Perfection Perfected Again: U2's greatest work expanded and retold
Written: Feb 07 '08 (Updated Mar 03 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent remaster of classic recording; illuminating rarities and b-sides
Cons: Would really love to hear some more raw tracks from these sessions
The Bottom Line: The remastered quality of the original album makes this practically a "new" purchase, and the second disc of material makes it even more desirable.
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| bob_tomato's Full Review: The Joshua Tree (Deluxe Edition) [Remaster] by U2 |
Having already waxed poetic regarding U2's greatest recording ever, what more could there be for me to say about The Joshua Tree?
With the release of an expanded, remastered 20th Anniversary edition of my favorite rock album, it turns out there is still more to offer.
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The Joshua Tree: 20th Anniversary Remaster
There's no denying my love for this recording. The Joshua Tree is one of the most influential albums in my life, helping to shape everything I really love in rock music, as well as much of my thinking regarding the power of music and those who make it to change the world. Love him or hate him for all his over the top earnest zeal, Bono is a hero in my mind, and The Joshua Tree is one of the greatest expressions of his genius.
What's new in this version of The Joshua Tree is a marked improvement in the quality of the recording - the remastering process has brought greater definition to the sound of the band, and provides a clearer "view" of the different aural aspects of each song. As in the Mobile Fidelity remaster of War, the most noticeable difference in my ear is in the bass. With every slap of the strings on the fretboard creating a superbly defined rattle and hum, the bass is much more "present" and palpable now. Clayton's basement rumblings create an even more solid foundation to support the wide open spaces of this recording, and in this new pristine atmosphere, The Edge's guitars jangle and swirl in new ways. There are things apparent now that were hardly hinted at in previous discs - where did that sound come from, why didn't I notice that separation before? The remastered versions make all things new in an album that I considered an intimate part of my memory, and so this anniversary edition rekindles an old flame within me.
The new material on the bonus disc provides an even deeper experience for enjoying The Joshua Tree. Here are songs that informed the making of those that made the final cut. Some tracks appeared as b-sides for the hits (all of the track details are explained in the collection's fabulous insert, including personal observations of the recording process written by The Edge), others are rough cuts of early work the band attempted when brainstorming this project. Of particular interest are the original versions of songs that became minor hits post-Joshua Tree - Silver and Gold appears in it's original recorded version, as well as a version with Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Steve Jordan that made the Sun City anti-apartheid album. Sweetest Thing is in it's original form here, minus some synths added when the song became a single for a greatest hits package.
Brian Eno's influence on The Joshua Tree is illustrated strongly in Beautiful Ghost, an eerie synthesized sound painting that is an obvious precursor to the epic introductory fade in of Where The Streets Have No Name. Making this song even more intriguing is the William Blake poem "Songs of Experience" that Bono intones in the last half of the piece. Perhaps the band was looking for something different to bring to this recording, and this track makes for an interesting thought experiment - what if the album had taken this poetic direction throughout this or some other recording? In Drunk Chicken/America, the band overlays Allen Ginsberg's reading of his scathing diatribe America ("America - when will we end the human war? Go f*ck yourself and your atom bomb. I don't feel good. Don't bother me"). Adding this to the context of the definitely pointed Bullet the Blue Sky, it puts a new light on the band's thoughts towards America - The Joshua Tree has always been seen as an album about and even to America, but this particular rarity shows an even harder stance by the band.
The Joshua Tree still stands tall as a monumental achievement of rock and roll. While fans may debate over which album truly defines U2, there is no argument that The Joshua Tree is the album that cemented their legendary status. The twentieth anniversary remaster polishes the original recording, bringing further clarity to the rhythm section as well as greater resolution to The Edge's fantastic work on his guitars. The bonus disc gives fresh perspective on the entire project, exposed evolutionary strata of sounds preceding and informing the songs that made the final cut.
For me, The Joshua Tree: 20th Anniversary Remaster is perfection perfected, my favorite rock album of all time presented in crystal-clear quality. Don't hesitate to pick up a copy for yourself; this is a piece of musical history, now made even better with improved sound and bonus material.
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U2 - The Joshua Tree: 20th Anniversary Remaster (Limited Edition)
Originally released November 20, 2007 by Island Records / Universal Music
Disc 1 (Remastered Original Album)
Where the Streets Have No Name / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / With or Without You / Bullet the Blue Sky / Running to Stand Still / Red Hill Mining Town / In God's Country / Trip Through Your Wires / One Tree Hill / Exit / Mothers of the Disappeared
Disc 2 (Bonus Audio CD)
Luminous Times (Hold On to Love) / Walk to the Water / Spanish Eyes / Deep in the Heart / Silver and Gold / Sweetest Thing / Race Against Time / Where the Streets Have No Name (radio edit) / Silver and Gold (Sun City) / Beautiful Ghost - Introduction to Songs of Experience / Wave of Sorrow (Birdland) / Desert of Our Love / Rise Up / Drunk Chicken - America
Recommended:
Yes
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bob_tomato
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Member: Andrew
Location: Dallas Metroplex
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