A Work of Incredible Egotism....and I Love U2 All the More for It!

U2: Rattle and Hum is often called a documentary, but it's really not. It's more an advertisement for U2's album released just before the 1988 film, their highly acclaimed "Joshua Tree." One of my three favorite albums, most of the songs on the album are played in concerts captured on film for "Rattle and Hum." It's also an exercise in egotism, as Bono and the other Irish boys go on a tour of the United States and bring soulful Arena Rock to the masses.

Truthfully, I'm a fairly recent convert to U2's music (and music in general). It wasn't until 1997 that I even realized that U2 was the band that sang "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and other songs I was already a fan of. Let's just say that:

1) I was raised in a pop culture vacuum, being forced against my will to read large books that were lowered down into my pit-like cell in a bucket; I also had to endure much in the way of classical music. Trying to sleep through Brueckner is easy...unless it's 3 A.M.

2) I was trying to leech on to a group of friends who enjoyed the U2, and ended up really liking them myself.

I've written reviews of five of U2's albums, and their concert that we went to in Denver last April 6th (and we just got tickets last weekend for their Salt Lake City concert November 9th...). They're easily my favorite band that's still together, and they and The Beatles are sort of neck-and-neck with me right now. It all depends on what's playing.

Somehow, I had missed out on "Rattle and Hum" in the chaos of all of the other U2 lovin' goin' on. I had the CD, of course, but hadn't ever seen the movie. This was remedied when I saw the DVD sitting in a column of light at our local video store. The light may have been the Lor-Tab residue circulating through my cerebral cortex, but I took as a divine message. Mormons are funny that way.

So we rented it, and watched it, and it was very good, but not what I had expected. If you take the CD, and add 11 songs to it, you've got the DVD right there. Throw in a little pilgrimage to Graceland and a few inane comments from a rarely-seen interviewer (who the hell IS this guy, anyway?) and you've got yerself a travelogue.

This really is a very ballsy thing to do...making a movie about your band after their first REALLY BIG success...it would be akin to today's (and my soul is already burning in hell for the comparison) Backstreet Boys or N'Sync making a movie about their tour for their first big successes (and I honestly have no idea what the titles of those are). Critics hated it, a lot of "normal everyday Joes" probably didn't care for it...but U2 fans love it.

Taking place in stadiums and arenas across the United States, this was meant to be a sort of exploration of the roots of Rock N Roll for U2, and it succeeds at that, partially because of the guest appearances. Most notable are B.B. King on "When Love Comes To Town," and an African American gospel choir on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

Bono is incredibly mmmmm....AWARE of himself. Not necessarily conceited (although I love him and he has every right to be, in my book), but definitely egotistical. Two subtly different things. He has an enormous charismatic energy that he infuses his performances with, and even the grainy black and white film used for the first half of the DVD picks up this energy and runs with it. The best performances live in concerts are also the best ones here: "Pride/In The Name Of Love" is best EXPERIENCED live, so you can sing along with the band. The same with "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," an always timely cry to stop the bloodshed not just in Ireland, but around the world.

That's something that I've always loved about U2...Bono has a sense of conscience that's either missing completely or remarkably suppressed in most "rock stars." Right now his biggest crusade is to eliminate Third World Debt, but he also champions other causes, and I love him for it.

This is a great way to experience U2's classic stuff, if you haven't seen it yet and are even a casual fan, you should definitely rent it. Pick it up. Check it out. If you're a fan of later U2, I'd suggest either "ZOOTV: Live In Sydney" (if you're a fan of the Achtung Baby album), or "PopMart: Live In Mexico City" if you like the Pop and Zooropa albums....and there's another DVD coming out before Christmas that's the current "Elevation" tour. Which I highly recommend. Obviously. Since we've already spent 300 bucks on tickets for that show.

A note on THIS DVD: It's just a bare-bones DVD, with no extra commentary or special features to speak of. Much better sound, which is of course the most important thing with concert videos. It would have been a kick to have Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton giving their two cents on their former selves.

But "Rattle and Hum" is good for you Old School U2 fans. Just don't expect too much enlightenment about the band's motives and methods...this is strictly a collection of groundbreaking performances by the Greatest Band In The World.