U2: The Joshua Tree (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Travelling is youthful! But what happens when you start a journey as an adult? Do we experience the same feeling of stranger, of discovery? The same excitement? U2 will provide an exhaustive, neat and precise answer through this Joshua Tree. And to do so, he will surround himself with two tourist guides, whose talent they had been able to judge in the recent past: Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The first notable difference is that Daniel is holding the road map this time! The trip will therefore be more agitated and we can only rejoice!

We can travel late and learn the most valuable lessons from it, here is in essence the answer the group gives to our question. Everything that makes up the musical cultural heritage of the United States is transcribed here. From Bono's soul voice to The Edge's blues guitar, our Irish expatriates offer us a complete and above all mastered panel. And not to spoil anything, the battery has regained its lustre, this strike force felt on 'War', striking clean, dry, explosive blows.

The album opens with a strange minute, seemingly weaving a link with the previous work (The Unforgettable Fire), to finally detach itself from it and lay the foundations of what we will find at the foot of the Joshua Tree. This atmospheric minute, offering a full organ sound gradually giving way to a high-pitched rhythmic characteristic of The Edge, is the beginning of an unstoppable trilogy, the very definition of the rock hit version U2: heroic and committed ("Where The Streets Have No Name"), enchanting and hymnic ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"), tender and beautiful ("With Or Without You"). While the first track on a retained drum sound placed in the background, raising fears of the lack of dynamism felt on The Unforgettable Fire, we are in fact quickly reassured afterwards which gradually sees each instrument regain the scale it had on 'War'. The crescendo of the chorus is unstoppable and the melody instantly engraved in people's minds: a hit!

The second part of this trilogy calms the game down, but without putting the audience to sleep, uniting around its chorus marked by a strong gospel inspiration. The third is undeniably one of the group's great strolls, intimate and powerful, growing on a simple but unstoppable bass line.

"Bullet The Blue Sky" hardens the tone. The feedback from The Edge and the heavy bass / drum rhythmic support Bono's voice, which recovers its aggressiveness and magnetism. It is also the harsh and serious expression of the six-stringed guitarist that we will remember here, who by lowering his key manages to preserve this unique and devastating sound when the solo comes. Tonality that can be found on "Exit", a magical, hypnotic piece, creating a great gap between a calm but tense atmosphere and raging liberating explosions.

The rest of the tracks are by no means anecdotal, each of them being highly borrowed from American folklore. We will be rocked by a "Running To Stand Still" and its piano-vocal atmosphere, introduced by a bluesy guitar and closed by an aerial harmonica. The harmonica that will have emerged on a "Trip Through Your Wires" that looks like Far-West. "In God's Country" sees Bono take up a lyrical tone that has been neglected since the first albums, to become calm and warm again on the playful "One Three Hill", or offer some beautiful climbs on the road to "Red Hill Mining Town".

The conclusion of the album is to be treated separately, and perhaps even listened to separately. It is the track on which Brian Eno's influence is most evident. An atmospheric and experimental piece, it multiplies the arrangements or small sound pearls on a completely transformed drum set that is endowed with an intriguing and interesting electronic sound. Bono's voice is velvety, accompanied by discreet lyrical choirs and an overmultiplication of light strings.

So yes, The Joshua Tree has sold some 25 million copies, yes, it will occupy the top of the Charts in 23 countries, and yes, it is from that moment on, that U2 will become a pillar in the history of rock, making the cover of Time Magazine like few others before it (The Beatles, The Who). But had their music lost in quality what it gained in fame? Certainly not! U2 is then a band that sells because it makes excellent music, no matter what its critics say! - Official website

U2

THE JOSHUA TREE

ISLAND

ROCK