salomeU2000
The Fly
[SIMG]http://bonovox.interference.com/reviews/jtcoverthumb.jpg[/SIMG]
Rock to Stand On
By Roland Schulte
While the first U2 albums housed some of the best rock and roll fervor available, "The Joshua Tree" went all out to cement the foundation for U2's place in history, and provided the band's springboard for social change.
U2 draw from their cross-country American tours, and Bono's Central American experiences, to supply the album's blood flow. You can imagine the songs being dreamt up on a cramped tour bus as the band travel by night through the heart of the desert Southwest. And there is perhaps no song better suited to get the heart pumping than the album's kickoff "Where The Streets Have No Name." If you, like the band, find yourself driving sleepy-eyed across America, there is no better song to put in the tape deck. By the time "the city's a flood," you'll be awake enough to drive through to Cleveland's Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.
And fame is what "The Joshua Tree" imparted. In April 1987, one month after the album's release, Time magazine placed U2's cornerstone in the house of music with a cover in their honor. They were "Rock's Hottest Ticket," selling 7 million copies in two months. Like Time magazine, U2 represented a certain kind of up front integrity, and a no-frills search for the truth. Time depicted U2 as an underground band about to break the mold with an album of honesty and inspiration. U2 were telling us that they believed, and they believed some things needed to be changed. Time would tell that the cover story was the beginning of a fulfilling media relationship for U2, and Bono specifically.
After waking you up with "Streets", U2 hits you with straightforward religion. The announced gospel song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is an invitation to join the band in a search for the truth. U2 come right out with their religious beliefs on this track ("I believe in Kingdom come.carried the cross of my shame"). In other tracks, lyrics are partially disguised and carry additional meanings other than the spiritual obvious. U2 depicts a religious struggle here, climbing mountains and running though fields to find spiritual solace.
An infinite guitar illustrates infinite sadness in "With Or Without You." This song may well take your car off the ramp. It has heartache so deep it feels good to know you have capacity to experience it. Unlike its predecessor, this is a song open for interpretation. It tells the story of a couple's struggle to tolerate one another, or the sacrifices made to live a Christian life. In any case, Bono's wailing toward the end of the track is unmistakable; this is a song about deep heartache and pain.
"With Or Without You" reminds us that sadness can sometimes last longer, and cut deeper, than happiness. This may explain why some members of the mass media were left with the impression that "The Joshua Tree" was mostly a dark album. In fact, the forefront of rock opinion Rolling Stone called the album "grim" and "dark-hued," while simultaneously giving a five-star stamp of approval. Admittedly, the album contains some dark moments and grave subjects, but does so to only to encourage change and expedite social improvement. U2 knows that making real change is like curing an addiction: you must first admit you have it before you can fix it.
Thus far into the album, you may have been able to drive and play the lead guitar riffs at the same time. U2 have an astonishing gift for turning simple chord progressions into unyielding epics. You need to put both hands back on the wheel for "Bullet the Blue Sky," though. The sadness of "With Or Without You" has now turned to specific, outright rage. El Salvador, as Bono says, is coming through the speakers now, and America is outside your car. "Bullet," as the media widely agrees, is not open for interpretation. It is an angry social statement, and continues to be the in-concert launch pad for U2's opinion.
Luckily, "Running to Stand Still" waits to calm the night and free the mind. This is where we first meet the mysterious, elusive girl that walks into 7-11 for a pack of cigarettes three albums later. Here, she is lifeless, addicted to something greater than casual nicotine. Again, we're deep inside human need and emotion. The tears coming from the speakers are not in vain, at least not for the person envisioned here. Hope and inspiration tell us differently.
Successive album tracks tell tales of longing laced with hope. Bono, still lost on the streets, has made up his mind on one person he "can't live without" in "Red Hill Mining Town". Where "Streets" accelerates rather quickly to a high-energy plateau, "Red Hill" takes a shallow slope but reaches the same high. Again, we are lost, but it's a great place to be. Later, we're in the very desert where you may find the Joshua Tree in "In God's Country." We're dreaming "beneath the desert sky" here, probably not far from the symbolic Joshua Tree itself. "Exit" again turns to show a staggering depth of emotion and anger. Continuing with the canvassing of all possible emotions, "Mothers of the Disappeared" closes out the album the way "40" did a few albums earlier. "Mothers" has the feel of an out-of-body lullaby.
After hearing the album, you may feel you have traveled through the desert yourself, and have hit some fulfilling oasis. Fifteen years after the album's release, Bono travels across the same America during the DATA tour, this time across a post-September 11th landscape in the Midwest. The foundation of "The Joshua Tree" and the success of later albums have armed the singer with enough clout to make the dreams of social change come closer to reality.
During this DATA tour, Bono tested "American Prayer," a song speculated to be on the upcoming album. The "Prayer" includes more mountain climbs and a continued fascination with America. Lyrics like "When you get to the top of the mountain, will you tell me what you see?" would fit in well with tracks on "The Joshua Tree." Again, we see the historic album as a rock to stand on.
Perhaps both the light and dark views of the album are correct. "Its an album you can listen to from beginning to end, and be in any mood to listen to. There's every emotion on that album," says singer-songwriter Julie Kryk. And that's what we need, great stories of inspiration include a laugh for every tear and leave you with an inspired smile on your face. "The Joshua Tree," even after more than a decade, leaves you feeling like you can take on the world. And, as Bono says, sometimes you're right.
Rock to Stand On
By Roland Schulte
While the first U2 albums housed some of the best rock and roll fervor available, "The Joshua Tree" went all out to cement the foundation for U2's place in history, and provided the band's springboard for social change.
U2 draw from their cross-country American tours, and Bono's Central American experiences, to supply the album's blood flow. You can imagine the songs being dreamt up on a cramped tour bus as the band travel by night through the heart of the desert Southwest. And there is perhaps no song better suited to get the heart pumping than the album's kickoff "Where The Streets Have No Name." If you, like the band, find yourself driving sleepy-eyed across America, there is no better song to put in the tape deck. By the time "the city's a flood," you'll be awake enough to drive through to Cleveland's Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.
And fame is what "The Joshua Tree" imparted. In April 1987, one month after the album's release, Time magazine placed U2's cornerstone in the house of music with a cover in their honor. They were "Rock's Hottest Ticket," selling 7 million copies in two months. Like Time magazine, U2 represented a certain kind of up front integrity, and a no-frills search for the truth. Time depicted U2 as an underground band about to break the mold with an album of honesty and inspiration. U2 were telling us that they believed, and they believed some things needed to be changed. Time would tell that the cover story was the beginning of a fulfilling media relationship for U2, and Bono specifically.
After waking you up with "Streets", U2 hits you with straightforward religion. The announced gospel song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is an invitation to join the band in a search for the truth. U2 come right out with their religious beliefs on this track ("I believe in Kingdom come.carried the cross of my shame"). In other tracks, lyrics are partially disguised and carry additional meanings other than the spiritual obvious. U2 depicts a religious struggle here, climbing mountains and running though fields to find spiritual solace.
An infinite guitar illustrates infinite sadness in "With Or Without You." This song may well take your car off the ramp. It has heartache so deep it feels good to know you have capacity to experience it. Unlike its predecessor, this is a song open for interpretation. It tells the story of a couple's struggle to tolerate one another, or the sacrifices made to live a Christian life. In any case, Bono's wailing toward the end of the track is unmistakable; this is a song about deep heartache and pain.
"With Or Without You" reminds us that sadness can sometimes last longer, and cut deeper, than happiness. This may explain why some members of the mass media were left with the impression that "The Joshua Tree" was mostly a dark album. In fact, the forefront of rock opinion Rolling Stone called the album "grim" and "dark-hued," while simultaneously giving a five-star stamp of approval. Admittedly, the album contains some dark moments and grave subjects, but does so to only to encourage change and expedite social improvement. U2 knows that making real change is like curing an addiction: you must first admit you have it before you can fix it.
Thus far into the album, you may have been able to drive and play the lead guitar riffs at the same time. U2 have an astonishing gift for turning simple chord progressions into unyielding epics. You need to put both hands back on the wheel for "Bullet the Blue Sky," though. The sadness of "With Or Without You" has now turned to specific, outright rage. El Salvador, as Bono says, is coming through the speakers now, and America is outside your car. "Bullet," as the media widely agrees, is not open for interpretation. It is an angry social statement, and continues to be the in-concert launch pad for U2's opinion.
Luckily, "Running to Stand Still" waits to calm the night and free the mind. This is where we first meet the mysterious, elusive girl that walks into 7-11 for a pack of cigarettes three albums later. Here, she is lifeless, addicted to something greater than casual nicotine. Again, we're deep inside human need and emotion. The tears coming from the speakers are not in vain, at least not for the person envisioned here. Hope and inspiration tell us differently.
Successive album tracks tell tales of longing laced with hope. Bono, still lost on the streets, has made up his mind on one person he "can't live without" in "Red Hill Mining Town". Where "Streets" accelerates rather quickly to a high-energy plateau, "Red Hill" takes a shallow slope but reaches the same high. Again, we are lost, but it's a great place to be. Later, we're in the very desert where you may find the Joshua Tree in "In God's Country." We're dreaming "beneath the desert sky" here, probably not far from the symbolic Joshua Tree itself. "Exit" again turns to show a staggering depth of emotion and anger. Continuing with the canvassing of all possible emotions, "Mothers of the Disappeared" closes out the album the way "40" did a few albums earlier. "Mothers" has the feel of an out-of-body lullaby.
After hearing the album, you may feel you have traveled through the desert yourself, and have hit some fulfilling oasis. Fifteen years after the album's release, Bono travels across the same America during the DATA tour, this time across a post-September 11th landscape in the Midwest. The foundation of "The Joshua Tree" and the success of later albums have armed the singer with enough clout to make the dreams of social change come closer to reality.
During this DATA tour, Bono tested "American Prayer," a song speculated to be on the upcoming album. The "Prayer" includes more mountain climbs and a continued fascination with America. Lyrics like "When you get to the top of the mountain, will you tell me what you see?" would fit in well with tracks on "The Joshua Tree." Again, we see the historic album as a rock to stand on.
Perhaps both the light and dark views of the album are correct. "Its an album you can listen to from beginning to end, and be in any mood to listen to. There's every emotion on that album," says singer-songwriter Julie Kryk. And that's what we need, great stories of inspiration include a laugh for every tear and leave you with an inspired smile on your face. "The Joshua Tree," even after more than a decade, leaves you feeling like you can take on the world. And, as Bono says, sometimes you're right.
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and WOW @ the link between Running to stand still and Stay - never thought of it that way!
o you see the picture?
