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Before his new Apple TV+ film Bono: Stories of Surrender drops, the singer dropped a new version of an underrated U2 Songs of Experience track, “The Showman (Little More Better).” Boy, it is good.
“The Showman” was released as the first single from a new live EP to tie in with Bono: Stories of Surrender's Apple TV+ premiere. The other tracks are “Desire” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” which will presumably be taken from the show.
I was always bummed that certain chapter titles — which were all U2 songs — from Bono's memoir didn't get re-recorded for Songs of Surrender. Some tracks, like “Breathe,” “Moment of Surrender,” and “Wake Up Dead Man,” hadn't been touched in years. Other, more recent songs, like “Landlady” and “The Showman (Little More Better),” would have been intriguing to hear reinterpreted.
But, alas, over two years later, we have a new version of “The Showman (Little More Better).” Bono sings almost like Bob Dylan on the original track. This new version utilizes his wide-ranging vocal abilities heard on Songs of Surrender.
The new arrangement
It is a minimal arrangement. Bono is backed by who I imagine is Gemma Doherty, who played harp and keyboards and sang backup vocals during his Stories of Surrender Tour, and it appears to be a rehearsal performance.
Instead of The Edge's quick guitar strumming, Doherty plays the song's chords note-for-note. Her playing almost sounds like the Songs of Surrender version of “Dirty Day.” It is a far cry from the original arrangement, which sounded like early Beatles or the Beach Boys with Bob Dylan's singing. Bono then sings the opening verse of the song, “Baby's crying cause it's born to sing / Singers cry about everything.”
Later in the song, Bono begins using his falsetto. He sings full phrases in falsetto, much like “Lemon,” and not just notes. As he and Doherty keep the refrain going, he begins belting with his gravelly voice.
The intensity with which Bono sings has been missed for years. Think back to songs like “Bullet the Blue Sky” and “When Love Comes to Town,” Bono used to sing with such intensity.
In recent years, he has become a more skilled singer. To use golf terms, he changes clubs depending on the range needed in a song. While some may not like Songs of Surrender, it did open him up to portraying different tones.
“The Showman” from the Stories of Surrender EP displays all of his ranges. He uses his lower register as well as his high falsetto. One can only hope he continues to utilize this on the band's next album.
Why Bono's “The Showman” matters
Throughout the song, you can hear Bono give instructions. He says “Another verse” at one point and calls out the chords (“A to G,” as he says) to the middle eight at another. Normally, hearing this wouldn’t make for the ideal listening experience. In this context, it’s exactly what Bono set out to do with Stories of Surrender.
He is actively peeling back the layers of show business. This Showman has been giving fans a front-row seat into his trauma and past for his entire career, but particularly over the last decade.
While he could have put out a perfectly produced recording of “The Showman,” Bono opted to give U2 fans a behind-the-curtain rendition that was performed behind closed doors.
If anything, this version of “The Showman” proves Bono's naysayers wrong. Anyone who calls U2 too self-serious should listen to this track.
He is deconstructing what it means to be to be a frontman. “With or Without You” similarly deals with similar subject matter, but now, he does it more tongue-in-cheek.
Should you listen to “The Showman”?
Over the last decade, Bono has ripped the curtain back, becoming an open book. That is what captured my attention seeing U2 live for the first time on the Innocence + Experience Tour way back in 2015.
Everything you need to know about U2 and Bono's MO over the last decade is found in “The Showman.” The opening lines connect to “Magnificent” from the band's No Line on the Horizon album, where he sings, “I was born to sing for you,” presumably talking about God.
All Bono knows is singing in a rock band. He has led one of the world's biggest rock bands for decades, and now it's time for introspection.
Ultimately, “The Showman” didn't make it into the U2 singer's show. I hope we can someday get a live rendition of the song, whether it be by Bono by himself or U2 as a full band.
For now, he have rock's ultimate Showman showing off a new side of himself. Bono's Stories of Surrender film will no doubt be an intimate display. As someone who saw the Stories of Surrender Tour, I can only imagine what they did with the film.
