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| The Joshua Tree | 
 enlarge | Artist: U2
Label: Island
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $0.57
You Save: $13.41 (96%)
New (48) Used (94) Collectible (18) from $0.57
Avg. Customer Rating:  453 reviews
Sales Rank: 783
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 842298
UPC: 042284229821
EAN: 0042284229821
ASIN: B000001FS3
Release Date: June 15, 1990
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Tops on my desert island disc list November 21, 2004
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
Not counting compilations or greatest hits collections, this is perhaps the greatest single studio album ever recorded. It is utterly indespensible; a masterwork that continues to thrill, amaze, move, anger, soothe, comfort, and motivate listeners more than 17 years after its initial release. THE JOSHUA TREE has remained the standard by which all U2 albums are measured, and as such, remains a standard for musicians everywhere, in every genre. Its disarming honesty is at times raw and at times almost innocent. Bono, Edge, Larry, and Adam sing and play with passion and intensity, tempered with grace and dexterity. Each track is a revelation, a riveting story filled with hope and heartache. Here is my song-by-song commentary:
"Where the Streets Have No Name" - My favorite single rock and roll song, period. Driving, anthemic, longing...the spiritual music and lyrics propel the listener into a place of transcendence
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - A gospel-tinged heartcry; a quest for meaning backed with a nice ringing shuffle. It connected with listeners so much that it hit #1 on the pop singles chart in the USA.
"With or Without You" - A pretty, brooding, bluesy love song filled with pain and hunger. This lovely lament also hit #1 on the pop singles chart in the USA.
"Bullet the Blue Sky" - This is to U2 what "When the Levee Breaks" is to Led Zeppelin...a searing passage of hurt, fear, anger, and helplessness pealing through the heavens like heavy metal thunder
"Running to Stand Still" - A heart-rending indictment of addiction, sung as a heroin-esque reverie
"Red Hill Mining Town" - A huge, grand, dramatic testimony of solidarity with those who live and labor in spirit-crushing surroundings...the sweeping chorus is sung with incredible pathos and power by Bono
"In God's Country" - A strong, propulsive, insightful mid-tempo rocker that re-visits some of the same themes of "Where the Streets Have No Name" both lyrically and musically
"Trip Through Your Wires" - A very bluesy/countryfied take on desire and infatuation
"One Tree Hill" - A contender for my favorite U2 song, this rhythmic tour de force was composed in honor of a young man, a friend of the band, who passed away tragically...its a powerhouse song about hope and eternal values wrapped in a beautiful, unforgettable melody, and performed perfectly by the band
"Exit" - Extremely dark and intense and scary; reminds me to some degree of Pearl Jam...Bono gets inside the head of someone going down the wrong path
"Mothers of the Disappeared" - One of the saddest and most beautiful, heartfelt songs U2 has ever performed...the emotion, the sense of loss, and the achingly gorgeous melody stick in your gut long after the song is over
There's not a weak moment here. This is the sound of artists reaching for the stars, and succeeding. U2 has had many peaks and successes since THE JOSHUA TREE, but it remains a titanic acheivement artistically and commercially. With the impending release of their latest CD, entitled, HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB, it's worth revisiting this earlier highlight from their career.
Simply a sublime, classic album July 8, 2000
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
It's the sign of a truly special album when the non-hit songs best the popular songs that were released to radio. If you've only heard the first three radio tunes on "The Joshua Tree," then you've only heard one-third of the album, which means you're missing the best parts. "The Joshua Tree" contains both huge, arena-ready sounds and quieter, more reflective moments, and is even folkishly quaint in some parts. I suppose it's that somber, sober feeling to this CD -- a sense of searching innocence from U2 -- that makes it such a worthwhile gem.
Lyrically, Bono has said that the "Joshua Tree" is incomplete, making it hard for him to listen to at times. That's hard for me to fathom. There's a real sense of personal searching and sadness that overlays much of this album, which doesn't sound unfinished to me. If you want arena-styled anthems, stick with the first half of the record. "Bullet the Blue Sky" is as good as rock music gets, opening with a spine-tingling guitar intro that manages to maintain its foreboding buildup and excitement throughout. This is the type of song that superstar rock stars write, and thankfully it wasn't released as a single and played to death on radio. From there, "The Joshua Tree" changes gears. "Running to Stand Still," a song about the perils of drug use, has soft, tender vocals, quiet piano and is almost a dreamy lullaby compared to the monsters that preceded it.
Looking back, it's surprising how low key U2 kept the second half of this album. The songs are folksy and centered, nearly hymnal in parts, uncorrupted by fame, industry and overly loud guitars. Songs such as the longing "Red Hill Mining Town," the gorgeous "In God's Country," "Trip Through Your Wires" and the chiming guitars in "One Tree Hill" are as moving as music can possibly be. This is not hard rock or pure folk, and it's certainly more meaningful than mere pop music. Simply put, "The Joshua Tree" completely transcends decades: This could be music for the 1980s (it was), 1990s (the band moved on in a big way) or 2010 (we'll see what happens).
The final song, "Mothers of the Disappeared," features Bono's hypnotic voice -- lullabaic and utterly musical. Like its predecessors, "Disappeared" is addictively melodic, with guitar by The Edge in the background, chiming away magnetically. "Exit" is the only tune to rock a bit on the back half of the album. Otherwise, there's nothing fancy or over the top, musically, lyrically or productionwise. It's simply a collection of some of the greatest songs around, with dedicated and genuine words by Bono. Anyone looking to build his or her CD collection with pure classics would do well to include U2's "The Joshua Tree."
 garbage May 5, 2000
12 out of 60 found this review helpful
Led Zeppelin are the most overrated band of all time. U2 come 2nd.
The Heart of U2 December 11, 2000
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
The Joshua Tree catapulted U2 from a popular and pretty successful rock band to megastars and cultural icons. The album retains all of U2's integrity, while creating a crisper and more commercial sound. Under Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois' guidance, the songs have an ethereal sound to them. Songs like "With Or Without You", "I'll Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "Running To Stand Still" & "Exit" have simple beats, but the production gives them a strength and density, that turns them into powerful pieces. The subject matter goes into politics, life, death & God. "Red Hill Mining Town" & "Bullet The Blue Sky" are political songs. "Bullet" comments on the US involvement in Central America and has a break when Bono goes into a sermon-like rap. "One Tree Hill" is an elegy for one of the band's road staff who died in a motorcycle accident. The song is one of the prettiest the band has ever done and the symbolism and life and death as a river running into the sea is beautiful. "With Or Without" was the first single and the band's first number one. It's slow opening that builds into a guitar crescendo is perfect pop music and the song leaves you questioning whether Bono can't live without a lover, God or the band's fans? "Running To Stand Still" is another song about the struggles to overcome a heroin addiction. Unlike their other addiction song, "Bad", this is a piano-based number. "In God's Country" may well be the best song on the album with it's ringing guitars and it's biblical lyrics. with its harmonica and guitar riff, "Trip Through Your Wires" has a bluegrass sound. "Exit" and "Mothers Of The Disappeared" both explore loss. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was their second number one song and really sums up what U2 is all about. They are searching for answers, but no matter where they look, they still haven't found it.
 tripe September 8, 2001
12 out of 45 found this review helpful
An overrated adult/contemporary schlock-fest pretending to be alternative, the Joshua Tree is as one-dimensional as the rest of U2's catalogue. I have never found Bono a particularly soulful singer, and his lyrics are like the scribblings of a 10th grader who just learned to rhyme. Put me in prison and force me to hear this stuff, I would lose my mind. There was better music than this in 1987 (try Pixies). (Interestingly, this was the same year REM sold out with Document). Bono is not the Bob Dylan of his generation, nor even any sort of a poet at all.
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