Bruce Springsteen

The guitar hero singer-songwriter known as "the Boss", has had a long multi-album career, recently wrote his autobiography, and is now wowing audiences in a Broadway show. Here are a few of his many hits:

Born To Run

Hungry Heart

Born In The U.S.A.

57 Channels (and Nothin' On)

The Streets of Philadelphia

Heyday TV: Bruce Springsteen - Videobiography
Less of the usual suspects, and some nice vintage footage of Bruce talking about his own works. This show considered his albums through to his Pete Seeger tribute one. A common fault in these sorts of shows is to give the same respect to later works as earlier ones, but this did it fine. It was interesting that his Philadelphia theme put him back on track after the mixed bag of the Lucky Town/Human Touch projects.

Bruce Springsteen: The Ties That Bind
A decent hour on the Making Of his 1980 classic album "The River", how long it took to put together and get right, how it went from being a single to a double, how having a hit single ("Hungry Heart") was a welcome bonus, and how it got across on record what a great touring act he and his band were. A nice guy, and still rocking on.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - 5/11/80
From Arizona State University, Tempe on November 5th. Plugging the River Tour, and shown in accord with the documentary on it, it looked like a jolly enough show, from The River through to Jungleland.

Bruce Springsteen: In His Own Words
To accompany his recently-released autobiography, another career retrospective, mainly from new & old interviews with Bruce, and accompanying archive from early shows and more recent ones. He talks movingly about his father's mental illness, and his awareness that he might succumb himself one day. His lengthy shows, his childhood, his wife, his band, his home in Freehold, New Jersey... all topics that he has thoughtful things to say about.

Born To Run
His autobiography took him several years apparently, but it's a mainly well-crafted and heart-felt success, notable for its occasional addiction to hyphenated word lists, and for its total omission of his 1992 LPs Lucky Town and Human Touch. He also mentions the Black & White Night tribute gig with Roy Orbison once, in passing, when I understood him to have been the prime mover behind it happening. Oh well, apart from those lapses, it's a good result.

Needle Time: Steven van Zandt
The great sideman was switched on by seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, but also by the Rolling Stones when they came to the USA. He respects them for still doing cover versions, even several years into their careers. He feels young bands need to learn their craft through cover versions before they progress to song-writing. The New Jersey scene was about rock-meeting-soul, and Bruce Springsteen brought him into the fold because they shared an unthinking commitment to the music. He helped Bruce make his long evolution in stage-craft, and also refined the riff of Born To Run, though he denied doing anything more than clarifying what was already there. He put out his first new album in 12 years this year, is motivated by politics, but feels there are worse problems than Donald Trump. He's happy to be considered a bar-band legend.

On The Road
An entertaining hour on Bruce Springsteen from 2012, covering his highs and lows, that infamous "the future of rock n roll" quote, his political efforts, work with the E Street Band, winning Grammys, an Oscar and a Golden Globe, and being in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Fun stuff.

He's sort of having the biopic treatment, as new film Blinded By The Light, uses a lot of his music, in its account of Sarfraz Manzoor's story of growing up in the 80s in Luton & beyond.

He's 70 today! 

E Street Shuffle - The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, by Clinton Heylin
This 2012 tome purports to be the first serious look at the "Boss" through his interactions with his famous backing band. The story chiefly runs from 1971 to around 1988. What emerges is a picture of an obsessive who creates more material than he releases, some of which he re-works, some he improves, some he doesn't. He does at least seem to have learned from some of his past mistakes.

The Glastonbury Experience: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band @ 2009
Even the Boss has been to Worthy Farm, and this was another "never before seen" extract, comprising Because The Night, No Surrender and Dancing In The Dark, so was worth checking out.

His new album Letter To You is out this week.

misery guts wrote:His new album Letter To You is out this week.

And it's another #1 for him 

He's been in trouble this week for outdoor misbehaviour, but he was only fined for 1 incident out of 3.

He's become the latest artist to sell off his back catalogue, in his case to Sony.

Bruce Springsteen: A Secret History
From 1998, possibly done to tie in with the Tracks boxset, Bruce talked through his career, together with various footage from 27 of his works, so nice to see some lesser seen efforts amidst the likes of Dancing in the Dark and Born in the USA.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Darkness on the Edge of Town
A special gig at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, in December 2009, as they run through the album of the same name. It's a solid enough show, unsurprisingly.

Springsteen & I
A collection of "fanecdotes" from various fans around the world, often telling stories about attending gigs and getting recognition from Bruce (an Elvis impersonator who got to sing with Bruce and co on backing, or someone with a pertinent sign etc). Quite warm and endearing, really.

The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town
Clearly, you wait ages for stuff on someone and finally they all come along in a rush. This was from 2010, and saw Bruce and most of the E Street Band talking about how they ended up recording dozens of tracks for this album, before Bruce got brutal cut things right down. Jon Landau, Jimmy Iovine and even Patti Smith were all there, the latter for co-writing Because The Night, which gave her a hit single.

The marathon tourer has had to postpone a few shows owing to an ulcer   He's not one to give in easily, so it must be bad.

Unrequited Infatuations, by Stevie van Zandt
The E Street legend and sometime actor has written his book, and a lengthy, thoughtful work it is too. He's rueful about leaving the E Street Band just before their 80s triumphs, and also rueful that many projects he's involved with come to naught. His solo albums are intriguing, though, and his scathing view of Paul Simon has charm (Ain't Gonna Play Sun City gets forgotten, Graceland doesn't), and I never watched The Sopranos or Lilyhammer. But he survives and thrives.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Live in Barcelona
From October 2002, a marathon set notable for being less hit-heavy than one might expect. But he has written tons of songs, and is infamous for long shows, so it can't be too much of a shock.

misery guts wrote:The marathon tourer has had to postpone a few shows owing to an ulcer   He's not one to give in easily, so it must be bad.

He's postponing more shows now, with vocal problems 

Class of '84: Born In The USA
Gary Davies relates the story of the Boss' 7th album, having 7 US top 10 hits, reaching various career highs in different countries, and even about the infamous cover shot.

Bruce Springsteen - Glory Days
Another unofficial tribute, from 2012 this time, with some intriguing celeb fan contributors, and a few critics who might conceivably have more to argue, and also archive of Bruce, Clarence, Patti, and even Mickey Rourke (?!)

misery guts wrote:He's 70 today! 

He's 75 this time 

BBC Four Sessions: Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band
They came to the LSO St Luke's venue in 2006 as there was an album to push, and they belted through We Shall Overcome, Jacob's Ladder and How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live? among others.

Steve van Zandt: Disciple
An epic profile on the E Street regular, solo world-saver, apartheid opposer, composer, arranger, producer, actor, fashion plate, etc, etc with a cast of dozens from the great to the good.