U2 Rattle & Hum The Official Book of the U2 Movie

by Peter Williams

Chronicles U2's popular Joshua Tree tour, including sessions with the legendary B.B. King and trips to Graceland, Sun Studios, and Harlem, and takes a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of their tour

Genres: Music

94 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Adeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly I’m biased, what with the book being about the album that introduced me to my favourite band, back when I was 11.

But… sue me. Rattle & Hum is a fantastic album, the movie has aged beautifully, and visually (and musically) it’s a feast. That book is packed with fantastic photos (colour and B&W, and wow do I love a grainy photo as it turns out!). A great resource of quotes from artists, musicians and tour/film technicians who were part of the tour. What a delightful find for a few quid on abebooks.

[Iain Every]

Critics panned U2 for preaching to the converted during this era and they hated the album, movie and this book. However, I was 16/17 around this time so my response was different. Coupled with "The Tube" on Channel 4, this book influenced me hugely. I went out and spent my pocket money on albums by Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson, John Lee Hooker, The London Community Gospel Choir to name but a few. That's just the music, they opened my eyes to many other things too. Re-reading it over 30 years later was very interesting for me, partly because I remembered so much from it. U2 are still hugely criticised, but I really don't mind. I just whisper to myself "They just don't get it."

[Cleasaí · Rating 3 out of 5]

U2 Rattle & Hum: The Official Book of The U2 Movie was released in support of the movie Rattle & Hum. Overall it is a nice pictorial look back at The Joshua Tree tour. It also contains a lot of technical information on the equipment, people, and the logistics responsible for pulling off one of the greatest tours to date. I just wish I could have been there.