U2 - Rattle and Hum

Functioning as both the soundtrack to the group's disastrous feature-film documentary and as a tentative follow-up to their career-making blockbuster, Rattle and Hum is all over the place. The live cuts lack the revelatory power of Under a Blood Red Sky and are undercut by heavy-handed performances and Bono's embarrassing stage patter; prefacing a leaden cover of "Helter Skelter" with "This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles, and now we're stealing it back" is bad enough, but it pales next to Bono's exhortation "OK, Edge, play the blues!" on the worthy, decidedly unbluesy "Silver and Gold." Both comments reveal more than they intend -- throughout the album, U2 sound paralyzed by their new status as "rock's most important band." They react by attempting to boost their classic rock credibility. They embrace American roots rock, something they ignored before. Occasionally, these experiments work: "Desire" has an intoxicating Bo Diddley beat, "Angel of Harlem" is a punchy, sunny Stax-soul tribute, "When Loves Come to Town" is an endearingly awkward blues duet with B.B. King, and the Dylan collaboration "Love Rescue Me" is an overlooked minor bluesy gem. However, these get swallowed up in the bluster of the live tracks, the misguided gospel interpretation of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and the shameful answer to John Lennon's searing confession "God," "God, Pt. 2." A couple of affecting laments -- the cascading "All I Want Is You" and "Heartland," which sounds like a Joshua Tree outtake -- do slip out underneath the posturing, but Rattle and Hum is by far the least-focused record U2 ever made, and it's little wonder that they retreated for three years after its release to rethink their whole approach. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adam Clayton Bass, Guitar (Bass) Adam Gussow Harmonica Alex Acuña Percussion Anne Louise Kelly Art Coordinator Anton Corbijn Photography Arnie Acosta Mastering B.B. King Guitar, Vocals Benmont Tench Keyboards Bill Rubinstein Photography Billie Barnum Vocals (Background), Vocals Bob Dylan Organ, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Organ (Hammond) Bob Vogt Assistant Engineer, Engineer Bono Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica Brian Eno Producer, Vocals, Keyboards Brian Reeves Mixing Brian Scheuble Assistant Engineer, Engineer Bruce Cockburn ? Carolyn Willis Vocals (Background), Vocals Clark Germain Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant Colm Henry Photography Daniel Lanois Engineer Dave Ferguson Engineer Dave Meegan Engineer David Hewitt Engineer David Tickle Engineer, Post Production Engineer, Mixing Dennis Bell Musical Director Don Smith Engineer, Mixing Dorothy Terrell Soloist, Vocals Edna Wright Vocals, Vocals (Background) Ethan Johns Engineer, Assistant Engineer Fritz Lange Engineer Gary Wagner Overdub Assistant, Overdubs George Pendergrass Vocals, Soloist Helen Duncan Vocals (Background), Vocals Ian Bryan Assistant Engineer J.B. Matteotti Engineer Jack Clement Engineer Jimi Hendrix Performer Jimmy Iovine Producer Joey Miskulin Organ Kevin Killen Engineer Larry Bunker Percussion, Tympani [Timpani] Larry Mullen, Jr. Drums Marc DeSisto Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant, Engineer Mark McKenna Mixing, Assistant New Voice of Freedom Vocals New Voices of Freedom Vocals (Background) Norm Ung Design Patrick McCarthy Assistant Engineer, Engineer Paul Barrett Engineer Phil Gitomer Engineer Phyllis Duncan Vocals, Vocals (Background) Randy Staub Assistant Engineer, Engineer, Mixing Assistant Randy Wine Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant Rebecca Evans Russell Vocals, Vocals (Background) Richard McKernan Overdub Assistant, Overdubs Rob Jacobs Engineer, Mixing Shelly Yakus Mixing, Engineer Sterling Magee Guitar, Percussion, Vocals The Edge Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar The Memphis Horns Horn Thom Panunzio Engineer, Mixing Van Dyke Parks String Arrangements