U2 - The Joshua Tree
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Free Music Notes for The Joshua Tree
Free Music Review: "I see seven towers, but I only see one way out."
Hit: 5 Stars
'Running to Stand Still' is essentially, THE archetypal Joshua Tree track in that it is imbued with an American sound, but a meaning far removed. The song deals with a girl struggling with heroin addiction, with the "seven towers" being a reference to the Ballymun Seven Towers area of Dublin, an area with a notorious heroin problem. Just as on The Unforgettable Fire's 'Bad', Bono tries to bring somebody back from the brink, a person so consumed by their addiction that they have already misguidedly accepted that there is only one escape. Suicide.
In certain respects, U2 can be said to be one of rock's most underrated bands, a contention almost laughable when considering their stratospheric success. Yet amid the hits and the bombast and the zeal, the intricacies and idiosyncrasies that have endeared them to the discerning listener have often been lost. Whereas (two of U2's other triumphs) 1993's Zooropa was something of a parody to Achtung Baby!'s (1991) pastiche, The Joshua Tree offers an earnest counterpoint to their oft-laconic 90s forays into electronica.
First and foremost the album is a startling artistic achievement; a master class in onomatopoeia, through artwork and aesthetic, subject matter and performance The Joshua Tree is expansive, invigorating and consummately cohesive.
America's arid south-west - the Nevada desert in particular - is the record's heartland. Desolate and unforgiving, yet numinous and majestic, the region's historically blurred demarcation between frontier and wilderness is perfectly articulated by the music through the band's enchantment at their surroundings. Where the ode 'One Tree Hill' and the exhalant 'In God's Country' and 'Trip Through Your Wires' bore witness to the stimuli of the landscape lyrically and musically, the real success of The Joshua Tree lies in its amalgamation of typically cherished American modes, particularly folk, blues, rock n roll and country, and heterogeneous humanist concerns. Indeed such aesthetic syntheses often leads to an intriguing incongruity upon closer inspection, for the specificity of Bono's lyricism is often dialectical in relation to The Edge's evocative America-infused guitar work. A notable example of this is 'Red Hill Mining Town' whereby his lyric "through hand of steel and heart of stone" alludes to the closure of England's northern coal mines by NCB chairman Ian McGregor and the disastrous free market economic policies of PM Margaret Thatcher, yet the instrumental pays homage to the classically American folk and blues genres.
Faith and religion also constitute a large part of The Joshua Tree's lyrical canon, but it is another area rife with contradistinction. Bono seems at ease with Christianity ('Where the Streets Have No Name'), despite its many innate paradoxes ('I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'), yet simultaneously at odds with fundamentalism.
The Joshua Tree also calls on America's more unseemly secular traits to convey the band's antinomy toward the Land of the Free. 'Exit' deals with a violent death, yet whether it is murder or suicide is indecipherable, while 'Bullet the Blue Sky' is the album's most flagrant example of antipathy with reference to then-US president Ronald Reagan ("His face red like a rose on a thorn bush...peelin' off those dollar bills, slappin' 'em down"), the economic blockade and civil war supported by the US in Nicaragua, and the US-backed campaign of murder and oppression in El Salvador. The album closes with 'Mothers of the Disappeared' a lament to the mothers and wives of student opposition and dissidents under both the Argentinean military juntas and Augusto Pinochet's brutal regime in Chile following his US-backed coup in 1973.
Massively successful, The Joshua Tree, by virtue of its three mega-hits ('Where the Streets Have No Name', 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' and the claustrophobic, masochistic ballad 'With or Without You') served to propel U2 to the position they had appeared destined for after stealing the show at Live Aid in 1985, that of the world's biggest band, a position they have held unopposed for nigh-on twenty years.
Free Music Review: U2 at their best
Hit: 5 Stars
What can I say, for me this is one of those CDs that you love most or all of the songs on, and in my humble opinion that is a rare thing. This is a must have for anyone who loves the band and/or 1980's music.Free Music Review: U2 Need To Have This Classic CD
Hit: 5 Stars
There are defining moments in a music groups career, and music in general. The Joshua Tree, by U2, is one of those moments. From radio hits to impressive, reflective, and profound songs, this CD has it all. I was fortunate enough to see U2 in concert in San Fracisco for this tour. It was an incredible experience. If there are any people out there who have not heard this album/CD, this is a must have, and I envy you the joy of discovering this masterpiece.
The best songs on this CD were never released as singles. Three of my favorites and worthy of the purchase price alone are:
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
and Red Hill Mining Town, my personal favorite.
This is a 5 star excellent CD, treat yourself to this one. If you haven't heard it, or are new to U2, this is one to run out and buy. If you have been a fan like me - for years - this CD version is a must have!
Free Music Review: A great cd
Hit: 5 Stars
Whether it was the Beatles or the Stones who sang these songs they would have been great.However, with the strong guitar leads of the Edge and the impassioned vocals of Bono, this album becomes magnificent! There is a reason this is one of best selling cds ever and one of the top 20 rock albums ever, find out why.Free Music Review: A Beckoning Towards Redemption and the Promised Land
Hit: 5 Stars
Yes, I'm back. You must excuse the lapse. I have been busy setting up shelters (a Seer's work), for the chronically wayward or the chronologically confused. It really doesn't matter. It helps people. It's a good cause. Donations are gladly accepted, (and forms for tax write-offs are at the door). Yes, I know it's selfless work. And I have taken a Seer's oath for the good of humanity and I can't back out. Rats. I can't make exceptions but so what? Pure intent is hard to come by these days. They never warned me-whoever "they" are.
That being said, I have come here to review an exceptional, exceptional work by U2. These guys never cease to amaze me, and little did I know when they first arrived into my conciousness. I thought at the beginning "how nice, another typical 80's band", for I really wasn't impressed by them. The Edge's guitar grated on me and I couldn't adjust to the sound. But, glad to say, U2 were not to be deprived of their just place in the hierarchy of rock. They have built a tabernacle of considerable and reflective music over time. And, I must say, the quality and workmanship and thought and care that go into their profferings are nothing less than astounding. They care deeply about the music they make and present it to us in a way that many do not. It is this diligency towards excellence that comes to the forefront each and every time.
Admittedly, I do not know alot about their history or how they came into being. I don't think that it matters in the least with music this good. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jnr. have created their own unique sound, their own unique journey towards salvation and universal concerns. With "The Joshua Tree", they reveal their search, achingly, to God and to all heavenly powers. They reveal their weaknesses, their human frailties, and take us on a voyage of discovery and enlightenment. They take us on a journey of strength. And these are just a few of the things that set them apart from most.
To begin with, the Edge's guitar work is outerworldy, and I cannot attempt to explain it to anybody. It can be subtle and sweet and then turn into virile, powerful excursions somewhere that defy description. Whatever he uses (is it a synthesizer?) to make it sound this way-he has definitely created his own unique sound that nobody can copy. You can hear pure emotion in his playing- and this is just one component to U2.
Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen provide the considerable skeletal backbone which gives their sound such heft. They provide the balance to the sound. There is no grandstanding here-but essential stability that compliment The Edge in every single way. Professional and clear, they weave the tapestry, the contour that great edifices are built upon.
And what of Bono? Perhaps the glue that ties it all together. He is probably the most known member of this band, and alot of the reason may lie in his poetry and delivery. He sings from his soul- and he puts the full range of human emotion into his delivery. He doesn't hold back and it shows in songs like "With Or Without You" or ""Red Hill Mining Town" with the urgency and compassion of the line "I'm still waiting-I'm hanging on- You're all that's left to hang on to". These vocals are so impassioned that they send shivers out. Yes, he's that good.
But what of the songs here and their meaning? It seems that Mr. Bono has thoughts of sheer martydom running throughout many of these tunes. Plus, many of the poetic inferences harken back to Christianity or spiritual uplifting in some way. He wants to break free and evolve to a place where "The Streets Have No Name". Could this be heaven? Or, a place where things are not categorized? And after speaking with Angels and holding the hand of the devil- he is in-between and "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". The eternal search of salvation and redemption. "With or Without You" is just pure genius. Allusions to Christ with "See the STONE set in your eyes, see the THORN twist in your side". But, not only that, but, "On a bed of NAILS, she makes me wait". And, furthermore, "my hands are tied-my body bruised". It seems that the relationship in this song has made Bono a martyr of sorts. And, in a strange way, Christ can't live with or without you either. So entirely remarkable. So many biblical terminology throughout- the drout conveyed with the lines "the rivers run, but soon run dry" in "In God's Country". "Thunder, thunder in the mountain, there's a rain cloud in the desert sky" in "Trip Through Your Wires". There are many more examples. The need for human relief, and elevation, whether it be from a bruised relationship or inner spiritual need, is foremost and deeply embedded within the poetry. Many discoveries await here. Many gems to mine. All yours for the asking.
In closing- a superb achievement for a group relatively new into their career. The landscapes are a wonder and the music on a higher and grandiose level that satisfys so fully in the pop/rock genre. I cannot say enough.
And now, I think I finally have gotten the courage to ask Bono for a donation to my shelters. That is, if I can even get his public relations agent on the phone. But regardless, I can always play this c.d. for my clients. Get it. It's a classic.
Refreshingly subtle and amazingly devout--your own, Metamorpho