Joshua Tree double album

[Chill Mike D]

The Wikipedia article for The Joshua Tree mentions that Bono lobbied for it to be released as a double album that would have included all of the songs that ended up being b-sides.

The article doesn't cite where this info comes from though, and I've never read this anywhere else. Is this true?

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

Well, let an elder fan respond to it. All the fuzz about the double album has to do with statements by the band in '86/'87 about the actual playlist. "Hot Press" quoted in December '87 U2's guitar player:
"... For instance, we disagreed vehemently about what songs should go on the album. If Bono had his way, 'The Joshua Tree' would have been more American and bluesy, and I was trying to pull it back."

I guess, that's why U2 decided to publish that many new B-sides in this phase full of creativity. Bono several times mentioned, that the 1st single "With Or Without You" was incomplete with "Hold On To Love" and/or the beautiful "Walk To The Water". Also other album tunes were linked with (later) B-sides.

In the Internet you find therefore several and hypothetical attempts by fans, to "restore" the Joshua Tree as a double album with up to 18 tunes, e.g.:
Where The Streets Have No Name
Silver And Gold
I Still Haven't Found...
Spanish Eyes
With Or Without You
Luminous Times
Walk To The Water
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
Race Against Time
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
Sweetest Thing
One Tree Hill
Deep In The Heart
Exit
Mothers Of The Disappeared

 

[the tourist]

Beautiful Ghost was rumoured to be the opening track for the mythical double album, and would segue into Where The Streets Have No Name.

 

[ahittle]

Yeah, Beautiful Ghost would've worked really well had it been ready at the time.

Were the b-sides recorded at the same time as JT?

 

[Clawgrabber]

does anyone think that Heartland deserves a place on this hypothetical double album, since the song was in finished form, and later sort of dumped onto RAH?

I feel like it should be on the double list somewhere towards the beginning of side (or disc) 2.

but that's just me. it definitely fits more with the JT stuff than the RAH stuff, IMHO

 

[Hole]

Well, let an elder fan respond to it. All the fuzz about the double album has to do with statements by the band in '86/'87 about the actual playlist. "Hot Press" quoted in December '87 U2's guitar player:
"... For instance, we disagreed vehemently about what songs should go on the album. If Bono had his way, 'The Joshua Tree' would have been more American and bluesy, and I was trying to pull it back."

I guess, that's why U2 decided to publish that many new B-sides in this phase full of creativity. Bono several times mentioned, that the 1st single "With Or Without You" was incomplete with "Hold On To Love" and/or the beautiful "Walk To The Water". Also other album tunes were linked with (later) B-sides.

In the Internet you find therefore several and hypothetical attempts by fans, to "restore" the Joshua Tree as a double album with up to 18 tunes, e.g.:
Where The Streets Have No Name
Silver And Gold
I Still Haven't Found...
Spanish Eyes
With Or Without You
Luminous Times
Walk To The Water
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
Race Against Time
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
Sweetest Thing
One Tree Hill
Deep In The Heart
Exit
Mothers Of The Disappeared

Since a couple of years I´ve been listening to the TJT Double Album in this order instead:

Where The Streets Have No Name (Best album opener. Ever.)
In God´s Country (a rocker that fits between Streets and Found like a desert needs rain or a preacher needs pain or a needle needs a vein or...)
I Still Haven´t Found What I´m Looking For
With Or Without You

Spanish Eyes (fades out with an awesome guitar, and then SE fades in. Great!)
Luminous Times (Hold On To Love) (could have been a new Pride, if it had been more finished. But when you listen to Larry´s totally insane drumming, you just love it not beeing more finished, don´t you?)
Deep In The Heart (wonderful, but weak whereever you put it on this album. Here it contrasts to Bullet in a good way though)
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still

Red Hill Mining Town
Sweetest Thing (fits here like a desert needs rain or a preacher needs pain or a needle needs a vein or...)
Trip Through Your Wires
Walk To The Water (water after the desert)

One Tree Hill (running to the water after walking to it)
Race Against Time (Good tradition from Boy and October to have a sweet little half-instrumental here)
Silver And Gold (Wish they´d recorded Womanfish instead!)
Exit
Mothers Of The Disappeared

 

[the tourist]

Here's how I listen to it:

Beautiful Ghost
Where The Streets Have No Name
Silver and Gold
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Spanish Eyes
With Or Without You
Lumiouns Times
Walk To The Water
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Race Against Time
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
The Sweetest Thing
Deep In The Heart
Heartland
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers Of The Disappeared

 

[Clawgrabber]

Here's how I listen to it:

Beautiful Ghost
Where The Streets Have No Name
Silver and Gold
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Spanish Eyes
With Or Without You
Lumiouns Times
Walk To The Water
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Race Against Time
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
The Sweetest Thing
Deep In The Heart
Heartland
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers Of The Disappeared

just looking at that playlist, i can tell it is spot on. I've tried to make a double album mix of this for years, but your list seems to nail it.

i never knew where to put heartland, deep in the heart or sweetest thing...

i'm gonna burn this for myself asap. Nice Work.

 

[Blue Room]

Beautiful Ghost was rumoured to be the opening track for the mythical double album, and would segue into Where The Streets Have No Name.

Not really, a fan put the two together and it sounded good. But I dont believe there was ever a rumor previously that it would have opened the album or that Beautiful Ghost was even in the running to make it.

The compilation listed is what a fan came up with as well. Its not a track listing that U2 was considering if it would have been a double album. I think you are looking at all the songs that would have been included however. Heartland may have made the album also if they had gone with a double album.

Personally the fan tracklist that was come up on the "Restore the Joshua Tree" site flows pretty well. Except I dont like Silver and Gold after Streets. I dont think that flows that great. I typically add it after Exit.

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

"Beautiful Ghost" is just a sketch of sounds, unfinished, even boring to me – and far from the high quality of the tunes, U2 decided to put out as B-sides in '87 ...

 

[midnightlemon]

I don't know about anyone else, but Beautiful Ghost creeps the hell out of me. It's such an eerie song with a really strange tune, and I'm glad it wasn't on the album.

 

[moonpie]

does anyone think that Heartland deserves a place on this hypothetical double album, since the song was in finished form, and later sort of dumped onto RAH?

I feel like it should be on the double list somewhere towards the beginning of side (or disc) 2.

but that's just me. it definitely fits more with the JT stuff than the RAH stuff, IMHO

I definitely think Heartland fits in a JT compilation. I have it after In God’s Country. I agree Beautiful Ghost is not the strongest, but makes a decent final track. If you really want to go crazy add Sweet Fire of Love and/or Testimony, both of which have a JT flavor.

 

[phillyfan26]

does anyone think that Heartland deserves a place on this hypothetical double album, since the song was in finished form, and later sort of dumped onto RAH?

I don't think that's true. In U2 by U2, Bono said he wrote the song about travels he and Adam had in the midwest and the south during the recording of Rattle and Hum. They drove away from the studio together as a sort of escape.

 

[gman]

I definitely think Heartland fits in a JT compilation. I have it after In God’s Country. I agree Beautiful Ghost is not the strongest, but makes a decent final track. If you really want to go crazy add Sweet Fire of Love and/or Testimony, both of which have a JT flavor.

I would say Sweet Fire Of Love and Testimony are more R&H ish than JT in style.

 

[gareth brown]

Here's my preferred tracklisting for the Joshua Tree "Double Album", definitely no 'Beautiful Ghost' and it just never occurred to me to include Heartland. But anyway, I tried the tracklisting at the 'restore the joshua tree' page and just didn't like the way it flowed and personally preferred this tracklisting though i remember Axver saying it's probably not the best to split up the final three tracks which I SORT OF agreed with but having Silver and Gold right at the end after Exit before Mothers sounded really great to me, with the fade-out etc...

ANYWAY, see what you make of it if you ever have the time and want to listen to it in that order!

1. Where The Streets Have No Name
2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
3. With Or Without You
4. Walk To The Water
5. Trip Through Your Wires
6. Luminous Times
7. Race Against Time
8. Red Hill Mining Town

1. In God's Country
2. Spanish Eyes
3. The Sweetest Thing
4. Deep In The Heart
5. Bullet The Blue Sky
6. Running To Stand Still
7. One Tree Hill
8. Exit
9. Silver and Gold
10. Mothers of the Disappeared

 

[shart1780]

Beautiful Ghost doesn't seem to fit. It's really spooky and weird, whereas Streets is really uplifting. Wouldn't have made sense for me. Maybe they could have put it before or after Exit.

 

[gareth brown]

perhaps, but then you'd just this pointless anti-climatic track with just some strange synths then singing that goes nowhere in the middle of the record

 

[neilm]

I don't think that's true. In U2 by U2, Bono said he wrote the song about travels he and Adam had in the midwest and the south during the recording of Rattle and Hum. They drove away from the studio together as a sort of escape.

Bono does say that in the book but in an interview I read with Edge, a version of Heartland had been written and recorded (at Adam's house) during the Joshua Tree Sessions but they were were not happy with it and revisited the track when they needed new material for Rattle & Hum.

 

[neilm]

Beautiful Ghost doesn't seem to fit. It's really spooky and weird, whereas Streets is really uplifting. Wouldn't have made sense for me. Maybe they could have put it before or after Exit.

For me, the Joshua Tree is quite a 'dark' album so I think Beautiful Ghost would fit perfectly before Streets.

 

[Snowlock]

Personally the fan tracklist that was come up on the "Restore the Joshua Tree" site flows pretty well. Except I dont like Silver and Gold after Streets. I dont think that flows that great. I typically add it after Exit.

There's no use in figuring out the flow becaue U2 didn't try either. The Joshua Tree is tracked in the order a friend of the band liked the songs.

Bono says such and such song can't exist without such and such other song.. True I guess... But that doesn't mean they have to follow one another.

Streets, ISHFWILF & WOWY are such strong singles I can't see them split up. Then again I've been listening to the album for 20 years (Holy Shit!) so that may have something to do with it.

Given U2's preferences for putting singles at the front of their albums, I don't see Silver and Gold in the #2 spot. Aren't Pop & Bomb the only albums since October without a single in the #2 slot?

I wonder whatever happened to that rumor way early this year about the releases/remasters of the catalog that included JT as a double album... Damn, that would've been sweet.

 

[Snowlock]

Given U2's preferences for putting singles at the front of their albums, I don't see Silver and Gold in the #2 spot. Aren't Pop & Bomb the only albums since October without a single in the #2 slot?

Bah, nevermind...

 

[rihannsu]

Just looked up Heartland in Into the Heart. It was written in 1986 for JT and recorded at Adam Clayton's home in Rathfarnham but was one of 5 or 6 tracks that remained unfinished. They finished it for Rattle and Hum.

Perhaps the music was written but the lyrics not complete since that is usually developed last and Bono finalized the lyrics after the trip with Adam. In any case there is obviously good argument for including it on an alternate JT.

Another thing is that if you look at just the love songs from the JT and RH sessions don't you see a precursor to AB in that they are all a bit dark and twisted? Instead of an alternate JT what we should do is take those love songs and make the album they didn't release. Like what could have been done instead of RH.

Dana

 

[rihannsu]

So here's a thought. Take the love songs that didn't make JT plus the ones from the R&H sessions (on album or not) and come up with a track listing and post your suggested running order.

Here's the list of songs to include (in no particular order):

Spanish Eyes
LuminousTimes
Walk to the Water
Heartland
Sweetest Thing
Deep in the Heart
Desire
Hawkmoon 269
Heartland
A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel
All I Want is You
Hallelujah (here she comes)

Anybody care to take a shot at this?

Dana