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The Joshua Tree was the 5th album released by U2 in March 1987. At the time, it became the fastest selling album in UK chart history, making it to number one in 22 countries and the first U2 album to make it to number one in America. By the end of 1987 the album had sold over 12 million copies and today over 25 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it one of the bestselling albums of all time. The album propelled U2 to become one of the most high profile bands in the world (Andrews et al., 2011).
Like their previous album The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree was inspired by the bands growing obsession with America. With their growing global presence resulting in them spending more and more time across the pond on tour, they wanted to capture the vast American landscape in music. Originally the album was titled The Two Americas, reflecting the divide the band saw between what they were told to believe about America, and the reality which they witnessed for themselves (Gallucci, 2017).
On the right, the front cover to The Joshua Tree. To the left, the back cover.
In addition to their experiences of America, the album was also influenced by the band's experiences growing up in Ireland. Bono’s trip to Ethiopia in 1985, prior to recording the album, was also a major influence, with the singer commenting...
"Spending time in Africa and seeing people in the pits of poverty, I still saw a very strong spirit in the people, a richness of spirit I didn't see when I came home. I saw a spoiled child of the Western world. I started thinking, 'They may have a physical desert, but we've got other kinds of deserts.' And that's what attracted me to the desert as a symbol of some sort."
Bono
This desert theme is very much present throughout the whole album (Milton, 2017). In addition, like much of their previous and subsequent work, The Joshua Tree is filled with Biblical imagery and references (Gallucci, 2017).
This desert theme is reflected in the choice of photographs for the album and associated records, with the front cover of the album featuring a photograph of the band members at Zabriskie Point in the Death Valley National Park (see map below).
The back photograph features Yucca brevifolia, a 5-20 metre tall, evergreen, tree-like plant (Encyclopedia of Life, 2017). More commonly known as a Joshua Tree, it is from this plant that the album subsequently got its name. Sadly, the specific tree which was used for the album promotion material didn’t outlive the album, dying back in the year 2000 (Milton, 2017). This is despite the fact the trees are thought to be one of the desert's oldest living plants, living for around 150 years on average (Encyclopedia of Life, 2017). (see map below).
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