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Editorial Reviews
2007 digitally remastered edition coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the release of The Joshua Tree, the album which saw U2 become `Rock's Hottest Ticket.' U2's biggest selling album to date, entered the US album charts at #7 and reached #1 three weeks later. It was U2's first album to reach #1 in the United States. In 1999, The Joshua Tree was awarded the RIAA's highest certification, Diamond, with 10 million units sold. The album and sleeve cover also placed #1 in Rolling Stone magazine's annual Music Awards chosen by readers. Critics at Rolling Stone made it #2 album of the year. U2 also won Album Of The Year and Best Rock Performance By A Group Or Duo at the Grammy Awards for The Joshua Tree.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
197 of 200 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Nearly 21 years after the original release of The Joshua Tree, the CD version of the album has finally gotten its due. In what must be considered an embarrassment of packaging riches, this new "Super Deluxe" 20th Anniversary Edition of the album more than does justice to the original album art (poorly served on previous CD releases), and the music has been given a spanking new mastering, supervised by none other than The Edge. The "Super Deluxe" edition comes in a sturdy, 6" x 8" x 1.5" box with fully restored cover art. Inside is a 56 page hardcover book containing liner notes, lyrics, pictures, single-sleeve art, technical information, and a number of essays, including ones by Bono, Daniel Lanois, Adam Clayton, Anton Corbijn, Brian Eno, and The Edge. An embossed envelope contains five more Corbijn photos, printed on 5" x 7" sheets of textured, "antique" paper. The three discs all come in their own mini-LP gatefold sleeves: the album disc is in a quasi replica of the original LP sleeve, whereas the bonus CD and DVD are in similar sleeves featuring alternate photos. No detail has been overlooked - even the CD labels are patterned after the spindle label on the original LP. This is a truly "super deluxe" package.
But what about the sound? While the original 1987 mastering was never great, much of what has been lambasted over the years as murky sound is really intrinsic to the original recording and/or mix. It is important to note that this is a remastered version of the original mix, not a remixed version of the original session tapes. Thus, the overall qualities of the original mix remain, such as dense atmospherics and an ambient soundscape. However, this version improves matters. There is a substantial increase in volume, but generally not to the point of clipping. A visual analysis of the waveforms reveals only a handful of clipped peaks throughout the album. Comparison between this release and the mastering on Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's Gold Ultradisc II release (out of print) reveals very little difference between the two, which indicates to me the engineers on this remaster used discretion with their techniques, and did not go overboard. Overall, instrumental textures are fuller, and bass response is improved. Also, the continual tape hiss that was present even in between tracks on the original CD has been removed. (Some hiss intrinsic to the original analog tapes remains, but is reduced from the original mastering.) Generally speaking, all but the most critical and particular listeners can feel confident they are getting the best sounding version of this album yet released with this new mastering.
The 14-track bonus audio disc contains a number of b-sides and unused tracks from the period that have previously been available elsewhere, but have never been collected in one place before. Six of the fourteen tracks were either previously unreleased or were very rare prior to this release. The songs range from excellent to barely worthy of release ("Drunk Chicken"), but are all worth having if you are any sort of completist. For those who have always imagined that The Joshua Tree was the best double album never made (an erroneous notion, as Edge makes clear in his essay), the bonus disc provides them the perfect opportunity to construct their own version of the fabled opus.
The concert presented on the DVD goes a good distance toward filling a gap that has existed in the U2 catalog for the last two decades - namely the absence of a full-length concert video from The Joshua Tree Tour. This video (the liner notes say it was filmed, but industrial-size video cameras are clearly visible onstage) features the entire concert U2 performed in the Paris Hippodrome on July 4, 1987, minus three cover songs (the concert openers "Stand By Me" and "C'Mon Everybody," and a rendition of "Help!" that they played between "Electric Co." and "Bad"). The band is in top form, playing a classic lineup of their songs, many of which have not been heard on later tours. Notably, they did not perform "Where the Streets Have No Name" at this concert, an omission that occurred a number of times on the European leg of the tour. The video direction is refreshingly plain, avoiding the overly moody lighting Phil Joanou employed in Rattle and Hum (the Paris footage was directed by Gavin Taylor), and without the short-attention-span jump cuts of the band's recent concert videos. The sound is an excellent LPCM stereo mix - not surround, it's true, but every bit as good as you would expect from a live album on CD. The sound is actually better than either the live tracks on the Rattle and Hum CD, or the fan club only release of the 1989/1990 New Year's concert at the Point Depot.
The documentary, "Outside it's America," basically plays like Rattle and Hum's little brother, only in color and not as well shot - and, frankly, not as interesting. On the other hand, it does not have the myth-making posturing that so marred Rattle and Hum. Both this documentary and the concert video show a more human, down-to-earth, less "god like" side of the band. Still, the documentary has a lot of footage that will likely be of interest to die-hard fans only. (It is worth noting that the documentary was directed by Barry Devlin and Meiert Avis, not Phil Joanou, and therefore is not an assemblage of rejected Rattle and Hum footage, as has been speculated elsewhere.) The two music videos are fair makeweights, but are hardly essential. The selling point of the DVD is without question the concert video, which many fans will find invaluable, making this set an easy choice over the two-disc Deluxe edition.
On the whole, this is an outstanding issue that more than makes good on its promises. Thoroughly recommended.
But what about the sound? While the original 1987 mastering was never great, much of what has been lambasted over the years as murky sound is really intrinsic to the original recording and/or mix. It is important to note that this is a remastered version of the original mix, not a remixed version of the original session tapes. Thus, the overall qualities of the original mix remain, such as dense atmospherics and an ambient soundscape. However, this version improves matters. There is a substantial increase in volume, but generally not to the point of clipping. A visual analysis of the waveforms reveals only a handful of clipped peaks throughout the album. Comparison between this release and the mastering on Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's Gold Ultradisc II release (out of print) reveals very little difference between the two, which indicates to me the engineers on this remaster used discretion with their techniques, and did not go overboard. Overall, instrumental textures are fuller, and bass response is improved. Also, the continual tape hiss that was present even in between tracks on the original CD has been removed. (Some hiss intrinsic to the original analog tapes remains, but is reduced from the original mastering.) Generally speaking, all but the most critical and particular listeners can feel confident they are getting the best sounding version of this album yet released with this new mastering.
The 14-track bonus audio disc contains a number of b-sides and unused tracks from the period that have previously been available elsewhere, but have never been collected in one place before. Six of the fourteen tracks were either previously unreleased or were very rare prior to this release. The songs range from excellent to barely worthy of release ("Drunk Chicken"), but are all worth having if you are any sort of completist. For those who have always imagined that The Joshua Tree was the best double album never made (an erroneous notion, as Edge makes clear in his essay), the bonus disc provides them the perfect opportunity to construct their own version of the fabled opus.
The concert presented on the DVD goes a good distance toward filling a gap that has existed in the U2 catalog for the last two decades - namely the absence of a full-length concert video from The Joshua Tree Tour. This video (the liner notes say it was filmed, but industrial-size video cameras are clearly visible onstage) features the entire concert U2 performed in the Paris Hippodrome on July 4, 1987, minus three cover songs (the concert openers "Stand By Me" and "C'Mon Everybody," and a rendition of "Help!" that they played between "Electric Co." and "Bad"). The band is in top form, playing a classic lineup of their songs, many of which have not been heard on later tours. Notably, they did not perform "Where the Streets Have No Name" at this concert, an omission that occurred a number of times on the European leg of the tour. The video direction is refreshingly plain, avoiding the overly moody lighting Phil Joanou employed in Rattle and Hum (the Paris footage was directed by Gavin Taylor), and without the short-attention-span jump cuts of the band's recent concert videos. The sound is an excellent LPCM stereo mix - not surround, it's true, but every bit as good as you would expect from a live album on CD. The sound is actually better than either the live tracks on the Rattle and Hum CD, or the fan club only release of the 1989/1990 New Year's concert at the Point Depot.
The documentary, "Outside it's America," basically plays like Rattle and Hum's little brother, only in color and not as well shot - and, frankly, not as interesting. On the other hand, it does not have the myth-making posturing that so marred Rattle and Hum. Both this documentary and the concert video show a more human, down-to-earth, less "god like" side of the band. Still, the documentary has a lot of footage that will likely be of interest to die-hard fans only. (It is worth noting that the documentary was directed by Barry Devlin and Meiert Avis, not Phil Joanou, and therefore is not an assemblage of rejected Rattle and Hum footage, as has been speculated elsewhere.) The two music videos are fair makeweights, but are hardly essential. The selling point of the DVD is without question the concert video, which many fans will find invaluable, making this set an easy choice over the two-disc Deluxe edition.
On the whole, this is an outstanding issue that more than makes good on its promises. Thoroughly recommended.
136 of 157 people found the following review helpful
By benjamin
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
There is within music an ability to tap into the raw, revelatory power of beauty; music can give itself to the unknown whisper of the eternal in ways that other forms of art only hint at. The collage of sounds communicates something deep to the heart and, when combined with the presence of the voice, can be downright liberating. Few individuals, let alone bands, ever really reach a point where they are that open to the Unknown that it can give itself so freely through their music. U2 has done so time and again, but never with the level of directness and sincerity as they accomplished on the Joshua Tree.
A joshua tree is a real tree that thrives despite the dry environment it lives in. The image - the icon - of life amidst its seeming absence, embodied in the joshua tree, is one that is fully appropriate to U2 - particularly at the end of their first decade. U2, like the joshua tree, stood in stark contrast to its environment: ascetic, prophetic and disarmingly (some would say "naively", but let the tension stand) sincere. (Their foray into the realm of post-modern sampling, irony and sarcasm was an identity crisis fully in line with where they stood in the 80s: cynicism is frustrated optimism.)
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", the second song, really expresses the kernel of The Joshua Tree; every other song fleshes it out in some way or another. The album is, in the end, about distance: "I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls only to be with you: But I still haven't found what I'm looking for." While one may take this to be an admission of defeat - and distance whispers of despair as much as consummation - doing so is incorrect: "I'm still running," Bono sings. The song is an expression of hope more than anything.
Faith is a raw and disarmingly rough beauty; it looks within and it looks without. "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Mothers of the Disappeared" give full expression to U2's long-time political engagement, while "With or Without You" gives a glimpse into U2's more tender side. "With or Without You" may very well be the best love song of the 80s. "One Tree Hill", a deeply personal song about the death of a friend, moves with passion and rugged grace - and, again, with hope: "I'll see you again when the stars fall from the sky and the moon has turned red over one tree hill."
I look forward to the day when my children ask me, "Dad, did you ever listen to U2?" Not only will I have stories to tell about live concerts, but I will be able to relive with them the goosebumps that certain songs will inevitably bring. If rock is dead, U2 was its apex. And U2 has yet to be eclipsed.
49 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The Joshua Tree is one of those rare albums that came at the perfect time in a band's career, when everything that made them an excellent band converged to make them rank among the best of all time. They had certainly had fine albums before: The excellent debut, Boy; the underappreciated October; the brilliant War; and the more experimental album, The Unforgettable Fire (plus a couple decent live albums along the way). But this is the one that launched them to the stratosphere, both artistically and commercially.
The opening suite is about as good as it gets in music: Where the Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and With or Without You. All of these are more than just great rock hits: they're part of the fabric of our time. Outside of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band, I can't think of a more amazing beginning to an album. The instant those echoed notes of Where the Streets Have No Name start to fade in, you know - whether it's the first time you've heard it or the thousandth - that you're in for a transcendent musical experience. There aren't many songs or albums that deserve this kind of excessive praise (Sgt. Pepper, Blood on the Tracks, Automatic for the People, Exile on Main St., Songs in the Key of Life, to name a few) and this is one of them.
Not only are the opening tracks incredible, and well-known to all, but the album continues with series of songs both hard-hitting, stunningly beautiful, totally heart-felt, and wonderfully pure, sometimes all at once. The production by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno is textured, nuanced, and completely appropriate for every song. This new, remastered version only enhances the production.
The second disc gives an even fuller picture of the band's sound from this peak era, expanding what was hinted at on the b-sides disc of their 1980-1990 greatest hits collection.
This edition exists for those who are unable or unwilling to shell out the money they're asking for the super-deluxe edition, which includes a concert dvd. For some of the more visually-oriented fans, that's definitely the edition to get. Others, who tend to watch a concert dvd only once or twice, but listen to cds (or ripped music on their computer or mp3 player) may find this the better deal. I, for one, think it's fantastic that the option exists. Rather than force people who want the second disc of Joshua Tree-era songs to pay a rather high price for the full cd/dvd package, fans can opt to buy only the remastered album and second disc.
The bottom line for me is that this is one of the greatest albums of all time, and this new edition has found a way to improve its presentation. With any luck, this deluxe edition will become the new standard for how artists release anniversary editions of their classic albums.
The opening suite is about as good as it gets in music: Where the Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and With or Without You. All of these are more than just great rock hits: they're part of the fabric of our time. Outside of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band, I can't think of a more amazing beginning to an album. The instant those echoed notes of Where the Streets Have No Name start to fade in, you know - whether it's the first time you've heard it or the thousandth - that you're in for a transcendent musical experience. There aren't many songs or albums that deserve this kind of excessive praise (Sgt. Pepper, Blood on the Tracks, Automatic for the People, Exile on Main St., Songs in the Key of Life, to name a few) and this is one of them.
Not only are the opening tracks incredible, and well-known to all, but the album continues with series of songs both hard-hitting, stunningly beautiful, totally heart-felt, and wonderfully pure, sometimes all at once. The production by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno is textured, nuanced, and completely appropriate for every song. This new, remastered version only enhances the production.
The second disc gives an even fuller picture of the band's sound from this peak era, expanding what was hinted at on the b-sides disc of their 1980-1990 greatest hits collection.
This edition exists for those who are unable or unwilling to shell out the money they're asking for the super-deluxe edition, which includes a concert dvd. For some of the more visually-oriented fans, that's definitely the edition to get. Others, who tend to watch a concert dvd only once or twice, but listen to cds (or ripped music on their computer or mp3 player) may find this the better deal. I, for one, think it's fantastic that the option exists. Rather than force people who want the second disc of Joshua Tree-era songs to pay a rather high price for the full cd/dvd package, fans can opt to buy only the remastered album and second disc.
The bottom line for me is that this is one of the greatest albums of all time, and this new edition has found a way to improve its presentation. With any luck, this deluxe edition will become the new standard for how artists release anniversary editions of their classic albums.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
favorite songs
favorite songs are of course the first 4; after that I listen to it but it doesn't have the same feeling for me as the others.
Published 9 days ago by mom12
5.0 out of 5 stars
U2's big bang still resonates...
Those that were there probably still remember the explosion. In 1987, a somewhat obscure Irish band with a devout following suddenly became ubiquitous in a manner that still... Read more
Published 19 days ago by ewomack
5.0 out of 5 stars
Double vinyl reissue of the Joshua Tree is a sonic gem!
This is specifically the 2007 double LP reissue on vinyl that I am reviewing here. And my focus is on sound quality as the musical content has been thoroughly covered! Read more
Published 28 days ago by Johnnie Neptune
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful music
This is simply the best cd they have. Many classic songs that anyone from the 80's will recognize. A must buy
Published 1 month ago by Tracii Rhodes
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT ALBUM!!!!
look, i'm not a big fan of the POP ROCK world....i really dig METAL, ROCK, REGGAE and HARDCORE, but i can say when the music is good or not.... Read more
Published 1 month ago by FLUMINENSE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good
I love this album. Simply the best of the group. The quality of the vinyl disc is impressiontante. The artwork is of excellent quality.
Published 2 months ago by Alexandre Luiz
5.0 out of 5 stars
An all-time favorite
I bought this CD because I wore out my first copy of it. All in all, probably the best album U2 ever made in terms of song after song after song outstanding quality, musicality and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Blacklace 50
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Music
Bought this CD as a gift for my wife. She loves it, and plays it periodically. Older U2 music was the best....
Published 3 months ago by Dale S.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
The producted was packaged well, was exactly what I wanted, received what I order and it was in great shaped when received..
Published 3 months ago by Shiela Woodruff
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Joshua Tree
A great group of songs by U2 from 1990. I received this product fast and it was undamaged. Great album.
Published 3 months ago by Jedediah Senkow
Listmania!
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