Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Simply Classic
It's the sign of a truly special album when the non-radio songs best the popular released songs. 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. "Joshua Tree" boasts some big sounds and quieter sounds, arena-ready in some parts, folkishly quaint in more parts. And it's that somber, sober feeling to this album, that sense of innocence from U2 that makes it such a gem of an album. Lyrically, "Joshua Tree" is so much less trite than future U2 albums, not to say following albums aren't spectacular in their own right. But there's a real sense of personal searching and sadness that overlays much of this album. If you want arena-style anthems, stick with the first half. "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 song has "superstar" written all over it, and thankfully it wasn't released and played to death on radio. From there, "Joshua Tree" slows down to a magically almost better song, "Running to Stand Still." Featuring soft, tender vocals, quiet piano, bass, and guitar, it's nearly a dreamy lullaby compared to the monsters that proceeded it. Looking back, it's surprising how low-key U2 decided to keep the second half of "Joshua Tree." The songs are folkishly centered, nearly hymnal in parts, uncorrupted by fame and industry. Songs like the longing "Red Hill Mining Town," the gorgeous "In God's Country," "Trip Through Your Wires," and the chiming guitars in "One Tree Hill" - if these songs can't move you and tear you up inside - no music can. It's not hard rock, not pure folk, certainly more meaningful than mere pop music - how do you exactly classify this masterpiece? I guess you can say "The Joshua Tree" completely transcends decades; this could be music for the 80's (it was), 90's (they moved on), or 2002 (we'll see what happens)..... The final song, "Mothers of the Disappeared," has Bono's droning, hypnotic voice - it's the lowest of the low-key songs, lullabaic in its own right. Like its predecessors, it's highly melodic and the guitars remain somewhere in the background, chiming and plucking away magnetically. Only "Exit" steps up to rock a little on the back half of the album. Otherwise, there's nothing fancy here or over the top, musically, lyrically, and production-wise. It's simply a collection of some of the greatest songs around, with dedicated and genuine words by Bono. Anyone looking to build their cd collection with pure classics would do very well to include U2's "The Joshua Tree."
Rating: - Career milestone
U2 has released a plethora of quality work over the years, including "War," "Rattle and Hum," and "Achtung Baby." But "The Joshua Tree" is their career milestone. The album begins with a long keyboard intro and then kicks into overdrive with "Where the Streets Have No Name," a pulsing ode to Bono's visit to Ethiopia in 1986 and my favorite song ever written. The next 8 tracks that follow all hit the spot. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "With or Without You" were both #1 singles. The thumping drum beat intro of "Bullet the Blue Sky" sticks to your brain like a fly on fly paper. Bono's tone has never sounded richer, fuller, or more beautiful as on "Red Hill Mining Town," "Running to Stand Still," and "In God's Country." "One Tree Hill" was the Top 10 single never released. Only the last two tracks, "Exit" and "Mothers of the Disappeared," fail to register as classic U2 numbers, although both have a formidable melody.
Rating: - Something Special, Emotional, and Spiritual
With what U2 did in the nineties, sometimes it's easy to distance yourself from the band. Pop almost completely turned me off to everything U2 had ever done. But one day about two months ago, I popped the Joshua Tree back into my CD player and listened spellbound. The songs have so much power, so much emotion that it's hard to see how U2 ever rerouted themselves so far from this. While they seem a parody of music today, in 1987, they still believed in the magic of rock and roll. Their jadedness was delivered to the world outside, not to their trade. They believed that their music could save their souls and their listeners. It was a powerful notion, braced with naivity and lust, doomed to die pitifully as U2 moved into the 90s. This album is a time capsule, a tribute to the power music can really have. Every song moves me. Where the Streets Have No Name is the perfect U2 song. Pumping energy, an electrified mist, a dry desert morning, U2 created so many images with this album, some terrifying, some tender, all filled with hope. What a moment in time, a moment I hope with all my heart- and U2 is the only band I have hope in my heart for- that they can recapture someday. Until then (and even if they do), The Joshua Tree will not leave my CD player for long.
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