does a much better job than you first think at melding American roots rock with U2's more ethereal style. A nice stomp of a quick, tossed-off rock song.
4. "Hawkmoon 269" - This mini-epic, replete with timpani, has always struck me as being woefully underappreciated. The slow build to a climax and the Cash-esque growl Bono shows off do a lot to create real tension and drama, and the big climax at the end, with Bono very likely doing a lot of the vocal damage that would become readily apparent in the 90s through hoarse shouts that would make Daltry himself proud, is suitably ferocious. And that Hammond organ intro? That would be Mr. Bob Dylan himself tickling those keys.

5. "All Along the Watchtower" - From an impromptu free concert U2 did in San Francisco during the tour. There's a truly awesome moment in the film where we see the band in a trailer before hitting the stage deciding on the cuff to do this song. The Edge figures out the chord progression on an acoustic guitar while Bono tries out a verse. At the same time, we hear a roadie yell out for someone to "find someone who knows all the words to 'All Along the Watchtower.'" Brilliant. The rendition U2 comes up with won't make anyone forget Hendrix, but it's a raw, intense performance closer in spirit to the Dylan original than anything else.

6. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - Live from Madison Square Garden. The band brought a local gospel group that had been doing the song as a gospel song on stage to do the song with them, and it's an inspired performance that really brings out the joy and passion in the song, which was almost laconic on disc. Easily my favorite version of this song.

7. "Freedom for My People" - Again, it's an aural scrapbook. Just 30 seconds or so of a street musician singing some blues.

8. "Silver and Gold" - Another live cut, of a Bono original he had penned after being shamed by the likes of Keith Richards at not knowing any blues songs, or being at all conversant with the giants of the genre. Bono went back to his hotel room that night and penned an original blues song, "Silver and Gold." This live version undercuts a little of the bluesiness, but adds a lot of drama and tension. Bono's mid-song rant at the evils of apartheid ("am I buggin 'ya? I don't mean to bug 'ya.") has entered the pantheon as a near-Spinal Tap-esque moment of almost-self-parody, but this is more solid than you probably remember.

9. "Pride (in the Name of Love)" - A great live version of this U2 classic, inspirational and spirited.

10. "Angel of Harlem" - U2 records in Sun Studios, alongside the ghost of Elvis himself. U2 and horns by all rights should not mix, but they do, quite well in fact, at least here (and on "When Love Comes to Town," actually).

11. "Love Rescue Me" - A true forgotten U2 gem. This is another exception to the rule mentioned above--this is a classic song, in structure and form, and I'm surprised it hasn't been covered a ton. Dylan worked with the band on the song, and if the rumors are true, there exists somewhere a recording of Dylan singing some of this--in the end he decided that he didn't want to be on the track and the vocals are all Bono's. This is very Dylan-esque, in lyric and in the music, and is really an all-time great U2 song, albeit one most people completely forget about.

12. "When Love Comes to Town" - Another inspired collaboration, this time with blues legend B.B. King. A great rip of a blues song, with Bono delivering some very B.B.-esque vocals and lyrics.

13. "Heartland" - The song that probably feels most out of place, this feels like a Joshua Tree outtake, and might be for all I know. Not bad, per se, but very kind of generic U2 mood music.

14. "God Part II" - A sinister steam locomotive of a song with some wonderfully biting, snarled lyrics.

15. "The Star Spangled Banner" - This snippet of Hendrix at Woodstock serves as the intro to the live "Bullet the Blue Sky," and it's quite an effective transition.

16. "Bullet the Blue Sky" - A blistering take on what would become a live U2 staple--it's been featured, almost always prominently, in pretty much every tour since this one. This original stab stands up very, very well, with great, intense guitar work from the Edge and a tough, insistent backbeat from Larry and Adam. The Edge's solo, while devoid of pyrotechnics, is distilled beauty.

17. "All I Want Is You" - The cut everyone remembers, and rightly so. This is a gorgeous ballad, tender and open at first and passionate and aching at the end. Entertainment Weekly named it the fifth-greatest love song ever earlier this year, and who am I to argue? This song features my all-time favorite Edge guitar solo, double-tracked as it likely may be.

Until Whenever