Review of U2's The Joshua Tree

If you have ever listened to the radio, you're probably already familiar with several tracks from The Joshua Tree, U2's Grammy-winning album from 1987. "Where the Streets Have No Name," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and "With or Without You" seem to have received the most airplay, at least to my recollection. "In God's Country" and "One Tree Hill" also made the charts, although the latter single was released only in New Zealand.

The Joshua Tree was my first experience with U2. As an affirmed rocker with tastes leaning mostly toward what is now considered to be classic hard rock, I wasn't sure it was my type of music. The funny thing is that I had no basis for this feeling, since I was pretty sure I'd never heard even one of U2's songs in my life. On the recommendation of a trusted friend, I went ahead and bought a copy of The Joshua Tree soon after its release. I was immediately glad I did. I had never heard anything like it, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I credit The Joshua Tree and U2 with expanding my musical horizons. Once I'd heard this alternative rock masterpiece, I was hooked.

The lyrics and music on The Joshua Tree are haunting. My favorite tracks are "Red Hill Mining Town," "One Tree Hill," and "Running to Stand Still." Actually, there isn't a bad song on the entire album. I'm most likely to skip "Trip Through Your Wires" and "Exit" if I'm running short on time, and that's mainly because I like the others so much that I don't want to skip over them instead.

More than twenty years later, I've obviously heard more of U2's music than just this one album. For me, however, The Joshua Tree exemplifies U2's unique sound--mainly The Edge's trademark guitar technique. Although I've heard other bands try to imitate that sound, U2 does it best.

If you're looking for a great classic album from the '80s, The Joshua Tree is hard to beat. Here are some links to help you find a copy online:

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.cduniverse.com

http://music.barnesandnoble.com

http://www.cdwow.com

http://www.borders.com

Sources:

http://www.u2.com/discography/filter/index/tagname/singles

http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=u2&year=1987&genreID=0&hp=1