Achtung Baby was described as the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree, but the grand old titan remains a beauty to behold despite its creators attempting to fell its influence on their next epic. Only seven years into their recording career and still in their mid-20s, U2’s 1987 album of power and passion has been released in a deluxe 20th anniversary package that delivers a remastered and correctly indexed version of the original album, a disc of tracks which didn’t make the final cut as well as a DVD of live performances and unreleased music clips. While the original album’s classic singles With Or Without You, Where The Streets Have No Name and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For made U2 household names around the world and assisted the album notch up more than 20-million album sales, it’s already been thoroughly dissected and theorised over by critics intrigued by the album’s American heart and Bono’s magnetic lyrical attraction/repulsion for its geographical, cultural and political spheres. It’s the extras included in this special package that now warrant further attention. Bonus CD: There’s little doubt that The Joshua Tree era was the most fruitful and prolific time for original U2 B-sides, avoiding the remixes and covers which populated flipsides from Rattle & Hum on. As well as their original appearances on the three major Joshua Tree singles, many of these tracks have since been mined for studio albums (Silver & Gold reappeared in an arrogant live format on Rattle & Hum), hits collections (The Best Of 1980-1990’s bonus disc pilfered half a dozen of these initial cast-offs) or even as singles in their own right (a lifeless re-recording of The Sweetest Thing hit number one in Australia in 1998). While U2 followers will never get tired of hearing lost classics such as the boisterous love song Spanish Eyes, the yearning magic of Luminous Times (Hold On To Love) or the brooding Deep In The Heart, it’s the material emerging on disc for the first time that proves how inventive the band were at the time. Wave Of Sorrow (Birdland) is cut from the same emotive cloth as Luminous Times, with a quivering piano offering the backdrop as Bono raps on the horrors of his 1985 quest to Africa. Rise Up and Desert Of Our Love find Bono pouring out the impressively spontaneous lyrics that feature on many of this disc’s best songs, while Drunk Chicken/America marks the band’s first experimental collaboration with US beat poet Allen Ginsberg. DVD: As well as a live set from The Joshua Tree tour filmed at a muddy French racecourse, the DVD disc in this set also features some real rarities from the vaults. Initial plans during the recording of The Joshua Tree found Red Hill Mining Town tipped as a single, with a moody video subsequently shot by Academy Award winning director Neil Jordan. When it was discovered the song was too gruelling for Bono to sing live, the single preparations were shelved and the video stored away in the archives. Despite its dark intentions, two decades later the sight of the band in sweaty mining outfits stands as the most amusingly homoerotic imagery of their career. Additional clips include a different cut of With Or Without You (allegedly the first video featuring a female nipple to make it onto MTV) and film footage recorded during photographer Anton Corbijn’s journey through US desert towns with the band for the resulting album’s iconic artwork. While undermined by the mixed signals and conceited presentation of Rattle & Hum, The Joshua Tree live show filmed at the Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris proves to be far more memorable than its former filmic documentation suggests. With Bono prancing about in poncey shoes and performing the grand gestures he spent the next decade retreating from, drummer Larry Mullen Jr, bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge cohesively configure the musical backdrop to one of the most epic albums of all time. Beaten and blown by the wind, The Joshua Tree still stands strong. Scott McLennan

I can still remember that night shortly after Christmas of 2001. I wasn't feeling well due to eating too much chocolate (that's another story for another time) and decided to lie down and find something to do. I had received a bunch of new records for Christmas and was in the process of going through all of them. However, U2's The Joshua Tree was one of the few I hadn't gotten around to hearing yet and now seemed like a perfectly good time to delve into it. I had no way of knowing that that night would be a defining musical moment in my life and would drastically change everything I believed and knew about music. I was only a little over a year old when The Joshua Tree was released on March 9, 1987. U2's popularity had been growing and previous albums like War and The Unforgettable Fire had turned the band into an international success. The Joshua Tree turned them into the biggest band on the planet and ever since they've managed to retain that title through tireless work and constant innovation and reinvention. Every U2 album is special to me and each one has played an important part in my life. However, The Joshua Tree still remains not just my favorite U2 album but also my favorite album of all time. This is just my personal opinion and my experience with the band and the album that forever changed my life. I love music that's able to paint pictures and whisk you away into another world. U2 has always been good at this and The Joshua Tree is a perfect example. The desert imagery is everywhere, from the album title and photos to the lyrics and instrumentation. You can feel the desert wind, see the storm clouds rolling over the sandy plains, and see the dry and dusty landscape from the dunes and towering mountains. The band embraced American roots and blues music and mixed it into their signature sound to create a dense and intimate sound that draws you in right from the beginning. There's nothing like driving through the open country of America while listening to this album. It really gives you the full experience and draws you into another time and another world where you're completely free. It's surreal and well worth the effort if you get the chance to do it. I can't think of a better opening to an album than "Where the Streets Have No Name". It's my favorite song and probably as close to heaven as we can get on this earth. The slow fade-in of the organ as The Edge's shimmering guitar kicks in is so moving and wonderfully done. Bono doesn't even sing until nearly two minutes in, choosing instead to the rest of the band come in and drive the song as it continues to build. Anyone who's seen the band live can tell you what an amazing and exhilarating experience this song is in concert. It's the climax of every show and everyone waits for the moment when the red lights come up and The Edge's gentle notes kick in. I've seen the band multiple times and "Streets" was a highlight every single time. In Atlanta the crowd was so energetic and loud that the band couldn't even play the next song for several minutes until the cheering died down. It's legendary. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "With or Without You" follow and they make up what could quite possibly be the best three song opening to any album in existence. The former song has always been one of my favorites. Some see it as a crisis of faith but it's really about the feeling that we'll never be satisfied in this life. There's always something we're missing or one thing left to do that forces us to keep running. The song isn't about losing faith but rather about understanding that faith doesn't give us everything we want or every answer we crave. It's smart and extremely insightful and one of the first U2 songs I can remember liking and feeling a connection to. "With or Without You" is the mother of all love-torn songs, a desperate yet beautiful journey through a wide range of tortured emotions. I think it's a great reminder that sometimes simplicity works best, a notion that U2 has always been privy to. They're all amazing musicians but they realize that sometimes a few chords and a simple beat say more than blistering solos and complicated rhythms. This song proves that point beyond a doubt. "Bullet the Blue Sky" is one of the band's best political songs and it burns with a passion and anger that totally takes you by surprise. From the pounding of Larry's drums and Adam Clayton's simple yet mesmerizing bass line, it packs a punch and culminates in one of Edge's most powerful solos, a cacophony of screeches and wails that sound like they're crying out in pain and frustration. "Running to Stand Still" is one of the hidden gems on the album, a devastating look at the heroin addiction that was sweeping across Dublin in the 1980s. The gentle piano and acoustic guitar are just barely audible over Bono's gentle voice, culminating in a brief swell of drums before Bono's harmonica fades the song out. It's beautiful and has always been a personal favorite of mine, both for it's musical and lyrical finesse. "Red Hill Mining Town" focuses on the various mining strikes of the 1980s while never actually referencing a particular incident. Instead it uses these headlines to form a more open-ended story about the trials and difficulties of working in a mine and we hear all of this through the eyes of one of the workers, who in the chorus can only say, "I'm hanging on/You're all that's left to hold on to". "In God's Country" is a more up-tempo track that looks at the promises that America offers to foreigners, using the Statue of Liberty as an icon. It's a cautious yet optimistic warning that America offers a wide variety of opportunities, both blessings and curses. The album continues with "Trip Through Your Wires". This is easily the most fun and laid-back song on the record. Every member gets a chance to shine and Bono gets to show off some impressive harmonica skills once again. The song stands as a solid reminder of how well U2 truly grasped American music, a concept they would take even further on the their next record, Rattle and Hum. "One Tree Hill" is about Bono's personal assistant and close friend, Greg Carroll, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1986. It's a touching song and one of the band's most overlooked efforts. "Exit" is the heaviest and darkest song present here, beginning quietly until the thundering conclusion where crashing drums erupt in a fury of sound. The meaning of this song always seems to change for me: sometimes I think it's about a killer, sometimes about someone driven crazy by a love they can't have, and other times they're driven mad by love itself. It's a twisted tale and Bono leaves just enough vagueness in the lyrics that you have to decide for yourself. The gentle closer "Mothers of the Disappeared" is both haunting and epic, a tribute to the mothers whose children had disappeared or been taken by Argentinean and Chilean governments, something Bono had heard about firsthand while working in South America as a volunteer. Despite the American themes of the album, it's really the time that Bono and his wife spent helping in South America that influences this album and runs through it. The Joshua Tree is beautiful, epic, and absolutely stunning. Every note, every word, every tiny instrumental touch means something and has its own story. Survival and perseverance are two of the biggest themes running throughout the album. Even the Joshua Tree itself is iconic, a lone tree that's able to survive in the harshest of environments. Every U2 album has its own themes and sounds running through it and this album is the one that started it all for me. I feel a spiritual connection to this album, almost like a part of me wouldn't exist if this album didn't, and it's hard to imagine I would feel the way I do about life and music if this record, as well as this band, didn't exist. It's hard to put into words but this album just touched me in such a dramatic way that it changed everything for me: musically, spiritually, and mentally. This album got the remastered sound and classic packaging it deserves back in 2007. Complete with an album of b-sides, outtakes, and even a full concert from Paris (on DVD, no less!) it's a must-have for any diehard fan and a wonderful collectable. Hearing finished and updated takes of "Wave of Sorrow (Birdland)", "Desert of Our Love", and "Rise Up" are must-haves for collectors and longtime listeners. The real Joshua Tree was struck by lightening and toppled over in 2000. However, that hasn't stopped countless fans from journeying out in the California desert to pay tribute to it. Countless records, plaques, monuments, letters, and trinkets have been left at the site and one day I would love to travel there just to experience it for myself. At the end of the day that's what The Joshua Tree is: a journey. It's one I've taken hundreds of times and one I plan to take again and again. If you don't own this album you should. If you haven't heard it then do yourself a favor and just get it and experience it for yourself. It'll take your mind and spirit to a place where the streets have no name and until I meet my Maker I'm happy to dream about it in the meantime.

I was born in 1984, so it's great for me to have this exact album remastered, since I was three when it was first released :). Few years later I started listening to my favourite band...till now :) I adore U2 and this (for me) is the greatest of their (and everybody else's) albums, it contains all of the MUSIC and Emotions that the group brings. Unique!!!

What an impact was to listen for the 1st time, Joshua Tree. Starting with"Where the streets", then "I Still Haven't Found..." and "With or Without You..." In the 3rd song, my thought was "What's going on here!?" Full of soul, The Joshua Tree is a great portrait of the moment when the"boy meets the man".