The Joshua Tree

The Joshua Tree, U2's fifth studio album, was released on March 9, 1987, following sessions recorded largely in Irish residences rather than conventional studios. Working with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois at Danesmoate House in Rathfarnham and at the Edge's home, the band aimed for a live, unpolished feel, with Lanois pushing for committed full-band takes and minimal overdubbing.

Thematically, the record explores what Bono called the tension between a mythical, idealized America and the real America the band encountered on tour, layering in spiritual searching, biblical imagery, and political material shaped by visits to El Salvador and Nicaragua. Irish concerns, including sectarian violence and urban poverty in Dublin, surface as well, giving the album a restless, questioning tone beneath its widescreen sound.

Critics hailed it immediately as a creative leap forward, with Robert Hilburn famously declaring U2 the greatest rock and roll band in the world. Its lead single, "With or Without You," became the band's first US number one and set the album's commercial momentum in motion; The Joshua Tree remains one of the best-selling and most acclaimed albums in rock history.