Tim Sommer rips apart the Joshua Tree.

[Nick66]

Well he makes some good points and it's a well thought out piece...but his conclusion is all wrong. The Joshua Tree is indeed a masterpiece and one of the greatest rock records of all time. Every song. Both sides. And the b-sides are pretty damn good as well.

I do agree with his observation that U2 are basically appropriators....they're just very, very good at it. U2 never invented a genre, or defined it. They didn't really push boundaries (other than their own) and tread much new ground. They simply played in the sandbox that was already built better than pretty much any of their other contemporaries. As a whole they far, far exceeded the sum of their parts as musicians, and The Joshua Tree is an excellent example of that.

 

[Mac_Fly]

"Imagine if they had included Walk to the Water or Luminous Times, or if they had spent a couple more weeks to finish Heartland. Then it would have been truly a masterpiece."

It's always in the eye of the beholder isn't it?

Personally, I don't like any of the b side cuts. They are truly B sides. Unfinished and unspectacular.

The JT is a classic in my book, all the songs are great and I wouldn't change a thing.

To each his/her own though.

 

[kabigon]

Luminous Times is great and maybe individually better than a few tracks, but I wouldn't change a thing on the album. Maybe in retrospect, the sound of Bullet so it would be closer to how it sounds live.

 

[BVS]

Good, then take your own medicine. Don't be an asshole. Stop accusing anyone who has opinions you don't like of being a troll.

I tell you what, first time I do that, you point it out to me, ok? Then I'll stop, deal?!

 

[lazarus]

They didn't really push boundaries (other than their own) and tread much new ground.

Exactly what album sounded like Zooropa before? There were obviously many electronic artists before them, and I used to listen to a lot of dance/industrial acts in the late 80s/early 90s. I was still blown away by Zooropa when I heard it. What Edge is doing with his guitar on that album, some of the processing on the percussion, Bono's writing...it's an original burst of creativity that few (if any) bands have ever managed. I don't find Kid A to be anywhere near as revolutionary, for example, as it came out 7 years after this.

 

[corianderstem]

Personally, I don't like any of the b side cuts.

Ditto. I only like 3 B-sides from.that era and 2 are covers. (Spanish Eyes, Everlasting Love, Dancing Barefoot)

 

[Catman]

It's kinda peculiar how the writer criticizes The Joshua Tree for being incredibly front-loaded (which I can agree with to some extent), but then praises The Unforgettable Fire.

 

[Mac_Fly]

Ditto. I only like 3 B-sides from.that era and 2 are covers. (Spanish Eyes, Everlasting Love, Dancing Barefoot)

I was thinking of the b-sides collection that was coupled with the JT. The b-side collection for the Best Of the 80's is a slightly different story.

I do like Heartbreak and a couple of the covers. I suppose if Love Comes Tumbling and Sunrises are considered "b-sides" I could include those two tracks also.

I prefer the live rendition of Silver and Gold on R & H and the more polished version of Sweetest Thing on the Best Of (anathema I know).

 

[superchuk5]

It's the typical "That thing you love secretly sucks" clickbait. You can critique a classic, but when you call side 2 "playing the phonebook" that's just being ridiculous.

 

[hasin73]

You can find thousands and thousands of dumb-ass, incompetent, over-jelous people like Tim Sommer in this age of garbage-like music loving society. So What ?!?! JOSHUA TREE is the masterpiece that it is and will be forever.

 

[hasin73]

Exactly what album sounded like Zooropa before? There were obviously many electronic artists before them, and I used to listen to a lot of dance/industrial acts in the late 80s/early 90s. I was still blown away by Zooropa when I heard it. What Edge is doing with his guitar on that album, somsde of the processing on the percussion, Bono's writing...it's an original burst of creativity that few (if any) bands have ever managed. I don't find Kid A to be anywhere near as revolutionary, for example, as it came out 7 years after this.

 

[LemonMelon]

Literally who

 

[Mac_Fly]

completely accurate or not, the author makes some interesting points/claims.

I don't know why so many U2 fans put their heads in the sand when faced with specific critiques of their band.

The article is harmless enough as just another opinion.

My only problem is the opening line:


"U2’s ‘The Joshua Tree’ Isn’t the Masterpiece You Remember"

He's not telling us that it's not a masterpiece -- in his opinion.

He's telling us that what we think, or remember, is wrong.

Hard to get past that kind of arrogance.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The article is click bait, as is this thread.

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

LOL...to both articles in the "Observer"...the Kendrick Lamar article includes this laughable line; "In 2015, they were forced to play in arenas rather than the stadiums they were used to."

 

[RoKKeR]

LOL...to both articles in the "Observer"...the Kendrick Lamar article includes this laughable line; "In 2015, they were forced to play in arenas rather than the stadiums they were used to."

Ah, they must have also been forced to play 8 sold out nights at the MSG in the span of two weeks, lmao.

 

[Anu]

It was worth looking at for the Gram Parsons tie-in. I think a Gram Parsons-U2-JT connection is worth its own article by someone less cynical. Maybe I will try.

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Ah, they must have also been forced to play 8 sold out nights at the MSG in the span of two weeks, lmao.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

 

[Diemen]

Why should I (or any of us) care what Tim Sommer thinks?

 

[RockNRollDawgie]

It was worth looking at for the Gram Parsons tie-in. I think a Gram Parsons-U2-JT connection is worth its own article by someone less cynical. Maybe I will try.

Didn't U2 stay (visit) at the hotel Gram Parsons stayed at in Joshua Tree National Park?

 

[Y2K]

I didn't think the band even made it to Joshua Tree National Park. I recall Averill saying as much.

 

[Jarvio]

Red Hill Mining Town is my favourite on the album. Does this make me odd?

 

[horsey]

I didn't think the band even made it to Joshua Tree National Park. I recall Averill saying as much.

Isn't that where the Harmony Motel is, where they shot photos with Corbijn?

 

[Y2K]

Isn't that where the Harmony Motel is, where they shot photos with Corbijn?

The motel is in the town of Twentynine Pines, which according to Wikipedia:

is located in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. It lies on the northern side of the Joshua Tree National Park and includes one of the entrances to the Park, at the Oasis of Mara.

Not sure if that means it's north of the park or actually within the northern limits. You may be right.

 

[lazarus]

It think it's Twentynine Palms.

 

[U2FanPeter]

​

The Joshua Tree is one of the greatest albums of all time, that is undisputed.

Why was half the album missing from some shows in 1987 while simultaneously doing a ton of cover songs?

Even if we agree Red Hill or Streets needed extra rehearsal to be played at every show, what about IGC/Trip/One Tree Hill/Mothers missing from many shows?

 

[BVS]

​

Why was half the album missing from some shows in 1987 while simultaneously doing a ton of cover songs?



Even if we agree Red Hill or Streets needed extra rehearsal to be played at every show, what about IGC/Trip/One Tree Hill/Mothers missing from many shows?

What does one have to do with the other?

 

[Y2K]

It think it's Twentynine Palms.

Right, typo on my part.

 

[bono2017]

​

Why was half the album missing from some shows in 1987 while simultaneously doing a ton of cover songs?

Even if we agree Red Hill or Streets needed extra rehearsal to be played at every show, what about IGC/Trip/One Tree Hill/Mothers missing from many shows?

Not uncommon for U2 in those days. Half the War album was missing from most shows on the War Tour. In fact, if you look at the average set list 1983, the first half makes it look like U2 is promoting Boy rather than War. It was not until Achtung Baby that U2 felt comfortable playing nearly an entire new album in concert starting out. I saw one of the first ZOO TV shows in 1992. First 8 songs of the show were from Achtung Baby, back to back. They played two more towards the end of the show for a total of 10 songs from Achtung Baby, only So Cruel and Acrobat not getting played.

 

[U2FanPeter]

No one seriously says WAR is the best album by U2. Most U2 fans generally agree JT is in the top 3 albums by the band. Some seriously think it's one of the best albums of 80's but I think that's pushing it a bit.

While a couple shows in late 87 had 9 JT songs and Tempe having 10, there's a surprising number of 1987 shows that only have 6-7 JT songs. 7 JT songs in shows that have 4 cover songs AND Party Girl?!?!

If U2 thought joshua tree was such an incredible albums why did a number of 1987 setlists pick Stand By Me/C'mon Everybody/People Get Ready/Help/Ballad of Springhill/Party Girl over In God's Country/Trip/One Tree Hill/Mothers/Red Hill Mining Town?