U2 “The Joshua Tree” released 30 years ago today, March 9th, 1987. I wrote about this album two years ago, but the anniversary of its release warrants a revisit. The Joshua Tree is a sublimely realized album and arguably the most important release for the band: it marked U2′s ascension from “heroes to superstars” (Rolling Stone), generated their only #1 singles in the US (“With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”) and became one of the world’s best-selling albums of all-time, earning placement in the National Recording Registry by the US Library of Congress.

Here is what I wrote in 2015:

U2 “The Joshua Tree,” gatefold, released on this day March 9 in 1987. Island Records. I received this album soon after its release in ‘87 as an Easter present from my parents. My dad has a quirky talent for treasure hunts so every Easter he’d hide an Easter basket (when I was little) and then something more mature (like a U2 record) as I got older. (He now has upped his game considerably for his grandson and the treasure hunts have become elaborate 1-2 hour searches.) I was just shy of 16 years old in March ‘87, knew his hiding style well and found “The Joshua Tree” after about 10 minutes of searching behind a large canvas painting that hung in our living room.

The Joshua Tree is a true classic: most of the songs are still musically relevant and fresh after almost 30 years so it’s no surprise that it is one of the world’s best-selling albums of all time. Tinged with longing and sadness, it is perfect for road trips and/or wallowing in the depths of any kind of personal loss. “With Or Without You” was always a go-to song during adolescent heartbreak, as was “Running to Stand Still,” which still gives me literal chills. “Where the Streets Have No Name” evokes the expanse of the American west perfectly, while “Bullet the Blue Sky” punches that west in the gut. But with “In God’s Country” and “One Tree Hill” the love for our wild open spaces comes back with a feeling of hope and optimism and I want drive fast through mountains and deserts, windows down and the sun shining.