The Joshua Tree
U2
Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois
Island Records (USA), 2007
1 CD
Catalogue #: 1744939
EAN: 0602517449398
UPC: 602517449398
You save: 25%
U2: Bono (vocals, harmonica); The Edge (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Adam Clayton (bass); Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums).
Additional personnel includes: Daniel Lanois (guitar, keyboards, tambourine, background vocals); Brian Eno (keyboards, programming, background vocals).
Recorded at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland.
THE JOSHUA TREE won the 1987 Grammy award for album of the year.
U2: Bono (vocals, harmonica); The Edge (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Adam Clayton (bass); Larry Mullen Jr. (drums).
Additional personnel includes: Daniel Lanois (guitar, keyboards, tambourine, background vocals); Brian Eno (keyboards, programming, background vocals).
Engineers include: Flood.
Recorded at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland.
Personnel: Bono (vocals); The Edge (guitar); Adam Clayton (bass instrument); Larry Mullen Jr. (drums).
Few bands are as ready for superstardom as U2 circa 1986. After chart successes with WAR and THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE and a high profile appearance at Live Aid, the Irish quartet holed up at a Dublin studio with engineers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and crafted the definitive sound of late '80s mainstream rock. Deftly marrying WAR's edgy bombast, THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE's impressionism, Eno's ambient flourishes, and the band's new found interest in American roots music, THE JOSHUA TREE is U2's crowning moment, a perfect nexus of the band's expansive muse and the popular zeitgeist. It consistently ranks in the higher reaches of critics' lists of the greatest albums of all time.
Due both to Eno's georgeous production and a stellar set of songs, the album has aged stunningly. The first three tracks--the rousing "Where the Streets Have No Name," the gospel-inflected "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and the tortured, echo-drenched ballad "With or Without You"--have all become FM standards, but cuts such as "Red Hill Mining Town," "Running to Stand Still," and "In God's Country" with grittier Americana influences resonant just as emphatically. The rhythm section's (Larry Mullen, Jr. and Adam Clayton) propulsive minimalism provides the perfect bedrock for the Edge's veritable clinic on guitar effects and economy. Like the best U2, however, the album belongs to Bono, whose soulful voice hitches an epic passion to lyrics both deeply personal and overtly political.
After their arresting appearance at Live Aid, U2 album sales went berserk across the globe, and the world waited impatiently for their next release. The Joshua Tree arrived, and fans were not disappointed. There are few weaknesses, musical or lyrical, in this album. The pure power of the music and patent honesty of the lyrics steer the band clear of whimsy and self-indulgence. The anguish and questioning is shot through with faith as they chant and stomp and batter their way through instant classics such as 'Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', 'Where The Streets Have No Name' and 'With Or Without You', leaving the listener bruised but elated.
Tracklist
U2
U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to post-punk, with Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's distinct guitar lines interacting seamlessly with the rhythm section of bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. In 1987, U2 broke through to superstardom with THE JOSHUA TREE, a grand culmination of their '80s sound. In the 1990s, however, the band very purposefully deflated that epic image, simultaneously adding ambient, dance, and electronica touches on 1991's ACHTUNG BABY. Mining that vein for much of the decade, U2 kicked off the 21st century with a triumphant return to form that was embraced by new and longtime fans alike.
Brian Eno
Pick almost any forward-looking trend in rock and you're likely to find that Eno blazed the trail. Beginning in the 1970s, Eno pioneered everything from art-rock to ambient music to sample-based electronica. His career began with Roxy Music, where he broke new ground with his synthesizer work. From there he went on to an illustrious solo career full of innovative electronic music as well as classic rock-based albums like ANOTHER GREEN WORLD. Along the way he found time to produce landmark albums by the likes of U2 and Talking Heads.
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois became a producer under the wing of Brian Eno, and is best known for his moody, atmospheric 1980s and '90s work with Bob Dylan, U2, Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel, and others. In between production jobs, the multi-talented Canadian has maintained an impressive solo career. Though relatively few and far between, his solo releases are a powerful mix of rock, folk, world music, and ambient textures, close to his trademark production style, but never falling into a rut. Along the way, Lanois has also done soundtrack work (SLING BLADE, MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL), for which his evocative sound is well suited.
