Bruce Springsteen Thread

[MirrorMask]

So, today it's the Boss' birthday, 71 years young, and it's a good day as any to remind that there's a new album coming out, Letter to You, in exactly a month:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_to_You

The single and title track is already out since some time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQyLEz0qy-g

Feels like a standard Springsteen song to me, but anyway it's nice to see him continuing to put out new music, and just a year after his soon-no-longer latest album, Western Stars.

Speaking of Western Stars, the movie that has been released about it is a wonderful experience, it's basically Sigur Ros' Heima in the desert, and all the songs performed in a barn acquire a new taste and flavor. Beautifully shot.

I also listened on 9/11 the album The Rising, and I'd say it's a damn strong one. Aside from a couple of tracks (from memory the ones before and after Mary's Place), all the songs vary from good to great and it's a very consistent album. It really has a good mood that mixes optimism with sadness when you hear it in one go.

Convinced by random songs I liked on YouTube, I also heard the entire Magic album, not as strong as The Rising but it's still good.

So far I'm still all over the place with his discography and checking songs here and there (latest discovery: a River outtake, Meet Me in the City, which is awesome), aside from the three albums I mentioned, I heard in full just the live version of Born in the USA, I guess one day I'll just have to hear the other albums from start to finish.

[Fritzinger]

I'm happy someone pointed out The Rising's quality. I don't know all Springsteen albums, but of those I know, The Rising is definitely my favourite. World's Apart and You're Missing are beautiful, as is My City Of Ruins with that irresistible hammond organ.

I also absolutely loved Western Stars. And although I told myself not to spend way too much money on vinyl anymore, I just had to pre-order German online shop JPC's exclusive black/white marbled vinyl LP of Letter To You the other day, before it sells out.

[hefdaddy42]

Big Bruce fan here, and I find it interesting that the song I have kept coming back to as I get older is Devils & Dust.  Not sure what that says, but there it is.

[Stadler]

For me, personally, that's become a hard song to listen to because of it's poignancy and relevance to me and my family.

[hefdaddy42]

For me, personally, that's become a hard song to listen to because of it's poignancy and relevance to me and my family.

I get it.

[The Walrus]

Bump.

So. I only know Bruce's hits. But I was hit with his new album "Letter To You" last week, and my god, it's fantastic. It's going to very likely be in my top 10 albums of the year. Every song is a winner. I love it and can't stop playing it. So I've decided Bruce will be the next artist whose extensive catalog I will explore, despite still having a gigantic list of artists to check out from roulettes and other stuff. This is going to be fun.

Oh, I lied. My favorite Bruce song isn't even a hit, it's "The Wall" from 2014. That's a gutpuncher imo.

EDIT: starting now, with his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ.

[NoseofNicko]

I’m not that familiar with Springsteen myself but I blind-bought Letter to You and I quite like it.

My favorite Springsteen song is Streets of Philadelphia, cliche choice I know but it’s such a great beautiful song.

[MirrorMask]

I wanted to bump this thread as well, sooner or later, to talk about the new album.

I like it too - it's very consistent, there are no weak songs and while surely some are better than the others, the whole album is very cohesive, which is quite impressive if you consider that three songs - Janey Needs a Shooter, If I was the Priest and Song for Orphans, which incidentally are among the very best of the bunch - are very old songs from his early days, recorded just last year along with the new songs.

@NoseofNicko - if you enjoy so much the new record, you might stay as well in the latter part of his carrer, I suggest as next album to check out The Rising which is the "reunion album" with the E Street Band that came out in 2002 (strongly influenced by 9/11) and is another album strong and consistent from the beginning to the end.

@Walrus - enjoy the ride from the beginning! 

[The Walrus]

I'm enjoying the debut, I'm on my second spin, although none of the songs are really connecting, which is to be expected since it's so much older and a debut. Although I think it's fascinating that 3 songs on Letter To You were written before the debut record even came out, and those songs are great. So maybe I just need to keep listening to this. I am pretty stunned that, right out the gate, I discovered Blinded By The Light was actually a Bruce song and not Manfred Mann. Wow.

[MirrorMask]

I still haven't connected with the first two albums properly. Once you get to the third, Born to Run, you start with the historical, classic streak that will last until Born in the USA and that's where the fun will truly begin.

[The Walrus]

I remember someone - Jingle? Stadler? - sending me Jungleland in a roulette, and that ruled. Not sure what album that's on, but I look forward to hearing it again. Yeah, this second album is a bit different, but in some ways much like the first. The longer songs are throwing me for a loop, especially NYC Serenade which is a highlight of the record. I'll spin it a second time for today, but I think tomorrow I'll move right into Born To Run. 

[Zydar]

Big Springsteen fan here. Jungleland is one of my favourite songs ever by anyone. I was so lucky to hear it live in 2009 in Stockholm.

My favourite period in his discography is 1973-1980 (from "Greetings" to "The River").

[Stadler]

It wasn't me.  I love Bruce, but I tend to stay clear of the "fan fave hits of the 70's".    I'm a deeper track kind of guy.  I think the first proper Bruce album I own is Nebraska, but I have the "Tracks" box set and I LOVE it.   I love those songs that fly under the radar; "Downbound Train" is by far my favorite song on Born In The USA, for example, even though it was not one of the SEVEN singles released from that album (and I know I'm right, because Bruce apologist Dave Marsh panned it).

The Rising is an essential record, and one of the few albums that really BENEFITS from knowing when and how it was recorded.  I'm a big(ger) fan of his material from that point on; I think he's got a maturity of craft and viewpoint that really benefits his art.  I consider McCartney to be the greatest LIVING musician at this point, and Springsteen to be the greatest living AMERICAN musician.   

Oh, and because I care, I give you Bruce Springsteen's ass (taken by me in Newark Airport about a year ago; he was taking a commercial non-stop to California.  I know it was him, because moments before the picture he walked within three feet of me and I heard him talk):

[MirrorMask]

I love Downbound Train as well and you deserve full credit for mentioning to me that song when I asked "which songs are not part of the Essential collections but are a must-hear?" 

What a moment it must have been to see him casually passing you by!

[Stadler]

I love Downbound Train as well and you deserve full credit for mentioning to me that song when I asked "which songs are not part of the Essential collections but are a must-hear?" 

What a moment it must have been to see him casually passing you by!

It's even better than that; I was on a layover, and sitting at a bar in the new concourse.   I see a cart come by and Bruce is sitting in it. One of my close friends is a Bruce MANIAC, and was with me when I saw him on Broadway. I had third row center, and I tried to give him the ticket, but he wouldn't take it.  So we bust balls a little and I'm the guy that denied my best friend his shot to hold his idol's hand (I have a picture of him shaking the hands of the people in the front row).  Yadda yadda.  So I sent a group text saying "hey, since I'm best friends with Bruce now, I thought I'd tell you I just saw him drive by on a cart at Newark Airport".  They were all "billshot, there's no f-ing way Bruce is in Newark Airport flying commercial".  So I was sort of desperate to have some proof of this, and I looked on the map, and i realized there's no outlet to this concourse.  He MUST be down there somewhere.  I walk down and there's no one at at any of the gates.  The last five gates are in a semicircle and there's a second, lower level. So I go down, nothing.  No one.   So I walk back up, defeated, and I come to the top of the stairs and I notice a Wendy's and figure I'll eat.  I'm standing at the top of the stairs looking at the menu, and go to walk up to the line not really paying attention, and BAM, Bruce and his friend are right there.  I didn't make contact, but I mean, I was close enough to where by rights I should have said "excuse me".  It all happened so fast, because I didn't expect him there, so I didn't say anything, and I didn't follow up (no one was bothering him at all).  All I could do was scramble to get a quick photo, thus his ass.  (And of course, my classy friends:  "you were that close to Bruce and you didn't get Mike an autograph!?!?")

If anyone cares, he literally walked onto the jet without stopping.  Apparently the "Bruce Class" has boarding priority over the rest of the frequent flier classes. 

[Orbert]

Cool story, bro!

No seriously, I love stuff like this.  Sometimes celebrities are just regular people.

[The Walrus]

That's America's ass. Great story, Stadler.

[The Walrus]

Okay, Born To Run: fantastic. This is a great album. If this is where the magic starts, I know I'm in for some good listening. 

[MirrorMask]

Oh yeah, you definitively are  Born to Run, the following Darkness on the Edge of Town, the ambitious double album The River, the completely acoustic and raw Nebraska, and the smash hit album Born in the USA... you're in for quite a ride! 

[DragonAttack]

First of all, there WAS an A+ bootleg of a show at Joe Louis Arena during 'The River' tour available on youtube years ago.  Fortunately, I downloaded and transferred it to discs......a friend broke up with his girlfriend and asked me to go instead.  Seven rows BEHIND the stage.  I liked him, but, OMG....what a concert!  Wish I could have provided the link for the show months ago here.

Moving on......amongst all the stress of life, I watch the local news on NBC, take the dog out, and there he is with the E Street Band.  Sounded as good as he did all those decades ago.  Here is a link to 'Ghosts'  ( I listened to both performances through my headphones with the volume at 11.....).  I've obviously missed some, skipped others, but it was a rare occasion to have a band to my liking on the show. 

https://www.facebook.com/joe.goodman.372/posts/1932006610287438?notif_id=1607827354317225&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

Damn, this was beyond great!

[MirrorMask]

So, major update, since like Walrus, I finally decided - after starting from the greatest hits collection and then sampling all over the place the other songs - to properly start to listen to the discography in order!

I mean, the amount of songs I've checked out here and there was already big and I already heard some albums in full, so I already had a clear idea of what every album was like,  but I've decided to do things properly.

The debut is nice, as a whole it flows quite well and there are many nice songs on it. I can't get on the second album however (Wild, Innocent and E-Street shuffle) - I know it's "my fault", 'cause the songs are quite good, but for whatever reason even the epics like Incident and NYC serenade, but it's doesn't grab me. Uh well, can't force yourself to like an album.

Now on to the classic era... BORN TO RUN is a bit weird for me, since I'd daresay that all the songs are way better when played live. For the longest time I couldn't get into Thunder Road, it's when I heard live versions that I understood the greatness of the song. I already found very nice live versions of these songs, but if one I day I commit to it and compile my own "Born to Run - live" playlist, I guess I could never need to listen to the album version again. I mean, it's a brilliant album and fully deserving of the classic status it has, but I think that this album comes truly alive when played in front of an audience.

My other favorite is DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, where I don't really have this "live is better" problem; I'm perfectly fine with the studio versions of Badlands, The Promised Land and the title track, even though of course live renditions from the era are a riot. Racing in the Street for example is something else live. I also think that side 2 is stronger than side 1, the final 5 songs are a great run.

Then we come to THE RIVER, double album, 20 songs; not all of them are essential, but there's a lot of good stuff that I was previously unaware of. There's also a big contrast - on the same album we have a song about the annoying ma of the protagonist's girlfriend (Sherry Darling) AND a heartwrenching story of regret and childhood stolen by an unexpected pregnancy (The River)? I've read that it was the precise point of the album, having very silly songs next to dramatic songs, still a bit weird and uneven. An enjoyable album, with the first disc being stronger than the second IMHO.

After that came NEBRASKA.... which is haunting and moody as everyone was saying. Great album made up of acoustic demos, perfect for the raw nature of the bleak stories told.

What wasn't used in Nebraska was kept for the big hit, BORN IN THE USA - Again, like Darkness, I feel it's weirdly paced 'cause all the good stuff is on side B. The album starts strong with the title track, and then follows with my THREE least favorite songs on the album, only Downbound Train redeems the first side... and it's in the second one that all the good stuff happens - No Surrender, Bobby Jean, the overplayed and overfamous classics like Glory Days and Dancing in the Dark... who else puts a hit single as penultimate track on a record?

I can see why Born in the USA became a huge best seller, but best seller does not always equal best overall. I'm still undecided on my favorite album - every album has a song or two I don't really love, and as I said many songs are totally better in their live version. Maybe Bruce has never been all about the albums per se, but more about the stories told and the live performances, where the songs really shows their strenght.

So I have finally heard in their entirety all the classic albums of the Boss. I'm looking forward to the next batch (Tunnel of Love, Human Touch, Lucky Town and The Ghost of Tom Joad), the period without the E Street Band; I'm curious to see which hidden gems are in albums that came out in his least successful period. I'm already prepared for them to not be so great from start to finish, so any other hidden gem I discover, it will be a plus. Also with these albums being so old there's not the "trauma" of having lived through them in real time, and I can appreciate them for what they are (kinda like what happens with Load and Reload, it's definitively better to hear them after years than living in real time through that era).