U2 - The Joshua Tree
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Free Music Notes for The Joshua Tree
Free Music Review: Just Joshin'
Hit: 4 Stars
It occurred to me while listening to this, the sole U2 recording I own, that had I been a bit younger I very likely would have been a huge U2 fan. I've always kinda sorta liked them, but the fact was that I was a little "old" for them. I hate to admit it, but it's true (and I'm talking more about my inflexibility than my age per se). I never would have guessed it at the time, but your all-time fave raves are likely to be the groups and solo artists you were listening to at 16 or 17, and I was a bit older than that when I first heard U2. Well, that's my theory and I'm stickin' to it.
Why that's disappointing in a way is because when I was 16 back in 1968 I was absolutely certain that I would be following trends in rock and popular music for my entire life. And in fact, it used to kind of bug me that my older siblings seem to think that rock'n'roll died with the 50s. I thought it was possible to grow WITH the music--to stay, you know, forever young.
But life happens, and your focus shifts. And as much as you like or even love popular music, it somehow seems less critical to stay absolutely au courant. I associate the Beatles, Stones and the Airplane with my (relatively) carefree and very idealistic teen years. By the time I was in my late 20s or early 30s, well, it's not true that I had become a hardened cynic exactly BUT I certainly did understand some of the initial criticism levied against the Irish rockers. Yeah, a little bombastic, a little naive, and yeah, Bono sounded like he was a bit full of himself.
Which, had I thought about it, would have made them the PERFECT band for my 16 year old self. I forgave the Beatles their occasional pretensions. I understood what the Airplane was trying to do when they got all bombastic and political--and though I understood even then why their critics carped about their excesses, I still admired their attempt to mix up the political, the personal, the poetic and psychedelic.
Which is basically what U2 was up to a decade and a half later. And where they still were at (although starting to move away from) five or seven years later when they released this album, which many of their fans consider their masterpiece. The worst you could say about U2 is probably that they were a little on the earnest side. But if I could forgive Paul Kantner his leaden anthemns and John Lennon's naive politics (particularly around the SOME TIME IN NEW YORK CITY era), I guess I could certainly forgive U2, who were more tuneful and more lyrically sophisticated than either.
THE JOSHUA TREE is an earnest effort to be sure, but it is as earnest about love and death and all the other great themes, as it is about politics. Musically, it has a grandeur that more than matches any lyrical grandiosity. That's probably due in part to the band's increasingly sophisticated musical development. But also it no doubt has to do with the evocative production work of Brian Eno and DAniel Lanois, two of the bigger names in the biz.
And actually, the lyrics are only occasionally grandiose. More frequently, they are kind of plain. It is the arrangements and Bono's passionate (others say "overwrought," but I don't) vocals that lend significance to such readymade lyrical conceits as yearning to be "where the streets have no name," still not having "found what [one is] looking for," and doing so, "with or without you." Fans might not like it when you point out that there is nothing particularly original in such lyrics. Neo-fans such as myself might actually call such "unoriginality" a kind of virtue. It takes some considerable fire in the belly to invest such well-trodden tropes with actual meaning. And U2 does.
The album kept evoking Southwestern desert imagery for me, and I was starting to agree with one reviewer comments (posted below) that THE JOSHUA TREE is something of a Valentine to America (an ambivalent Valentine, but a Valentine nonetheless).
It was only after I read the lyric sheet and notes more carefully that I discovered that "Red Hill Mining Town" was inspired by events involving striking BRITISH miners and that "One Tree Hill" is a New Zealand locale, cited as a favorite haunt of their late friend and employee Greg Carroll a native New Zealander (and to whose memory the album is dedicated). And of course, the album's closer ("Mothers of the Disappeared") IS a political elegy to the victims of SOUTH American injustice.
But somehow, it all seems to relate back to the US. These Irishmen seem to have their fingers on the pulse of many Americans. They know what resonates. And they also know what many young, Americentric kids need to know ("just who are these 'disappeared' guys anyway?). They pull it off with a bit of bombast, to be sure, but also with a fair amount of grace and some real majesty here and there. Pretty good stuff after all. Hearts and minds in the right place, I'd say. And the music supports them.
Free Music Review: An all-time classic
Hit: 5 Stars
Probably one of the best albums I've heard in my life. U2 has proved that they were one of the greatest bands of the 80s, 90s, and the present.
This fantastic album executes their musical talent and amazing choice and blend of lyrics superbly. It's one of those albums that you'll listen for many years to come. Released in 1987, it is still nearly unmatched today.
Of course, 'With or without you' is the best song, with soothing, touching lyrics accompanied by a melodious tune. In fact, the last scene in Friends nearly used that song, and it would have been perfect. I can only think of a few songs in the same genre that would come close; the likes of 'Yellow' by Coldplay and 'The Boys of summer' by Don Henley.
Anyway, 'The Joshua Tree' is an album that is wonderful music to anyone's ears, and I recommend it to just about anyone, whether you listen to U2 or not. It sets a new standard.
Free Music Review: One of the best albums ever
Hit: 5 Stars
I think this is the best U2 album and one of my TOP 10 favorite albums of all times. I had two vinyls at the time (it came out before CDs) that I wore thin and one cassette that I used to travel with in my walkman (no ipods back then). I think this album epitomizes the very best of U2's creative genius. Nothing they have ever done comes close to this one accept maybe How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb... If you've never heard this album, once you listen, you'll never stop...it's simply timeless. Extremely recommended.Free Music Review: Songs with meaning that touch our souls
Hit: 5 Stars
Cut 1: Have you been where the Streets Have No Name? Thousands of us have been in the places that are SO far beyond the end of the road that Egypt looks like civilization. Cut 2: Searching, to put it all together, but still havn't found what you're looking for ... here, our angst is given voice and made noble. If this album doesn't bring tears to your eyes, your eyes aren't open and you heart has not yet known pain. U2 is truely outstanding in this work.Free Music Review: The Holy Grail of all U2 Albums - Terrific
Hit: 5 Stars
If you only have one U2 album in your collection, this has to be it...There comes a moment every once in a while when everthing falls into place and lightening strikes...In the 90's it was the Joshua Tree. We all know the big ones 'With or Without You', 'I Still haven't Found', 'Where the Streets have no Name', but what about 'Red Hill Town', 'One Tree Hill', 'Mother's of the Disappeared'. There are no fillers on this album. Classic U2 - Music at it's best...Our grandchildren will be buying this in 30-40yrs time. Timeless, cannot recommend highly enough.