Rattle and Hum

U2 fans are among the most rabid fans around. There are some who believe they haven't produced a great record since the Joshua Tree, while others have loved everything they have produced since, but not the early stuff. I guess that is partly to be expected from a rock group that has spanned over 3 decades...I am a fan of several different eras in the evolution of U2, but I think I am specifically drawn to Rattle and Hum. R & H was an album that fans and critics have often cited as the worst effort by the band. To me it captures the essence of what they distilled on the Joshua Tree record combined with an homage to American music, particularly rhythm and blues and early rock icons like Dylan and Hendrix. There is something visceral about the album that captures a still young band at a crucial moment in their career. The lyrics are among some of the best by Bono coupled with the gritty, yet reflective nature of the music the band produced in the late 1980s. Listening to it always takes me back to being an early adolescent, excited about one of the first CDs I ever purchased and listening to the magic of the music of U2 and even then recognizing there was something different about this band.