Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

Is this a new genre? Cos that'd be fucking incredible.

I still love Bruce Springsteen. Put on Rosalita and you will see me go insane.

Yeah, new album is weak. Basically just an excuse for the live shows, though, which according to what I've heard remain wonderful.

Found this at the near start of the thread, dunno if Ned can be bothered to talk about it now:

La Bruce just collectively calls to my mind a stunted bastard vision of music that presumes he was the sole carrier of the 'spirit of rock and roll truth' that the Beatles and Stones 'started' in the sixties.

Odd, because Springsteen's own views are the exact opposite- he was always far less interested in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones than he was in Phil Spector and James Brown.

Though he always does look really tense and "real rock" when he performs.

It used to be such that every time I got drunk, the evening would end with me and a gentleman companion in the group deciding to put on Dancing in the Dark and imitating the Boss & Courteney Cox dance. This has thankfully not occured in a long time now.

Ah, to explain my sense further -- there I wasn't referring to exact sound (I hope) so much as the role he seems to be in. I don't like universal idolatry, but personal, and so much around Bruce is "my god, the genius is among us all again! DO YOU SEE!" insistence that just makes me hate him even more. Like I said above in that quote, I don't get the sense that he believes that garbage (if he takes Dave Marsh at all seriously, though, that's a pisser).

And as for the music itself, a lot of people love Phil Spector and James Brown. In my mind, that doesn't give them a free pass for their own efforts. ;-)

My only realization about Bruce recently has been when I finally heard Bat Out of Hell and realized I loved that a hell of a lot more than any Springsteen I've heard.

Yeah, Nebraska is a pretty OK album, but I recall at the time that it was more noteworthy as an advertisement for Tascam's portastudio than as any kind of artistic breakthrough.

Even so, I'll give him a "Get Out Of Dud Free" card for this, which I think is pretty goddamn cool.

He could have quite after Born to Run and still be classic classic classic. That album is one of the great moments in pop music history, and a cultural icon (in the States at least).

Even if you don't like his music, he's still classic.

And it is about time people start liking "Born In The USA" again. Just because the album sold zillions doesn't make it a bad album.

Of course the adulation is typically overboard. But what do you expect for someone who has had, at least at moments, near-Madonna-level pop smarts and still gets content, even poetry, into his lyrics?

One of the differences between him and "heartland rock" - r&b. A greater proportion of it, at least. Who else (besides the aforementioned Californians) has had such a sound during the same period at remotely similar levels of popularity?

but he loses that card for this, the final page of the aforementioned document, in which mr. springsteen proves he can't spell "asbury park."

i otherwise kinda like springsteen, so perhaps i'm not the best to answer this, but i'd say his career mathematically boils down to this:

1. great singer
2. damn good songwriter (despite a huge drop-off in the '90s)
3. fair-to-average, overrated bar-band backing (playing mostly hackneyed arrangements)
4. poor production (i like "born to run" just fine, but after that it's just so completely lacking in punch and warmth i can't believe he's ever been lauded for it)

"nebraska" discards with (3) and (4), leaving him playing entirely to his strengths. and as it happens his songwriting hit a peak at the same time. i'd say it's far and away his best.

i'd have to guess anyone owns the record knew, what with him screaming those lyrics out for the entire length of the song, not to mention the fact that he included a lyric sheet. that'd be 15 or 20 million people right there.

Wonderful and glorious. No, no need to thank me.

the 2nd verse of "41 shots" is heartbreaking, astonishing. the rest of the song doesn't quite live up to it.

also the man can sing. i don't like the way he pronounces "somewhere" (mumbled: "some-wahr") BUT: "lit-tle-world-fal-lin-apart"!!!

going to see him for the first time in sf on Sunday. excited!

you are in for a treat my friend

Looks like he is loosening up the setlists, maybe 5%, throwing in some songs he hasn't played yet, taking the occasional request. Still mostly the usual, but I think he knew people were getting a little tired of that.

I think I'm going to try to see him again in Philly this August, depending on prices.

Some nice additions in Los Angeles last night, reportedly. And 32 songs, 3 1/2 hours! He's done this before, recently, one tour leg exciting but still relatively conservative, and then the next one loosening up, with more requests and surprises.

Bob Seger used to do the same thing. Play two or three shows, fly home for a few days, go back out. Metallica, too.

Zeppelin kind of invented the home-base method of regional rock band touring, as I understand it. Set up in Chicago, head out for a bunch of shows within a certain radius. This is not what Bruce is doing, though I think Bruce does fly home after almost every show. I meant that Bruce toured for much of 2023, took time off to get healthy, and now has returned to the road (for many months) reportedly reinvigorated.

The sound at the show last week was almost unbearably loud (forgot to bring ear protection which i basically always tote to a show). The horn section was just blaring and after 2 hours I was semi covering the ear most exposed to a speaker stack when they came in. But I am really happy that I went and jeez feel like we really got our money's worth. Band sounded great and was awesome to see those legends.

it's quite remarkable to see him in 2024 and consider that he is more or less 40 years past his live peak.

I love, for the boss' sake, that he has a "Little Big Man" in the band