U2 took their fascination with America and turned it into their greatest triumph with this expansive, elegiac, roots-inspired, socially conscious masterpiece. Seeking a live sound, they recorded 'The Joshua Tree' with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois at two houses and two studios in Ireland (STS Studios, Danesmoate House, Melbeach, and Windmill Lane Studios) over a year that was broken by travel and touring.
Bono recalls: "I'd been travelling widely; so travel was a huge theme. I'd been listening to the blues and immersing myself in American writers, from Native American writing through to black writers like James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, and poets and playwrights like Tennessee Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Sam Shepard, Charles Bukowski. I had this love affair with American literature happening at the same time as I became aware of how dangerous American foreign policy could be in the countries around it, with the brutal crushing of the Sandinistas. I started to see two Americas: the mythic America and the real America. It was an age of greed, Wall Street, button down, win, win, win, no time for losers. New York was bankrupt. There was a harsh reality to America as well as the dream. So I started working on something which in my own mind was going to be called 'The Two Americas'. I wanted to describe this era of prosperity, Savings and Loans scandals as a spiritual drought. I started thinking about the desert, and what came together was quite a clear picture of where I was at, as a person a little off-kilter in my emotional life, but very much waking up as a writer and a commentator of what I saw around me, my love of America and my fear of what America could become."
Edge explains: "The idea of making a cinematic record, where each song would conjure up a physical location came out of one of the first dicussions we had with Brian. The landscape of the American southwest and the desert became recurring lyrical themes. We had a few clues to the general feel and texture of the music; some beginnings from here and there, and a determination to get to some unique place; but no finished songs. We started trying to knock our rough ideas into some kind of shape, mostly by experimentation. Progress was in fits and starts and we relied far more on instinct than craft. It didn't seem like there was any point in being methodical, which was hard on everyone; but being uncertain, and in some ways, out of our depth created a tension and sense of jeopardy that kept us all very focused."
Adam remembers: "We wanted to do the backing tracks live as a band. Danesmoate was a Georgian house in the country but there had been an addition to it that produced this very large drawing room that had double ceiling height, which was great sonically. When you hear that big drum sound on'The Joshua Tree', it's the sound of that room."
Larry says: "There was a love/hate relationship with America. A lot of that album reflected Bono's feelings coming back from El Salvador and The Conspiracy of Hope tour and seeing the brutal face of US foreign policy. But calling the album 'The Joshua Tree', was in some ways an acknowledgement of the influence that American Culture had on U2. America was having a bigger impact on us than we would ever have on it. Coming from Ireland, the only show in town was the one happening in America. It was not only the biggest sales market, it was the touring market. America was the centre of the world and we were being successful there and that's what we wanted more than anything else. America embraced us i a way that we never expected, so the title honoured that, in a sense. For me, it represented the other side of America - the open space, the freedom, what America stood for. It's not a metaphor, not even a concept, it's kind of a tribute. It wasn't like we went looking for 'The Joshua Tree'. 'The Joshua Tree' came looking for us."
'The Joshua Tree' went to number one in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US; won Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal; and has sold over twenty-five million copies worldwide. The album was driven by two chart topping singles: "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
The Edge came up with the music for 'Where the Streets Have No Name' one night on his own and the band labored for months to build on top of the demo he produced. At one point, Brian Eno attempted to wipe the slate clean by erasing the tapes; but was physically restrained by one of the engineers.
"The city's aflood
And our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name"
'Bullet the Blue Sky' was inspired by the US intervention in Nicaragua.
"In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses
See the flames higher and higher"
'Running to Stand Still' speaks to the growing heroin epidemic in Dublin.
"Sweet the sin
Bitter, the taste in my mouth
I see seven towers
But I only see one way out
You got to cry without weeping
Talk without speaking
Scream without raising your voice
You know I took the poison from the poison stream
Then I floated out of here
Singing ha la la la de day
Ha la la la de day
Ha la la de day"
'One Tree Hill' was inspired by the death of roadie Greg Carroll and Chilean activist Victor Jara.
"I don't believe in painted roses
Or bleeding hearts
While bullets rape the night of the merciful
I'll see you again
When the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red
Over One Tree Hill "
'Exit' was culled from an extended jam session that took place on the last day of recording. Daniel Lanois said "There's something that happens when U2 bash it out in the band room... and sometimes things get out of control, sonically, in a good way. Out of control in the sense that you don't know what it is anymore, it just takes on a life of its own, and it makes people do things... It was a long jam, and there was just this one section of it that had some kind of magic to it, and we just decided to turn it into something."
"You know he got the cure
You know he went astray
He used to stay awake
To drive the dreams he had away.
He wanted to believe
In the hands of love."
'Mothers of the Disappeared' was inspired by the oppression in Argentina and Chile. Bono says: "People would just disappear. If you were part of the opposition, you might find an SUV with the windows blacked out parked outside your house.... If that didn't stop you, occasionally they would come in and take you and murder you; there would be no trial."
"Night hangs like a prisoner
Stretched over black and blue
Hear their heartbeat
We hear their heartbeat
In the trees our sons stand naked
Through the walls our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall"
'The Joshua Tree'
full album:
01 - Where the Streets Have No Name
02 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
03 - With or Without You
04 - Bullet the Blue Sky
05 - Running to Stand Still
06 - Red Hill Mining Town
07 - In God's Country
08 - Trip Through Your Wires
09 - One Tree Hill
10 - Exit
11 - Mothers of the Disappeared
Bonus Tracks
12 - Luminous Times (Hold on to Love)
13 - Rise Up
13 - Walk to the Water
14 - Drunk Chicken-America
15 - Spanish Eyes
16 - Deep in the Heart
17 - Silver and Gold
18 - Sweetest Thing
19 - Race Against Time
20 - Where the Streets Have No Name
21 - Silver and Gold (Sun City)
22 - Beautiful Ghost - Introduction to Songs of Experience
23 - Wave of Sorrow (Birdland)
24 - Desert of Our Love
All lyrics written by Bono, all music composed by U2.
1. "Where the Streets Have No Name" 5:38
2. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" 4:38
3. "With or Without You" 4:56
4. "Bullet the Blue Sky" 4:32
5. "Running to Stand Still" 4:18
6. "Red Hill Mining Town" 4:54
7. "In God's Country" 2:57
8. "Trip Through Your Wires" 3:33
9. "One Tree Hill" 5:23
10. "Exit" 4:13
11. "Mothers of the Disappeared" 5:12
live:
Where The Streets Have No Name, I Will Follow, Trip Through Your Wires, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Exodus (snippet), Out Of Control, MLK, One Tree Hill, Gloria, Exit / Riders On The Storm (snippet) / Van Morrison's Gloria (snippet), In God's Country, Bad / Ruby Tuesday (snippet) / Sympathy For The Devil (snippet), Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day, Pride (In The Name Of Love)
encores: With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet), El Pueblo Vencera (snippet) / , Mothers Of The Disappeared / El Pueblo Vencera (snippet) / Isaiah 40 (snippet), People Get Ready, 40
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