It's a simple enough notion in itself - a groundbreaking album is revisited in the company of the musicians and producers who made it, and along the way you get unique insight into the creative process. That's the basic theory behind one of music television's better ideas - the indispensable Classic Albums series which tonight features U2's The Joshua Tree. Along the way there are personal, business and political stories to be told, but ultimately it's a series which focuses on the bare bones of the music.
The Joshua Tree's right to feature - whether you like it or not - is a fairly unchallengable one. It may be trite to say that it formed the soundtrack to the 1980s, but it certainly had a terrific impact in those dull and cynical days. It reached Number One in 22 countries, went platinum in two days and was the first ever Irish Number One album in the US. And when is the last time a garage band managed something like that?
Given the huge success of The Joshua Tree, it's hard to credit that U2 were, at the time, distinctly out of step. The mid-1980s were lean musical years in the US - synthesiser pop was the order of the day and things experimental were very unlikely to make mainstream headway. Added to that, this was a period of considerable self-regard - when to be "cool" was to remain hidden behind impenetrable facades where idealism was naff. The endearingly rash U2 therefore were very "uncool" indeed. In short, the mid1980s was, on paper, a most unlikely period for The Joshua Tree to go to Number One and crack America open like a nut.
The reasons for the album's success are clear enough in retrospect. Firstly, it contained hit songs. Secondly, the music could be played live, and thirdly, whatever needed doing, Bono could carry it off with a lack of "cool" which was quite startling to behold. When it all came together it was quite unstoppable - the bizarre, uplifting music itself as gauche and "wrong" as Bono. The only people who didn't like what they were hearing were the most cynical of cynics - and they didn't buy records anyway. The rest of the world happily cued at midnight.
Perhaps a less obvious factor in the album's success was the way U2 tapped into an extraordinary generosity in America and the American media - and their Irishness might have played no small part in that. The Joshua Tree wasn't obviously an Irish record, but as Bono puts it, it was Irish "in a much more mysterious way . . . the ache and the melancholy in it, is uniquely Irish."
But whatever that extra element might have been, the imagination of America had clearly been captured. Certainly The Clancys had done it before - but it was never like this. Suddenly U2 were on the cover of Time magazine and reports were filtering back of their absolute triumph. Ireland's greatest success story ever - no doubts about it. The begrudgers went into overdrive and the cool people lost it. Meanwhile, U2 were wearing stovepipe hats and literally singing from the rooftops of the US.
It is worth remembering, however, that while America eagerly embraced U2, the group had already embraced America with equal passion. Touches of blues and gospel were appearing and the videos projected cinematic ideas of the US back on itself - all of it making perfect musical and marketing sense. But don't forget that throughout the 1980s U2 had spent several months a year in the US, building up a huge reputation as a live band and they were already playing stadiums. The Joshua Tree, however, was the catalyst which confirmed their particular stellar status.
All that by way of background to tonight's Classic Albums on ITV. Produced by Chips Chipperfield and directed by Philip King, the film tells the story of the construction of this landmark album. It shows how a band (an actual band!) comes up with something both strange and hugely successful, and gives a fascinating insight into the roles of two particularly important and impressive individuals - producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. As with others in the Classic Albums series, the heart of the film is the scene where the producer sits at the sound desk and resurrects the individual tracks which create such familiar music. It's something of a rare delight not just for U2 fans, but for anybody interested in how recorded music is made.
Eno and Lanois are both extraordinary figures. They had produced the previous album, The Unforgettable Fire and appear to have different approaches to the job in hand. Eno is probably seen as the brainy and experimental one, while Lanois (known for his work with Dylan and Emmylou) is the rootsy one. But the film shows that it was never quite as simple as that. In fact they're both brainy, they're both experimental and they're both rootsy. The key, however, seems to be that the individual band members are equally blessed - and each benefits from the other. The obvious Larry Mullen/Daniel Lanois mutual appreciation society is one of the film's many pleasant revelations.
Equally endearing is a very uncomfortable Bono grimacing at the sound of his own voice when Lanois insists on letting us hear an isolated vocal track. In fact, the producer/artist relationship is explored in a subtle but effective manner throughout. The impression you're left with is that these people function with a genuine enthusiasm and apparently without ego. It's good to watch and Lanois, at his desk, seems to get as much delight from fading up bits and pieces of the songs as would any U2 fan. The over-riding feeling is one of pride in the music itself - a rare enough thing in pop.
Ultimately the film leaves you mindful of the amount of sheer hard work that goes into making this type of album. The sort of experimentation encouraged by Lanois and Eno (and by the band) is tricky enough at times and not without pain - some of which is dealt with in the film. The pleasure, however, is that all six of them are trying to achieve a similar goal - one which demands effort and a genuine passion for the music and the ideas which drive it. It might seem anachronistic, given the way things are with today's pop, to talk about music and passion and effort and ideas. But these are the very qualities which make U2 the best and by far the most interesting pop group in the world. A wild, rash and reckless conclusion maybe - but they bring out the best in this old cynic.
Classic Albums - U2 The Joshua Tree is on ITV tonight at 11.05 p.m.