I love Bruce Springsteen, he's my musical infatuation that's lasted the longest. I've read two biographies about him and apparently a new one is out in paperback. But he seems to fall into some unhip void for people my age and younger that other song writers of his caliber have avoided. Bruce is at least the equal of Bob Dylan and Neil Young despite his most famous work being sorta cheesy 80s arena rock. Cheesy arena rock that makes Bon Jovi look like a bad cover band in comparison.
Blinded by the Light is most famous as a weird but catchy kinda prog rock song by Manfred Mann's 70s group the Earth Band. It's actually the first track on Springsteen's first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. And the Springsteen version is leaps and bounds better in my opinion even if it's admittedly an attempt to prove song writing chops by a Jersey kid sitting in an apartment with a rhyming dictionary.
I'm going to link to a few more tracks on Greetings just because I love it even though it's the most unpolished songwriting of Bruce's career.
For You has sentimental value to me since it reminds me of a girl I knew.
After Greetings Bruce recorded The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle which evolved his songwriting to a degree but still has a hefty dose of that New Jersey bar band feel in the lyrics. But that's not exactly a bad thing. Bruce was a work horse with a Protestant work ethic that he poured into his music. He will admit he may not have been the best guitar player on the Shore but he worked the hardest. My favorite part of this album is the entire second side taken as a whole. The E Street Shuffle and Sandy are good but the flow of these next songs, one into the next is the reason the ritual of flipping the album is part of the charm of vinyl.
After two albums that were hyped by the studio but led to lukewarm sales the third album was a do or die proposition for Bruce. Months were spent recording Born to Run. The album, yes, but also the actual single. The recording of the song Born to Run was a nightmare for everyone involved due to Bruce's perfectionism. One of those books I mentioned was about this album. But that commitment led to the breakthrough and the cover of national magazines. And some of the greatest songs in his catalogue that moved away from the specificity of life on the Jersey shore to the broader troubador style that makes Bruce Springsteen one of the greatest rock and roll writers in the history of the genre.
Jungleland and Backstreets capture that Jersey street vibe but elevate it. These are songs that speak to every young person who experiences that love that passionately develops in early adulthood but they broaden beyond the juke joint scene of Rosalita and New York City Serenade.
After Born to Run there was a legal battle that delayed Bruce's next album but when it hit it delivered an even more mature songwriter, struggling with the realities of adulthood and leaving a bit of that youthful optimism behind. Darkness on the Edge of Town is the first glimpse of social consciousness that would define many mature Springsteen songs
Following Darkness is Nebraska, a radical departure from rock and also the E Street Band. Nebraska is an intimate solo folk/country inspired album recorded solo in a bedroom.
Nebraska is the turning point from the hardest working bar musician on the Jersey shore to the thoughtful songwriter that marks most of the subsequent catalog. It was also during this songwriting session that Bruce penned his most famous song. One that he turned into an arena rock anthem that Reagan ironically sought to campaign on, entirelt missing its point. The original recording is a completely different song.
I'm not even going to touch on the Born in the USA album. It spawned so many singles most people are at least passingly familiar with the majority of the album.
After becoming an 80s phenomenon beyond even the success of Born to Run, Bruce disbanded the E Street Band and recorded Tunnel of Love. It's got some 80s synth cheese but it's a remarkable reflection by a newly married man on the uncertainties and insecurities of someone in that position.
Despite winning an Oscar, the nineties were a bit of a down time for Bruce. His first two albums of the decade were poorly received despite some gems. He regained some footing with The Ghost of Tom Joad.
The Rising saw the reformation of the E Street Band and a return to form. After the 9/11 attacks Bruce recorded some of the best songs of his career, mourning for his city without becoming jingistic or reactionaryly patriotic. What I initially thought was just a 'fuck yeah, America' anthem, The Rising, is actually a moving portrait of a firefighter who dies in the Trade Center.
Late career Bruce is a continuation of themes begun around Darkness and experimentation. He's brought on Rage Against the Machine's guitarist, Tom Morello, and it's awesome.
Li'l Springsteen story: My buddy Jim was on staff at Record Plant when Patty Scialfa recorded Rumble Doll in '93. Bruce came in for a day and was super-friendly to everyone. Fast forward to 1999 and my buddy Jim is visiting a friend at Staples Center, which is opening that night with Bruce and E Street headlining. Jim walks past the stage, where there's a roadie noodling on guitar. Jim walks past the roadie and he says "Hi, Jim." Springsteen tuning his own guitar before the first show at Staples Center, remembering the name of the mix tech on his wife's album six years previous and saying hello. I've never heard a bad thing about the man.
One of the books I read made a point about him being one of the few major rockstars who've never had a scandal. No drugs, no trashed hotel rooms, not too much drama in his love life. As far as I can tell he's just an average hard working guy who's job just happens to be one of the biggest musicians in history.
I love Nebraska. It's just so... empty. like the emotions he's conveying, and like the state itself.
If I tried to make a list of songs that mean something to me (not necessarily favorite songs), Used Cars would be on it. "Mister the day my number comes in I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again" is how I feel when I travel. It's expensive and probably appears frivolous to a lot of people, but I'm able to do it, and it's amazing and all mine. In defense of the state of Nebraska, having driven the length of both Kansas and Nebraska (on consecutive days now that I think about it), Kansas makes Nebraska look like Times Square mixed with the Swiss Alps.
Nah, I love places like Nebraska, i'm not hatin'. It is a good metaphor for the sound of the album, though, especially when it was written because there was a lot of economic depression in that area of the world at the time as well. It just highlights all of the themes for me.
The only reason Nebraska isn't my favorite is that E Street Shuffle and Greetings have more sentimental connection to me since they were the first albums of his I owned. It's a somewhat difficult album to appreciate. It's not really pop, and if you want to be honest most rock is pop music with some edge. Atlantic City and Reason to Believe have hooks but songs like My Father's House and Used Cars are just stories set to music. The title track is another one like that based on the movie Badlands by Terrence Malick. My Father's House can make me cry. Like Bruce I have a terrible relationship with my dad. In February it'll be two years since we talked. But back to my point, it's a challenging song that requires active listening to understand. It's not a record I'd recommend to someone who I know wouldn't devote full attention to listening to.
My favorite part of Bruce Springsteen is that his songs have been enjoyable all throughout my life, but the older I get the more they seem to make sense. For example Glory Days: I know it's sort of cheesy, but guess what, it rings true. Another one is My Home Town I spent most of my life doing all I could to get away from my hometown and now, I'm very happy to be back there when I can. There's a connection to "place" that is important in his songs and I feel that connection to be more and more important as I get older. He does a fantastic job of making that connection. He's a brilliant song writer. Thanks for the post, it's been fun to read and listen to.
That was a great comprehensive post. Awesome. Bonus points for posting my 2 favorite Manfred Mann's Earth Band covers. I liked those versions better but I am biased as I developed an unnatural aversion to Bruce due to the unbridled enthusiasm for him some of the frat boy idiots I played football with had. :(
It took me a long time to start enjoying Bruce, because of the "unhip void" that you mention. But I love his music now. Live 75 - 85 is one of the best parts of my record collection. The energy coming through during those performances is unreal.