-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
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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
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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.
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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.