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| U2 - The Joshua Tree Band: U2 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 Career milestone U2 has released a plethora of quality work over the years, including "War," "Rattle and Hum," and "Achtung Baby." But "The Joshua Tree" is their career milestone. The album begins with a long keyboard intro and then kicks into overdrive with "Where the Streets Have No Name," a pulsing ode to Bono's visit to Ethiopia in 1986 and My Favorite song ever written. The next 8 tracks that follow all hit the spot. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "With or Without You" were both #1 singles. The thumping drum beat intro of "Bullet the Blue Sky" sticks to your brain like a fly on fly paper. Bono's tone has never sounded richer, fuller, or more beautiful as on "Red Hill Mining Town," "Running to Stand Still," and "In God's Country." "One Tree Hill" was the Top 10 single never released. Only the last two tracks, "Exit" and "Mothers of the Disappeared," fail to register as classic U2 numbers, although both have a formidable melody. Through the Desert: U2 Peaks with The Joshua Tree U2 produced the most complete, most enduring studio album of all time with The Joshua Tree. Every song weaves perfectly into the tapestry of the album, and yet each contains enough individual identity to stand out its own. The music is resonant; each melody is compelling; the guitars, drums, bass lines, harmonicas are perfectly combined to give the album a backdrop of deep acoustic pensiveness, ranging from melancholic to spiritual, and everywhere in between. There is an intense musical yearning that will strike deep chords into any listener. However, the real power of the album derives from the poetry of Bono's lyrics. While Bono showed lyrical Promise in earlier albums, here he stakes claim as the most evocative and moving lyricist of his generation, i.e. "The sun's so bright it Leaves no shadows, only scars/ carved into Stone on the face of earth," (from One Tree Hill), or "Set me alight/ We'll punch a Hole right through the night/ Every day the dreamer's die/ to see what's on the other side," or "I believe in Kingdom Come/ when all the colors will bleed into one . . . you broke the bonds and you loosed the chains/ carried the cross of my shame . . . but I still haven't found what I'm looking for." Maybe the most telling statement about the quality of this album is that the best songs may be the ones that were never released, i.e. Running to Stand Still, One Tree Hill, Mothers of the Disappeared. But the truth is that EVERY song is a classic, "With or Without You," being providing the album's signature. While U2 has produced high quality albums throughout their career, they peaked with The Joshua Tree . . . and rock peaked with them. The Heart of U2 The Joshua Tree catapulted U2 from a popular and pretty successful rock Band to megastars and cultural icons. The album retains all of U2's integrity, while creating a crisper and more commercial sound. Under Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois' guidance, the songs have an ethereal sound to them. Songs like "With Or Without You", "I'll Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "Running To Stand Still" & "Exit" have simple beats, but the production gives them a strength and density, that turns them into powerful pieces. The subject matter goes into politics, life, Death & God. "Red Hill Mining Town" & "Bullet The Blue Sky" are political songs. "Bullet" comments on the US involvement in Central America and has a break when Bono goes into a sermon-like rap. "One Tree Hill" is an Elegy for one of the band's road staff who died in a motorcycle accident. The song is one of the prettiest The Band has ever done and the symbolism and life and Death as a river running into the sea is beautiful. "With Or Without" was the first single and the band's first number one. It's slow opening that builds into a guitar crescendo is perfect pop music and the song Leaves you questioning whether Bono can't Live without a lover, God or the band's fans? "Running To Stand Still" is another song about the struggles to overcome a heroin addiction. Unlike their other addiction song, "Bad", this is a piano-based number. "In God's Country" may well be the best song on the album with it's ringing guitars and it's biblical lyrics. with its harmonica and guitar riff, "Trip Through Your Wires" has a bluegrass sound. "Exit" and "Mothers Of The Disappeared" both explore loss. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was their second number one song and really sums up what U2 is all about. They are searching for answers, but no matter where they look, they still haven't found it. Buy U2 The Joshua Tree at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
