U2 – Rattle and hum – 1988
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:54 pmThe 60s had the Beatles, the 70s had Abba, the 80s probably had U2. A phenomenon because of three things: the stage presence and voice of Bono, the interesting guitar noices of the Edge and their position as moral crusaders which is/was probably sincere as hell, but did not harm their record sales. This could be considered somewhat cynical but one just has to admire heir longevity, some of their songs and their willingness to experiment. Some experiments or, as in the case of this album, some performances of cover songs, may fail miserably, but I admire the risk taking.
This is a very uneven album that perfectly illustrates the good and the bad of U2. They are huge: great for stadium rock, with their intelligent use of dynamics, that voice and that guitar (and the rhythm section is no slouch either). They are not so good in subtleties, but they keep trying, because they apparently think that a universal band should be able to play everything.
Although it’s not a typical U2 song, I like When love comes to town, a duet with B.B.. King. I like most of their own oldies they play (Pride, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, actually new at the time) and some new songs (Angel of Harlem). Some songs suck however: Heartland is generic stadium theatrics, God pt 2 ( - for John Lennon) is a Lennon rip off, complete with updated lyrics and scream of consciousness yelling.
This is a very uneven album that perfectly illustrates the good and the bad of U2. They are huge: great for stadium rock, with their intelligent use of dynamics, that voice and that guitar (and the rhythm section is no slouch either). They are not so good in subtleties, but they keep trying, because they apparently think that a universal band should be able to play everything.
Although it’s not a typical U2 song, I like When love comes to town, a duet with B.B.. King. I like most of their own oldies they play (Pride, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, actually new at the time) and some new songs (Angel of Harlem). Some songs suck however: Heartland is generic stadium theatrics, God pt 2 ( - for John Lennon) is a Lennon rip off, complete with updated lyrics and scream of consciousness yelling.