U2: Rattle & Hum (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

In 1988, U2 was at the peak of its glory; The Joshua Tree had finally opened the doors of fame and the aura of Bono, who was imposing himself as a charismatic leader, was causing havoc on stage. Of course, to say that the band is at its zenith does not mean that they will plunge into decline later, but the fervor they arouse then is the feverish one of the beginnings, not the formatted one of a well established fame.

"Rattle & Hum" is the testimony of this madness, of these first emotions, of this period gone by... And it is the exact reason why it did not find its public! It is also the reason why it has received mixed or murderous criticisms. Because if today the document is perceived as an extraordinary testimony, it was considered pretentious by its contemporaries. After all, U2 was still a "young" band on the American scene, and to take the right to cover great standards such as 'Helter Skelter' of the Beatles or 'All Along The Watchtower' of Bob Dylan, was not to everyone's taste. However Dylan comes to accompany Bono on 'Love Rescue Me', proof that the main interested party should not hold it against him!

These are still the same songs, but the sound is more raw, sticking perfectly to the rock / blues color of the compositions. So from 'Helter Skelter' to 'Bullet In The Blue Sky' through 'Silver And Gold', each track is rendered with a tenfold power. And even when it is about more peaceful chapters ('Van Diemen's Land', 'Heartland' or 'All I Want Is You'), this raw production gives them an additional energy, an extra soul. What can we say about 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', magnified by the gospel choir of the New Voices of Freedom, overwhelming with emotion and intensity.

"Rattle & Hum" is therefore a testimony, a tribute and an intense live performance. But there is still a characteristic to analyze: half of the proposed titles are unpublished. In fact of absolute unreleased, it is all that the group had recorded a year before for The Joshua Tree but which had not found its place there. For the record, while Bono militated for a double album, it was finally The Edge who imposed that Joshua Tree be an 11-track album, relegating the rest of the compositions to B-sides of the upcoming singles.

Thus, no less than 8 unreleased tracks are proposed, mainly rhythmic and of very good quality such as 'When Love Comes To Town' to which the pope of the Blues B.B. King comes to give his blessing, and incidentally his voice and guitar! Or this 'All I Want Is You' sliding from calm to heartbreaking on a background of welcome strings. 'Van Diemen's Land' is a UFO in the career of the band since it is composed, played and interpreted by the only one The Edge, showing a voice with communicative emotion.

In the middle of these qualities, how to give back to this work some humanity? Simply by pointing out a detail, minimal but which can prove to be irritating with regard to the general quality: the voice of Bono. Impeccable in his usual register, our man is at the limit of the rupture on certain occasions ('Hawkmoon 269', 'All I Want Is You') and we suffer with him of this desire to want to do too much. But it is enough to see his impeccable interpretation of 'Bullet The Blue Sky' to say to us that it is only a badly erased youth fault!

At the end of 1989, U2 will make fear the worst to its fans by announcing on their native scene in Ireland their need to take time and step back on their musical activity. This could easily be understood in view of the abundant production of the past 3 years, and more widely of the past decade. Many saw this as a cause for concern and began to fret, while a few others, listening to 'God Part II' over and over again, already knew that they couldn't stop there... - Official website

U2

RATTLE & HUM

ISLAND

ROCK