You know,this might sound a little nuts but ,hey there could be some truth in it.I was thinking that all the critics,etc.,were like sitting around saying something like "The Joshua Tree was such a monumental success,that no matter what U2 do next,we have to take them down off the pedestal we(!)put them on."
We have to nitpick,find things to complain about,whatever...
So,they found asinine reasons to not like the album,like calling it uneven or a mess just because there were live tracks intermingled with new songs.
(Personally,I think they were jealous because they got people like Bob Dylan & B.B.King to play on it)
I don't care what anybody says,this is one of their best albums.

And then there's the movie,ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!
This is the best version of Sunday Bloody Sunday I've heard so far:
"FUCK THE REVOLUTION!"


There's nothing wrong with the record or the movie PERIOD.
Don't believe the hype!!

I don't think it was necessarily a conspiracy, but rather alot of people were kinda burned out over the whole hype of Joshua Tree. It's a great album that got overexposed.

I think that even though Bono didn't mean to bug us, he did bug some people.

And did they really need to "steal back" Helter Skelter? And did they succeed?

There was a sense that they (Bono) were believing their own hype. There may be some truth to what you say. When you see a worthy artist flirt with pretention the way Bono did, maybe it inspires critics to point it out--to the point of ignoring the obvious--that Rattle & Hum has songs as good a some of the stuff on The Joshua Tree.

i actually liked U2 in college and thru the years you speak of ... i didnt think they made a great album until ACTUNG BABY ... just my opinion ...

I love Rattle and Hum.

Angel of Harlem is a classic single, the Hollywood remix (was that the name) of Desire had me groovin on the dance floor for months and love songs don't get much more perfect than All I Want Is You.

'Rattle and Hum' does have a lot of good going for it. The singles from the album are routinely considered some of their best, the live performances in the movie are stellar, and most of the album cuts are top-notch also.

I think that, at the time, people didn't really appreciate Bono's sense of humor and hyperbole. If you remember, they were just coming off 'Joshua', which really gave the impression of a dour, unsmiling, too serious to think about anything other than the world's problems band. Nobody really got the Bono-isms like "Am I buggin ya..." or the infamous Beatles/Charles Manson line. I think that nowadays, people would understand the sarcasm and irony behind a lot of the album and realize that a lot of that was said with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

I think there's a lot of good in the album and movie, and I tend to even love the stuff that bugs the hell out of the reviewers: I LOVE God Pt. II, I think that their cover of 'Helter Skelter' rivals the Beatles' version, and I don't even mind Bono's "The God I believe in isn't short of cash, mister" line at the end of 'Bullet the Blue Sky'. However, I think if you're not a big fan, and therefore not willing to overlook some of the absurdities of the album, Rattle and Hum could ruffle a few feathers.

Also, remember that it really wasn't intended as the followup to Joshua Tree. I kind of consider it a really long (double LP) stopgap EP.

No conspiracy. Prattle & Bum was shit - and a big load of pompous, bloated, overwrought shit at that. U2 knew it and went off and finally made a great album next. Achtung Baby.
[Edited 11/9/05 4:14am]

Shapeshifter said:

couldn't have put it better myself!

Shapeshifter said:

Wow,I have never heard an album that made me think of the words "and a big load of pompous,bloated,overwrought shit" you sure you weren't moving your bowels when you listened?

gypsyfire said:

If you must know, I've never had a bowel movement I'd describe as "pompous and bloated", but I have occasionally sounded so overwrought during passing, people have often told me they thought Bono had suddenly materialised in my toilet.