'A mix of reggae and gospel it was never going to be an ordinary song.' Edge recalls the origins of 'Rise Up', 'Desert of our Love' and 'Beautiful Ghost', three of the tracks on the bonus CD of the remastered Joshua Tree.



The remastered edition of The Joshua Tree comes with a bonus CD of b-sides and rare tracks along with a hardback book with contributions from band members as well as Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and Bill Flanagan. In this extract from the liner notes, Edge recalls the origins of three of those tracks from the bonus CD.


'Rise Up was an ultra optimistic piece that could only have come out of a session at the beginning of the process of making a record, when everyone still believes that it will be easy, when the sharpness of many days and nights of work has not yet arrived. Danesmote is all over this recording sonically. It was a contender for a while but never had the substance.

'Desert Of Our Love, aka Weather Girls, which ultimately became I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For was the first breakthrough of the record. A mix of reggae and gospel rhythms it was never going to be an ordinary song. This is its earliest incarnation still showing its traditional roots, I played piano for the backing track. We held onto the drums, and maybe the bass, but everything else got replaced.

'Beautiful Ghost was a song that started out as an experimental demo which we finished later, recorded in STS studios with Paul Barrett, in what is now known as the Temple Bar district of Dublin city. It's always interesting to hear where we started from, and then to hear where we ended up. This and other early demos show how much of the musical identity of the final record came into focus along the way...'

The Joshua Tree, remastered, is released in four formats.

A standard CD (US // UK ) featuring liner notes from Bill Flanagan, lyrics and unseen photographs from long time collaborator Anton Corbijn.

A double 12" gatefold vinyl format (UK Only) with the original album pressed across two 180 gramaudiophile discs.

A deluxe edition (US // UK ) including a second CD of b-sides and demos from the original album sessions.

A limited edition box set (US // UK) containing two CD's and DVD featuring The Joshua Tree Tour live from the Hippodrome in Paris and other rare video footage.