The Joshua Tree Album History (Part 3)

The Joshua Tree: A Classic (parts 1 and 2)

One of the most influential and influenced albums by U2, The Joshua Tree is and was a jewel in the discography of the Irish band (and in any other who would die to have their own "Joshua Tree").
Through a series of videos we can see the history of that album...

Updating blog with news on U2´s last gig in Dublin

One: TheSong & The Story

One is a U2 anthem;this song from the Achtung Baby album (released on November 1991) and recorded in Berlin has sold more than 17 m copies.Here is the story behind a song...

Salome: The [Axtung Beibi] Outtakes

Salome AB Outtakes:The Most Well Known Bootlegged Album

In December 1990, U2 had entered the recording studio in Berlin to begin writing songs for what would become Achtung Baby. The band recorded their jam sessions and sent the results to producer Brian Eno for feedback. One set of DAT working tapes was stolen and widely bootlegged around April 1991. This three-CD set is the most comprehensive collection of the band's sessions and is considered the holy grail of unofficial U2 material. (A word of caution: these are not even demos, much less rough mixes of the final album.) The Achtung Baby Sessions are valuable because they reflect U2's recording process on one of the 1990s' most important albums. This set is not U2 unplugged; most moderate fans would find the sessions maddening. But hardcore fans will gain a new appreciation for the band's creativity. These sessions represent no more than four months of the band's reinvention, once described as "The sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree." These three CDs capture the process -- described as thorough and effective once completed -- in midstream. If Achtung Baby is the album that completely changed U2's sound and style, then The Achtung Baby Sessions demonstrate the effort it took to get there. From April 1991 to February 1992, The Achtung Baby Sessions were released in four different formats. The first three pressings were on vinyl and were called The New U2: Rehearsals and Full Versions. February 1992 saw the definitive release of a three-CD set, called Salome: The Achtung Baby Sessions. The digital quality, of course, makes the vinyl versions useless to all but the most obsessive, completist U2 fans. "Salome" refers to the initial song that U2 based most of its early riffing and improvising on. The track was left off the official Achtung Baby release, but was included as a B-side on the "Even Better Than the Real Thing" single, which is a required purchase for owners of this bootleg. In the pre-Napster world, U2 became the first band to have a major release bootlegged before the project was released or abandoned. As a result, Salome: The Achtung Baby Sessions ranks up there with the Beach Boys' Smile and Prince's The Black Album for mythical bootlegs. U2 and their management both criticized the manufacturers of The Achtung Baby Sessions for cheating fans by selling inferior material. They claimed the final album evolved greatly from these sessions. But that is why they are important. Instead of compiling alternate versions of now-famous songs, The Achtung Baby Sessions reveal the often secretive songwriting process. Bono himself admitted buying a copy of the three-CD set. What follows is an overview of what nuggets are in The Achtung Baby Sessions. Achtung Baby titles are used when possible. Throughout the three discs, and especially with the first, Bono leads the recording process, directing the improvising band. The band was trying to tease hooks and powerful elements out of the ether -- to recreate what U2 meant right there in the studio. The songs on the album did not begin as separate compositions. Rather, they were inspirations jumbled together, and when U2 liked an element, they isolated it and later developed them into songs. (If this one fact -- and that you get to hear them do it -- does not give you chills, then The Achtung Baby Sessions are not for you.) It is fitting that the set starts with "Salome," the track U2 was finessing most during this early period. Track one is most similar to the released "Salome." Note the appearance of the "Zoo Station" bassline. The two songs are twins, but this version experiments with lyrics ("Deep in the houses of love" and "Got to get together"). It is clear, from the beginning, that U2 had predetermined Achtung Baby's themes and motifs. Disc one has another abandoned song that appears on the "Even Better Than the Real Thing" single: "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" (tracks two, three). The left speakers showcase some of the Edge's noodling, which sounds like "Mysterious Ways." Tracks four and five (with fan titles "Heaven and Hell" and "Doctor, Doctor," respectively) are both backed by the same instrumental but are meant to be different songs. The soulful qualities of "Heaven and Hell" should remind the listener of "Wild Honey" from All That You Can't Leave Behind. Track six is based around the guitar riff from "The Fly" and showcases a high falsetto used throughout the finished album. The numerous reworkings of "Salome" continue with tracks seven and eight. Early in track seven, Bono gives Larry Mullen comments and later Edge jumps in with the familiar riff from "Zoo Station." Track eight is where some of the atmosphere (loops, bells, etc.) found on Achtung Baby makes it into the sessions. The instrumental flourishes found in "Sunset in Colors" (the first part of track nine, sounding a bit like Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane") influenced U2's live performance of "Running to Stand Still" during the various Achtung Baby tours. Tracks nine (part two) and 11 are early workings of "Until the End of the World" (fans call these two early versions "Chances Away" because of the lyrics). The final track on disc one is the most complete version of "Until the End of the World," with a little Cream influence ("I feel free..."). The guitar riff that was mostly used in the chorus of previous versions is heard here from beginning to end. Disc two focuses on some of Achtung Baby's big singles and thankfully has not one version of "Salome." Track one is a looser (and clearly earlier) version of "Until the End of the World." The lyrics in this demo show that the aggressive song on Achtung Baby had a more vulnerable beginning: "Where did you go? I'd really like to know." Track two, called "Sweet Baby Jane" by fans, is another abandoned original. It is refreshing to learn that not everything U2 writes is brilliant. Track seven is a straight instrumental version of "Even Better Than the Real Thing," which will be a treat for the single-buying U2 fans. Tracks three and four are early acoustic versions of "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," and diehards will enjoy some alternative lyrics. Tracks eight, nine, and 11 are called "She's Gonna Turn Your Head Around" by fans and have more fun noodling by Bono and the guys. Track ten is a jamming "So Cruel," where Bono is trying out (or coming up with) lyrics while the band plays a slowed-down version. Tracks six and 12, with the fan title "Take Today," are some of the more distinct tracks in this whole set, with horns and harmonicas throughout. Though first written in 1990, this demo becomes "North and South of the River" and appears on the single for "Staring at the Sun" (1997). By disc three, most listeners will be tired of listening to U2's process. This might be a good time for a break, because there are some valuable tracks still to come. In fact, disc three might have the most in common with the finished Achtung Baby.
BONO ON BOOTLEGS:
"The only thing that can piss you off is if people are
charging a lot of money for something that isn't very good.
It [the Achtung Baby working tapes] got bootlegged in Berlin
and it was just like having your notebook read out. That's
the bit I didn't like about it. There were no undiscovered
works of genius, unfortunately, it was more just gobbledy-
gook..."
But he admits going out and buying a copy of that bootleg
anyway!
source: www.music.aol.com

June 5, 1983, Red Rocks, Colorado

One of the best concerts in U2 history immortalise in the DVD "Under a Red Blood Sky"
This was what it was said and remembered...

June 5, 1983, Red Rocks, Colorado. Pouring rain and shrouds of fog. Illuminated sandstone cliffs. Blazing torches framing the stage. Finally, a break from the downpour, and the striking, natural amphitheatre becomes animated with movement and music.

There's Bono with a two-tone mullet, waving a white flag; Larry, resembling an only slightly older version of the boy on the backdrop behind him of the War album cover; Adam, in a chest-baring shirt and wide stance, right leg keeping time with the beat; and Edge -- Edge with hair! -- in a sleeveless plaid shirt, switching back and forth from electric piano to guitar.

For most U2 fans these are images they've only ever seen on their television screens. An estimated quarter of a million people saw U2 during their War tour in 1983, but only a few thousand were lucky enough to witness the Red Rocks show firsthand.

Due to the bad weather, U2 scheduled an indoor performance in Boulder the following night for the estimated 9,000 Red Rocks ticket holders who did not want to be inconvenienced by the rain and freezing temperature. However, about one-third of them braved the elements and experienced one of U2's most legendary shows. As promoter Barry Fey said during his introduction of the band, "You're all a part of history!"

There's a sweet moment in the Under a Blood Red Sky video where Bono tells the crowd, "I won't forget this evening. Don't you forget this evening." The four following individuals haven't, and they share their memories of that night.

m
< >I remember setting up the studio equipment in a small room deep in the rocks and thinking, I would really like to watch the show instead of recording it. Then it started to rain, and it looked like it wasn't going to happen, and word was helicopters were involved, which implied a certain level of investment!

About 15 minutes before the gig, though, the rain stopped and left a wonderful mist, and it was decided it was safe to play. I was stuck in the bowels of the stage for about half the gig, recording, but once I thought everything was sounding OK, I couldn't resist going upstairs to see the boys going for it! What a sight; they had taken it to the next level...

G. Brown, writer:

As the popular music writer for The Denver Post, I had heard the Boy album in 1980 and immediately fallen in love with U2's music. When U2 came through Denver on their maiden American tours, twice performing at the Rainbow Music Hall, a 1,300-seat venue, I wrote several glowing reviews and features.

When my new Irish acquaintances returned to Colorado in 1983 to perform at Red Rocks, I was excited -- and almost criminally short sighted. It was the nascent stages of MTV and music video; I didn't grasp the significance of filming a performance, as no one had attempted such a project before. Despite my deathless prose in the pages of The Post, the band was still college-radio underdogs.

So when rain and low temperatures threatened to ruin the entire scenario on the day of the show, and after the promise was given of another show to be held the following night in Boulder at an indoor venue, I seriously considered taking the band up on that offer.

Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't.

Prior to the show, I remember Bono sitting in the production office backstage and going on the radio -- he called every rock station in town, KBPI, KAZY, KPKE, KTCL and KPPL -- to tell fans they were going to do the Red Rocks show and implore them to attend.

My most vivid memory of the now-legendary concert was when Bono immortalized his holy gladiator profile during "Sunday Bloody Sunday," unfurling and waving that huge white flag in the crowd against the glow of the torches high on the cliffs. A moment that changed rock music.

Greg Wigler, photographer, www.gwigler.com:

I remember it was a cold, wet, miserable day, and many of us wondered if the concert would take place at all. I had heard some of U2's music on an FM station in Denver but had missed their two shows at the Rainbow Music Hall, which were 2 shows. I never imagined that this band would reach such stellar heights. Now it seems what it must have been like to see The Beatles play at the Cavern or in Hamburg.

We were supposed to have the first two songs to shoot our photos, but as soon as the band hit the stage the crowd stormed the front rail, and I was pinned there for the next 20 minutes or so. It was so bad that I had to have a security guard pull me out. I was afraid I was going to be injured because the front rail was only about thigh high, and I was slowly being pushed over it. Another photographer nearly broke his leg as he was pinned and then pushed over the rail.

It was the loudest concert I had ever been to, painfully so and I am a veteran of the late ‘60s pop festivals, which featured bands who were pretty loud, such as Blue Cheer. I'm not really sure if I enjoyed the concert or not, as I was wandering around and shooting.

I was able though to get some incredible shots from higher up of the stage and the helicopter, the bonfires and spotlights. I thought I was lost in a scene from Apocalypse Now. On my Web site, I have a nice panorama of the entire crowd scene before the show with the clouds covering the cliff tops.

At a restaurant after the show, several friends and I talked about the show. One of my friends thought that night was a religious experience.

Sue Carroll, lucky audience member:

I woke up to drizzle, cold and fog on that day. It did not bode well, and I kept my ear to the radio, fully expecting a cancellation of the show. The clouds were hanging so low over the mountains you could not see any mountains or foothills. We all thought it was pretty iffy, but there hadn't been an announcement that it was cancelled, and the five of us -- my sister, myself and three friends -- were up for an adventure.

As we were driving up to Red Rocks, an announcement came on the radio, which went something like this: "The band U2 wants to thank all of you for buying a ticket to their concert at Red Rocks with the Divinyls and the Alarm. As you know, U2 plans to film this concert and is going ahead tonight with those plans. We want you to come to the show, but understand that the conditions aren't great. So, for those of you that come to the show tonight, only U2 will play for the filming. You can all bring your ticket stub tomorrow night to the Coors Event Center in Boulder and see the entire concert with all three bands. For those with tickets that do not make it to the show tonight, bring your ticket tomorrow and the concert will be general admission. Again, U2 thanks you for your support." I become a fan right then.

When we got to the amphitheatre, it was very cold and humid, which is unusual for Denver (and Colorado). At Red Rocks, depending on where you park, you get a workout going uphill to get into the amphitheatre.

Once inside, one of the wildest things I saw were the fires burning on top of the rocks behind and to the side of the stage. I had never seen anything like that before. With the fire and the fog and the mist, it was really cold and magical. The natural effects were better than any special effects that money can buy.

At the time, the only U2 song I was familiar with was "I Will Follow," and that was the song I came to see. However, Bono got us singing along, and we all bonded there in the rain. After the concert was over and we were streaming out of the amphitheatre and down to our cars, I turned and looked back from the edge of the parking lot up toward the amphitheatre and saw those awesome fires still burning atop the Red Rocks. I was transfixed, and I stood there for a while soaking it in. The image really captured the essence of the evening. A couple of years later, I got the vinyl copy of Under a Blood Red Sky and was shocked and pleased to see that a very similar image was used on the back of the album.

My appreciation, love and loyalty to U2 began that night. All of nature, spirit, sky and weather at Red Rocks conspired to make a perfectly rainy and misty Irish tribute to welcome our musical guests from the Emerald Isle. All of the elements came together to make history.

Release of "October" in US & tours

The release of U2 second album "Ocotber" announced in the US and the forthcoming tours.
"...A band that´s different,smart, manic, haunting,intense....
Featuring the Green tornado,Bono, on vocals.The Edge,the man of a thousand guitars ,Adam Clayton ,bass, Larry, drums..."