U2 Music Review
I didn’t begin listening to U2 on a regular basis until about 2 ½ years ago. Since then they have become one of my favorite bands, but I do critique them rather harshly at times. This month’s band review will be my attempt to answer many of the questions I’ve received concerning them (I receive more questions about U2 than any other band).
I am most frequently asked about their Christianity. Bono told Barbara Walters that they are not a Christian band, but that they are a band of Christians. The latter may be more powerful. Bono, Edge, and Larry all claim to be believers (going back to their days at Shalom Fellowship in Dublin when they were young men), but Adam has never made a profession of faith. In fact, during their early years this nearly caused a rift in the band as goals and ideologies clashed.
A recent book entitled Conversations With Bono is a series of interviews which cover a number of topics. Among these is the issue of faith. Bono essentially tells the interviewer that the cornerstone of Christianity is the fact that Jesus Christ is God (an interesting conversation ensues), and discusses his perspective on grace at some length. One problem is Bono’s tendency to make statements which could be taken to mean that other religions may have some ability to bring people into a true relationship with God, but I actually think that he and other members of the band are legitimately born again.
Another issue that often raises eyebrows in Christian circles is that of their use of language. The band has been criticized for cursing (and occasionally for ill-considered actions taken in an attempt to make a statement- such as Bono’s stripping on TV in the early 1990s). While I believe the men are saved, and can be considered fairly mature/growing in their faith (when lyrics are analyzed), there is no excuse for their using foul language as flippantly as they do. I am not sure if their casual perspective on this issue is cultural, or if it is an attempt to appear less innocent to their audience. They have tried to keep from being known as the “chaste rock band.”
Steve Turner, in his book Hungry for Heaven, states that unlike most bands who begin by searching for life’s meaning and then become Christians, U2 seems to have started as a group of Christians who later began searching for meaning. At first glance their work may appear that way. They certainly came across more like a collective “Doubting Thomas” in the early nineties, but I believe that in actuality this was an intentional attempt to communicate in a way different from the norm. Their last two albums have been more overtly Christian than any others preceding (including Joshua Tree), but when their nineties albums are examined more closely I think a Christian message is apparent.
My biggest complaint about their work is that they frequently record albums of an extremely poor sound quality. One song may not be as clear or loud on the CD as all of the other tunes; another may have the bass overpowering all of other instruments, and thereby hinder the listener from fully realizing all of what’s going on musically in the song. They have been known to complain that they were rushed through the recording of an album, but in reality they generally spend between 3 and 4 years in transition from one album to the next. I am not sure the complaint is legitimate, or that it justifies poor recording quality. That said, many of their songs are still very good.
So, what are their best albums and songs? Below are my top songs; most with short descriptions of their subject matter. They are also grouped by album, which are in order from my most to least favorite.
All That You Can’t Leave Behind (October 2000): All of the songs on this album are pretty good, but here are the ones that I think are the best:
1. Walk On (this song has a double meaning: it is first
dedicated to Aung Sun Suu Kyi, who was a popularly
elected democratic leader in Myanmar (Burma) who
accepted house arrest in order to fight for the freedom
of her people; secondly it is about the Christians
longing to be in the presence of God.)
2. Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (holding firm
in the midst of life’s trials, believing they will pass)
3. Peace On Earth (about war, and longing for Christ to
return and put an end to man’s inhumanity)
Rattle and Hum (October 1988):
1. Van Diemen’s Land (about innocent men convicted of
political crimes during the 19th century and
sent to “Van Diemen’s Land”- a penal colony on the
Australian island state of Tasmania)
2. Desire (about the evilness of sin)
3. Hawkmoon 269 (the incredible longing for those you
need, including God)
4. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (about the
longing to be in God’s presence…the version on this
album is a collaboration with a Harlem gospel choir)
5. Silver and Gold* (apartheid)
6. Love Rescue Me (about the need for salvation)
7. When Love Comes to Town (the change that comes in
life when love personified (Christ) rescues an
individual)
8. God Part II (response to John Lennon’s “God: Part I”)
9. All I Want Is You
Joshua Tree (March 1987):
1. Where The Streets Have No Name (heaven)
2. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
3. With Or Without You (about the inability to live
eternally without Christ, and the inability to live to
please yourself in this life when you have surrendered
to Christ)
4. Exit (Suicide)
Zooropa (July 1993):
1. Zooropa (having no purpose, and living outside of
reality)
2. Babyface (the sensual influence of media-
particularly TV- on our culture)
3. Numb (how our culture believes that they should be
able to have what they want, when they want...a culture
that has become numb to its own downward spiral)
4. The Wanderer (about a man who experiences as much of
life as he can, and then decides to repent)
Pop (March 1997):
1. Discotheque (someone who is choosing to live for
passing pleasures rather than looking for what else
their heart knows there is to life)
2. If God Will Send His Angels (evil in the world and
the apparent silence of God)
3. The Playboy Mansion (an interesting song that
juxtaposes cultural success with Christianity; it
describes heaven as a place equally as difficult to
enter as the playboy mansion is for anyone who’s not a
star)
4. Wake Up Dead Man* (could be taken two ways: first, it
could be saying that Jesus appears to still be dead,
with the singer crying for God to wake up and come back
to put an end to evil. Secondly, it could be that the
slower portions of the song are someone talking with
God, and the harder portions are Christ telling the man
who is spiritually dead to “wake up” and receive eternal
life.)
Achtung Baby (November 1991):
1. One (about the unity that is missing amongst
believers…specifically the criticism and rejection of U2
as a band of Christians by some groups, but the meaning
can be applied much more broadly)
2. Until the End of the World (this is a song written
about Christ from the perspective of Judas Iscariot)
3. Mysterious Ways (about a boy who needs to take advice
from his sister and enter into fellowship with God)
How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (November 2004):
1. All Because of You (we exist because of God, and
because of Him we have the ability to accomplish all
that we do)
2. Love and Peace or Else (about conflict in the Middle
East )
3. Yahweh (I’ll let you guys figure this one out)
The Unforgettable Fire (October 1984):
1. Pride [In the Name of Love] (this song is about
Martin Luther King, Jr., Normandy , and Christ)
2. Bad (longing for someone to come to repentance)
3. MLK
War (March 1983):
1. Sunday Bloody Sunday
2. Two Hearts Beat As One
October (October 1981)
Boy (October 1980)