Bruce Springsteen Western Stars (the movie)

Hmmm, that doesn't bode well. I see a bluegrass remake of "Born to Run" on the horizon.

 

Bruce believes he's part of the legacy of American Music. I truly think that has gone to his head.
Maybe time will bear that out, but he sure does not have the legacy of Bob Dylan, that's for sure.

 

Bruce does sound old now but I'm not surprised. Forty plus years of bellowing like that (without warming up) and he's never had voice lessons and doesn't have a throat guy.

 

Bruce has spent the better part of the last 20 years working on, and amplifying, being Bruce Springsteen.

Whether through his songwriting, public statements, or general on stage body language.

If enough people ( especially when it’s national media and politicians) tell you, over an extended period of time, that you are a voice, a conscience, you’ll believe them.

The Rock & Roll Messiah Complex, at some point, morphed into a political animal.

So depending on whose ox is being gored, he can be inspirational or a poser.

In ‘09, it seemed he took a break, had a lot of fun on a great tour. It was a breath of fresh air, and then, imo, not so much.

I really like WS, haven’t seen the movie yet, but his body language (the arm movements conducting) in the Sundown clip, and the inclusion of Patti up front, lends that air of self importance and a campaign of canonization.

 

*laughs*

I was just saying to someone yesterday, I have lived in NJ my entire life and have never met any NJ native who speaks with Bruce’s twang.

 

I saw this on Friday night with a few other big fans in the theatre and we all loved it.

The sound was excellent and I was moved to tears more than once during the film. It solidified for me that "Western Stars" is my Album Of The Year.

(I take some issue with the negativity thrown at Patti Scialfa in this thread; her presence in the film didn't bother me at all; Bruce said himself that this film was like a love letter to his wife)

*****/5

 

Magnificent movie. Perfect.

 

Really not sure what your point is here. He has released 8 albums of new material (including 3 or 4 excellent ones) in the last 20 years, multiple tours with E St Band, solo and Seeger Sessions bands, plus extensive archive releases. As stated above the 2016 tour was superb. Not sure how 2009 was different from other tours.

In the last couple of years he has taken stock with his autobiography, the stage show, now we have another (superb) new album and a visual representation of it that is profound and moving. I think for a 70 yr old artist he is pretty much as relevant as he ever was and I don't know what else he can do than " be Bruce Springsteen". Who else can he be?

 

‘09 was a fun tour, all the Album Shows, collecting the request signs, sets turning on more dimes than usual. Every day I was on Backstreets checking set lists.

It was the perfect bookend to the ‘78 tour.

I think you’re being generous, Magic and WS stand up, but to each his own.

I wasn’t implying he isn’t relevant, just not as relevant as he thinks he is.

I like his Storyteller (Brilliant Disguise, I think) story of the “Good Bruce” doing good things, but that night he was at a bar.

 

At what point did he adopt this?

 

You can hear it on the River tour for sure.
I place his accent change somewhere after the Darkness tour

 

I like the album, but his personna does seem to be tinged with a bit of affectation. I suppose no more, at the end of the day, than the guy who sang Incident on 57th Street. But I don't care much about the former and miss the latter. That's my problem, I guess. It's good that Bruce grew or tries to grow as an artist.

 

Finally got to see this last night before a full house (in a beatifully-restored, 1923 art feco cinema - with full bar service during the movie!)
Stella Cinema Rathmines | Cinema Tickets, Cinema Listings Dublin

Enjoyed it a lot and thought some of the songs benefitted hugely from a live incarnation - I now have some definite favorites that resonated more than they did when I first heard them (the title-track is a thing of beauty here.) It's visually appealing too but I agree with some others above about the sound mix, which was a little weird. The strings were way over-emphasised at times.

However, I have some misgivings which are hard to articulate. The lyrics to some of the songs are a little undercooked and repetitive and there is probably a shade too much "style over substance" about the whole thing. I mean who doesn't like looking at pearl-encrusted vintage guitars, classic cars, a centuries old barn and panoramic shots of Western deserts?) Springsteen's philosophical meanderings between songs could come across as a little too staged and rehearsed/scripted. Oh and he should have done 'Wichita Lineman' instead of 'Rhinestone Cowboy' for the encore!

(The beers before, during and after the show probably made the evening a lot better too!)

Overall, I'd recommend it and I'll buy the Blu Ray when it comes out.

 

Yep! Found these UPCs, but can't figure out the release date.

Blu Ray: 5051892226110
DVD: 5051892225748

Here are the Amazon UK listings:
Blu Ray: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Z5LSHTT
DVD: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Stars-DVD/dp/B07Z5MP7YF/

 

I bought the soundtrack to the film on release day but finally got around to listening to it over this past weekend. Very good soundtrack. Almost as good as the studio album. Didn't see the film, even though it was showing at a theatre about 10 miles away. If the film is released on DVD, I will buy it.

 

I saw the film last night for its final showing in our local theater, and I was the only one there. I had the whole theater to myself (as small as it was). The film was excellent. I don't go to the theater often (not counting 2001 in IMAX last year, the last time I saw a new movie in a theater was in 2009), but I'm glad I went. I really enjoyed the album and the film just enhanced it for me. The barn was a perfect setting and in some ways I liked the live performances better than the studio album. I'll have to spring for the Blu-ray.

 

it's probably just me, but i think it kind of takes big balls to release an album of new songs, then release a movie about the new album and then release all the exact same songs again in a live format and throw in ONE additional song (a cover to boot) to get people to buy the album.

just my 2 cents

 

He's just following a variation on the Stones formula of Album-tour-live album.

 

Blu-ray being released next week, $35.99.

Kinda crazy, no extras mentioned.

 

That is a lot for a Blu-ray. I'll wait a while. It will drop in price eventually.

 

Whoa. That’s overpriced.

I’m a Bruce fanatic and I really love the “Western Stars” album, but the film is tough to watch. It’s half music (which is quite good) and half Bruce telling us, with overwhelming earnestness, all about his “craft,” which makes for some pretty uncomfortable viewing. One of my favorite quotes from Bruce dates back to the early 80s, I believe, and it was basically Bruce saying that no musician was ever considered great simply for telling people how great they were; it was the work itself that counted and back then Bruce always let his work speak for itself.

Those days are long gone. For the past 10 years, Bruce has been in legacy-building mode, what with the autobiography, Broadway show and documentary films tied to his archival releases. I love the guy, but it’s a bit unseemly for anyone, in any profession, to talk about themselves in this manner and at such great length. Mind you, I have no objection to OTHERS talking about how great Bruce is ... and he is a truly great songwriter and performer. But a lot of “Western Stars” (and the film of the Broadway show) reminds me of Michael Jackson declaring himself the King of Pop — a little presumptuous. Granted, Bruce is often very self-deprecating, and my guess is that all his years in therapy have conditioned him to talk this way about himself and his music. But if they ever collect all these Thom Zimny-directed films in a box set, it should be titled, “Springsteen: Let’s Talk About Me.”

 

I cannot find a single retailer selling this, nor is Amazon. It's only available right now through re-sellers. None of the few music retailers left here in Toronto, Canada even have a listing for the Blu-ray, and both Amazon.ca and .com are only selling it via re-sellers, who have pumped up the already inflated price even more. What gives with this title, I don't get it?

 

I’m on .com right now and listing is for BD + digital code sold by Amazon.com. Not sure why you wouldn’t see it.

 

Friday morning it was listed as not available, and only listed with second sellers.

Later in the day it was back on, available from Amazon.

 

And now, Amazon states Shipping within 1-2 months.