Can the argument be made that U2 has, at some point in their career, put on the greatest show in the world? The Greatest Show on Earth doesn’t hint all that much at that, but their latest single from Carnaval de Luz is a reminder of what Bono and the band have accomplished. It’s never a strong move from a long-serving artist to reflect with rose-tinted glasses, but Bono has been wearing those for well over a decade now, and dedicated fans are used to his musings on the past. Where reflection is time to take stock of accomplishments and shortcomings, The Greatest Show on Earth feels like a glittering throwback to the days when U2 were dominating the arena rock circuit. They could do the same again now because of that name value that just doesn’t come so easily for modern-day bands. It is part and parcel of legacy rock, something U2 has gladly thrown themselves into on previous releases.
But with The Greatest Show on Earth they sound like they’re trying, again, to make the most of their sound. They’re not revisiting their own songs or plodding through with the high and mighty Bono image that came around in recent years. The Edge’s instrumental work here is immediately familiar here, mainly because he’s been using the same few riffs for the last couple of decades. But it’s a nice reminder of what the band can do when they bring the basics together with a sentimentality that overcomes the lacklustre instrumental problems. Those basics are a foundation that, when used appropriately, make all the difference. It does work on The Greatest Show on Earth, though is somewhat limited in its capacity for change. All those usual vocal interjections and beautiful night hopes can be found on The Greatest Show on Earth, which has Bono give a spoken-word delivery to the mysteries of love and all those usual horrors that come as part of it.
U2 fans may believe Bono is a profound creative but it’s only on The Greatest Show on Earth that he’s offered any evidence of this in recent years. It’s a great song. Those thudding instrumentals, the crackle of The Edge’s guitar particularly, are a massive win for the band here. Bono has written up one of the band’s best songs in years because he’s focused on the intimacy of the everyday, those occasions and experiences that most will feature in or see for themselves. It humanises a band that was once bigger than any of their contemporaries. In a few ways, they still are bigger than everyone else but no longer need to prove it or even act on such a range. The Greatest Show on Earth feels like a song of reflection without the memories, despite Bonopp and the band having experienced all the highs of the biggest stage. They don’t believe they’re the ones with the greatest show on Earth, even if the argument can be made that they did.
That’s an objective read on it, rather than personal preference. There’s just no denying how big U2 were at their peak, and how over the last twenty years they’ve maintained such an image without releasing anything of interest. Carnaval de Luz appears set to change that with some solid rock efforts from the band. But we’ll take scraps when all we’ve been offered since How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the notion of scraps, not the scraps themselves. Between Silencio and The Greatest Show on Earth we’ve heard an evolution in U2’s sound, a step in the right direction. They’re far from those Joshua Tree highs but it’s just a relief to hear the band come together with a project that isn’t self-serving or simplistic to the point of switching it off. The Greatest Show on Earth is the most heartfelt the band has been in decades, and it makes all the difference to the perception of U2 as a legacy rock band.
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