U2 marks 20th anniversary of The Joshua Tree with reissues

My family got sick to death of my playing U2’s The Joshua Tree over and over on the stereo, and it’s hard to believe that was 20 years ago. Billboard reports the album is getting a deluxe reissue treatment, with a remastered version appearing in four different formats: single CD, a 2-CD set, a 2-CD set with a DVD and a double vinyl album.

I love the b-sides from that album, which were released two at a time per single. The a-side was 45 rpm, the b-side 33 1/3, and over the course of three singles, the extra tracks totaled to six. (Four singles were released from the album, but "In God’s Country" contained album tracks on the b-side.)

For the sake of portability, I dubbed the album onto a 90-minute cassette tape — so state of the art! — and used the b-sides to fill out the rest of the space. The extra tracks make for a nice extended complement to the album itself, and in some ways, they’re more interesting.

The Joshua Tree was a dark album, but the b-sides were even darker. "Walk on the Water" and "Deep in the Heart" feel as black as the album cover art of the period. "Luminous Times" starts off deceptively slow and seethes to a dramatic end. "Spanish Eyes" and "Silver and Gold" provided the hooks, and they could have fit well on the album. But If they were, the tone would have gotten none more black.

And no, I was not a fan of the re-recorded version of "The Sweetest Thing" on The Best of U2, 1980-1990. It was sapped of all the bittersweet heart that went into the original.

Still, it’ll be nice to have these songs in one package, especially if they’re remastered.