While I was aware of U2 before this album, it certainly made me stand up and pay attention to them, and their back catalog thus far.

U2 began with their usual method of sorting through tapes from soundcheck jams, working through Bono's lyric book, and recording jam sessions. One aspect of their recording methods changed after The Unforgettable Fire sessions; rather than recording each instrument separately and layering them into the mix, U2 recorded all but two of The Joshua Tree's songs "live".

U2's songwriting methods were also developing; not all material was being worked out in band sessions, rather Bono and the Edge often brought basic song ideas to the rest of the group. [Producers Brian] Eno and [Daniel] Lanois intentionally worked with the band at alternate times—one producer for a week or two, followed by the other. Eno and Lanois encouraged an interest in older songs, especially American roots music. More contemporary references included the textural guitar work of the Smiths and My Bloody Valentine.

The band's musical vocabulary improved after their previous album, facilitating communication and collaboration with the production team. One of the first songs worked on was "Heartland", which originated during The Unforgettable Fire sessions and was later released on the band's 1988 album Rattle and Hum. Supplementary recording sessions at STS Studios in Dublin with producer Paul Barrett saw the development of "With or Without You" and the genesis of "Bullet the Blue Sky". The arrangements for "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" were completed early in the Danesmoate sessions, giving the band the confidence to experiment.

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The thing that stands out to me wasn't just the songs and the hooks, it was those b-sides! "Silver and Gold", "Sweetest Thing", "Walk The Water", "Spanish Eyes", et al. The 2007 remaster has two versions of "Silver and Gold" on it, all the other b-sides, and other tracks.

It's a perfect rock record, IMO.

[Edited 3/2/17 22:20pm]

"With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"...

...missfee: and Where The Streets Have No Name.... probably one of the greatest rock videos *ever*.....

Bullet the Blue Sky woooooooooooooooooooo

"Where The Streets Have No Name."

That intro though...

Don't care for that one.

The 2DopeChicks podcast are two black girls who are hugh U2 fans.

Still dont get how this album won over BAD, meh overrated.

I bought this in cassette form when it came out. Still have it

The Joshua Tree is conceptually an extension of Hendrix's "electric sky church" so if U2
played this album live in a Black American gospel church, you would still hear shouts of
"hallelujah" and "praise the lord"!

. . . I should also add that The Joshua Tree is an example of how white recording artists can
respond to The Beatles' "Yer Blues" which features Lennon questioning how appropriately and
authentically a member from one culture can incorporate the art from another without slipping
into shameful parody.

You do it the way U2 did it here.

Dasein said:

. . . I should also add that The Joshua Tree is an example of how white recording artists can
respond to The Beatles' "Yer Blues" which features Lennon questioning how appropriately and
authentically a member from one culture can incorporate the art from another without slipping
into shameful parody.

You do it the way U2 did it here.

And yet they never gained a big black following.

Instead Coldplay gained more influence.

Life is strange.

it's a great record

CynicKill said:

Dasein said:

. . . I should also add that The Joshua Tree is an example of how white recording artists can
respond to The Beatles' "Yer Blues" which features Lennon questioning how appropriately and
authentically a member from one culture can incorporate the art from another without slipping
into shameful parody.

You do it the way U2 did it here.

And yet they never gained a big black following.

Instead Coldplay gained more influence.

Life is strange.

Well, to be fair, TJT was not an album that was explicitly meant to rein in Black people, I don't
think. It definitely has some gospel-y moments, however, and that was my point: U2 incorpo-

rated (Black) American art forms without utterly abandoning who they were as a band. This is
not what a lot of white Europeans did when faced with their fascination with (Black) American
art forms.

Always loved U2 and really like this album. While it produced their biggest singles and deservedly so, it wasn't necessarily their best album.

Certainly a classic album. I unreasonably held a grudge against it for years because I believed Prince was robbed for SOTT, and Prince apparently felt the same way in the years that followed (see his 1990 Rolling Stone interview).

But . . . that wasn't fair of my much younger self.

It's a really good record.

Agreed OP, Rock took a strange new direction that year but 1987's Grammy-award winning The Joshua Tree still holds up. It's fascinating that they downscaled from Slane Castle to Danesmoate House but their sound got bigger. We know Brian Eno is a genius, but he and Lanois took elements from the Unforgettable Fire sessions and expanded on the musical space and focus on rhythm that the band found. Flood had a key contribution as well I'm sure; the whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. It's mixed superbly, you don't have to change the volume for each track, nor does it have a dated plastic sound with compressed, tinny drums and flat synths. We know it deservedly won the Grammy, but it also left a platform for other real bands to build upon.

[Edited 3/8/17 4:07am]