So why is U2’s Rattle and Hum on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Let’s rewind back to the fall of 1988, shall we? Rattle and Hum was released in October of that year, and it’s one of the first album releases that I recall being a pretty big deal in my life (especially as I was just getting into “classic rock” at that time, much of which had been around for years or even decades by then).
I had just purchased my first portable cassette tape player, and the very first non-mixtape that I got my hot little hands on was Rattle and Hum. I recall it being an iconically autumnal day in New York, and I remember getting on my bicycle on a cool, sunny gorgeous Saturday with fall colors blooming all over the place.
I biked down to my high school to watch our football team play, and listened to the sounds of “Desire,” “Helter Skelter,” a Beatles cover, and “Silver and Gold” as I did so.
Nothing dramatic happened that day, and I don’t remember much else about it except for enjoying the atmosphere of the game more than the action of the field. Perhaps I remember that day at all because it was a little slice of peace and freedom cut into my at times turbulent and often unhappy teenage years.
Or maybe it was just the music, and if so, I have Bono and The Edge and the other U2 boys to thank for it.
But I’ll always remember it.
Jump to two years later, and it’s the winter of 1990. Achtung Baby (#216 of the best 1,000 albums ever)was released that November, but Rattle and Hum was still a mainstay in my headphones listening rotation.
I recall the specific timeframe here as my brother was in the army, stationed in the Saudi Arabian desert awaiting the U.S. and the “coalition of the willing” effort to liberate Kuwait in what became known as the first Iraq War. And that winter the rest of my immediate family took a trip from New York to Orlando, Florida to visit my grandparents.
I was lucky enough to travel to Orlando often as a kid, but this trip was different in a few ways. Not only was my brother off in the Middle East, but my grandfather on my stepfather’s side, who we were all quite close with, had been diagnosed with lung cancer*.
* Side note: I eventually lost three grandparents to lung cancer all told. Smoking cigarettes is not good for you as it turns out.
We took the “auto train” that trip, which meant that we drove from Long Island to somewhere in Virginia, and then hopped on an overnight train, car included, that put us somewhere within a short-ish drive of our destination.
I was still at an age where it was kind of fun and exciting to see how late I could stay up, so I have a vivid memory of being on that train and staring out the window, with songs like the “Heartland” and “Hawkmoon 269” and “Angel of Harlem” to accompany me.
Another aside: I read a good chunk of Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers while on that train. I’ve read almost all of King’s prodigious output, and almost all of it is at least very good. The Tommyknockers is… not one of his best. I believe it’s a novel that he (somehow) wrote while in the depths of drug addiction. His last several novels as of this writing, by the way – including the outstanding Billy Summers – have been just terrific.
Rattle and Hum took on a lot of criticism when it was released for a number of reasons, though perhaps its biggest sin is that it was the follow up to The Joshua Tree, an album that had become iconic by the time George H. W. Bush became president.
Partly because it got me through some trying times – such as that long trip to Florida in late 1990 – I still enjoy its lengthy (17 songs, an hour and twelve minutes) running time and its slightly rambling and eclectic quality. I didn’t own The Joshua Tree or The Unforgettable Fire at the time, so I also enjoyed getting the live performance of “Bullet the Blue Sky” and “Pride (In the Name of Love)” on Rattle and Hum, and still do.
And that’s not even getting to the non-U2 snippet of “Freedom For My People,” The Edge taking a rare lead vocal spotlight on “Van Diemen’s Land,” and the occasional audio soundbites, such as this fun exchange with a reporter that kicks directly into “Desire,” arguably the best song on Rattle and Hum.
- Reporter: “What has happened between the writing and recording of the Joshua Tree album and the recording of these songs?”
- Bono: “Uh… I don’t know,” followed by a hearty chuckle.
Typically, I’ll give specific thoughts on several or more highlighted tracks at this point, but I’ve gone on at length already, so I invite you to experience the album as a whole – for the first time or perhaps as a revisit – and let me know what you think.
Some stats & info about U2 – Rattle and Hum
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Album Rock, Contemporary Rock, Pop Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was Rattle and Hum released? 1988
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #197 out of 1,000
U2’s Rattle and Hum on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from U2’s Rattle and Hum that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Don’t believe them when they tell me there ain’t no cure – the rich stay healthy, the sick stay poor. I believe in love.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.