The Joshua Tree Turns 20, Gets Remastered for Nov. 20th Release
The Power of COAF is being felt in the furthest reaches of the internet; the titans of the music industry tremble before me. One of my wishes is coming true November 20th, and it’s a good one.
U2’s The Joshua Tree turns 20 this year and the band is going to give it the facelift and deluxe treatment it deserves. The album is going to be remastered and re-released in three different package options. Before we take a look at those, I need to give credit where credit is due. Good friend of the site Tom Johnson mentioned this in a recent post. I wanted to wait to talk about it until I saw something a little more official. Billboard can be wrong (as I learned last month), but I now feel comfortable talking about it like it’s really going to happen. Here’s hoping.
Now, about those packages…
- A single remastered disc released in a standard jewel box. This is incredibly necessary. The songs that have appeared on compilations have all been remastered and it only reinforces how much the whole album needs it. The current pressing of the CD has also sported a mastering error all these years and it will be great for that to finally be corrected.
- A 2-CD set released in a hard black case. The second disc is expected to be some run of demos, b-sides, alternate versions, and other extraneous rarities from the TJT era. Some of these b-sides have surfaced as part of the Best Of 1980-2000 hits package, but there are some items that have not yet seen light of day.
- A 2-CD/DVD set sold in a package with “a base and lid” (why can’t Billboard just call that a box?) to accommodate the disc and 5 print portfolios.
The DVD is rumored to be the July 4, 1987 show from Paris, France. 11 tells me this is a show where tear gas was somehow dispersed in the crowd to the consternation of Bono, making it an odd show to release but one I’d still like to see. Almost is strange is that “Where The Streets Have No Name” was apparently not played that night. Very weird.
I’ll keep an eye on this as new details emerge.
Filed under: Tags: A Day Late and a Dollar Short, U2
“Hard black case”? “Base with a lid”? Strange packaging options. Very glad to see some details, however.
And can we get a “Friend of COAF” buttons or something?
I might be the only person, but I find “Exit” to be the greatest song on an album filled with great songs.
this is great news! the wife borrowed this cd to take to work and somehow it went missing. sounds like the perfect replacement to me.
This is really fantastical news. At the very least it will stop my mumblings of “u2 sucks” for a little while.
Man, that album has so much of my life in it.
Yeah, I’m pretty happy about this release as well. My interest in U2 begins with Unforgettable Fire and runs all the way to the present (with the exception of Pop). Pre-UF, I like some songs, but not complete albums. I’d love it if they’d re-master from Fire forward, but Joshua Tree needs it most because of its importance in the canon. I’m excited about this one.