Review Summary: I go there with you....
Boy was U2’s most youthful album. October was their most religious. War was their most political. The Unforgettable Fire was their most spiritual.
And The Joshua Tree is their best; a journey across America, through the imagery of deserts, valleys, mountains and rivers, with some unforgettable songs and ideals. This is recognised as U2’s greatest piece of work.
The album opens with a lifting keyboard and beautiful, scratching riff. It builds for a two minute intro before Bono comes in:
I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls, that hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name
Where The Streets Have No Name is one of U2’s biggest songs, and absolutely deservedly so. The lyrics are inspirational and have real weight to them; Bono explained that there are places in Ireland where you can tell the wealth, class, affluence and religion of a person by which street they live in. It would become a centrepiece live, and was absolutely loved by critics and fans alike. The only better U2 song is ‘Bad’.
The song’s coda is as good as the intro: Edge takes the spotlight with the spine tingling riff and brings it home with a stunning ‘controlled stumble’ to finish.
The unmistakably gospel chorus I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For is the second song in an astonishing opening treble. About finding true self discovery by journeying through different cultures, this would reach #1 on the US Charts, where the album was an absolute monster. The music is classic U2-achieving a great sound with emotion, not complexity.
With Or Without You is arguably U2’s biggest song. The intro is held together with precision from Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr as Edge’s soprano guitar cries over them. The passion in this song is what makes it such a great track. A beautiful love song with another great coda: Larry Mullen Jr’s memorable drum riff with Edge’s tumbling guitar. The #1 placing on US charts was icing on the cake.
Bullet The Blue Sky is generally panned as the worst song on the album. For someone who heard the Rattle And Hum version first, it does really lack anger and meaning, even if the towering doom of the solo is one of Edge’s best. For a song about the intimidation of US involvement for El Salvador people, it sounds very aquatic, so falls fairly flat. The blazing fire of the live Rattle And Hum version really made it an excellent track and gave some punch to the biblical references, but until then it’s just solid.
The stripped down, softly spoken blues Running To Stand Still is a heartbreaking heroin addiction tribute. It’s actually very close to a poem. It’s quite depressing and sad; a harrowing deep cut gem.
A song with a surprise subject is Red Hill Mining Town, which is about the 1985 British coal miner’s strike. This is a wonderful track that is considered U2’s lost song: Bono had trouble hitting the chorus’ high notes and the song was never performed live. The personal lyrics are quite extraordinarily penned; this is one of the best works on the album.
We’re wounded by fear, injured in doubt
I can lose myself, you I can’t live without
The theme of deserts, flame, rivers and religion return with In God’s Country: a poppy filler that is a fair effort with a nicely accentuated solo from Edge. The lyrics are the highlight.
The bluesy Trip Through Your Wires is solid, fairly gospel tribute too, featuring a harmonica and driven by smooth drum fill:
You put me back together again
I was cold and you clothed me honey
I was down and you lifted me honey
The most underrated song on the album is One Tree Hill. The lyrics are absolutely first class, as good as Where The Streets Have No Name, with some really fantastic lines about spirituality in nature, while the shine and shade of the music perfectly suits the feel:
The sun so bright it leaves no shadows
Only scars carved into stone
On the face of earth
The moon is up and over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes
I'll see you again
When the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red….
Over One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill would be in my top five U2 songs.
U2’s darkest ever song is the haunting howl of Exit: a song about a man who lost all faith and ended his torment. The sinister tangle of Edge’s guitar is particularly chilling, and Bono’s vocals are as pained as they will ever be.
The final track is the heartbreaking Mothers of the Disappeared, about the abduction of Chilean children by Communist forces in the early 1980s. With a beautiful, tear drop riff and twilight sound, this is a wonderful finish.
U2 hit their peak with The Joshua Tree, however their greatness lies in their ability to change their sound (with Achtung Baby and All That You Can’t Leave Behind) and still remain a brilliant and popular band.
BEST SONGS
1. Where The Streets Have No Name
2. With Or Without You
3. One Tree Hill
4. Exit
5. Red Hill Mining Town
6. Mothers of the Disappeared
