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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1988)
-Entertainment U2 creates music for a generation that rattles/ hums By Rick Heyman Emerald Contributor U2 — Rattle and Hum It’s extraordinarily fitting that Rattle and Hum leads off with the Beatles’ “Helter Skel ter” because the new U2 album is the ’80s equivalent of the “White Album,” only better. At least in retrospect, the ’60s were the golden age of rock populism — critics’ favor ites were also the most popular bands. The Beatles, Dylan, the Stones, the Who, Hendrix. Who would have condemned any of these massively creative artists for being also massively popular? But as rock became a more elitist “art” form in the ’70s, it _Record Review lost its populist grounding. Success was suspect, and as rock entered the '80s — with its incredibly restricted radio playlists — by all rights it should have been. U2 is one of the few bands of the ’80s to make sensational records that have at the same THE GRATEFUL DKAD _ *** The Grateful Deod Conceit Experience olook inside " The Deod"... ^ whot they ore > v to themselves ond to their Ions VAUXYJJIVER •wnmwnmmmm NOW SHOWING time broken new musical ground and garnered them a massive worldwide following. They speak to this generation as the Beatles did to the baby boomers. We'll follow them down any experimental path and be the richer for it. Each subsequent release reveals both growth and a breathtaking clar ity of artistic vision. Rattle and Hum is eerily rem iniscent of the '60s on several accounts — the '60s icons (cov ers of “Helter Skelter” and “All Along the Watchtower.” a backing vocal by Bob Dylan, a Car Care with a Conscience Audi BMW Porsche Volkswagen Alfa Romeo Mercedes Benz German Car Specialists 687-0040 1975 W. 7th • Eugene snippet from Hendrix’s "Star Spangled Banner" and a sequel to John Lennon’s “God”), the bluesy overtones, the social commentary, and the general feeling that they play their mu sic as if it has a meaning far be yond its commercial potential. The new LP also serves as the soundtrack of their soon-to-be released concert film. Over half of the performances are live — a few are revisions of previous ly released songs, but most are new. U2 has now released three live albums over the past five years, and the extraordinary passion that they evoke while performing certainly justifies the existence of all three. Although I’m sure other peo ple dislike the extreme rework ing of some of the old tunes, the addition of a gospel choir on “I Still Haven't Found What I’m Looking For” sends a shiv er down my spine. Other in teresting touches are the horns used to punctuate the Billie Holliday tribute, "Angel of Harlem," and the Stax-styled horn charts on "Love Rescue Me." It suddenly dawns on you that you have never heard U2 with horns before, and how they add a warmth and bright ness to the tracks that helps keep the overall tone of the re cord from becoming over-seri ous. OK. Enough already. It's stinging, fervent, bluesy, un nerving, and chancy. It’s the "White Album" unmarred by "Revolution 9.” It’s undeni ably destined to be a classic. It’s U2. Get it. Experience it. Joan Armatrading • The Shouting Stage A sublime look at love's darker side. The lyrics are con sistently fascinating ( 'Men/No self control/Says I’m all he wants/But I watch him prowl/Yet if I should stray/I'm a wicked child/And he'd make me pay/The devil I know") and the tunes are eccentric but real ly work their way under your skin. Armntrading’s production sense is laudable, from the crispness of the sound to the interesting arrangements to her refined taste in sidemen — Mark Knopflor. Pino Palladino (Paul Young’s peerless fretless bassist), Mark (Big Country) Brze/.icki, Manu (Peter Gabriel) Katche. et al. The Shouting Stage is Armatrading’s finest work, a beautiful collection of songs that say something. Big Audio Dynamite - Tight en Up Vol. 88 Forgettable dance music. Mick Jones' old band, the Clash, used to be called "The Only Band That Matters." How did he become so irrelevant? it's got an OK beat, you can dance to it, but it's not even New Order (intoxicatingly memorable dance music) let alone the Clash. To say that B.A.D. stands for big audio dy namite is a laugh - the mix is far too thin and wimpy. Maybe it's really an acronym for Beatbox And Dried-up-talent, because that's the way it sounds from here. THE CAMPUS SOURCE FOR MUSIC STEVE MILLER Bom 2B Blue STEVE MILLER Born 2B Blue *7.99 LF/cassette* •13.99 CD ROBERT PALMER HEAVY NOVA ROBERT PALMER Heavy Nova *7.99 LP/cassette *13.99 CD OMOMAL MOTION MCTl** SOUNOTRAC* — JOHN LENNON Imagine JOHN LENNON Imagine *12.99 LP/cassette/CD 2-record set am* BOBBY McFERRIN SIMPLE PLEASURES BOBBY MCFERRIN Eii ® m In m m In [HIM] Jtace i/yUu/uc RECORDS, TAPES & COMPACT DISCS 886 E. 13th * Across the street from the UO Bookstore. 345-1010 Sale prices good through October 31, 1988. Limited to stock on hand.
