U2: Into the Heart: The Stories Behind Every Song 
asked by anton584 on November 24, 2006 6:44 AM
With over 24 pages covering the band's newest CD, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2: Into the Heart examines the behind-the-scenes influences that shaped U2's internationally popular and critically acclaimed music. Included are original and revealing interviews with band members and the key people close to U2. The band's rich cultural and social context is fully explored, providing a colorful backdrop to the songs. U2: Into the Heart traces U2's meteoric rise from the early days of their career with Boy, their first album, to the spanning success of The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, and Pop. U2 is a group that has become a world-class rock 'n' roll band; a band that continues to invent themselves and are not afraid to take chances with their craft—as well as make a unique impact in the world of music with their raw, emotional energy.
Reviews
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Maybe it was more like buyer beware, I was really disapointed in how superficial and extrapolated the content of the subject was. I don't consider this a an essential piece for any serious u2 fan, it leaves you with way too much ambuguity.
reviewed by macfan on November 28, 2006 7:14 AM
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Niall Stokes did perfectly well by compilling such precious informations on U2's songs. If you have any of the band's biographies published to date, you're not done not until you get this book. It contains fascinating stories on the writing of the music and lyrics. Thanks for writing and releasing it, mr. Stokes!
reviewed by blueoasis on November 29, 2006 2:15 AM
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First Negatives, then positives:
Negatives:
1. Not all of the songs have interpretations of the lyrics. Most, but not all. The stories told in each song's profile follow no formula or criteria - some cover lyrics, some music, some production, some inspiration, etc. Those stories are great and I like their inclusion, but I much prefer that every song had a lyrical explanation.
2. The author at times seems to marginalize the amount of Christian reference in U2's music. It just doesn't come up in proportion to how big it has been throughout U2's history.
3. Where is "Holy Joe" ? Other B-Sides are covered!
4. At times it's difficult to determine which points are the author's speculation and which are his conveyances of U2's thoughts and ideas. He admits in the introduction that some editorial speculation and interpretation - but I'd like some clarity about which is which, because I'm more interested in what U2 has to say than reading Stoke's brainstorming about his take.
As for the positives:
1. The book is very comprehensive (except for Holy Joe!) and very well organized - chronologically by album with a section in the back covering B-Sides, and other stuff not on albums. It gives a 2 or 3 page 'profile' on each song with several nice color pictures.
2. Despite my crticism above about not offering a lyric interpretation or explanation of every song, Stokes did a great job of finding some very interestings stories on other aspects of how songs came together.
3. And the last thing is that there don't seem to be any, or at least not many other books like this out there. I know there are others on this topic (covering U2 song by song) but the ones I've seen don't do as good of a job. In fact, the others I've seen actually make the line between editorializing and describing U2 by their own words - even more unclear. So if there are better works of this sort on U2 out there - I haven't seen them.
Enjoy the book!
Negatives:
1. Not all of the songs have interpretations of the lyrics. Most, but not all. The stories told in each song's profile follow no formula or criteria - some cover lyrics, some music, some production, some inspiration, etc. Those stories are great and I like their inclusion, but I much prefer that every song had a lyrical explanation.
2. The author at times seems to marginalize the amount of Christian reference in U2's music. It just doesn't come up in proportion to how big it has been throughout U2's history.
3. Where is "Holy Joe" ? Other B-Sides are covered!
4. At times it's difficult to determine which points are the author's speculation and which are his conveyances of U2's thoughts and ideas. He admits in the introduction that some editorial speculation and interpretation - but I'd like some clarity about which is which, because I'm more interested in what U2 has to say than reading Stoke's brainstorming about his take.
As for the positives:
1. The book is very comprehensive (except for Holy Joe!) and very well organized - chronologically by album with a section in the back covering B-Sides, and other stuff not on albums. It gives a 2 or 3 page 'profile' on each song with several nice color pictures.
2. Despite my crticism above about not offering a lyric interpretation or explanation of every song, Stokes did a great job of finding some very interestings stories on other aspects of how songs came together.
3. And the last thing is that there don't seem to be any, or at least not many other books like this out there. I know there are others on this topic (covering U2 song by song) but the ones I've seen don't do as good of a job. In fact, the others I've seen actually make the line between editorializing and describing U2 by their own words - even more unclear. So if there are better works of this sort on U2 out there - I haven't seen them.
Enjoy the book!
reviewed by jbritt on November 29, 2006 6:15 PM