November 26, 2007

U2's "The Joshua Tree" Revisited 20 Years Later

I didn't bother to give U2's "The Joshua Tree" the time of day until two years after it was released. There were legions of assholes in Lincoln-Way High School who thought they were Bono. They were the same kids in tight-rolled jeans who had "INXS KICK" scrawled all over the covers of their notebooks. But once the excitement had settled to a tolerable simmer, I borrowed "Umberto St. John's" cassette and copied it. So now, 18 years later, it is comfortably one of my ten desert island albums. It's an untouchable, perfect classic in my book. I attribute at least half of why I feel that way to the production of Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno-- there's an eerie, rich, organic texture to the album which simply sounds unlike anything else. So, as you may have seen, the album was just re-issued in three versions: the basic remastered CD, a 2-CD version which includes a collection of B-sides and singles, and a deluxe version with the 2 CDs, a DVD, a book and some prints. I'd always felt that, like The Cure's "Disintegration," the CD was a little muddy sounding, so I opted for the new 2-CD version. I have no regrets: it's a sparkling example of a remastered album done right. But that's not entirely what this post is about. Read on. My roommate is the editor of a popular music magazine. Universal sent him the deluxe version with the DVD to review. I was curious what I was missing, so I borrowed it last night to check out the concert and the documentary. I kind of wish I hadn't watched the concert. As concerts go, it's a great one, but my regret stems from the fact that I wish I hadn't witnessed Bono's weird Fiddler on the Roof outfit and the creepy strut/prance movements it seemed to inspire. Here's a low quality clip from that show. Blink and you might swear that's Mandy Patinkin on the vocals: Do you see why this is a problem? Now, when I listen to the album, a small portion of my brain won't be able to disassociate that ridiculous goddamn outfit from it. I can deal with The Edge's goofy reservation Indian/wampum trader hat because it's already in the album's cover photo. But the gypsy minstrel costume? Impossible.

4 comments:

Mia said...

Fiddler on the Roof prance - gypsy minstrel lol

stexe said...

The gypsy costume on his royal douche-ness is forgivable in comparison to his desperate, pathetic invocation of dead rock stars: "Jim Morrison! Bob Marley! Jimi Hendrix!" What relation does that have to anything, other than to get some kind of reaction from the crowd and to deify himself?

This blog already covered the bootleg CD of paul stanley's inane onstage banter between songs. Seems like you could do a whole box set for Bono the clown.

stexe said...

and I almost forgot to ask: what's your take on the spider-man broadway musical, scored by bono and the edge?

Lance Ehlers said...

Hadn't heard about the musical. There's no doubt that Bono is long overdue for a swift kick in the cock. It's a symptom of the same disease contracted by Sting and Phil Collins, guys who once made interesting music. And yet, The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree are still rock solid. The invocation of dead rock stars during the concert is particularly annoying to me for two reasons: 1) I'm not a huge fan of ANY of them (not even Lennon if the other three Beatles aren't present, to be honest), and 2) because he is placing them on the same level as MLK. Bono inadvertently conjures an image of Jim and Janis holding hands with MLK, and I have a hard time holding down my lunch.