Boy And The Joshua Tree: Similarities Of Completeness?

[spanisheyes]

"What we were looking for in Boy was a sort of cinema sound, panavision -- really textured and big, like a huge screen in a cinema." -- Bono

"Yeah, I'm as pleased with the record as I can ever be pleased with a record -- y'know I'm very rarely happy with our own work. I suppose more than any other record, probably since our first, it's a very complete record...it's a collection of different points of view." -- Bono discussing the Joshua Tree

I've always seen 'The Joshua Tree' in the light that Bono speaks about 'Boy' in the first quote. I guess I've never seen a comparison between 'Boy' and 'The Joshua Tree', though they are the three albums I think of that have a completeness, or fluidity about them, as well as 'Achtung Baby', and this is in no way to discount the rest of U2's collection which I love.

So do you see any similarities of completeness between 'Boy' and 'The Joshua Tree'?

Do you feel that a record with different points of view, and dealing with as many issues as possible constitutes a complete record?

Did U2 achieve completeness on ATYCLB as well, as the forementioned albums appeared to have had?

Feel free to tackle one, two, or all three questions if you'd like.

Chris

 

[rafmed]

One of the similarities between Boy and Jt, is the time they had to made those records.

For Boy they already had the album in their minds when they went into the studio, Boy was an album that was developing since they started as a band in 1977, so its an album that condences those 3 years of the band, that is why Boy feels like a so complete and compact record.

After this album, they never had enough time, October was made on a rush, with the incident where Bono claims to have losted a briefcase with lyrics, October has that sence of urgency in my opinion, for War even with a better idea they also had deadline, and the same with Unforgetable Fire, just listen Elvis Presley and America to see how few time they had, after this and with the degree of success they had, they spent a lot of time working on The Joshua Tree, on this period they also worked on many colaborations, and Bono had time to visit Africa with ali and campaign for some benefits.
I think that is why they felt that way, cuz they had time to make an album the way they wanted after some years.
After those albums I think they have mastered the song writing craft, and has had the posibility of having the time to do a product they can feel comfortable with, the exceptions may be Zooropa and Pop, where for diferent reasons they had deadlines.

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Please...don't make me say please, champagne and ice cream, it's not what I want, it's what I need.

 

[STING2]

The Joshua Tree does not feel complete without the 7 B-sides and Heartland all of which were supposed to be on the album until the Edge forced a change.

 

[barlowdog]

They do both have recurring themes. Boy has that wide eyed innocent child feel and confronts the problems of impending adulthood. Joshua Tree has the fire, rain and desert imagery as an undercurrent throughout the record in both physical characteristics and the metaphorical deserts of the human heart and soul.

Whether or not they feel complete is an interpretation left up to the listener, I believe.

 

[spanisheyes]

Originally posted by rafmed:
One of the similarities between Boy and Jt, is the time they had to made those records.

For Boy they already had the album in their minds when they went into the studio, Boy was an album that was developing since they started as a band in 1977, so its an album that condences those 3 years of the band, that is why Boy feels like a so complete and compact record.

I find it fascinating that 'Boy' came off the way it did. For one, many of the songs that U2 were playing from 1977 to 1980 never made it unto 'Boy'.

Second, the band was not also learning new songs, but also learning how to play their instruments, if not better. So it really is astonishing that 'Boy' came off sounding so complete and fluid as it did.

With JT, you had a band that had had time to perfect their craft for almost ten years, so JT, though still an unbelievable album, and deserving of any and all accolades it receives, to me isn't as remarkable an accomplishment as 'Boy' is in a musical sense in terms of age of the band, and musical experiences whether in song writing or the playing of instruments. It was a great beginning to what has become a stellar career in the lives of U2.

Chris

 

[Michael Griffiths]

I have read Bono (or was it Edge?) describing the difference between The Joshua Tree and The Unforgettable Fire, which may shed some light on this question. To loosely paraphrase: "Much like Joshua Tree, The Unforgettable Fire, has a cinematic feel, but UF is much more blurred: the camera is pulled back...and therefore there isn't as much detail; it's more widescreen, slightly out of focus, slightly abstract..., whereas on Joshua Tree, the camera is pulled right in, and is allowed to focus in on the detail of the picture. Joshua Tree is our most literal record to date..."

Going by that (very loosely paraphrased) "quote," I'd say that Boy is more abstract than Joshua Tree, but still wide-screen. Joshua Tree is wide-screen, but the pictures are in focus, the detail is present, and the corners aren't allowed to blurr as much.

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The Tempest