European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 26, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Harder and tougher than Ever before . Considine the Baltimore Suna ambition. There is really no better word to describe the driving Force and resilient strength of u2 s new album rattle and hum. A mixture of studio and live recordings the 15 songs offered on this sprawling 72-minute set draw upon every musical strength u2 has developed Over the years. And through it All 1he Bond throws All the passion Power and Hope it cart Muster into a single All encompassing statement on life love and Rock n Roll though the group stops just Shori of delivering an outright manifesto the songs and asides collected Here do not pull any punches slaying its devils and praising its saints and engendering a similar response in he listener. In that respect rattle and hum is much like u2 s gospel efforts in the Joshua tree. Evan hearing those songs Over the radio it was possible Lor those who believed to feel a sense of Community with the singers. And though it was certainly possible to be a gospel music fan without buying into the sort of christianity being Sung about it is hard to imagine the music meaning As much that Way. It is much the same with rattle and hum. For All its audacity there is an honesty and Fervour id these performances that less 112 leap past the occasional obviousness or the lyrics and bring out the Heartfelt passion beneath. Us 3 connection to gospel is not entirely metaphorical. Just listen to what the group has done Wilh in s Livo rendition of / stiff Haven f found what i m looking for. Instead of the quiet almost prayerful mood of the original studio version the band has completely revamped the arrangement supplanting the Edge s guitar Wilh the lean jangle of a Tambourine then adding a my gospel choir the new voices of Freedom to flesh out the vocals. Musically it is a canny move and not just because it pushes the song one step beyond the pop gospel cliches of similar efforts like foreigner s i want to know what love is. By expanding its arrangement the band subtly transforms the song adding an element of Joy to the music that illuminates the Hope that Lay hidden in the original treatment of the lyrics. Gospel is Only one of the musical roots u2 explores Here. Love Rescue we is a lilting country Ballad when love comes to town is a Gritty electric blues Vandiemen sland\3 a Folk song typical o the Irish immigrant songs of the mid-19th Century. Considering that Singer Bono once admitted that lie s roots went Back Only As tar As 1977, it is obvious that the band has been doing its Homework. At f it glance in fact it looks like f hey have overdone it. Rummage through the credit listings and rat tie and hum seems Tike a name Dropper s Paradise Bob Dylan. . King. Sun studios the Memphis horns. Van Dyke Parks. Even Jimi Hendrix who is dead but appears on the record anyway. Bui even when running in such fast company u2 never seems out of its depth. Admittedly some of the collaborations tested their Mettle More than others Dylan Lor instance contributes Only some one handed Organ to Hawk Moon 269 and a Raggedy Harmony vocal to love Rescue me. Eclecticism aside what ultimately sets rattle and hum apart from its predecessors is the sheer muscular physically of its sound. As realized by producer Jimmy Lovine who also handled the band s under a blood red sky live mini up u2 sounds harder and tougher than Ever before. While that adds a new intensity to the handful of oldies taken from the live recordings Pri teis particularly moving it lends a Wallop to the studio sessions that has been missing almost since the band s debut. Lovine keeps aft the edges in Sharp focus bringing out the to diddle1/ beat percolating under the guitars and pushing the song s Rowdy Energy front and Center. It is a Gutsy Gritty approach one that takes lyrics like a red guitar on fire and makes them More than a matter of metaphor. Which is precisely what it should do for rattle and hum is about nothing if not the Power of Rock n Roll to translate feelings into reality. Attar 10 years Britain s ub4o hit the american Chart Watha revival of la times by , Considine the Baltimore suns a what you will for hard work and Talent but Luck is More often than not the deciding Factor in Many Success stories. Not that Luck alone is enough mind you. But sometimes an unexpected break can achieve in a matter of months what it would have otherwise taken years of hard work to accomplish. Take ub40. Although this British group has managed in its ten year existence to become known As the most popular reggae band in the world in was virtually unknown to american listeners until recently. Never mind that ub40 has been regularly releasing records in the United states since 1983 apart from College and underground stations the band was ignored by radio and Only dented the top 30 once thanks to a remake of Sonny & Cher s got you babe recorded with the pretenders Chrissie Hynde. About seven months ago however a Phoenix ariz., disc jockey started playing a u640 song called red red wine. Taken from a three year old album called labour of love. The song was essentially a tribute to reggae artist Tony tribe who had Cut a reggae version of the tune some 1s years before. Although h had been released As a single Back in 1985, and even lopped the charts in several countries american audiences seemed indifferent red red wine stalled at 34 on the billboard charts and disappeared from sight until the band s Phoenix fan resurrected it. Something must have happened during those three years though for listeners began to react and react positively first in Phoenix then in other markets. By Early fail the single was a fixture in the National top 10, finally hitting no. 1 earlier this month. Allol which came As a Complete Surprise to the band itself. Thai was something said Suewo s drummer James Brown. In a recent Telephone interview he explained that All this unfolded unexpectedly As the band was on tour. Ii was t a plan before we came out he said. This has happened while we be been on the Road working. So it s a real Surprise to particularly because the single ub40 had hoped would Inch us Way up the charts was breakfast in bed anew Hynde duet from the band s current album ub40. Were ub40 More meticulous about planning its career such a turn of events would be More frustrating than Gratifying throwing whatever marketing strategy into Complete disarray. But Brown said i m not sure we can be too Picky really. A hit is a hit something that we be been waging Lor Tor eight years besides ub40 has had More than enough Good Luck with Hync already. Hynde alter All helped bring the band to prominence in the Early 80s. Bach then ub40 was just a ragged aggregation of reggae fans who were on the Dole the name ub40, was taken from Britain s unemployment benefits form in Birmingham England and wound up playing music for Lack of anything better to do. We did t actually physically put the band together Brown said. The band became what it was out of a Bunch of people who were hanging out together. We did t have to go out and look for. Anybody to ill any spaces because the spaces were already taken up by our own social the band members themselves seem As amazed As anyone about their music s continuing Success. Nobody s controlling it said Brown of the band s sound and musical approach. We Don t have any Choice in the Way that we do it so it s never calculated we make the same mistakes and have the same bad Habil from one album to Fop of the charts hot kind of love pm con 2. Kokomo Batch Boyi 3. Wu1 wild West theivin Culb 4. Bed red wins Umo 5. What s of your mind informal xxi soc to 6. Dont you know what the night can Dot 51m wort Quot 7. The Loco motion Kyte Muio Gim 8. Never tear us apart inks g. One moment in time we Tow Harllon 10. Bad Medicine by Joel top up s 1. New Jersey Banjul 2. Appetite for destruction uni n Row 3. Cocktail soundtrack 4. Hysteria of Lemirt i. Sim pie plea5uhes Bobby Mcfetr run 9. Dont be cruel Bobby Brown 7. Tracy Chapman Tryc Schumin i. And Justice for All hmm of 9. Faith Ghigi michhl10.iono Colo we Nisi you country singles 1. Donn take a lot of River to Oik in bowl 2.darlene Bunmi wind tin Der he bad 4. Runaway train Roum Culli. Blue to the Bone saw Watt of in Rodney Shade of Blue sour in Pite 7. What do you want from Metis time Folk ind Lloyd t. Desperately do it Tom 9. I la leave this world Loving you Ray pm saw icon 10. Let been lookin1 nay Ornis dirt Etc Black singles 1. The Way you love my Karyn Watt 2. Any love Lump vhf do 3. You Renot my kind of girl it Youon 4. Dont h Ock the boat my turn so i own you the Best that i got Antl by str prerogative by brow. 7. Thanks Foh my child churl pros Roll a. Rescue me 10. He s oot the look top pop cd s 1.rattleandhjm u2 j. New Jersey Bon Joel 3. Simple pleasures Boblin me fwd 4. Appetite for destruction own n1 Hom � Silhouette in o. An to Tracy Chapma 7. Cock Tau. Soundtrack t. Talk b cheap km1 re Daft �. Hysteria in Uppal 1 0, any love lu5ttfl i of wednesday. October 26. 1988 the stars and stripes Page 17
