Best U2 album by far. The guitar work sticks out to the point of making this a masterpiece.

Not a fan of U2 overall but one has to concede that this album stands the test of time. It wasn’t in my collection when it came out and I have only added it to my library in the digital era but the songs don’t sound like they are confined to the 80s era. I don’t agree with the view of it sounding dated although the production could have been improved upon. A few songs on here with real integrity and a less fillers than some of their other rubbish albums.

For me this is the ultimate U2 album and no successor achieved the same quality. They produced hits like "With Or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and integrated these into an atmospheric and dark soundscape of more silent songs like "One Tree Hill". A lot of these tracks seem very strange if you listen to them alone but they improve if you listen to the full album. Sadly the poor audio quality of the album requires a few tricky audio setup adjustments to bring this powerful sound into full effect.

“What? How can this be so good? So atmospheric, such good use of synths in the background, those hypnotizing guitar riffs..
...
“produced by Brian Eno”... oooohhhhh that makes sense.”

But I have to say that the guitar work and songwriting on this are not bad, but when you hear Eno’s influence leave the record after the first couple of songs, so does the quality. All in all, I don’t really see much influence from this other than Coldplay. Well thanks, I guess.

I have the newly released vinyl which is superb. Splitting it into quarters by vinyl sides:
Side 1 is the three hits which made the album famous. All excellent!
Side 2- The opener is an absolute stocker, almost progressive in its leanings. 'Running to Stand Still' is a beautiful track with some great harmonica to take it out.
Side 3- 'Red Hill Mining Town' is a personal favourite showcasing some amazing Bono vocals with equally great backing vocals which sound like they are being played from a keyboard via a sampler... 'in God's Country' is upbeat and more 'pop like' in its delivery. 'Trip Through Your Wires' has a Gaelic tinge and is a happy 'poppy' offering. Could be considered by some as a filler track.
Side 4- 'One Tree Hill' is another personal favourite with leanings towards Simple Minds more recent material, so ok, it's probably the other way around! 'Exit' is quite progressive to kick off breaking into quite a heavy and dark affair which I like but may not be everyone's cup of tea.'Mothers of the Disappeared' has quite a synthesizer deep backing which I love, it compliments Bono' vocals.
All in all a stonking album! I would like to say my favourite U2 album but I have been listening to Achtung Baby on You Tube during recent gym workouts and when I get that on vinyl I have a feeling it may top this!

I've only recently got into this album. The first three times I listened to it start-to-finish I was disappointed and couldn't understand why so many people enjoy it. After finishing my fourth listen, I fell in love with the album. It is incredible in so many ways. U2 clearly weren't trying to be anything revolutionary, as they made the decision to focus on a typical song structure for each track on the album.

It's like the Stone Roses with more sonic experimentation, perfect.

Never been a huge fan of U2, but this album left me spellbound

I'm generally not a big U2 fan, but this is a really good album. Definitely hear the Americana influence over this album. The first three songs are among U2's best.

"The Joshua Tree" è una spanna sopra qualsiasi altro lavoro degli U2, almeno musicalmente, e pazienza se "il fuoco indimenticabile" qua si è in parte affievolito in virtù di una raggiunta maturità.