Rattle and Hum
Encyclopedia
Rattle and Hum is the sixth studio album by rock
band U2
and companion rockumentary
directed by Phil Joanou
, both released in 1988. The film and the album feature live recordings, covers, and new songs. To a greater extent than on their previous album, The Joshua Tree
, the band explores American roots music
, and incorporates elements of blues-rock
, folk rock
, and gospel
in their sound. The motion picture was filmed primarily in the United States in late 1987 during the Joshua Tree Tour
and it features their experiences with American music. Although Rattle and Hum was intended to represent the band paying tribute to rock legends, some critics accused U2 of trying to place themselves amongst the ranks of these artists. While critical reception was mixed, the album was a commercial success, reaching the number one spot in several countries and selling 14 million copies.
who made an unsolicited pitch to the band to make a feature-length documentary about the tour. Joanou suggested they hire Martin Scorsese
, Jonathan Demme
, or George Miller to direct the film. Joanou met the band again in Dublin to discuss the plans and again in France in September before the band chose him as director. The movie was originally titled "U2 In The Americas" and the band planned to film in Chicago and Buenos Aires later in the year. It was later decided that the Chicago venue wasn't suitable, and instead U2 used the McNichols Sports Arena
in Denver to film. Following the success of Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky
, which had been filmed in Denver four years earlier, the band hoped that "lightning might strike twice". With production problems and estimated costs of $1.2 million the band cancelled the plans for December concerts in South America. At the suggestions of concert promoter, Barry Fey
, the band instead booked the Sun Devil Stadium
in Arizona.
The movie is a rockumentary
, which was initially financed by the band and intended to be screened in a small number of cinemas as an independent film. After going over budget, the film was bought by Paramount Pictures
and released in theaters in 1988, before arriving on video in 1989. It was produced by Michael Hamlyn and directed by Phil Joanou
. Paul Wasserman
served as the publicist. It incorporates live footage with studio outtakes and band interviews. The album is a mix of live material and new studio recordings that furthers the band's experimentation with American music
styles and recognises many of their musical influences. It was produced by Jimmy Iovine
and also released in 1988.
The title, Rattle and Hum, is taken from a lyric from "Bullet the Blue Sky
", the fourth track on The Joshua Tree
; the image used for the album cover and movie poster, depicting Bono shining a spotlight on Edge as he plays, is from the live performance of "Bullet the Blue Sky" recorded in the film and album.
' "Helter Skelter". Its inclusion on the album was intended by the band to reflect the confusion of The Joshua Tree Tour and their new found superstar status. Bono's introduction of the song—"this song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles...we're stealing it back"—was interpreted as U2 claiming to be the new Beatles.
Bono
said "Hawkmoon 269" was in part as a tribute to writer Sam Shepard
, who had released a book entitled Hawk Moon. Bono also said that the band mixed the song 269 times. This was thought to be a joke for years until it was recently confirmed by The Edge
in U2 by U2, who said that they spent three weeks mixing the song. He also contradicted Bono's assertion about Shepard, saying that Hawkmoon came from a section of a town in the midwestern United States.
The album contains a live version of Bob Dylan
's "All Along the Watchtower
", which can be seen as a dual tribute to Dylan and to Jimi Hendrix
, who popularized the song with his own blistering rendition. Aside from the covers, a couple of songs were written for other artists. "Angel of Harlem
" is a vivacious, horn-filled tribute to Billie Holiday
. The bass-heavy "God Part II" is an introduction to the Achtung Baby
sound, and is a sequel of sorts to John Lennon
's "God
", his stark denunciation of everyone from Elvis Presley
to Jesus Christ
.
The punchy lead single, "Desire", sports a Bo Diddley
beat. During the Joshua Tree tour, in mid-November 1987, Bono and Bob Dylan
met in Los Angeles; together they wrote a song called "Prisoner of Love" which later became "Love Rescue Me". Dylan sang lead vocals on the original recording, a version which Bono called "astonishing", but Dylan later asked U2 not to use it citing commitments to The Traveling Wilburys. The live performance of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (recorded with a full church choir) is a gospel
song. "When Love Comes to Town
" is a blues
rocker featuring B. B. King
on guitar and vocals.
U2 recorded "Angel of Harlem", "Love Rescue Me" and "When Love Comes to Town" at Sun Studio
in Memphis, Tennessee
, where Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison
, Johnny Cash
and many others also recorded. They also recorded an unreleased version of "She's a Mystery to Me
" and Woody Guthrie's "Jesus Christ
", which appeared on Folkways: A Vision Shared
.
The band started writing "Heartland", in 1984 during The Unforgettable Fire sessions, and it was worked on during The Joshua Tree sessions.
All of the studio tracks apart from "Heartland" were performed in concert on the Lovetown Tour
, which began almost a year after Rattle and Hums release.
on 7 and 8 November 1987. They chose the city following the success of their Under A Blood Red Sky
video which was filmed in Denver in 1983. "We thought lightning might strike twice" said guitarist, The Edge
. The first night's performance was disappointing with Bono finding the cameras infringing on his ability to play to the crowd. The second Denver show was far more successful and seven songs from the show are used in the film, and three on the album . Earlier that day, an IRA
bomb killed eleven people at a Remembrance Day
ceremony in the Northern Irish
town of Enniskillen
(see Remembrance Day Bombing
). During a performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which appears on the film, Bono condemned the violence in a furious mid-song rant in which he yelled "Fuck the revolution." So powerful was the performance, that the band said they were not sure the song should have been used in the film, and after watching the film, they considered not playing it on future tours. After the film was released, the IRA were furious and threatened to kidnap Bono.
Colour outdoor concert footage is from the band's Tempe
, Arizona
shows on 19 December 1987 and 20 December 1987. Tickets were sold for $5.00 each and both nights sold out within days. The set was different each night with the band throwing in some rarely performed songs including, "Out of Control", "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", "One Tree Hill", and "Mothers of the Disappeared." For the latter, all four members played at the front of the stage, each under a large spotlight.
The performance of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is from the band's impromptu "Save the Yuppies" concert in Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, California
on 11 November 1987. The video intersperses the performance of the song with footage from the band's performance of "Pride" from the same show, during which Bono spray-painted "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" on the Vaillancourt Fountain. This caused a bit of controversy, and ultimately, the band paid to repair the damage and publicly apologized for the incident. The phrase "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" reappeared 18 years later in the video "All Because of You" when an unnamed fan appeared with the sign at 1:55 in the video.
Dennis Bell, director of New York gospel choir, The New Voices of Freedom, recorded a demo of a gospel version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
". While in Glasgow in late July during The Joshua Tree Tour, Rob Partridge of Island Records played the demo for the band. In late September, U2 rehearsed with Bell's choir in a Harlem church, and a few days later they performed the song together at U2's Madison Square Garden
concert. Footage of the rehearsal is featured in the movie, while the Madison Square Garden performance appears on the album. After the church rehearsal, U2 walked around the Harlem neighbourhood where they come across blues duo, Satan and Adam
, playing in the street. A 40 second clip of them playing their composition, "Freedom for My People", appears on both the movie and the album.
During "Silver and Gold", Bono explains that the song is an attack on apartheid.
"The Star Spangled Banner" is an excerpt of Jimi Hendrix
's famous Woodstock
performance in 1969.
The noise of the crowd was sampled extensively by The KLF
for 'the Stadium House Trilogy' of singles on their 1990 album The White Room
.
Alternative live concert footage captured for the film in other cities during the 1987 tour (but ultimately not utilized for the final cut of the film) included:
, Anthony DeCurtis
said, "The album ably demonstrates U2's force but devotes too little attention to the band's vision." The album received an 8/10 marking in the NME
review from Stuart Baillie, but was controversial as Mark Sinker originally gave it a much poorer review, which was pulled in favour of Baillie's more positive one. Sinker left NME shortly after.
Roger Ebert
slammed the film, saying that the concert footage was poorly lit and monotonous, with little use made of the crowds. However, review partner Gene Siskel
was more sympathetic, praising the music and finding the footage of the Harlem gospel choir particularly moving.
U2's 1987 album The Joshua Tree
brought the band critical acclaim, great commercial success, and high exposure, but it was the beginning of a backlash against them. They were accused of being grandiose, over-earnest, and self-righteous. The criticism increased the following year with their continued exploration of American music
on Rattle and Hum motion picture and companion album. The film's director Phil Joanou
called the picture "pretentious", while critics called the record "misguided and bombastic". Many of them interpreted the band's intended homage to American music legends as an attempt to place themselves as peers with rock's all-time great artists.
Despite the criticism, the album was a strong seller, continuing U2's burgeoning commercial success. It hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200
chart, remaining at the top spot for 6 weeks, and reached No. 1 in the UK and Australian charts. In the UK, it achieved the highest first-week sales of any album to that date (and held the record until the release of Oasis
's Be Here Now in 1997). However, the album's sales were a far cry from the massive sales of The Joshua Tree.
In 1989 while at a press tour in Sydney, Australia (where the band was touring with B.B. King and working on demos for the follow-up album Achtung Baby), Bono stated "making movies: that's the nonsense of rock & roll," which Rolling Stone magazine claimed was almost an apology for the film. "Playing shows is the reason we're here" he finished.
." Covers comprised B-side releases to the rest of the singles off the Rattle and Hum album—an abbreviated cover of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot
" would be released as a B-side to "When Love Comes to Town
" (the full version would see release on 1994's soundtrack album to "Threesome (film)
"), while "Unchained Melody
" and "Everlasting Love
" would be released as the B-sides to "All I Want Is You." A cover of "Fortunate Son
" recorded with Maria McKee would not be released until 1992's "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
" single. Studio versions of "She's a Mystery to Me
" (a Bono/Edge composition that would eventually be recorded and released by Roy Orbison), Bruce Cockburn's "If I Had a Rocket Launcher
", and "Can't Help Falling In Love With You", while recorded, have yet to be released. (A solo Bono cover of the Elvis Presley classic would be released on 1992's "Honeymoon in Vegas
" album, however.) A cover of the Woody Guthrie song "Jesus Christ (Woody Guthrie song)
" was also recorded during these sessions, for eventual inclusion on the cover album "Folkways: A Vision Shared
". Lastly, a cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
" was recorded and released for the first "A Very Special Christmas
" album, released at the end of 1987.
Songs
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and companion rockumentary
Rockumentary
The term rockumentary is a neologism denoting a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast, and by Rob Reiner in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap....
directed by Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou is an American film director. He is also well known for his work with Irish rock band U2, having directed their rockumentary/live tape Rattle and Hum, one of three videos filmed for "One", and the video for "All Because of You"...
, both released in 1988. The film and the album feature live recordings, covers, and new songs. To a greater extent than on their previous album, The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua...
, the band explores American roots music
American Roots Music
American Roots Music is a 2001 multi-part documentary film that explores the historical roots of American Roots music through footage and performances by the creators of the movement: Folk, Country, Blues, Gospel, Bluegrass, and many others....
, and incorporates elements of blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
, folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
in their sound. The motion picture was filmed primarily in the United States in late 1987 during the Joshua Tree Tour
Joshua Tree Tour
The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree. The tour was depicted by the video and live album Live from Paris.-Itinerary:...
and it features their experiences with American music. Although Rattle and Hum was intended to represent the band paying tribute to rock legends, some critics accused U2 of trying to place themselves amongst the ranks of these artists. While critical reception was mixed, the album was a commercial success, reaching the number one spot in several countries and selling 14 million copies.
History
While in Hartford during the 1987 The Joshua Tree Tour, U2 met film director Phil JoanouPhil Joanou
Phil Joanou is an American film director. He is also well known for his work with Irish rock band U2, having directed their rockumentary/live tape Rattle and Hum, one of three videos filmed for "One", and the video for "All Because of You"...
who made an unsolicited pitch to the band to make a feature-length documentary about the tour. Joanou suggested they hire Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
, or George Miller to direct the film. Joanou met the band again in Dublin to discuss the plans and again in France in September before the band chose him as director. The movie was originally titled "U2 In The Americas" and the band planned to film in Chicago and Buenos Aires later in the year. It was later decided that the Chicago venue wasn't suitable, and instead U2 used the McNichols Sports Arena
McNichols Sports Arena
McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena, in Denver, Colorado, USA, adjacent to Mile High Stadium. Completed in 1975, at a cost of $10 million, it seated 16,061, for hockey games, 17,171, for basketball games and contained 27 luxury suites, which were installed as part of the 1986 renovation. It...
in Denver to film. Following the success of Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky
Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky
U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky is a concert film by Irish rock band U2. It was recorded on 5 June 1983 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, United States on the group's War Tour...
, which had been filmed in Denver four years earlier, the band hoped that "lightning might strike twice". With production problems and estimated costs of $1.2 million the band cancelled the plans for December concerts in South America. At the suggestions of concert promoter, Barry Fey
Barry Fey
Barry Fey is an American rock concert promoter based out of Colorado who is best known for bringing prominent music acts to the United States for the first time.- Career :...
, the band instead booked the Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor football stadium, located on the campus of Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The stadium's current seating capacity is 71,706 and the playing surface is natural grass...
in Arizona.
The movie is a rockumentary
Rockumentary
The term rockumentary is a neologism denoting a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast, and by Rob Reiner in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap....
, which was initially financed by the band and intended to be screened in a small number of cinemas as an independent film. After going over budget, the film was bought by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and released in theaters in 1988, before arriving on video in 1989. It was produced by Michael Hamlyn and directed by Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou is an American film director. He is also well known for his work with Irish rock band U2, having directed their rockumentary/live tape Rattle and Hum, one of three videos filmed for "One", and the video for "All Because of You"...
. Paul Wasserman
Paul Wasserman
Paul Wasserman was a prominent entertainment publicist.He represented musical artists such as U2, Paul Simon, The Who, Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Tom Petty, Linda Rondstadt, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Wasserman also represented movie stars such as George C. Scott, Lee Marvin, Jack...
served as the publicist. It incorporates live footage with studio outtakes and band interviews. The album is a mix of live material and new studio recordings that furthers the band's experimentation with American music
American music
The music of the Americas is very diverse since, in addition to many types of Native American music, the music of Africa and the music of Europe have been found there for some five centuries, creating many hybrid forms that have influenced the popular music of the world.-See also:*Canadian...
styles and recognises many of their musical influences. It was produced by Jimmy Iovine
Jimmy Iovine
James "Jimmy" Iovine is an American music producer, entrepreneur and chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M.-Biography:...
and also released in 1988.
The title, Rattle and Hum, is taken from a lyric from "Bullet the Blue Sky
Bullet the Blue Sky
"Bullet the Blue Sky" is the fourth track from U2's 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. The song is one of the band's most overtly politically toned songs, with live performances often being heavily critical of political conflicts and violence....
", the fourth track on The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua...
; the image used for the album cover and movie poster, depicting Bono shining a spotlight on Edge as he plays, is from the live performance of "Bullet the Blue Sky" recorded in the film and album.
Studio recordings
The album opens with a live cover of The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Helter Skelter". Its inclusion on the album was intended by the band to reflect the confusion of The Joshua Tree Tour and their new found superstar status. Bono's introduction of the song—"this song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles...we're stealing it back"—was interpreted as U2 claiming to be the new Beatles.
Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
said "Hawkmoon 269" was in part as a tribute to writer Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
, who had released a book entitled Hawk Moon. Bono also said that the band mixed the song 269 times. This was thought to be a joke for years until it was recently confirmed by The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
in U2 by U2, who said that they spent three weeks mixing the song. He also contradicted Bono's assertion about Shepard, saying that Hawkmoon came from a section of a town in the midwestern United States.
The album contains a live version of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "All Along the Watchtower
All Along the Watchtower
"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
", which can be seen as a dual tribute to Dylan and to Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, who popularized the song with his own blistering rendition. Aside from the covers, a couple of songs were written for other artists. "Angel of Harlem
Angel of Harlem
"Angel of Harlem" is the second single from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart, #8 on the Dutch Top 40, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks...
" is a vivacious, horn-filled tribute to Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. The bass-heavy "God Part II" is an introduction to the Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 19 November 1991 on Island Records. Stung by the criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate alternative...
sound, and is a sequel of sorts to John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "God
God (John Lennon song)
"God" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album was released on 11 December 1970 in the United States and the United Kingdom....
", his stark denunciation of everyone from Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
to Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
.
The punchy lead single, "Desire", sports a Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
beat. During the Joshua Tree tour, in mid-November 1987, Bono and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
met in Los Angeles; together they wrote a song called "Prisoner of Love" which later became "Love Rescue Me". Dylan sang lead vocals on the original recording, a version which Bono called "astonishing", but Dylan later asked U2 not to use it citing commitments to The Traveling Wilburys. The live performance of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (recorded with a full church choir) is a gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
song. "When Love Comes to Town
When Love Comes to Town
"When Love Comes to Town" is the 12th song on U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum, where it was recorded at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis TN as a duet between U2 and B.B. King...
" is a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
rocker featuring B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
on guitar and vocals.
U2 recorded "Angel of Harlem", "Love Rescue Me" and "When Love Comes to Town" at Sun Studio
Sun Studio
Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and many others also recorded. They also recorded an unreleased version of "She's a Mystery to Me
She's a Mystery to Me
"She's a Mystery to Me" is the sixth track and the lead single from Roy Orbison's 1989 album, Mystery Girl. The track was written for Orbison by Bono and The Edge of U2. The album Mystery Girl received its name from the song...
" and Woody Guthrie's "Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ (Woody Guthrie song)
Jesus Christ is a song by Woody Guthrie. The song argues that Jesus would have been shunned and possibly killed by modern capitalist society much as he was in his own time....
", which appeared on Folkways: A Vision Shared
Folkways: A Vision Shared
Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly is a Grammy Award-winning 1988 album featuring songs by Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly interpreted by leading folk, rock, and country recording artists....
.
The band started writing "Heartland", in 1984 during The Unforgettable Fire sessions, and it was worked on during The Joshua Tree sessions.
All of the studio tracks apart from "Heartland" were performed in concert on the Lovetown Tour
Lovetown Tour
The Lovetown Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place in late 1989 and early 1990.-Itinerary:It was limited in scope, but did try to reach places that their 1987 Joshua Tree Tour had missed, all the while avoiding the United States entirely.The tour's opening night was on...
, which began almost a year after Rattle and Hums release.
Live performances
The band chose to film the black and white footage over two nights Denver's McNichols Sports ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena
McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena, in Denver, Colorado, USA, adjacent to Mile High Stadium. Completed in 1975, at a cost of $10 million, it seated 16,061, for hockey games, 17,171, for basketball games and contained 27 luxury suites, which were installed as part of the 1986 renovation. It...
on 7 and 8 November 1987. They chose the city following the success of their Under A Blood Red Sky
Under a Blood Red Sky
During the performance of "The Electric Co.", Bono included a 27 second snippet of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns". When Under a Blood Red Sky was released, U2 failed to get permission and pay the appropriate licensing and royalty fees to include that piece of Sondheim's tune on the album...
video which was filmed in Denver in 1983. "We thought lightning might strike twice" said guitarist, The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
. The first night's performance was disappointing with Bono finding the cameras infringing on his ability to play to the crowd. The second Denver show was far more successful and seven songs from the show are used in the film, and three on the album . Earlier that day, an IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
bomb killed eleven people at a Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
ceremony in the Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
town of Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
(see Remembrance Day Bombing
Remembrance Day Bombing
The Remembrance Day bombing took place on 8 November 1987 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland...
). During a performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which appears on the film, Bono condemned the violence in a furious mid-song rant in which he yelled "Fuck the revolution." So powerful was the performance, that the band said they were not sure the song should have been used in the film, and after watching the film, they considered not playing it on future tours. After the film was released, the IRA were furious and threatened to kidnap Bono.
Colour outdoor concert footage is from the band's Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
shows on 19 December 1987 and 20 December 1987. Tickets were sold for $5.00 each and both nights sold out within days. The set was different each night with the band throwing in some rarely performed songs including, "Out of Control", "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", "One Tree Hill", and "Mothers of the Disappeared." For the latter, all four members played at the front of the stage, each under a large spotlight.
The performance of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is from the band's impromptu "Save the Yuppies" concert in Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on 11 November 1987. The video intersperses the performance of the song with footage from the band's performance of "Pride" from the same show, during which Bono spray-painted "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" on the Vaillancourt Fountain. This caused a bit of controversy, and ultimately, the band paid to repair the damage and publicly apologized for the incident. The phrase "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" reappeared 18 years later in the video "All Because of You" when an unnamed fan appeared with the sign at 1:55 in the video.
Dennis Bell, director of New York gospel choir, The New Voices of Freedom, recorded a demo of a gospel version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a song by rock band U2. It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's second single in May 1987...
". While in Glasgow in late July during The Joshua Tree Tour, Rob Partridge of Island Records played the demo for the band. In late September, U2 rehearsed with Bell's choir in a Harlem church, and a few days later they performed the song together at U2's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
concert. Footage of the rehearsal is featured in the movie, while the Madison Square Garden performance appears on the album. After the church rehearsal, U2 walked around the Harlem neighbourhood where they come across blues duo, Satan and Adam
Satan and Adam
Satan and Adam, a blues duo consisting of Sterling "Mister Satan" Magee and Adam Gussow , were a fixture on Harlem's sidewalks in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, playing in the street. A 40 second clip of them playing their composition, "Freedom for My People", appears on both the movie and the album.
During "Silver and Gold", Bono explains that the song is an attack on apartheid.
"The Star Spangled Banner" is an excerpt of Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
's famous Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
performance in 1969.
The noise of the crowd was sampled extensively by The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
for 'the Stadium House Trilogy' of singles on their 1990 album The White Room
The White Room
Allmusic said that The White Room "represents the commercial and artistic peak of late-'80s acid-house" and Q magazine called it "strikingly imaginative" and "a more subtle form of subterfuge" than previous works...
.
Alternative live concert footage captured for the film in other cities during the 1987 tour (but ultimately not utilized for the final cut of the film) included:
- Foxboro, Massachusetts, Foxboro StadiumFoxboro StadiumFoxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...
, 22 September 1987 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Veterans StadiumVeterans StadiumPhiladelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
, 25 September 1987 - New York, NY, Madison Square GardenMadison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, 28 September 1987 - Long Island, New York, Rehearsals on a beach, 19 October 1987
- Boston, Massachusetts, Boston GardenBoston GardenThe Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
, 18 September 1987 (color footage)
Reception
After the success of The Joshua Tree, the album received a generally mixed reception. Writing in Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Anthony DeCurtis
Anthony DeCurtis
Anthony DeCurtis is an American author and music critic, who has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Relix and other publications.-Career:...
said, "The album ably demonstrates U2's force but devotes too little attention to the band's vision." The album received an 8/10 marking in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
review from Stuart Baillie, but was controversial as Mark Sinker originally gave it a much poorer review, which was pulled in favour of Baillie's more positive one. Sinker left NME shortly after.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
slammed the film, saying that the concert footage was poorly lit and monotonous, with little use made of the crowds. However, review partner Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
was more sympathetic, praising the music and finding the footage of the Harlem gospel choir particularly moving.
U2's 1987 album The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua...
brought the band critical acclaim, great commercial success, and high exposure, but it was the beginning of a backlash against them. They were accused of being grandiose, over-earnest, and self-righteous. The criticism increased the following year with their continued exploration of American music
American music
The music of the Americas is very diverse since, in addition to many types of Native American music, the music of Africa and the music of Europe have been found there for some five centuries, creating many hybrid forms that have influenced the popular music of the world.-See also:*Canadian...
on Rattle and Hum motion picture and companion album. The film's director Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou is an American film director. He is also well known for his work with Irish rock band U2, having directed their rockumentary/live tape Rattle and Hum, one of three videos filmed for "One", and the video for "All Because of You"...
called the picture "pretentious", while critics called the record "misguided and bombastic". Many of them interpreted the band's intended homage to American music legends as an attempt to place themselves as peers with rock's all-time great artists.
Despite the criticism, the album was a strong seller, continuing U2's burgeoning commercial success. It hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, remaining at the top spot for 6 weeks, and reached No. 1 in the UK and Australian charts. In the UK, it achieved the highest first-week sales of any album to that date (and held the record until the release of Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
's Be Here Now in 1997). However, the album's sales were a far cry from the massive sales of The Joshua Tree.
In 1989 while at a press tour in Sydney, Australia (where the band was touring with B.B. King and working on demos for the follow-up album Achtung Baby), Bono stated "making movies: that's the nonsense of rock & roll," which Rolling Stone magazine claimed was almost an apology for the film. "Playing shows is the reason we're here" he finished.
Track listing
Extra tracks
In addition to the nine studio tracks that comprised one-half of the double album, a number of additional recordings from the Rattle and Hum sessions would be released on various singles and side projects. "Hallelujah Here She Comes" was released as a B-side to "Desire", and "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" was released as a B-side to "Angel of HarlemAngel of Harlem
"Angel of Harlem" is the second single from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart, #8 on the Dutch Top 40, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks...
." Covers comprised B-side releases to the rest of the singles off the Rattle and Hum album—an abbreviated cover of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot
Dancing Barefoot
Dancing Barefoot is a book of memoirs written by writer and actor Wil Wheaton, and illustrated by illustrator Ben Claassen III.In Spring of 2003 Wheaton founded the independent publishing company Monolith Press, and released the book...
" would be released as a B-side to "When Love Comes to Town
When Love Comes to Town
"When Love Comes to Town" is the 12th song on U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum, where it was recorded at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis TN as a duet between U2 and B.B. King...
" (the full version would see release on 1994's soundtrack album to "Threesome (film)
Threesome (film)
Threesome is a 1994 film, written and directed by Andrew Fleming. The film is an autobiographical comedy mixed in with some social commentary, and is based on the college memories of Fleming. It was given an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America...
"), while "Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
" and "Everlasting Love
Everlasting Love
"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden that has been a hit for various artists, including Robert Knight, Carl Carlton, Love Affair, and Gloria Estefan.- Overview :...
" would be released as the B-sides to "All I Want Is You." A cover of "Fortunate Son
Fortunate Son
Fortunate Son may refer to:* "Fortunate Son" , a 1969 song by Creedence Clearwater Revival* "Fortunate Son" , a 2001 Star Trek: Enterprise episode* "Fortunate Son" , a 2001 episode of The Sopranos...
" recorded with Maria McKee would not be released until 1992's "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
"Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" is the fifth track on U2's 1991 album, Achtung Baby. It was released as the album's fifth and final single in 1992.-Writing and recording:...
" single. Studio versions of "She's a Mystery to Me
She's a Mystery to Me
"She's a Mystery to Me" is the sixth track and the lead single from Roy Orbison's 1989 album, Mystery Girl. The track was written for Orbison by Bono and The Edge of U2. The album Mystery Girl received its name from the song...
" (a Bono/Edge composition that would eventually be recorded and released by Roy Orbison), Bruce Cockburn's "If I Had a Rocket Launcher
If I Had a Rocket Launcher
"If I Had a Rocket Launcher" is a song by Bruce Cockburn, from his 1984 album Stealing Fire.The song was inspired by Cockburn's visit, sponsored by OXFAM, to Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico following the counterinsurgency campaign of dictator Efraín Ríos Montt...
", and "Can't Help Falling In Love With You", while recorded, have yet to be released. (A solo Bono cover of the Elvis Presley classic would be released on 1992's "Honeymoon in Vegas
Honeymoon in Vegas
Honeymoon in Vegas is a 1992 comedy film directed by Andrew Bergman and starring Nicolas Cage, James Caan and Sarah Jessica Parker.-Plot:...
" album, however.) A cover of the Woody Guthrie song "Jesus Christ (Woody Guthrie song)
Jesus Christ (Woody Guthrie song)
Jesus Christ is a song by Woody Guthrie. The song argues that Jesus would have been shunned and possibly killed by modern capitalist society much as he was in his own time....
" was also recorded during these sessions, for eventual inclusion on the cover album "Folkways: A Vision Shared
Folkways: A Vision Shared
Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly is a Grammy Award-winning 1988 album featuring songs by Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly interpreted by leading folk, rock, and country recording artists....
". Lastly, a cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
"Christmas " is a Christmas holiday song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 Christmas compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records. The song was written by Phil Spector, along with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, with the intentions of being sung by Ronnie...
" was recorded and released for the first "A Very Special Christmas
A Very Special Christmas
A Very Special Christmas is the title of an ongoing series of Christmas music compilation albums that benefit Special Olympics. It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as U2, Stevie Nicks, Jon Bon Jovi, Madonna, The Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt, Whitney Houston,...
" album, released at the end of 1987.
Charts and certifications
Album| Chart (1988) | Peak | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | ||
| Austria | 1 | ||
| Canada | 7× Platinum | 700,000+ | |
| Finland | Gold | 28,632 | |
| France | 8 | Gold | |
| Germany | Platinum | ||
| Netherlands | 1 | Platinum | |
| Switzerland | 1 | 2× Platinum | |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 4× Platinum | 1,200,000+ |
| United States | 1 | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000+ |
Songs
| Year | Song | Peak | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
CAN RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
IRE Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
US Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Main Rock |
||
| 1988 | "Desire" | 1 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| "Angel of Harlem" | 18 | — | 3 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 1 | |
| "God Part II" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | |
| 1989 | "When Love Comes to Town" | 23 | 41 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 68 | 2 |
| "All I Want Is You" | 2 | 67 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 83 | 13 | |
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||||||
Film
Personnel
- Bono – lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, additional guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - The Edge – guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, lead vocals on "Van Diemen's Land" - Adam ClaytonAdam ClaytonAdam Charles Clayton is a musician, best known as the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Larry Mullen, Jr. – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Guest performers
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
– Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
on "Hawkmoon 269", backing vocals on "Love Rescue Me" - The New Voices of Freedom – gospel choir on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking ForI Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a song by rock band U2. It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's second single in May 1987...
" - George PendergrassAcappella (group)Acappella is an all-male Contemporary Christian vocal group founded in 1982 by Keith Lancaster, who has variously played the role of singer, songwriter and producer throughout the group's history...
, Dorothy Terrell - vocal soloists on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking ForI Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a song by rock band U2. It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's second single in May 1987...
" - Joey Miskulin - organ on "Angel of HarlemAngel of Harlem"Angel of Harlem" is the second single from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart, #8 on the Dutch Top 40, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks...
" - The Memphis HornsThe Memphis HornsThe Memphis Horns are an American horn section made famous by their many appearances on Stax Records. They have been called "arguably the greatest soul horn section ever." Originally a sextet, the Memphis Horns gradually slimmed down to a duo, Wayne Jackson on trumpet and Andrew Love on tenor...
– horns on "Angel of HarlemAngel of Harlem"Angel of Harlem" is the second single from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart, #8 on the Dutch Top 40, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks...
" and "Love Rescue Me" - B. B. KingB. B. KingRiley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
– guest vocals & lead guitar on "When Love Comes to TownWhen Love Comes to Town"When Love Comes to Town" is the 12th song on U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum, where it was recorded at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis TN as a duet between U2 and B.B. King...
" - Rebecca Evans Russell, Phyllis Duncan, Helen Duncan - backing vocals on "When Love Comes to TownWhen Love Comes to Town"When Love Comes to Town" is the 12th song on U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum, where it was recorded at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis TN as a duet between U2 and B.B. King...
" - Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
– keyboards on "Heartland" - Benmont TenchBenmont TenchBenjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
– Hammond organ on "All I Want Is You" - Van Dyke ParksVan Dyke ParksVan Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
– string arrangement on "All I Want Is You"
- Satan and AdamSatan and AdamSatan and Adam, a blues duo consisting of Sterling "Mister Satan" Magee and Adam Gussow , were a fixture on Harlem's sidewalks in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
(Sterling Magee & Adam Gussow) - vocals & guitar & percussion & harmonica on 'Freedom for My People' - Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
- electric guitar on 'The Star Spangled Banner'