U2
Rattle & Hum

THE REVIEW

One of the most controversial albums by U2, Rattle & Hum was released in October 1988. A significant album in the history of the Dublin group, it represents a concrete and definitive break from U2's new wave period.

“Rattle & Hum”, along with “The Joshua Tree”, represents that journey towards the roots of the truest and most intense rock, country, and blues. The album, now of age, marks the end of classic rock, a turning point that will later be sanctioned with “Achtung Baby”.
“Helter Skelter” is a cover of the Beatles, lowered by a tone, beautiful, recorded during the tour that followed the release of The Joshua Tree. Certainly set up, it loses its intensity and aggression compared to the original by the Beatles. "Desire" is the lead single from Rattle & Hum, effervescent even though it's not original. The gospel version of “I still haven’t found…” is simply brilliant, making it unsurpassable. Jimi Hendrix is celebrated at the beginning of Bullet the blue sky, which is simply adult rock done right,
as tough in music as it is deep and visionary in lyrics. The cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” is one of those many things that U2 could have easily saved themselves from. The record concludes with the typical U2 ballad, “All I want is you”, with romantic and passionate lyrics. Other standout tracks are “When love comes to town” featuring B.B. King, and "Angel of Harlem" which evokes the splendor and myths of jazz, John Coltrane, and Miles.

All in all, Rattle & Hum immediately configures itself as a good anthology of songs,
and asserts itself as rock, with some penetration into blues and country.
These are great live and studio tracks that unfold in this journey from Dublin across New York, to New Orleans and the Joshua Tree at the border between Nevada and California.
All in all, one of those albums that's essential to own.