Albums that got me into playing guitar
Way back in 1989 I was a 13 and after years of piano lessons I decided to teach myself guitar. After all the guitar is a much cooler instrument and more portable than a piano.
That same year U2 were a superstar band releasing Rattle and Hum, a double album with a mix of studio and live tracks.
Containing the hit tunes Desire, All I Want Is You, Angel of Harlem and Love Comes to Town the album was everywhere on the radio, TV and the film version of Rattle and Hum was also shown in movie theatres around the world.
On Rattle and Hum U2 we’re looking to simplify their music while paying tribute to American rock n roll, gospel, soul and blues. This resulted in some great tracks such as When Love Comes to Town with blues legend BB King and a live version of I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For featuring the Harlem New Voices of Freedom Gospel Choir.
However there were also some cringe worthy moments such as Bono’s creepy deep breathing on their cover of the Beatles tune Helter Skelter which was “stolen back from Charles Manson”
Also other Bono comments on the live track Silver and Gold “OK Edge play the blues” and then the Edge plays what is nothing like the blues! ad his general preachiness on the albums live tracks can get on your nerves.
That all aside most of the tunes on this album were simple enough for me to work out by ear as a beginner guitarist. After all in 1989 there was no internet to help with chords or tabs. Most of the songs are based around standard open string chords A D E G C etc making this a great album for a beginner guitarists.
In the YouTube video above I will run through some of these easy tunes and how to play them.
Desire
Using the Bo-Diddley beat this rock tune is a great rhythm guitar exercise using just 3 chords A D and E. While the chords are easy the strumming is not!
Love Rescue Me
Co written by bob Dylan this is a soulful ballad in 6/8 time. Like Angel of Harlem the vocal melody is the focus here with the simple guitar chord arpeggios keeping time throughout. This song is a good introduction to playing guitar arpeggios.
When Love Comes to Town
This song was another hit single from the album featuring blues legend BB King. The partnership went so well that U2 and BB King toured together on the When Love Comes to Town tour.
The song itself is a 2 chord wonder based around just E and A proving that less is more when it comes to creating a great piece of music. While it has a simple foundation it’s how these 2 chords are played and arranged that make the song work.
Interestingly too it shows how 2 different guitarists approach a tune with edge using simple abstract arpeggios for his solo while bb king shows he’s the master of mixing major and minor pentatonic scales with his trademark vibrato and tone. To me this is one of the best guitar tones ever recorded!
Van Dieman’s Land
This ballad sung by the Edge opens the Rattle and Hum film. While the guitar sound uses a hint of delay it is not as prominent as in other U2 songs so you can hear the picking of the individual notes quite clearly. The vocals dominate the mix at times so some of the guitar notes are hard to hear but I think that this is a fairly accurate transcription. The tune is comprised of open string chords except for the B minor bar chord.
Angel of Harlem
Recorded at legendary Sun Studios this simple 1 4 5 song in the key of C uses C F and G chords. The verse simply alternates between C and F. The strumming pattern throughout is fairly simple.
In the bridge it does add an Am chord while maintaining the same simple strumming. This is a great example of a simple song carried by a great melody.
All I Want Is You
Another exercise in simplicity creating a great song. All I Want Is You uses just 3 chords A D and F#m. The thumb strumming while fairly simple requires the use of accents on Beats 1 and 3 to create the right feel. It’s also important to watch what strings to strum to emphasise certain notes of the chords.
Edge also came up with a simple but effective hook at the end of the chorus alternating between sus chords and standard chords to create a melody.
These songs and others on the album are great examples of simple but effective songwriting making this album a great collection of songs for beginner guitarists to learn.