February 13, 2017
First-time author Neufeld, a professor of biblical and religious studies at Fresno Pacific University, maintains that through an “ever-changing interplay of artistic expression and social engagement,” U2 has blended “spiritual faith and social activism since its 1980 debut album.” Going from the band’s early days in 1970s Dublin to its 2015 tour, Neufeld provides a detailed history of the band members’ growth as musicians and their various attempts at political and social activism. Sometimes, his observations are aptly concise: “While U2 in the 1980s had been consumed with global justice and conflicts in distant places such as El Salvador and South Africa, the U2 of the 1990s focused on the inner demons of greed, list, addiction, and hypocrisy.” At other times, Neufeld is unrestrained in his belief in U2’s spiritual importance: “U2 has developed a unique integration of faith and culture that transcends traditional approaches to popular religious music by engaging the world.” Despite some bombast, Neufeld succeeds in his goal of showing how pop musicians can help shape culture.
April 1, 2017
In 1976, four Dublin teenagers formed a band and changed the world. Thanks to the humanitarianism of their front man, the Irish band U2 is as famous for its political activism as for its music. Neufeld examines these and many other angles in this thoughtful account, tracking the lives of Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, and natural showman and leader Paul Hewson, who soon earned the sobriquet Bono. Neufeld describes their experimentation with different sounds and the success of their passionate live shows. Early on, their music championed equality and social-justice issues, fused with a profound commitment (by three of the four members) to the Christian communal movement. Neufeld examines the effect of Ireland's complicated political and religious history on the musicians; traces the growth of the band; follows its various musical shifts as band members reacted to the world's changing political landscape; and, finally, finds the band searching for relevancy in the early years of the twenty-first century. The book concludes with an annotated list of U2's recordings and concert films. A must for U2 fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)