Monday, March 9, 2015

6. U2 - The Joshua Tree


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This one was quite simple. The original album cover art design was pasted at left. That left a 8X10 space at right. Part of the original image that was pure landscape was then flipped and then pasted on that space. That still left a 3.4x10 space at right. The flipped image was then reverted and used to cover that remaining space. At last, the band's image was cropped, flipped and pasted at bottom right.

Extending the desolate landscape in this work is the main point. The interesting part lies in discovering that the mirroring of images produced mounds of earth where once
there were none and they seem to add a bit of symmetry on the craggy terrain. There is still no tree in sight, and no prophet. You just have to believe.


Here's the original album cover art design.




No. 10, Rate Your Music, The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time; No. 25, The Virgin All-Time Album Top 1000;
No. 27 Rolling Stone, The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time;No. 28 Billboard, The 300 Best-Selling Albums of All Time.

No. 97 Rolling Stone, The 100 Greatest Album Covers.


Art design by Steve Averill, photo by Anton Corbijn. Album produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Island 1987.

The initial concept for the sleeve was to represent where the desert met civilisation. From 14-16 December 1986, the band travelled with Corbijn and Averill on a bus around the Mojave Desert in California for a three-day photo shoot, beginning at the ghost town of Bodie before moving to locations such as Zabriskie Point and other sites on Death Valley. Lack of experience with a panoramic camera led Corbijn
to focusing on the background leaving the band slightly out of focus. He later recounted that the main idea of the shot was to juxtapose "man and environment, the Irish in America." 

On the evening after the first day's shooting, Corbijn told the band about Joshua trees, hardy and twisted plants in the deserts of the American Southwest. Bono was
pleased to discover the religious significance of the plant's etymology; early settlers, according to Mormon legend, named the plant
after the prophet Joshua, as the tree's stretching branches reminded then of Joshua raising his hands in prayer.
The following day, Bono declared that the album should be titled The Joshua Tree. More


(A) Where the Streets Have No Name - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - With or Without You - Bullet the Blue Sky - Running to Stand Still

(B) Red Hill Mining Town - In God's Country - Trip Through Your Wires - One Tree Hill - Exit - Mothers of the Disappeared


"With or Without You" official music video from U2Vevo on YouTube.