Odd, I’ve owned this CD since it came out. It was one of the first CDs I ever bought. I bought it from a long since closed store in a strip mall in Freehold, New Jersey called Compact Sound — one of the first all-CD stores any of us had ever seen. I was one of the owner’s best customers. That guy did a lot to guide me through good music. I only had so much spending money and he’d always help me narrow down choices. I’d have a flash-in-the-pan “modern rock” CD in one hand (the lesser contemporaries of, say, the Jesus and Mary Chain) and something vital like “The Piper At The Gates of Dawn” or “Speaking In Tongues”. . .and this dude would always nod toward the right choice. I’d schmooze with this guy for long stretches as my mother would make her way through the other shops in the strip mall, before forcing me into the car. I can’t recall the guy’s name now. I can’t even remember his face. Anyway, this little documentary is perfunctory enough in its presentation of Woody and Leadbelly. Some of the performances kick ass, notably Taj Mahal, Little Richard, Emmylou Harris and Bruce Springsteen’s version of “I Ain’t Got No Home.” Surprisingly, Bono, of whom I am a fan, comes off as really lame here. I haven’t listened to “Rattle and Hum” in a long, long time. . .but maybe that music hasn’t aged all that well. Maybe they didn’t become truly great until “Achtung Baby.” Maybe they aren’t truly great at all? Maybe Bono will ultimately be remembered for his humanitarian work? So many questions this late night. . . .