'A lot of the songs were ones that were recorded in Larry's spare bedroom or Adam's living room. When the red light's on we often don't respond to it. When we're just left to be, left to make music our own way, well some of the tracks are almost like demos. We had to fight to make them work and there were a lot of songs left over. It could have gone off in a number of different directions. We wanted the idea of a one-piece record, not a side-one, side-two thing.

Bono, March 1987

The release of The Joshua Tree saw the band on the cover of Time Magazine billed as 'Rock's Hottest Ticket.' In Sweden, copies of The Joshua Tree were pressed in yellow, pink and red vinyl with sleeves similar to the UK. In Mexico, a limited edition CD was released as part of the Serie Millennium re-issues with a different picture sleeve. In 1999, The Joshua Tree CD was re-issued with the clear band photo that appeared on the original vinyl LP rather than the blurred picture on the initial CD release.
The Joshua Tree entered the US album charts at No.7 and reached No. 1 three weeks later. It was U2's first album to reach No.1 in the United States. In 1999, The Joshua Tree was awarded the RIAA's highest certification, Diamond, with 10 million units sold. The album also peaked at No.1 on the UK, Canadian, West German, Dutch and Australian charts. In Switzerland, the album reached No.1 on the charts and stayed there for a total of 33 weeks. The album and sleeve cover also placed No. 1 in Rolling Stone magazine's annual Music Awards chosen by readers. Critics at Rolling Stone made it No. 2 album of the year. U2 also won Best Rock Performance By A Group Or Duo at the Grammy Awards for The Joshua Tree. Production Credits Produced and Engineered: Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno Additional Engineering: Dave Meegan with Pat McCarthy Studio: Windmill Lane, Dublin Ireland Mixed by: Steve Lillywhite Recorded by: Flood