20 Exquisitely-Produced Songs That MUST Be Played Loud As Hell

4. U2 €“ "Where The Streets Have No Name"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FsrPEUt2Dg "Where the Streets Have No Name" €“ the opening track from U2's "The Joshua Tree" and still the greatest song U2 ever wrote €“ is particularly legendary because it almost never came to be. Supposedly, the band had a very hard time recording "Streets," struggling with its chugging rhythms, changing time signatures, effect-laden guitar arpeggios, and overall chordal structural. The song became such a mess that producer Brian Eno once debated erasing the tapes "by accident" and forcing the band to start from scratch. Ultimately, Eno and co-producer Daniel Lanois had to stitch the final version of "Streets" together from a number of different takes, but the Frankenstein-like nature of the track isn't something that can be heard on record. On the contrary, "Streets" sounds like the work of a higher power. The entire song beats with life and urgency, and everything about it €“ from the Edge's bell-like guitars to Bono's near-operatic vocal performance, all the way to the heartbeat rhythm section of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. €“ sounds remarkably in sync. Eventually, U2 would figure out a way to get through the song in one piece €“ to this day "Streets" provides the climactic ballast for their emotional stadium concerts. But with the help of Eno and Lanois, U2 was able to build a studio marvel that turned both the band and their producers into an unrivaled arena rock ideal.