Frogtoon Music

The Joshua Tree (Album) by U2

Artist Biography For U2

U2 Is An Irish Alternative Rock Band From Dublin Formed In 1976. The Group Consists Of Bono Lead Vocals And Rhythm Guitar The Edge Lead Guitar Keyboards And Backing Vocals Adam Clayton Bass Guitar And Larry Mullen Jr. Drums And Percussion . Initially Rooted In Post-Punk U2's Musical Style Evolved Throughout Their Career Yet Has Maintained An Anthemic Sound Built On Bono's Expressive Vocals And The Edge's Effects-Based Guitar Textures. Their Lyrics Often Embellished With Spiritual Imagery Focus On Personal And Sociopolitical Themes. Popular For Their Live Performances The Group Has Staged Several Ambitious And Elaborate Tours Over Their Career. The Band Formed At Mount Temple Comprehensive School In 1976 When The Members Were Teenagers With Limited Musical Proficiency. Within Four Years They Signed With Island Records And Released Their Debut Album Boy 1980 . Subsequent Work Such As Their First UK Number-One Album War 1983 And The Singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" And "Pride In The Name Of Love " Helped Establish U2's Reputation As A Politically And Socially Conscious Group. By The Mid-1980s They Had Become Renowned Globally For Their Live Act Highlighted By Their Performance At Live Aid In 1985. The Group's Fifth Album The Joshua Tree 1987 Made Them International Superstars And Was Their Greatest Critical And Commercial Success. Topping Music Charts Around The World It Produced Their Only Number-One Singles In The US "With Or Without You" And "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Facing Creative Stagnation And A Backlash Following Their Documentary/double Album Rattle And Hum 1988 U2 Reinvented Themselves In The 1990s Through A New Musical Direction And Public Image. Beginning With Their Acclaimed Seventh Album Achtung Baby 1991 And The Multimedia-Intensive Zoo TV Tour The Band Integrated Influences From Alternative Rock Electronic Dance Music And Industrial Music Into Their Sound And Embraced A More Ironic Flippant Image. This Experimentation Continued Through Their Ninth Album Pop 1997 And The PopMart Tour Which Were Mixed Successes. U2 Regained Critical And Commercial Favour With The Records All That You Can't Leave Behind 2000 And How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb 2004 Which Established A More Conventional Mainstream Sound For The Group. Their U2 360 Tour Of 2009–2011 Is The Highest-Attended And Highest-Grossing Concert Tour In History. The Group's Thirteenth Album Songs Of Innocence 2014 Was Released At No Cost Through The ITunes Store But Received Criticism For Its Automatic Placement In Users' Music Libraries. U2 Has Released 14 Studio Albums And Is One Of The World's Best-Selling Music Artists In History Having Sold More Than 170 Million Records Worldwide. They Have Won 22 Grammy Awards More Than Any Other Band And In 2005 They Were Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame In Their First Year Of Eligibility. Rolling Stone Ranked U2 At Number 22 On Its List Of The "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time". Throughout Their Career As A Band And As Individuals They Have Campaigned For Human Rights And Philanthropic Causes Including Amnesty International Jubilee 2000 The ONE/DATA Campaigns Product Red War Child And Music Rising. Foundation The Band Originally Formed In 1976 When Larry Mullen Posted A Bulletin In His School Asking For Musicians To Form A Rock Band. The Band Then Consisted Of The Four Current Members Plus Three Additional Guitarists Including The Edge’s Brother Dick Evans Later A Member Of Virgin Prunes Ivan McCormick And Peter Martin. According To Legend Bono Originally Auditioned As A Guitarist But Couldn’t Play. He Auditioned As Lead Vocals But Really Couldn’t Sing. He Was However Incredibly Enthusiastic About The Band Extremely Charismatic A Great Writer And Was Strangely Able To Reach The Audience When The Band Played Something He Is Known For Still Today. Bono Will Reach Out Into The Crowd And Dance Or Mess With Someone In The Crowd At Every Concert. He Was Kept As A Member. The Extra Guitarists Would Soon Leave The Band And The Group Would Go Through The Names “Feedback ” And “The Hype” Before Finally Settling On U2. The 70s & 80s 1978 Was A Jumping Point Year For The Band Finally Finding Their Sound / Voice. U2 Won A Talent Contest In 1978 £500 And Funds To Make A Record. Paul McGuinness Became The Band’s Manager And U2 Released An EP Called Three And The Single Another Day The Following Year. U2 Went On To Release Their First Album Boy And Then More Critically Acclaimed Albums Incl. October War Under A Blood Red Sky And The Unforgettable Fire Featuring The Song PlayMLK Dedicated To Martin Luther King Jr . Seen By Many As A Political Band With More Charisma Than Others They Were Called “a Different Kind” Of Band. After A Short Break U2 Returned With The Joshua Tree & The USA Music Inspired Rattle And Hum Also A Movie Of The Same Name Based On The Tour . The 90s Promising ”to Dream It All Up Again” They Added Industrial And Dance Styles To Their Music. Trying To Drop A Goody Two Shoes Image They Went To Berlin Germany Supposedly To Develop New Self-Expressions. From There They Started To Make Fun Of Themselves And Had A Good Time Of It In Albums Like Achtung Baby Meaning ”watch Out Baby” Artwork Feat. Make-Up Artist Nassim Khalifa & Zooropa. Bono Took On Many Stage Personae Such As “The Fly” “Mirrorball Man” And “Mr. MacPhisto” For The Gigantic ZOO TV Tour. Later They Continued To Make Fun Of Pop Culture And All Its Extremes With The Album Pop And Consequent PopMart Tour Which Was Announced To Be Launched At A Kmart Store And Included A Giant Golden Arch Across The Stage. The 00s At The End Of The 90’s Into 00’s U2 Became Less Image And More Reality. With The Death Of Bono’s Good Friend Michael Hutchence The Lead Singer Of INXS Bono Wrote More Songs From The Heart Surrounding Ideas Like Life And Death Children Hope And The Real World Past All The Pop Culture And TV. Some Say They’ve Returned To A More Band-Centric Sound With Albums Like All That You Can’t Leave Behind Which Features A Song Kite Dedicated To Bono’s Father Who Passed Away Shortly After The Album’s Conception And 2004’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The 10s U2 Went On The U2 360 Tour In 2009 And 2010. This Tour Set Records For The Highest-Grossing Concert Tour. The Band Worked With Producer Danger Mouse For Their Thirteenth Album Songs Of Innocence Which Was Released On 9 September 2014 For Free To All Apple ICloud Users. The Name There Are Many Theories As To The Origin Of The Name U2. For Example U2 Was An Intelligence Airplane That Was In Use By The United States During The Cold War. Other Obvious Candidates Include “You Too” And “You Two” Etc. Nonetheless The Official Line On The Name’s Origins Remains Unknown. The Band Has Been Quoted As Saying That They Did Think Of The U2 Spy Plane But Remain Hushed About Other Reasons… U2

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: The Joshua Tree

"The Joshua Tree" Is The Fifth Studio Album By Irish Rock Band U2 Released March 9 1987 On Island Records. Recording Sessions Took Place From July To November Of 1986 At Windmill Lane Studios In Dublin. The Album Features The Band's Exploration Of Roots Rock With Their Music Exhibiting Influences From Blues-Rock Folk Rock Southern Rock And Gospel Music. Lyrically "The Joshua Tree" Depicts The Band's Fascination With America And Many Of The Ideas It Stands For. The Album Was Produced And Engineered By Brian Eno And Daniel Lanois. The Album Increased The Band's Stature "from Heroes To Superstars " According To Rolling Stone. The Album Produced Several Hit Singles Including "Where The Streets Have No Name" "With Or Without You" And "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" All Of Which Remain Radio Staples. "The Joshua Tree" Won Grammy Awards For Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal And Album Of The Year In Grammy Awards Of 1988. In 2003 The Album Was Ranked Number 26 On Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". The Album Is One Of The World's Best-Selling Albums Of All-Time Having Sold Over 28 Million Copies. In 2007 A Remastered Version Of The Album Was Released To Mark The 20th Anniversary Of Its Original Release. Following "The Unforgettable Fire" Album U2 Realised That They "had No Tradition We Were From Outer Space" And They Explored American Blues Country And Gospel Music. Since That Album They Had Spent Time With Fellow Irish Bands The Waterboys And Hothouse Flowers And Felt A Sense Of Indigenous Irish Music Being Blended With American Folk Music. Friendships With Bob Dylan Van Morrison And Keith Richards Encouraged The Band To Look Back To The Roots Of Rock Music And Focused Bono On His Skills As A Song And Lyric Writer. The Band Wanted To Build On "The "Unforgettable Fire"'s Atmospherics But Also Sought A More Hard-Hitting Sound Within The Strict Discipline Of More Conventional Song Structures In Contrast To "The Unforgettable Fire"'s Often Out-Of-Focus Experimentation. The Band Interrupted Their 1986 Album Sessions To Join Amnesty International's A Conspiracy Of Hope Tour. Rather Than Being A Distraction The Band Found The Tour Added Extra Intensity And Power To Their New Music Providing Extra Focus On What They Wanted To Say. The Album Sessions For "The Joshua Tree" Proper Began In July 1986 At Windmill Lane Studios In Dublin. In His Earlier 1986 Travels To Central America Bono Saw First Hand The Distress Of Peasants Bullied In Political Conflicts And This Was A Central Influence On The Album. The United States' Military Intervention In El Salvador Angered Bono And Prompted Him To Ask The Edge To "put El Salvador Through An Amplifier" For The Song "Bullet The Blue Sky". "Mothers Of The Disappeared" Was Inspired By The Mothers Of The Plaza De Mayo The Mothers Of The Thousands Of "disappeared" People Who Opposed The Videla And Galtieri Coup D'état That Overtook Argentina In 1976 And Who Were Kidnapped And Never Seen Again. The Album Juxtaposes Antipathy Towards The United States Including Anger At United States Foreign Policy In Central America Against The Band's Deep Fascination With The Country Its Open Spaces Freedom And What It Stood For. The Band Wanted Music With A Sense Of Location A 'cinematic' Quality Its Music And Lyrics Drew On Imagery Created By American Writers The Band Had Been Reading. The Band Had Toured In The United States Extensively Which Affected The Band According To Bono The Album Was Inspired And Influenced More By The Country's Geography Rather Than Its People. Bono Said He "...Had To 'deal With' The United States And The Way It Was Affecting Me Because The United States' Having Such An Effect On The World At The Moment. On This Record I Had To Deal With It On A Political Level For The First Time If In A Subtle Way." Since Bono Was Trying To Portray The Both "mythic Idea Of America" And The "reality Of America" On The Album The Working Title Of The Album Was "The Two Americas". The Record Was Also Influenced By The Blues. While In Recording Sessions For The B-Side "Silver And Gold" Working With Keith Richards Bono And Richards Listened To Blues Music Country Music American Pop Music From The 1950s And Other Such Influences. These Influences Combined With Bono's Early Influences Such As Patti Smith And Bob Dylan Had An Effect On The Song And The Whole Album. "Where The Streets Have No Name" Was Conceived Prior To One Of The "Joshua Tree" Recording Sessions By Guitarist The Edge. Bono Conceived The Lyrics With The Idea That One Could Determine A Person's Religion And Income Based On Where They Lived In Belfast. While Recording The Song As A Band However U2 Ran Into Difficulty. The Song's Frequent Chord And Time Changes Caused Problems In Playing The Song Correctly The Difficulty Was So Great That Producer Brian Eno Attempted To Erase The Track. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. Later Said Of The Song "It Took So Long To Get That Song Right It Was Difficult For Us To Make Any Sense Of It. It Only Became A Truly Great Song Through Playing Live. On The Record Musically It's Not Half The Song It Is Live." "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Grew From Another Song Called "Under The Weather Girls" Which Co-Producer Daniel Lanois Didn't Like Except For Larry Mullen Jr.'s Drum Track And Adam Clayton's Bass Line. These Parts Were Used As The Foundation Of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". The Development Of The Song Saw The Addition Of Such Things As A Subtle Auto-Pan Effect Added To One Of The Edge's Guitar Overdubs And Bono A Tenor Singing In The Upper Register Of His Range To Add To The Feeling Of Spiritual Yearning. Both Bono And Edge Have In Fact Called It A Gospel Song On Numerous Occasions. "With Or Without You" The Album's First Single And One Of The Band's Most Well-Known Songs Uses An Effect Called "infinite Guitar" Developed By Michael Brook To Infinitely Sustain Notes. The Band Concluded Recording Of The Album In November 1986. A Number Of Songs That Were Released As B-Sides To Singles From "The Joshua Tree" Are Thought To Have Been Considered For A Double-Album Version Of The Joshua Tree. Though Bono Was The Most Vocal Proponent Of This Extended Version Of The Album The Edge Successfully Argued For The 11-Track Version That Was Ultimately Released. "Spanish Eyes" And "Deep In The Heart" Were Released As B-Sides To The "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Single. "Luminous Times Hold On To Love " And "Walk To The Water" Were Released As B-Sides To The "With Or Without You" Single. "Sweetest Thing" "Silver And Gold" And "Race Against Time" Were Released As B-Sides To The "Where The Streets Have No Name" Single. "The Joshua Tree" Was First Released On 9 March 1987. The Album Cover Photo Was Taken By Dutch Photographer Anton Corbijn In December 1986. Corbijn Later Recounted The Photo Shoot In Death Valley California "This Is The Most Serious Set Of Shots I Have Taken Of U2 And They Became My Most Well-Known Photographs At The Time. It Was Taken With A Panoramic Camera To Take More Of The Landscapes In Which Was The Main Idea Of The Shoot Man And Environment The Irish In America." In 2007 A 20th Anniversary Edition Of The Album Was Released Featuring Remastered Tracks Along With B-Sides And Rarities. Four Different Formats Of The Remaster Were Made Available. "With Or Without You" And The Rhythmic Gospel "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Were Released As Singles Internationally And Quickly Went To #1 In The U.S. "Where The Streets Have No Name" Was Also Successfully Released. "In God's Country" Was Released As A Fourth Single In North America With Modest Success While "One Tree Hill" Was Released As A Fourth Single In Australia And New Zealand. Initially Slated As A Single Release "Red Hill Mining Town" Was The Only Track From The Album Not Played On The Tour. Bono Has Suggested That The Song's High Notes Put Too Much Strain On His Voice. Upon Its Release "The Joshua Tree" Debuted At #1 In The UK And Also Quickly Reached The Top Of The Charts In The U.S. U2 Became The Fourth Rock Band To Be Featured On The Cover Of Time Magazine Following The Beatles The Band And The Who Who Declared That U2 Was "Rock's Hottest Ticket". The Album Brought U2 To A New Level Of Mega-Stardom As The Worldwide Joshua Tree Tour Sold Out Arenas And Stadiums Around The World The First Time The Band Had Consistently Played Venues Of That Size. "The Joshua Tree" Won U2 Their First Two Grammy Awards With The Band Receiving Honors For "Album Of The Year" And "Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal". According To U.S. Recording Industry Sales Figures As Of January 2005 "The Joshua Tree" Ranks As The 89th Best-Selling Album Of All-Time In The U.S. And As Of 2006 The 26th Best-Selling Album In The U.K.. The Album Has Sold 10 Million Copies In The United States Alone And More Than 25 Million Copies Worldwide. It Remains The Band's Best-Selling Album. "The Joshua Tree" Is Often Cited As One Of The Greatest Albums In Rock History. In 1989 It Was Rated #3 On Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of "The 100 Greatest Albums Of The 80's" As Well As Appearing At #26 On The Magazine's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". The Definitive 200 List Sponsored By The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Ranks The Album As The Fifth-Greatest In History. "The Joshua Tree" Was Selected As #6 On CCM Magazine's 2001 List Of The Greatest Contemporary Christian Music Albums Of All Time See CCM Presents The 100 Greatest Albums In Christian Music . It Came Second Place In Channel 4's 100 Greatest Albums. It Came In At #10 On ABC Television's My Favourite Album Program Which Aired In Australia In December 2006.

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