While browsing through AlbumFixer's blog I came across his deconstruction/reconstruction of Rattle and Hum. It had several things going for it but the two main points were it was U2 and it was a double album reduced down to a single album (do I need to mention...). I agreed with every point he made and every justification for his song choices. I put it together and gave it a test run and was pleased with the flow and feel of the album. Then...
I was glancing through the list of songs AlbumFixer would have included as bonus tracks and noticed Hallelujah Here She Comes and thought why was this left off? AlbumFixer's plan was to only include those songs that appeared on the album itself. Hallelujah only appeared as the B side to the Desire single. But he did include Jesus Christ which was a cover song that was not on the album but later appeared on the Woody Guthrie tribute Folkways: A Vision Shared.
Jesus Christ was recorded during the Sun Studios sessions along with many of the other songs on the album but as far as I know it was always destined for the tribute album. If AlbumFixer could include this song why not Hallelujah? We had the room so I slipped it in and the project was no longer a review and started to take on a life of its own.
Side One
01 Desire
02 Angel Of Harlem
03 When Love Comes To Town
04 Love Rescue Me
05 Hallelujah (Here She Comes)
Side Two
01 Hawkmoon 269
02 Van Diemen's Land
03 God Part II
04 Jesus Christ
05 All I Want Is You
Reality Notes
Rattle and Hum is where I lost U2. At the time of its release I was still enjoying The Joshua Tree from the year before. I guess I was more confused by Rattle and Hum than anything else. Was it a soundtrack? A live album? A new studio album? It just seemed to be all over the place and that got in my way from enjoying the many great new songs on the album. It took me a year or two before I purchased the album and even then I did not play it enough to really get to know it.
When I decided to take ownership of this construction and added Hallelujah I also added A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel which was the B side to the second single from the album. I eventually dropped the song because it pushed the album length to more than 48 minutes. And while it is a good song it was not one I found myself humming when the album was not on. Keep it for the B sides.
I kept Jesus Christ because it fit well with the other songs. There is a general religious/spiritual feel to the album in both subject matter and the use of gospel choirs and other musical themes from gospel music. I probably could have just swapped Jesus Christ for A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel but Jesus Christ just seemed to fit better.
I removed Heartland and The Star Spangled Banner. Heartland was recorded during The Joshua Tree sessions. AlbumFixer included it on his double album version of that album And I followed suit and included it on Hold Onto Love. The Star Spangled Banner is Jimi Hendrix from Woodstock so it doesn't belong here anyway.
Once I had the album constructed I took a look at the leftovers. Six live songs remained. Four originals from the last two albums and two cover songs. I took those songs and put together a live mini album in the style of Under A Blood Red Sky with a little surprise at the end. 01 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
02 All Along The Watchtower
03 Pride (In The Name Of Love)
04 Silver And Gold
05 Helter Skelter
06 Bullet The Blue Sky
I renamed the studio album Rattle and named the live EP Hum. I modified the cover for Rattle and Hum and created a similar cover for Hum by modifying the cover for the All I Want Is You single. Both albums are included in the download.
Sources
Rattle and Hum
The Best of 1980-1990
Folkways: A Vision Shared
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