The Album That Never Was...

[BVS]

After listening to Beautiful Ghost, Walk to the Water, and Luminous Times it seems to me that U2 could have really gone and made a double album at the time of JT. They really could have made an incredible dark album with this sound in mind. I would have loved to see U2 make this album.

I remember an old interview where Bono talks about songs like Walk and Hold On and says they talked about taking the band this direction when they were "dreaming it up all again". Now I'm glad they went the Achtung Baby route but I would have loved to seen an album like this.

Anyone else?

 

[bathiu]

I don't know about JT, but it would make a great "normal" album instead of half-live R&H...

 

[Mullen4Prez]

They should have realeased a double album with all those songs on them. I mean Smile should have made it to the HTDAAB list.

 

[thousandfold]

I've noticed this topic comes up a lot... so I hope I'm not repeating myself, but I can't help answering these posts becuse I am fascinated by the idea of Joshua Tree as a double album ("Songs of Innocence and Experience") and I love to speculate on what might have been.

I have messed with the possible tracklisting many times... as it didn't actually happen, there's no right answer, and some of the tracks are a little rough (if only "Spanish Eyes" had just a bit more lyric!)... but it's fun to imagine the end result!

I'm an AB person, myself, but I think I might have been more into JT had the b-sides been part of the actual album. It creates more of a full concept, and I'm a big fan of the concept album. In a general thematic sense.

 

[Lancemc]

I'm sorry, but I feel that pretty much ever Joshua Tree b-side is inferior to all the songs on the album, excepts for maybe Silver and Gold.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

some band members wanted joshua tree to be a double album. when they decided it could possibly fall flat because of the stigma some associate with them, they decided to parse it down to one album and use the rest of the songs as b-sides.

i don't know if i'd care one way or the other, but i would've taken some of the album songs off in favour of songs that were used as b-sides.

 

[Aygo]

I would not like Joshua as a double album... But there was too much songs left outside of only as B-sides...
I think that they could have use some of the "outtakes" from Joshua and with the studio tracks from Rattle And Hum make an entire studio album, leaving the R&H live tracks as the b-sides...
It would be something like this:

1. Van Diemen's Land
2. When Love Comes To Town
3. Desire
4. Hawkmoon 269
5. A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel
6. Heartland
7. My Time Hasn't Come (evolution from the taped soundcheck in 1987)
8. Silver And Gold (studio)
9. Love Rescue Me
10. God Part II
11. Angel Of Harlem
12. All I want is you

 

[Rachel D.]

I wouldn't change a thing that happened at that time period. If Rattle and Hum had been a huge success, they would've continued in that musical direction and Achtung Baby may never have been made. U2 might not be what they are today had they not been through that rough time period.

 

[bathiu]

I wouldn't change a thing that happened at that time period. If Rattle and Hum had been a huge success, they would've continued in that musical direction and Achtung Baby may never have been made. U2 might not be what they are today had they not been through that rough time period.

You're right. Time travel is realy dangerous.