Joshua Tree, The - U2 > Reviews > My favourite album of all-time, possibly

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Bono's vocals, Edge's guitar, excellent lyrics .
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

There is one reason why I've never made a top 10 album list , and that's because I just can't decide. One thing I know for sure is that this masterpiece is either no.1 or 2. Possible contenders for the top spot are OK Computer, Abbey Road and Achtung Baby. But back to the subject at hand. The Joshua Tree starts with...

Where The Streets Have No Name mixes Edge's excellent guitar, Bono's heartfelt vocals and tremendous lyrics and creates the amzing song we all know today. Sends a shiver up my spine every time.

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For is an easy to sing-along to song, except in the parts where Bono hits all the emotional notes with that voice of his. Incredible lyrics again, such as "I have held the hand of the devil, it was warm in the night, I was cold as a stone". It also has a constant guitar riff running through the song holding the whole song together. Bliss.

What can I say about With Or Without You? Quite a lot actually, it's not only one of my favourite songs of all time, it's quite likely one of the greatest love songs of our time.
Beautiful melody, and Bono's voice seems choked with emotion. Many believe it to be U2's finest song, but I think that particular acolade goes to One from axhtung Baby. Still absolutely outstanding.

Bullet The Blue Sky has a hard, pulsating drum roll leading into the screeching guitar in the intro. Brilliant chorus, with Bono hitting the high notes again, and the guitar intertwined with his voice makes it very noteworthy. Edge stars on this track than any other track, I think. We also get another talky bit from Bono in this track. C'mon everbody: "One hundred, twwwwwoooo hundred!". Don't worry, you'll get it one day!

Running To Stand Still has lazy guitar, backed up by Bono's unbelievable voice singing "Ha la la la de day", which is quite soothing! It speeds up near the end, and Bono's voice gets growly for a minute before reverting to the soft chorus. What a title though. Marvellous!

Possibly my favourite track on the album, I advise anyone to get the mp3. If you do, I can almost guarantee you'll want to get the album. The chorus bursts in after a slow verse and Bono's voice is unbearably good. Lyrics are excellent as always :
"We scorch the earth, set fire to the sky, we stoop so low, to reach so high"
Another U2 classic.

In God's Country has fast-paced guitar and strong drums. Another religious one, but we're used to that with Bono really! The vocals sound slightly rushed, but the song is still amazingly good. Great chorus aswell.

Ah lovely! A splash of harmonica on this track, Trip Through Your Wires. Deliciously different, and perfect percussion holding the entire song together. Bono sounds like he's singing into a tin can, a bit like the Pixie's song Debaser. Time to use a favourite saying of mine: this song is catchier than a big net.

One Tree Hill is slow, simple and forms one of the greatest songs on the album. This song is a perfect example of a time when a song didn't need to be complex and long-winded to be a classic. This song has flown up my list of favourite songs over the years. It has about 30 seconds of Bono singing a huge solo after it, slightly reminiscent
of a song from The Unforgettable Fire, MLK.

Exit has low vocals and strong guitar, and every now and then Bono shouts something at us. The guitar at the start sounds very like With Or Without You but then changes completly. Strange song but ultimately a very good song.

And so to the last song, Mothers Of The Disappeared. Slow strumming guitar, intercepted now and then with hushed vocals. Slow and soothing, this is the perfect track to end the album on.

This album has jumped up my list of favourite albums since I bought it, and I can only hope I influence someone else to experience this album too. You won't regret it, I promise you. Also, this album seems to be on a lot of special offers lately so look out for it.

The greatest album of all-time?
Very, very possible.