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The Joshua Tree | 
 enlarge | Artist: U2
Label: Island
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $10.97
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New (30) Used (93) Collectible (18) from $0.75
Rating:  453 reviews
Sales Rank: 568
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 842298
UPC: 042284229821
EAN: 0042284229821
ASIN: B000001FS3
Release Date: June 15, 1990
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| Tracks:
| • | Where The Streets Have No Name | | • | I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For | | • | With Or Without You | | • | Bullet The Blue Sky | | • | Running To Stand Still | | • | Red Hill Mining Town | | • | In God's Country | | • | Trip Through Your Wires | | • | One Tree Hill | | • | Exit | | • | Mothers Of The Disappeared |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential recording
Having nearly exhausted their capacity for pop-song politics on War and The Unforgettable Fire, U2 turned toward themes of personal identity and complex relationships on The Joshua Tree. Not that the group was willing to come down off the barricades entirely: "Mothers of the Disappeared" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" turned a jaundiced eye toward Central America and the United States' role there. But the predominant mood here is one of self-discovery and the hunger for something more on tracks like the pulsating "Where the Streets Have No Name" and the gospel-ish "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The album's masterstroke, however, is "With or Without You," a nasty love song dressed up as an ode of devotion and care. It ranks with the Police's "Every Breath You Take" as the most misread smash hit of the '80s. --Daniel Durchholz
Amazon.com
U2's most successful album (their first No. 1 album and the 1987 Grammy award-winner for Album of the Year) is also their most dour. From the stark, black and white cover photography, with U2 looking like missionaries (or at least M*A*S*H extras), to the existential angst at the heart of each track, The Joshua Tree is one long, atmospheric wail at the abyss. Producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois turn in an austere production that heightens the drama substantially. --Rob O'Connor
Album Details
Same as USA Version.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 448 more reviews...
 'the Curse of the Colonies' June 17, 2008
7 out of 12 found this review helpful
There are two glaringly obvious affectations to blame for the artistic failure of U2's 'the Joshua Tree'. One is the record company, who MUST for the sake of their shareholders, send young provincial bands to the colonies, and the huge rewards from the eager masses there. The other is the Clash.
'London Calling' sent U2, and any number of other groups from the UK and beyond, scuttling for their cowboy boots and neckerchiefs in the mistaken belief that they-could-take-on-American-influences-and-still-be-interesting....not so.
If you give young people in their 20's, lots of cash and put them on a plane to the heart of consumerism, they're gonna imbibe...and how. Within weeks they're adopting that ridiculous gait all rock groups must adopt when they're 'conquering' America, wearing leather vests, riding the subway, and plundering the not insubstantial culture to arrive at the (paid minions encouraged) conclusion that they are Guthrie, Kerouac and Dylan rolled into one.
This can only result in one thing - the recording of the `American' rock album.
In the case of a group like U2, the American Rock Album is a laughable betrayal. A suspicious dirge of such ropiness and lack of character that it becomes a danger to itself and others. A concept so crass and the results so boring that one must wonder if it's all part of the record companies (I suspect) anti-young agenda anyway. "We hate the young, let's go out of our way to not understand them, and pointedly send them off in the wrong direction."
So, Bono and Co, well stocked up on the cliche's, and even though they're from leafy avenue Dublin, don't find it at all embarrassing to sing about "red orange glows" and "fighters over mud-huts" (!)
Well it is. Very.
Take 'Bullet the Blue Sky', an AWFUL song in the worst sense. Bono thinks he's being all passionate and powerful, but in reality he's fallen head first into the ditch of tunelessness, the slurry-pit of unforgivably hideous pretention. Lyrics with no substance accompany sour one-note feedback-guitar playing. Worse, he seems to be singing in a funny accent. He's not from Brooklyn (or Nashville for that matter!) he's from Ireland. To hear him drawl "into the arms of Amurca.." and reciting some of the worst poetry you'll hear, "rose on a thorn bush, like the colours of a Royal Flush, and he's peeling off those dollar bills, slappin' 'em down..100...200" and worse: "take the staircase to the first floor, turn the key and slowly unlock the door, a guy breathes into his saxophone, and through the walls you can hear the city groan...outside it's Amurca" it's so bad it can actually pull you up short. Sharp intake of breath and all that. To some-one who adored the likes of 'Boy' and 'October' (ie; Me!) it's quite hard to take.
Apart from the singles (too obvious, obviously) 'Red Hill Mining Town' is passable, but spoiled by more rotten poetry and commonplace rising orchestra, and there is one good song(!)-'One Tree Hill'.
Here,U2 forego all the faux- rockism to a degree, and deliver an almost jaunty, calypso-led number. It's still has some of the (deliberate) dirge-style quality of the rest of the album, but it seems there is genuine soul at work, trying to break free of the creative constraints and narrowness. Up to a point it succeeds, until it's effect is bludgeoned to a pulp by 'Exit', a worthless ballad trying to invoke the spirit of 'Combat Rock's - Death is a Star' but failing miserably.
I had to laugh at 'Running to Stand Still' too, where Bono meaningfully intones "Halal, halal, halal ..today" (That'd be all we need, Bono in the Islam corner!) over a music operating at no level of competence above that of the worst 70's campus commando's, before letting rip with more yodelling and angst. Then, just to ram the whole farcical context home, a Dylan-style harmonica comes in, serving just one purpose only...further attempted authenticity. But by now it's not even consolation.
The rest of 'The Joshua Tree' ploughs a pedestrian and unoriginal rock furrow. Very quickly the listener becomes bored with gospel backing singers (an abomination in rock terms) and long, purposeless passages of egotistical and neurotic verse and sludgy, murky geetar. Gets more and more irritated at Bono's 'soulful' posturing and screaming. Becomes homicidal at yet more "faces frozen against the wind" and "red desert skies". (I didn't know there were deserts in Contae Bhaile Atha Cliath, Paul. You live and learn.)
'The Joshua Tree' isn't a surprise, and that's a major problem with it. It doesn't need a genius to predict that the US would have this kind of influence on U2 and that this was the only album that could result. People spend lifetimes making sense of this massive culture and only scratch the surface, U2 think they can do it after a couple albums and a tour. Dazed and daunted before their time is the inevitable result.
'The Joshua Tree' is the sound of rock eating it's young alive.
 March 9th, 1987 ... April 27, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
To say that this was probably a red-letter day in the history of music ... is an understatement.
When this first album came out, I missed it completely. I just wasn't listening to anything this mainstream at the time and was caught up in the beginning of absorbing myself with classical music. I was young once and couldn't possibly be that hip to catch everything on the early adoption tip. I view this album probably as important as Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, as that may be what they were going for, or Vivaldi's Stabat Mater. These albums are all equally important and affected both music ever after and the listeners as well.
To date, April 2008, The Joshua Tree has several different releases now.
The Original Studio Release - c. 1989
The Superbit `Gold CD' Release - c. 1990
The Remastered Release - c. 2007
Amazon also has a combined 460 reviews on this product now and while most of the populous enjoy this, a contingent of listeners don't feel that this measures up to be one of the great rock albums of all time.
While I do feel that this is one of the best albums of the last 100 years, easily, it is not a Rock album, per se. I know that may sound deviant to you, but it's very simply explained.
The bulk of the songs on this album are ballads. You may not want to hear that, but it's the truth. Some may just be realizing this for the first time, and it's okay, too. While I have no problem with ballads, being big fan of Beethoven and Chopin, masters of just such a thing, I wouldn't dare call Moonlight Sonata (Sonata Quasi una Fantasia) Rock Music at any time. Ballads are just that, they're ballads. They're beautiful and they typically speak on the subject of love, loss, frustration or isolation. That's not a rigid rule, but just a personal observation.
1. 'Where the Streets have no name' - Ballad. A song about feelings of isolation and love.
2. 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' - Ballad. Another song about the feelings concerning isolation, loss and love.
3. 'With or Without You' - Ballad. Another song about the feelings concerning isolation, loss and love.
4. 'Bullet The Blue Sky' - Rock Song Primo. A song about political discord, military might, poverty, etc.
5. 'Running To Stand Still' - Ballad. A song about isolation
6. 'Red Hill Mining Town' - Ballad. A song FULL of double entendres about sex, love and frustration.
7. 'In God's Country' - A Bluesy Ballad. A song about a girl ...
8. 'Trip Through Your Wires' - Rock Song.
9. 'One Tree Hill' - A bluesy ballad. A song a bout a girl, and emotions of love.
10. 'Exit' - A unclassifiable song about frustration, danger and isolation
11. 'Mothers Of The Disappeared' - Your guess is as good as mine on this one.
So ... what's the score here? The ballads heavily outweigh the Rock anthems. While this isn't necessarily an indictment on this album it's just an opinion placed casting light on seeing this album in the proper context. U2 has been branded passion rock since this album came out, and it's probably fitting to say the least, but they are one of the best RnR bands on the planet. People should just see this release for what it is. If one day, the bulk of us decided to start referring to Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales as Rock or even Hard Rock and not Easy Listening, then more of his listeners would be displeased by that as well.
The Joshua Tree is a groundbreaking album where a lot of U2 fans split off after this, unhappily. But over the years they gained even more fans with the releases after Joshua Tree, myself included. But it is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.
Their best album! April 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This album contains many of people's favorite U2 songs - this is my favoite album (and I have all of them). Highly recommended!
Still a work of art! April 1, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This album was released over twenty years ago, I was in college when it broke, and in this era where actual musical talent is no longer required to get someone on MTV...this CD is still a work of art.
A sonic departure from their earlier works, Tree builds upon the European sound of "Unforgettable Fire" and adds an American R&B simplicity to it. The hits from the the first side of the album are well documented...but the real magic here is on side 2...well from "Red Hill Mining Town onward for the CD generation. "Town", "Trip Through Your Wire", "Exit" are remarkable tunes and "One Tree Hill" might be the best song U2 has ever laid down (perhaps only eclipsed by "One")
This is one of the classic albums of the eighties without a doubt, and of our generation.
I Don't Get It March 31, 2008
3 out of 9 found this review helpful
Not only don't I get why this is considered one of the best albums of the 1980's, I don't get how U2 came to be so successful at all. I've listened to all of their music and I can count on an average of about 3 songs per album that don't put me to sleep. Then, the songs that are fast always sound like they have the same guitar part! Maybe I'm not "worldly" enough or something. I just never got it.
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