U2 - The Joshua Tree (2LP)
U2 [click here to see other vinyl featuring U2]
- Bono – lead vocals, harmonica, guitars
- The Edge – guitars, backing vocals, piano
- Adam Clayton – bass guitar
- Larry Mullen Jr. – drums, percussion
Brian Eno – keyboards, DX7 programming, backing vocals [click here to see more vinyl featuring Brian Eno]
Daniel Lanois – tambourine, Omnichord, additional rhythm guitar (A2, B2), backing vocals
The Armin Family – strings (D1)
The Arklow Silver Band – brass (C1)
Paul Barrett – brass arrangement and conducting
Lyrics are written by Bono and music is composed by U2
2 LP, Gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves and a 12"x12" booklet of lyrics
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Optimal
Label : Island Records
Original Label : Island Records
Recorded January 1986 – January 1987 at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland
Recorded by Flood
Mixed by Mark Wallis, Steve Lillywhite (A1, A3, B1, C1)
Produced by Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno
Remastered by Bernie Grundman
Photography by Anton Corbijn
Originally released in March 1987
Reissued in 2023
Tracks:
Side A:
- Where The Streets Have No Name
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- With Or Without You
Side B:
- Bullet The Blue Sky
- Running To Stand Still
Side C:
- Red Hill Mining Town
- In God's Country
- Trip Through Your Wires
Side D:
- One Tree Hill
- Exit
- Mothers Of The Disappeared
Awards:
Ranked 25th in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums
Time magazine's list of 100 best albums
Pitchfork's Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1980s
Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time – Ranked 135 / 500
Rolling Stone magazine's 1987 annual Music Awards chosen by readers – Ranked number 1
Rolling Stone magazine's 1987 album of the year – Ranked number 2
1988 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year
1988 Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance by a group or duo
Reviews:
“Using the textured sonics of The Unforgettable Fire as a basis, U2 expanded those innovations by scaling back the songs to a personal setting and adding a grittier attack for its follow-up, The Joshua Tree. It's a move that returns them to the sweeping, anthemic rock of War, but if War was an exploding political bomb, The Joshua Tree is a journey through its aftermath, trying to find sense and hope in the desperation. That means that even the anthems -- the epic opener "Where the Streets Have No Name," the yearning "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" -- have seeds of doubt within their soaring choruses, and those fears take root throughout the album, whether it's in the mournful sliding acoustic guitars of "Running to Stand Still," the surging "One Tree Hill," or the hypnotic elegy "Mothers of the Disappeared." So it might seem a little ironic that U2 became superstars on the back of such a dark record, but their focus has never been clearer, nor has their music been catchier, than on The Joshua Tree. Unexpectedly, U2 have also tempered their textural post-punk with American influences. Not only are Bono's lyrics obsessed with America, but country and blues influences are heard throughout the record, and instead of using these as roots, they're used as ways to add texture to the music. With the uniformly excellent songs -- only the clumsy, heavy rock and portentous lyrics of "Bullet the Blue Sky" fall flat -- the result is a powerful, uncompromising record that became a hit due to its vision and its melody. Never before have U2's big messages sounded so direct and personal.” AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 , Discogs : 4.68 / 5