U2, The Joshua Tree
U2THE JOSHUA TREE.
The Joshua Tree turned U2's fascination with American music and landscape into the band's biggest studio statement, pairing Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois with songs designed to feel both intimate and enormous.
Album artwork shown for commentary and historical reference. Cover image source: Cover Art Archive or the linked archival source.
SEVEN THINGS
WORTH KNOWING.
Recording stories, personnel, physical details and numbers worth keeping with the record.
The Joshua Tree was released on March 9, 1987 and contains 11 tracks.
Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno produced the album.
Flood is credited as recording engineer on major sessions.
Steve Lillywhite contributed mixing work.
The album opens with "Where the Streets Have No Name," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "With or Without You."
Anton Corbijn photographed the band in American desert locations for the album campaign.
The album transformed U2 from a successful rock band into one of the largest global acts of the decade.
WHY THIS
ALBUM MATTERS.
The Joshua Tree works because its scale comes from atmosphere as much as volume, with Eno and Lanois surrounding very direct songs in textures that suggest enormous physical spaces.
THE
NUMBERS.
TRACKS
The album contains eleven songs.
CORE PRODUCERS
Lanois and Eno led the production.
RELEASE
The Joshua Tree arrived in March 1987.
THE
PHYSICAL OBJECT.
Anton Corbijn's monochrome desert photography makes landscape part of the album's identity, connecting the packaging directly to the record's fascination with America.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Facts are checked against artist archives, release databases, recording credits and established archival sources before publication.
KEEP
DIGGING.
More recording stories, strange credits, cover art, chart numbers and details hiding inside the records.