Joshua Tree

iamlowsound · #1 01-21-2011, 10:57 AM

Fist off, I have never been a U2 fan and have never liked this album. I recently got the opportunity to buy a pristine copy of the first pressing vinyl and I figured that if nothing else, it would look good in my collection. Today, I decided to sit down, put it on, turn it up and have a good listen.

THIS ALBUM IS GREAT

All it took was a great copy of it and a very good sound system to learn this. It hasn't shot to the top of my favorites list, but I will no longer say that it is a horrible album and I will give it the respect that is due.

lowsound

HolmeBass · #2 01-21-2011, 11:04 AM

Perhaps more than the recording or volume it was really your mental state that made the difference on this listen? I find for myself that I need to give a recording a number of chances before I take a pass on it. This is what steams me about record labels and booking agents and such- they listen once half-heartedly and think they've really gotten what a given band/recording is all about, and it's just not usually possible. How many of your favorite recordings were "favorite" after the first listen? I think if you really analyze this and are honest with yourself, you'll realize that most of the things you love on first listen fade on the 10th or 100th listen- they don't have the depth and complexity to hold up to repeated listens for ever. Stuff that does is thick and deep enough that most mortals can't really fully grok it the first time through. All IMHO of course, but I implore people to really reflect on this before dismissing it.

JT Bass · #3 01-21-2011, 11:08 AM

I agree. I usually skip the first two tracks because they were on constantly back when. Interesting Wiki on this album, and interesting Behind The Music/Rockumentary thingy on the recording of it if you catch it. One of the great albums of the late 80s for sure.

Matvei · #4 01-21-2011, 11:11 AM

The bass on "exit" is one of my favorite pieces of music, too bad it's mixed soooo low.

It really comes together at great volume.

S.Harrison · #5 01-21-2011, 11:20 AM

Really is a very good album. I had it on tape when new but lost it along the way. Managed to pick up an unopened CD at a local Goodwill store for about a buck seventy-five. Glad I did.

J. Montgomery · #6 01-21-2011, 11:27 AM

Its been covered by the 'Classic Albums' documentary series. Its a good documentary, you can find it on NetFlix.

winston · #7 01-21-2011, 05:18 PM

U2 was around for 25 years before I got into them. Now I love this album!

Evidently they worked on "Where The Streets Have No Name" for months and were getting nowhere. Co-producer Brian Eno decided to erase the whole thing and be done with it. An engineer had to physically tackle and restrain Eno to keep him from doing it. The album would've been quite a bit different without that song!

iamlowsound · #8 01-22-2011, 10:52 AM

The biggest difference I found when listening to it on vinyl was that I could hear the bass and drums. The mix was always something that bothered me before.

lowsound

Snarf · #9 01-22-2011, 02:40 PM

4 great songs. Rest = filler.

EdHunter · #10 01-24-2011, 12:19 PM

Best U2 album is Achtung Baby...

But Joshua Tree is superb, just a shame my copy is too crackly and fuzzy (I'm guessing from overplaying!) for it to be bearable.

THand · #11 01-24-2011, 12:24 PM

I saw them live on the Joshua Tree tour....it was almost a spiritual experience. I wasn't expecting that...been a fan ever since.

chadhargis · #12 01-24-2011, 12:27 PM

With or Without You is a great demonstration of how effective a simple bass line can be. I always get a chuckle of of players who are doing scale runs and fancy fills when a simple groove as all the song needs.

Sometimes the most important part of playing bass is the notes you DON'T play.

elgecko · #13 01-24-2011, 12:27 PM

Joshua Tree is awesome!

Oh wait, you're talking about the album, not the place.

I have always wondered if U2 spent time there. They wouldn't be the first musicians to enjoy that magical place!

chuck norriss · #14 01-24-2011, 01:08 PM

I recommend Unforgettable Fire & Achtung Baby. Their recent album, No Line On the Horizon is also pretty good. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me.

Chrisk-K · #15 01-24-2011, 05:26 PM

Someone has told me that the bass line on "With or Without You" is one of the most influential bass lines of all time.

J. Montgomery · #16 01-24-2011, 05:36 PM

"Rattle & Hum" is also a pretty good U2 documentary to watch that was filmed right after the Joshua Tree album.

I'll also throw out that 'Achtung Baby' is by far my favorite U2 album. I saw their last tour with Muse opening up. It was an awesome concert experience, and the Edge & Adam must have played every single 'I want that' guitar/bass you've ever seen.

bassguitar808 · #17 01-24-2011, 05:41 PM

it was recorded on Tape by the way

check out the classic album documentary, it was on netflix streaming awhile back

OldDog52 · #18 01-24-2011, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrisk-K

Someone has told me that the bass line on "With or Without You" is one of the most influential bass lines of all time.

I think Les Moore said that. Or maybe Les said "Sometimes less is more". Something like that.

I saw Rattle & Hum in a brand new (at the time) THX-certified theater with Dolby SR sound (also new at the time). They had the system cranked as loud as it could reasonably go without going into distress. It was like being at a concert.

Snarf · #19 01-25-2011, 11:18 AM

I actually think that War is the best U2 album (and generally the only one I even care to listen to). It's totally consistent from front to back, every single song is extremely strong.