Music CD - U2: The Joshua Tree

	Music CD: The Joshua Tree Artist: U2 List Price: $13.98 Our Price: $4.50 Your Save: $ 9.48 ( 68% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Island
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Tracks: 1. Where The Streets Have No Name 2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 3. With Or Without You 4. Bullet The Blue Sky 5. Running To Stand Still 6. Red Hill Mining Town 7. In God's Country 8. Trip Through Your Wires 9. One Tree Hill 10. Exit 11. Mothers Of The Disappeared
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0042284229821 Label: Island Manufacturer: Island Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Island Release Date: 1990-06-15 Studio: Island
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: March 9th, 1987 ... Comment: To say that this was probably a red-letter day in the history of music ... is an understatement. When this first album came out, I missed it completely. I just wasn't listening to anything this mainstream at the time and was caught up in the beginning of absorbing myself with classical music. I was young once and couldn't possibly be that hip to catch everything on the early adoption tip. I view this album probably as important as Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, as that may be what they were going for, or Vivaldi's Stabat Mater. These albums are all equally important and affected both music ever after and the listeners as well. To date, April 2008, The Joshua Tree has several different releases now. The Original Studio Release - c. 1989 The Superbit `Gold CD' Release - c. 1990 The Remastered Release - c. 2007 Amazon also has a combined 460 reviews on this product now and while most of the populous enjoy this, a contingent of listeners don't feel that this measures up to be one of the great rock albums of all time. While I do feel that this is one of the best albums of the last 100 years, easily, it is not a Rock album, per se. I know that may sound deviant to you, but it's very simply explained. The bulk of the songs on this album are ballads. You may not want to hear that, but it's the truth. Some may just be realizing this for the first time, and it's okay, too. While I have no problem with ballads, being big fan of Beethoven and Chopin, masters of just such a thing, I wouldn't dare call Moonlight Sonata (Sonata Quasi una Fantasia) Rock Music at any time. Ballads are just that, they're ballads. They're beautiful and they typically speak on the subject of love, loss, frustration or isolation. That's not a rigid rule, but just a personal observation. 1. 'Where the Streets have no name' - Ballad. A song about feelings of isolation and love. 2. 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' - Ballad. Another song about the feelings concerning isolation, loss and love. 3. 'With or Without You' - Ballad. Another song about the feelings concerning isolation, loss and love. 4. 'Bullet The Blue Sky' - Rock Song Primo. A song about political discord, military might, poverty, etc. 5. 'Running To Stand Still' - Ballad. A song about isolation 6. 'Red Hill Mining Town' - Ballad. A song FULL of double entendres about sex, love and frustration. 7. 'In God's Country' - A Bluesy Ballad. A song about a girl ... 8. 'Trip Through Your Wires' - Rock Song. 9. 'One Tree Hill' - A bluesy ballad. A song a bout a girl, and emotions of love. 10. 'Exit' - A unclassifiable song about frustration, danger and isolation 11. 'Mothers Of The Disappeared' - Your guess is as good as mine on this one. So ... what's the score here? The ballads heavily outweigh the Rock anthems. While this isn't necessarily an indictment on this album it's just an opinion placed casting light on seeing this album in the proper context. U2 has been branded passion rock since this album came out, and it's probably fitting to say the least, but they are one of the best RnR bands on the planet. People should just see this release for what it is. If one day, the bulk of us decided to start referring to Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales as Rock or even Hard Rock and not Easy Listening, then more of his listeners would be displeased by that as well. The Joshua Tree is a groundbreaking album the splits a lot of U2 fans off after this, but it's a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Customer Rating: Summary: Their best album! Comment: This album contains many of people's favorite U2 songs - this is my favoite album (and I have all of them). Highly recommended! Customer Rating: Summary: Still a work of art! Comment: This album was released over twenty years ago, I was in college when it broke, and in this era where actual musical talent is no longer required to get someone on MTV...this CD is still a work of art. A sonic departure from their earlier works, Tree builds upon the European sound of "Unforgettable Fire" and adds an American R&B simplicity to it. The hits from the the first side of the album are well documented...but the real magic here is on side 2...well from "Red Hill Mining Town onward for the CD generation. "Town", "Trip Through Your Wire", "Exit" are remarkable tunes and "One Tree Hill" might be the best song U2 has ever laid down (perhaps only eclipsed by "One") This is one of the classic albums of the eighties without a doubt, and of our generation. Customer Rating: Summary: I Don't Get It Comment: Not only don't I get why this is considered one of the best albums of the 1980's, I don't get how U2 came to be so successful at all. I've listened to all of their music and I can count on an average of about 3 songs per album that don't put me to sleep. Then, the songs that are fast always sound like they have the same guitar part! Maybe I'm not "worldly" enough or something. I just never got it. Customer Rating: Summary: The band's best album evert Comment: I'm not really much of a U2 fan. I do enjoy some of their music, all of the music I like by the band comes from the 1980s. THE JOSHUA TREE is my favorite U2 cd from that era. The band may be Christians and express their beliefs through their music on this album but what I like is that the songs on this album is more spiritual than religious. The themes on every song can be easily relatable to anyone of any faith (or no faith), like on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Where the Streets Have No Name". After all these years I still cannot get tired of listening to some of U2's biggest hits like the aforementioned tracks, and "With or Without You". My personal favorite song on the entire album is the gorgeous lush ballad "Running to Stand Still". The song still sends chill down my spine. "With or Without You" is a another great ballad that I still love after all these years. It is never cliched or condescending. Bono's lyrics on the album are like poetry in my opinion. The rest of the band compliments Bono's lyrics and functions very well as one cohesive unit. Bono may be horrified or embarassed of this era but frankly he has nothing to be ashamed of, it is current work that he should be embarassed for. THE JOSHUA TREE remains an eternal classic unlike the band's last studio album. More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: Having nearly exhausted their capacity for pop-song politics on War and The Unforgettable Fire, U2 turned toward themes of personal identity and complex relationships on The Joshua Tree. Not that the group was willing to come down off the barricades entirely: "Mothers of the Disappeared" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" turned a jaundiced eye toward Central America and the United States' role there. But the predominant mood here is one of self-discovery and the hunger for something more on tracks like the pulsating "Where the Streets Have No Name" and the gospel-ish "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The album's masterstroke, however, is "With or Without You," a nasty love song dressed up as an ode of devotion and care. It ranks with the Police's "Every Breath You Take" as the most misread smash hit of the '80s. --Daniel Durchholz