U2 - Hold Onto Love - 1987

The Joshua Tree was U2's fifth album and was released in March of 1987. A few months later in spite of the album still sitting at the top of the charts the band released Hold Onto Love as a part two of sorts. The songs were recorded at the same time as those on The Joshua Tree but were finished after its release. While a double album was considered at one time the idea was dropped in favor of two separate albums released close together under the umbrella title of Desert Songs Volume One and Two. While the title Desert Songs never appeared on the packaging it was mentioned during interviews and press releases and the similar artwork tied it all together. It was felt that the second batch of songs had a different feel than the first and was closer in feel to The Unforgettable Fire.

Side One
01 Luminous Times
02 Sweetest Thing
03 Deep In The Heart
04 Beautiful Ghost
05 Heartland

Side Two
01 Spanish Eyes
02 Wave Of Sorrow (Birdland)
03 Walk To The Water
04 Race Against Time
05 Silver And Gold

Reality Notes

The inspiration for this construction came from AlbumFixer who posted an expanded version of The Joshua Tree that becomes a double album. Not being a fan of double albums (have I mention that before?) I wondered if the extra tracks would make a decent single album. I think it worked. Many, if not most, of the songs here are just as good as any of the songs on The Joshua Tree. All of these songs originated and were worked on during the Joshua Tree sessions. They were finished after the release of that album without the presence of any producers with the intention of using them as B sides for the upcoming singles. Heartland was later released on Rattle and Hum but originated during these sessions.

I Was U2 mad at the time The Joshua Tree was released. I had every album, EP and 12" single I could find. The day I purchased the album I had heard it in it's entirety on the radio. They were playing it in the store when I bought it and I played it almost constantly when I got it home. This was U2 at the peak of their game. After this album I kind of lost interest. Rattle and Hum was good but I never really took the time to immerse myself in it like The Unforgettable Fire or The Joshua Tree.

At the time of release I purchased as many of the 12" vinyl singles that contained these songs that I could find. I marveled at the quantity of quality leftover songs and wondered why they didn't gather them for another album or EP instead of wasting them on B sides. I wouldn't doubt that at one time I used them as filler with the album when I put it on cassette for listening on the go. All of these songs were collected together along with a few more songs from the sessions and released on a companion CD for the anniversary deluxe edition of The Joshua Tree.

For the cover I did my best to emulate The Joshua Tree cover to tie them together. I used a picture from the same cover photo sessions.