I couldn't find a general discussion thread, so I thought I'd start one. If I missed it, the mods can fix. Springsteen released five of the best rock & roll albums I'd ever heard -- Born to Run (1975), Darkness On the Edge Town (1978), The River (1980), Nebraska (1982) . I lost track of him after Born In the USA (1984) which I loved. I was sympatico with the whole culture he came out of; it wasn't much different growing up on my side of the river in NY. The preoccupations in his songs reflected my own feelings and my own life exactly, but I think that's true for a lot of people. I liked his first two albums as well, although I didn't listen to them as often. He also gave some of the best concerts I'd ever seen. Nobody could rouse up an audience and turn a stadium into a living room like Springsteen. Got to busy with marriage and work and no longer had time for music. But I'm catching up with a few things now. Anyhow, this is a place to discuss Springsteen in general.
From 1973 - 1987, Springsteen had one of the most impressive creative runs in rock and roll history. He produced an incredible body of work during his first 15 years as a Columbia recording artist, and was one of the very best live performers of his time. Count me as a fan who also holds his maligned early 1990's period in high regard as well. I think the quality of his work has taken a noticeable and considerable step down since his 1999 "comeback" when he reformed the E Street Band and subsequently issued "The Rising," but at least he continues to push himself and continues to create. There was a time when his work really resonated and connected with me, and I will always look back fondly on what it meant to me on a personal level.
I think he spends too much time working on archival releases like the box-sets for the three big albums. An artist has to keep moving, not dwell on the past. He should assign that job to some obsessive secretary like Landau. I just bought his book, an autobiography. We'll see how he views things.
I remember one of the southern California entertainment papers -- it might have been the L.A. Weekly or the San Diego Reader -- doing a story on the significance of the red hat in the right-side back-pocket of his jeans on the cover of Born In the USA. What was that about, does anyone know?
Someone here probably knows better, but it is someone's hat (sick fan, father of a friend, something like that).
i think springsteen is brilliant, especially the period mentioned. i liked born in the u.s.a. but not as much as the prior recordings. it felt like a transitional record. i guess i am one of the few who loved the tunnel of love album.
Pretty well spot-on. "The red baseball cap stuffed into his back pocket belonged to his old pal Lance Larson from New Jersey. When Larson’s father died, he gave Bruce his dad’s favorite red baseball cap. Springsteen decided to wear it on the cover of Born in the USA in tribute. He told Larson that his father would always live on in music history. How right he was." From Behind the Scenes: A Rear View of Bruce Springsteen
I feel the same. Everything up to U.S.A. is tops in my book, with U.S.A. being a kind of levelling off. Count me in as a lover of Tunnel Of Love.
There was a period of time (up to Born In The USA) that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band embodied everything that I thought about rock ‘n’ roll - Passionate, Energetic, Riveting, Celebratory, Poignant... During that time, if anyone asked me what was the most genuine, authentic, and impassioned rock music I would have pointed them towards Springsteen. The Boss and his Band personified all the best aspects that his rock predecessors had: The larger than life iconic presence of Elvis The incredible wordplay and prose of Dylan The anthemic rock of The Who The swinging foot-hopping leg-shaking tunes of Motown The ramshackle barnstorming ruckus of any garage band that could carry a tune The breath-taking tales romance in song worthy of Spectorian production The humorous self-depreciation necessary to deflate any bloated egos - also to deny any such accusations
I have no problem with archival product and I suspect a lot of its development and production is overseen by others (Springsteen has recorded quite a bit and toured extensively over the past ten years, so it is not as if a couple of archival sets have distracted him). That said, I did find the Darkness box set very disappointing, in large part due to the number of contemporary-era overdubs and embellishments to the music. Also, I am not overly impressed or interested in his contemporary music, so I am more than satisfied to revisit his back-catalogue. The River box set was gem.
I like a lot of Bruce Springsteen’s work. He is one of my favorite songwriters, as well as my all-time favorite lyricist. I love the stories he tells in his songs; They remind me of Martin Scorsese movies. I love every moment of Born to Run, and think a lot of his other albums are good too. My favorite song of his (aside from most of the aforementioned album) is probably “Atlantic City.” The music and lyrics of that song are both brilliant and I loved the stripped down sound.
I certainly agree that TOL's highlights rank with the best of his career. But for me, this was the first Brooce album since "Greetings" that had some obvious candidates for the skip button.
I like Nebraska, but for me, nothing on it comes close to “Atlantic City.” To me, that song is more haunting than the title track. The entire album is a masterpiece, though.
I figured you did. I only singled out the title track because it’s typically thought of as one of the most haunting songs ever.
Only recently got into Springsteen, I obviously knew the bigger songs and the hits but, and this might sound a bit back to front, I started listening to him in more detail because I love the Gaslight Anthem... Huge Springsteen influence in their music so I started delving further into his catalogue. Those first albums, up to and including Born In The USA are as good a run as anything that anyone else has ever put out. The later albums have some great tunes on too but not as consistent as the early albums. I really must see him live at some point
For me, the key to Bruce's success comes down to these... 1) He manages to mix up radio-friendly songs with more artful fare. 2) He's a great storyteller, who creates characters and paints pictures with his lyrics. He's great at expressing how we all try to find happiness despite the obstacles life throws at us. 3) It goes without saying that he puts on an amazing live show. 4) Even though he's been a wealthy rock star for decades, he still comes across as humble and connects with blue-collar folks. 5) The dude just looks cool!
When the back catalogue was reissued on CD with updated artwork and non-red/white spines but unremastered, was The River updated as well? I can’t find it on Discogs.
Bruce Springsteen is one of my all-time faves but I have found less enjoyment from the second half of his career than the first which I am sure is a common observation. However, I am greatly influenced by the Fred Goodman book "Mansion On The Hill" which examines Bruce's career and looks extensively at Jon Landau's influence on Bruce - basically the book contends Landau convinced Bruce that not being the biggest thing on earth was a betrayal of his rock n roll ambitions and that Landau shaped Bruce's thinking and that all culminated in the huge success of Born In The U.S.A.. Where I got off the boat as a fan was the Human Touch record - that record was pure product to me. Lucky Town was a much better record in my view and it contained one of Bruce's most underappreciated songs - "My Beautiful Reward". It's been hit and miss ever since in my view but that doesn't mean Bruce is not worth my attention anymore but that has been largely through concert recordings.
He challenges his audience. Most old bands and artist just gives the masses what they want. Springsteen awards the die hards more often than not. It's exciting to go see him, you don’t know what you're gonna get! Just look at this setlist, played at a big outdoor stadium. There is not a hit song in the first two hours, just deep cuts from the early 70s, and mostly from his first two records! That's pretty damn obscure 2016-09-14 - GILLETTE STADIUM, FOXBOROUGH, MA NEW YORK CITY SERENADE (with strings) / PROVE IT ALL NIGHT / DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? / BLINDED BY THE LIGHT / IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY / GROWIN' UP / SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT / LOST IN THE FLOOD / KITTY'S BACK / INCIDENT ON 57TH STREET / ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)/ NO SURRENDER / BOOM BOOM / DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN / RADIO NOWHERE / HUNGRY HEART / OUT IN THE STREET / DETROIT MEDLEY / LIGHT OF DAY - LAND OF 1000 DANCES / 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) / AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) / THE PROMISED LAND / BECAUSE THE NIGHT / THE RISING / BADLANDS / LONG WALK HOME / JUNGLELAND / BORN TO RUN / DANCING IN THE DARK / TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT / SHOUT (with Peter Wolf) / ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD / BOBBY JEAN
