REVIEWS:
Post your comments about Bruce Springsteen
(reviewed by Kevin Baker)
Yes, I'm feeling ambitious. Since I basically singlehandedly reviewed the Allmans for this site, I decided why not do the same for Bruce Springsteen? However, that isn't because I love The Boss like I do the Allmans. Far from it. While I am not a big fan of the man's music, you can't deny how BIG he was and how much his music means to some people, my parents included in that statement. Yup, I was brought up with Da Boss. No wonder I'm so warped sometimes. Just kidding. Seriously, the man is one of the biggest names in American music, for better or worse. You wouldn't guess that he would be from his debut album, though. Why? Because it ain't so hot, in all honesty.
Bruce obviously loved Bob Dylan in his youth, and Bob had a major influence on Bruce's early lyrical experiments. However, the student is certainly not better than the teacher. For example, the leading song, Blinded By The Light, is almost excruciatingly second-rate Dylan wannabe malarky. However, it does have a melody most of the time, which at least makes it better than Mary, Queen Of Arkansas. Speaking of that song, it's probably the reason that there are Springsteen haters in the world. The words blow, it's slow and boring as all get out, and the melody is incredibly bad. I cannot stand this song, and I hope you can't either. To make an observation, which is probably what I'm supposed to do in a review after all, the shorter the song, the better on this album. For example, I cite Growin' Up, which is only 3 minutes long but manages to be much more interesting and moving than all 5 minutes of Mary, Queen of the Trailer Park by I-40...shame on me. Arkansas is a fine place with fine people. Well, at least it has some pretty scenery...that makes up for the fact that between the entire population of the state, you could only scrounge together a mouth and a half worth of teeth. Shame on me.
Back on topic, Growin' Up resonates some with me, because hey, I'm "growin' up." Well, I'm 16, so I should be if nothing else. Also, Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street is only 2 minutes, yet it's one of the best songs here. The arrangement on these shorter songs is so much fuller, including pianos, some sax, some organ occasionally, plus Bruce's guitar. However, when it's just Bruce and his git-fiddle, I'll pass thank you. The funny thing about that is the fact that Nebraska is my favorite Springsteen album. Weird.
Well, if nothing else, Springsteen takes you to the city's less glitzy parts and shows you life as it is there, the good and the bad. The bad would certainly include the violent scenarios in Lost In The Flood, whose really skillfully written words are nearly ruined by a poor arrangement and dull delivery. Sheesh Bruce, just spoil a good song, why doncha? This overspare style mars The Angel, which is an otherwise interesting poetic song, one of his best. For You isn't too bad, but the melody is rather reminiscent of other tunes on the album. Spirit In The Night is not as spare, has good lyrics, and other voices than Bruce's, so it's my favorite on here. But it still doesn't hold a candle to some of his other stuff. Ya know, I'm boring myself with this review. It lacks fire. So does this album. Very second-rate from someone who later proved he could be better than this.
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(reviewed by Kevin Baker)
Wow, Bruce can do something good musically! It's amazing the differences between this and the debut. Instead of yuckily arranged, boring, weak melodied Dylan ripoffs, we now have very interestingly arranged, vibrant, stronger melodied pictures of city life. Well, I assume they're about city life. I've never lived in a city per se, so I wouldn't know. Yep, I'm a redneck----I even live in a town where the sheriff's last name is Rape...no joke. Bubba Rape is the sheriff. I also swear his son's name is Robin Rape. Run that one across the tongue a few times....he's a constable out here. By all rights, I should probably be eatin' a mayonnaise sandwich while watchin' HeeHaw.
Well, as a hick lookin' in on the big city, I'd have to say life is purty vibrant based on the music. Everything is very full sounding, with lotsa sax and brass, lotsa keybaords, some accordion, plenty o' guitar, drums, fake cigars, drunken balalaika players, a highly drugged bear named Schnookums, and the now famous electric hambone. OK, maybe some of those aren't accurate. But you get the point; more musical diversity. Plus, there's a lot of non-Dylan influence. There's a real mix here, which makes for a much more exciting listen. Think about it---if you had a harem, would you want all blondes with big blue eyes who look like they could be on the cover of magazines? Of course not! You'd want not only that type, but also brunettes and redheads who could be on magazine covers as well! It's all about diversity! :-)
Lyrically, we're in a fantasy world, but not a Yes-ish land of surreality. Naw, we're in any big city, watching the goings on of the not-so-high and mighty---broken hearts, street parties, circuses, etc. Very exciting, and not all that bleak. Wait till Darkness On The Edge Of Town... So, what am I gonna say more about it? Nothing. That's right, no song-by-song break down. Why? because I want to listen to my new Third Eye Blind cd. However, I'll restrain the urge for a few more minutes to say that Bruce really never did much else QUITE like this. He's still pretty humble and low-key; just another small-time poet from the city. His lyrical skills have improved, the music's good, and it's really a pretty unique listen. My sole complaint is that while much more exciting and fascinating than Asbury Park, for me it just lacks the power to draw me in. But that doesn't make it any less a good album. Not great, but good.
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(reviewed by Kevin Baker)
Yup, the breakout. The album that I have heard so many times in my life that it's basically etched into my consciousness forever. One of rock's sacred cows. Unlike some other reviewers, I won't be offering you beef barbecue.....this is one sacred cow that ain't dyin' today! Now, I will admit that this isn't a perfect listen. A good one, great I daresay, but by no means perfect. To call it perfect would be a death trap, a suicide rap....sorry, got caught up in the moment.
One thing I will say is Bruce is hitting bullseyes lyrically. Instead of pictures of life in the city, we now are sick of the city---it's a death trap and no life to be trapped in! We have to break out of this modern slavery, Wendy! And Mary and anyone who's stuck at a dead-end job in a cruddy metropolitan area. I guess you could label this a concept album, because conceptually speaking, this is all about escaping back to a more youthful life of fun, motorcycles, chicks, etc. Thus, the message of it is by no means subject to dating, because as long as there is a city, there will be people trapped in its seamy underbelly who feel like it's robbed them of their youth.
My goodness, I'm actually commenting seriously with very few attempts at humor. I suppose that's probably because this album has nearly reached gospel status in my household. Well, the Gospel according to Bruce is sax-heavy, guitar heavy, keyboard heavy, and heavy in general. This is no humble masterpiece....nope, Bruce is done with that. No, this is a war cry---a call to arms! So, what are the calls like? Pretty good. I honestly get drawn in more by this sort of image and style than with the fantasy worlds of the first two albums. Of course, everybody's heard the opening Thunder Road and the title track, and both are certainly great. How Thunder Road can be so catchy is really a miracle---in structural terms, there's no obvious lyrical hook. But how can you not sing along to "whoa-oh-oh oh Thunder Road?" The keyboards really carry the verses along well, and the sax....the sax is lovely throughout. Powerful. Vibrant. It is perfect for the spirit of the album.
Now, as usual, Bruce DID forget to provide a spectacularly diverse listen. However, I can mostly forgive this because he at least managed to perfectly match instrumentation and emotion.That said, I have to rip him apart for the sameyness. The songs honestly approach interchangeability with each other. If the emotion wasn't so strong, it would ruin the listening experience. Then again, he DOES at least try to make up different melodies for the songs, and She's The One has a Bo Diddley-ish beat. OK, Jungleland gets some points for having some strings ate the very beginning, and also for being epic but not obnoxiously so. Plus, he uses the phrase "magic rat." Have YOU ever written about a magic rat in "jungleland?" That's what I thought.
All-in-all, this one's humorless like my review. It's serious and grandiose---it honestly is gospel-ish in it's sweeping statements. However, it too has it's faults....so don't idolize it! I don't, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. My rating----sheesh, this is such a tough call. I'd ordinarily give it an 8, but since I see it as superior to it's immediate predecessor, I'll give it a 9. And 9 it is.
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COMMENTS
Bruce Springsteen is one of America's great songwriters like Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and Prince. He seems to be very polarizing though. When Born To Run was released it was embraced as a great complete musical statement on par with Blonde On Blonde and Highway 61 Revisited, now many view is as a piece of pure bombast on par with Def Leppard, Queen and other similar acts like Aerosmith. I agree with the first opinion. The album is very dramatic, but of course it is, it DEALS with VERY dramatic subjects. I don't hear anyone complaining about Phil Spector's wonderful works like 'Be My Baby' and 'River Deep, Mountain High' do I? I do see the Rolling Stones as excellent musical artists but why are people complaining about Born To Run but not the contrivences on the otherwise excellent Sticky Fingers. He just(well, a few years ago) came out with a new album, The Rising, it deals with the terrorist attacks which occured on sep 11 2001. The album is very sympathetic. But, you see, all his albums are sympathetic they all deal with the average person and his many problems, you gotta love the guy for it. If I find out this is all for explointation to sell albums I'd be mad but I couldn't deny his talent which many people do.
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
HIGH POINTS: Born In The U.S.A., My Hometown, Dancing In The Dark, Cover Me, Bobby Jean, Downbound Train. LOW POINTS: None.
While from what I've read it seems that Born to Run remains the critics’ favorite, this was Springsteen’s biggest commercial success, selling fifteen million copies, sending over half of the tracks on here to the top ten. Not only that, but critics tend to consider this to be his second best outing. But does it really deserve the hype? I'd say so. Most of it, anyway. While there aren't any bad truly songs, I wouldn't call Born In The U.S.A. perfect. A few of the songs seem slightly underlong (which stops me from listing the otherwise brilliant “I'm On Fire” as a highlight), and a couple just sort of sit as mediocre and come and go, but overall I'm not complaining. You can't go wrong with that opening title track, the simple pounding of the drums over Bruce’s powerful screams is certainly not something I could dislike. It’s certainly my favorite song on the album, and one of the defining moments of Springsteen’s career.
The rest do what they can to try to keep the album on the same level, and as an immediate follow-up “Cover Me” is quite a success with a great melodic chorus. It’s a good cool down from the power of the opener before cruising into “Darlington Country” which I'll admit isn't one of my favorites here, but there are still times I can't resist the urge to sing along with the “Sha la la la” chorus. The aforementioned “I'm On Fire,” while still too short to really get into, is still a fine soft song where Bruce tells us about his “bad desire” a little. The music and vocals match the songs message perfectly. The simple riff driving “Bobby Jean” is another of my favorites on here, a remarkably catchy addition to the album, right before the huge hit of “Glory Days” rocks on in with all its got.
I'm sure you've heard “Dancer In The Dark,” and there’s not a whole lot I can add to what’s been said about it, other than I like it quite a bit. But I prefer the closing “My Hometown,” where a remarkably personal touch shines through the quiet music, the slow pace held up quite well by the songs strong mood so that it never becomes boring in the least. A powerful lyrical story about family and ones roots comes through too, changing the song from just another little ballad to a truly unforgettable piece of rock music, and my second favorite song on the album.
You know, sometimes I find it kind of funny that this came out in 1984 and still became such a great success. The Boss always struck me as more of a symbol of the 70s, one without a place in the following decade. But one listen to this album shows me exactly why this is. These songs are catchy, melodic, resonant, and simply unforgettable. I do look and see a few of the small flaws here and there, but that’s nothing to get too upset about. And I guess the debate about the actual sincerity behind these songs won't ever end, I don't see how people can call Springsteen so much more insincere than Bob Dylan or Bono. But that’s just me. There’s a whole other side to the argument that I generally don't bother too much with.
So all in all this is a great album, one that I like probably ten times more than I had expected to when I first listened to it. Go deny it for whatever reason you want to, but you'll still be in the minority (which isn't a bad thing at all, since I know I'm right about Kiss and Judas Priest, but I'm trying to write a closing sentence here so cut me some slack), and the truth is that if you go out and buy this right now you'll probably like it a good deal.
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COMMENTS
I'm sleepy so I'll go through this fast. Most of this album is about as great as you'll get with mainstream pop. Part of it is not very good and serve as low points in Springteen's accomplished catalogue. Cover Me, Glory Days and I'm On Fire are some of his biggets hits-why? I'd take 'em all out. With the strength of the two stunners; Bobby Jean and No Surrender and all the other classic pop songs (and, OF COURSE, the title track) you've got yourself a 9 1/2.
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