Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

We also played pinball on the boardwalk around the corner from the Stone Pony.

Riiight

Did you get chills? xp

Yeah that pinball museum is no joke

Re: Springsushi

Eel sashimi, junp a little lighter

Come on up for the ricing

Thunder Roll

Wasabi Street Band

Thunder Roe

that's a good one

The Ghost of Tom Roe'd

Roesalita?

Roe Surrender?

I think we have unlocked the key to Springsteen sushi puns.

The Rice That Binds

Sashimeeting Across The River

The Ramen Touch

Nori Days

My Tempura Will Not Let You Down

Born In The U N I

LMAO

She just said "Joe, I can't eat roe
I had it once, I can't have it any more"
She ate edamame, chicken teriyaki
She ordered California Roll
And I dropped to my knees, hung my head, and cried

and for my 19th birthday
i got a uni nigiri with some tobiko

Meet me tonight, for Atlantic ahi ...

Working on a Bream

Salmon Claus is Comin' to Town

(But seriously Omar won that round with the very elegant "Nori Days.")

I don't think that can be improved upon.

Some fans have been synching their iPhone footage to the officially released downloads that come out a few days later - pretty good results!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swjgpWjrNMU

Another good one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc-fBNA8tuA

"Jungleland" from MSG, in HDR which looks really impressive, especially for the 30 second stretch just past the 2 minute mark (try watching it on a computer screen instead of a phone).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3a3tFAsd9M

Any idea why Patti Scialfa hasn't played the last few shows?

I thought she only ever did a couple of shows each tour?

it's a good question, I think she did the first few dates? I mean, she could be visiting or vacationing with her kids/grandkids, getting plastic surgery, dealing with other stuff privately; we assume the "health emergency" that postponed shows (or however they put it) was Bruce, but it could have been Patti, or anyone. These folks are old with families and lives.

Bruce finally got the 'vid. Seems to be doing OK.

I just bought some modestly situated (if not quite priced) seats to see the second Wrigley show this summer. He's brought me so much happiness over the years that I ultimately thought it kind of silly to sit it out out of spite. I'll probably make a decision about the first night closer to the date, but I suspect that decision will be "yes" even if he sticks to a static setlist.

I got it too. Think I know which artist I will be paying tribute to first when I get back on the karaoke circuit.

Feel better, James (...and Bruce)

Thanks! I’d like to thank that someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny. It’s not going to BE funny but…

Come on up for the virus

Complete UBS Arena show in 4K

On the way to the airport this morning, my wife's playlist popped up "Human Touch." I was impressed that she went with a (relatively) deep cut, and then she told me it was actually her second favorite Springsteen song after "The River," but that she'd burned herself out on "The River" (like Bruce?) and now gravitates toward "Human Touch." I had no idea! I was impressed!

Oh hi. I recently started to emerge from my COVID cocoon and did the karaoke thing as promised, “Prove It All Night.”

I've been listening to THE PROMISE.

I don't think all of it is so great, but I do think - if an artist c.1979 had released just this LP, and made none of Bruce's other LPs, it would still be admired and viewed as a historically interesting tribute to big 1960s pop among other things.

This never occurred to me until Jimmy Guterman pointed it out, but the closing guitar solo in "Human Touch" really does sound like a Richard Thompson solo. (It's also unfortunate that the single edit fades it out because it's the best part of the track.)

Re: The Promise, I agree pinefox. I do think it's a shame Springsteen held back that material for 30 years, but at least it was finally released. Several cuts wouldn't have been usable in 1979 since they were successfully re-worked for Darkness on the Edge of Town, but you could easily replace them with the Darkness outtakes on Tracks which were arguably stronger ("Don't Look Back," "The Iceman," "Give the Girl a Kiss," "Hearts of Stone"). I'm not sure whether a double LP or single LP would be better - on the one hand, I can see how half the set doesn't rise to the same level as the other half, but at the same time, I think a single LP would have the same problems as the shelved The Ties That Bind LP due to the general frothiness that dominates so much of the material.

Like a lot of Springsteen, the "Human Touch" solo is more how he plays it than what he is playing. Here's a good live version with some guitar closeups from 2009. He's barely playing many notes, tbh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srmQtMZPKN4

I always though the song reminded me a lot of "Tunnel of Love," which of course has a killer Nils solo. He gets to cut loose here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4606sXyaRU

I was shocked at how little Nils had to do when I saw the show a few weeks ago, he's the most talented musician on stage.

When I was new to Springsteen, I mistook "Human Touch" for "Tunnel of Love" before I realized they were two different songs from two different albums. I think this happened when I heard Greatest Hits - I previously caught the video for Tunnel of Love somewhere (maybe a DVD?) and just assumed it was the same song.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Crj2R8CoY5S/

birdistheword: Yes ... a single LP of the best of THE PROMISE would be strong! Picking the best 11 tracks or so out of that. Or even those that aren't on DARKNESS.

One thing about THE PROMISE as I recall is that by the end he keeps coming up with ever more epic finale numbers ... there are about 3 in a row, and they're all good.

Great photo. I love that Bruce and Spielberg have been vacation buddies for years, and that he's also ended up friends with Obama. I wonder if in my lifetime there will be a sitcom called "Everybody Loves Bruce."

I think Springsteen has said one of his biggest regrets is not releasing more records. He sure had more than enough material for them, though they might have affected the impact of the albums he did release. For sure his problem in the last decade or so has probably been releasing too many records (not counting the maybe, what, ten discs of awesome unreleased stuff).

Yeah some friends of mine happen to be on vacation in Spain and saw the Obamas with Spielberg at the Picasso museum, but Bruce skipped it

Heh

I'm not sure whether a double LP or single LP would be better - on the one hand, I can see how half the set doesn't rise to the same level as the other half, but at the same time, I think a single LP would have the same problems as the shelved The Ties That Bind LP due to the general frothiness that dominates so much of the material.

So what would you keep/sub in from Tracks if you were putting together a single LP of The Promise?

I agree with you about the frothiness. I think I talked about this upthread, but for me the problem with the Promise is that the songs mostly feel like they're lacking something - there's a quality of distinctiveness, weirdness, personality, that's there in most of Bruce's pop songs, even the fluffy ones, and isn't present in most of these. There are enough dark songs that with a single LP you could have a dark/light balance like The River, but I think in practice it would be hard to make the songs complement each other in the same way they do on The River, because a lot of the light ones just don't have enough substance.

I think I'd keep "Breakaway," "City of Night," "The Promise," "Come on (Let's Go Tonight)," probably add in "Don't Look Back," maybe "Outside Looking In" - what else?

I fear that the balance isn't right on THE RIVER itself. Far too much straight-ahead bar-room rock, too little Darkness. I've always been mystified by that.

FWIW from THE PROMISE, songs not on DARKNESS, for a single LP?

GOTTA GET THAT FEELING
3. OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
4. SOMEDAY (WE’LL BE TOGETHER)
6. BECAUSE THE NIGHT
11. SAVE MY LOVE
12. AIN’T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU
13. FIRE
16. COME ON (LET’S GO TONIGHT)
19. BREAKAWAY
20. THE PROMISE
21. CITY OF NIGHT
+ THE EXTRA ONE AFTER THAT ?

12 good tracks.