James Bel

I’m 50 years old, and this album is still capable of misting my eyes. Bono said once that the singer and the songwriter are often two very different people. If that’s true for the songs on this album, I never want to meet him. The lyrics in these songs speak to my soul. The music, at the time of release, was unlike anything else I’d ever heard. You can hear some inspiration from The Unforgettable Fire, but this album stands alone. The Edge is an innovator on guitar. Something you can’t say about many guitarists. These gentlemen caught lightning in a bottle. I had a dozen or more high school friends that could sing along to most of this album. Time magazine called The (Original) Joshua Tree Tour “the hottest ticket in America”. I felt blessed and lucky to see it. I can’t hear the opening, echoed drums on Trip Through Your Wires without smiling. Everything here is timeless. The cheers for the opening instrumental of Where The Streets Have No Name are as loud at live performances I’ve been to in recent years as for any song by any band I’ve seen. None of these men are the best at what they do, but magic happens when they play together in front of a crowd. I’ve left all 7 or 8 shows I’ve been to feeling like I’m walking on clouds. ....and that’s all I’ve got to say about that. ;)