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Bruce Springsteen

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Ron, that's blasphemous!

He wrote a lot of Greetings with a rhyming dictionary - I know he definitely did with Blinded By The Light.

It's what takes it to another level. Having a song that is so straightforward with lyrics you don't even need to look up is boring. Lost In The Flood definitely gets you thinking. The lyrics are out-of-this-world-shit-hot-awesome

When the band come in it's orgasmic.
 
Cruyff14 said:
Ron, that's blasphemous!

He wrote a lot of Greetings with a rhyming dictionary - I know he definitely did with Blinded By The Light.

It's what takes it to another level. Having a song that is so straightforward with lyrics you don't even need to look up is boring. Lost In The Flood definitely gets you thinking. The lyrics are out-of-this-world-shit-hot-awesome

When the band come in it's orgasmic.
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Blasphemous perhaps, but honest! I'm a Springsteen fan but not a fetishist. I'm also a Hendrix fan, but understand the perspective of some that his feedback wizardry is artless noise.
 

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8) Something In The Night

You can ride this road till dawn without another human being in sight

Yet another entry from Darkness. And another song where you can feel the pain in Bruce’s voice throughout the entire track.

I have loved this for a very long time, and I have always been very envious of those who have been at a concert on the rare occasion he plays it live. Those moans throughout the intro, with Max’s work on the drums beginning to rumble louder and louder is something really special. Then the band makes itself known following Max’s climax.The music in it is not overly complicated, much like the lyrics, so they work well off each other.

By far the best bit the combination of Bruce’s guitar work and Max doing his thing on the drums at the end of the final verse. The bass drum to replicate a heartbeat and to back Bruce’s vocal, Bruce letting off that little rip on that Telecaster and Max bashing that tom followed by the floor tom. Definitely one of my favourite pieces of music.

Those moans to close the song out are amazing too. Such a painfully sad song, but it leaves you marveling in its greatness.

[YOUTUBE]4oaGsxfGoVY[/YOUTUBE]

What is even more astonishing as how you can generate that much emotion in front of nobody.
 
What is even more astonishing as how you can generate that much emotion in front of nobody.[/QUOTE said:
You've hit upon the reason I dislike your hero. I've never believed that emotion wasn't manufactured.

That wonderful tribute he did for/with Orbison, In Black and White, showed him to be a mediocre singer and a barely adequate guitarist. Full marks for his tribute to the genius of Roy, but he should never have sung on the same stage as him. As for playing a guitar in the same band as James Burton, that was just embarrassing.

He wrote some interesting songs, but they were nothing special. It must be acknowledged though, that he understood the notion of anthem. More power for that.
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rugmop said:
You've hit upon the reason I dislike your hero. I've never believed that emotion wasn't manufactured.
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Doubt anyone could perform like Springsteen has, night after night, year after year, if they didn't believe what they were singing about. Granted, I sometimes don't get what he's so damn fired up about, but the enthusiasm is genuine IMO. Otherwise, how could he play for three hours without boring his audience shitless? Haven't heard too many reports of bad Springsteen shows.

rugmop said:
He wrote some interesting songs, but they were nothing special. It must be acknowledged though, that he understood the notion of anthem. More power for that.
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Don't agree that he hit on a formula for 'anthemic', either. He's never really been a singles artist. For me, Springsteen was a slow burner; most of his songs took numerous listens to sink in. Some never did.
 

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rugmop said:
You've hit upon the reason I dislike your hero. I've never believed that emotion wasn't manufactured.

That wonderful tribute he did for/with Orbison, In Black and White, showed him to be a mediocre singer and a barely adequate guitarist. Full marks for his tribute to the genius of Roy, but he should never have sung on the same stage as him. As for playing a guitar in the same band as James Burton, that was just embarrassing.

He wrote some interesting songs, but they were nothing special. It must be acknowledged though, that he understood the notion of anthem. More power for that.
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Let's see how fired up you get playing in front of nobody and compare. It's amazing that you can generate that much passion in front of an empty theatre.

And if you think Bruce is a 'barely adequate guitarist' you need to go and watch some of the clips I have posted.

I have never claimed Springsteen has an amazing voice either.

Each to their own though.

Ron The Bear said:
Doubt anyone could perform like Springsteen has, night after night, year after year, if they didn't believe what they were singing about. Granted, I sometimes don't get what he's so damn fired up about, but the enthusiasm is genuine IMO. Otherwise, how could he play for three hours without boring his audience shitless? Haven't heard too many reports of bad Springsteen shows.
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Agree with this. If you can't be arsed you don't tour for nearly three years straight playing 3 hour shows just for the sake of it. You can see/feel/hear the emotion.

Don't agree that he hit on a formula for 'anthemic', either. He's never really been a singles artist. For me, Springsteen was a slow burner; most of his songs took numerous listens to sink in. Some never did.
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BToR and BIT USA, that's it really.
 
Cruyff14 said:
Let's see how fired up you get playing in front of nobody and compare. It's amazing that you can generate that much passion in front of an empty theatre.

Each to their own though.
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To perform when you've organised to do so is hardly a recommendation.

The bolded bit is quite right. I've never liked your man. I've tried to explain why, which is more than most would attempt. Due to being turned off him early, obviously, I don't have the breadth and depth of knowledge of his work that you do.

I just thought it appropriate that an alternative opinion deserved to be voiced.

We, neither of us, are right about this, or wrong.
 
7) Streets of Fire

I walk with angels that have no place

This completes the entries from Darkness, so for those hanging for Prove It All Night or Factory, sorry to disappoint.

Streets of Fire is a dark, emotional song that is full of raw power. An absolutely electric song. That telecaster is near breaking point by the time Bruce is done with the song. The way he makes it wail are incredible. Absolutely incredible.

As mentioned in the Something In The Night entry, it is hard to believe in (all of ) the Paramount Theatre performances he can generate so much emotion in front of an empty room. The sign of an amazing musician. The best performance for my mind too. The intensity he shows throughout the song, and the absolute power that beams out of that telecaster is phenomenal. I’m not going to lie, the solo is one of my favourite to play air guitar too as well.

Absolutely kick ass song.

[YOUTUBE]g_m9skT35RA[/YOUTUBE]
 

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6) Incident On 57Th Street

Upstairs the band was playing and the singer was singing something about going home

I’m starting to sound like a bit of a broken record, but how a song like Incident came off Bruce’s second album, before he made it big, and when he was only 24 is astonishing.

From the opening chords on Roy’s piano, to Bruce’s bending on his Telecaster straight after, followed by those amazing lyrics, Incident is so good it’s almost hard to believe. And we can’t forget that outro either. Wow. Then for another 7-10 minutes we hear the story of Spanish Johnny.

I have had a version from the Reunion Tour in Philly I thought was the best version I heard for a very long time. Upon first listen on the Barcelona DVD, I was never really a fan, but it grew on me after a while, but I just appreciated the full band one so much more. I heard various versions through the Magic tour and it still didn’t match up to the Reunion Tour, because it sounded like it was being played too fast, then, on the WOAD tour, the Philly version was surpassed. The band sounded even tighter, Bruce’s vocals were better and everything was running like clock work. Then not so long I heard the version at Main Point and I was absolutely gob smacked at how something so intimate was produced. The violin in the intro was a superb addition; you could hear the emotion pouring out of it, just incredible. Bruce sounded so vulnerable with just the piano; it truly is an incredible rendition of an amazing song.

And talk about great lyrics…

Well like a cool Romeo he made his moves, oh she looked so fine
Like a late Juliet she knew he'd never be true but then she really didn't mind
Upstairs a band was playin', the singer was singin' something about goin' home
She whispered, "Spanish Johnny, you can leave me tonight but just don't leave me alone"

Definitely one of my favourite Springsteen verses/lyrics, and one of my favourite of all time.

I honestly cannot fathom how amazing this would be to see live, and I envy those who have.

[YOUTUBE]hZFn2cPC7iI[/YOUTUBE]

And if you haven’t heard the Main Point version, listen to it NOW

[YOUTUBE]7Jy6H8DqTg8[/YOUTUBE]

Then there is this, which is from Friday. It is the ONLY acoustic guitar version I have heard of this song. Just when you thought he didn’t have another surprise left in the bag he ripped this out in Pittsburgh.

[YOUTUBE]AQJqhsELie4[/YOUTUBE]
 
5) Rosalita

I know your mama she don’t like me cos I play in a rock n roll band

What I only noticed yesterday is that Incident and Rosalita appear on my countdown straight after each other as pure chance, just like they do on WIAESS.

Still to this day, I have not seen anyone have more fun with any other song than Bruce Springsteen with Rosalita.

This song just spells out F-U-N. It is impossible to listen to this song and not feel a rush of huge happiness shooting through your veins with a smile from ear to ear plastered on your face. It is the ultimate feel good Springsteen song.

He just feeds off the crowd so effortlessly when he plays it live. The crowd are more than willing to complete lines, and can you hardly blame them? It just flows so easily when Bruce throws it over. You can see how much fun he has when he plays it. Bruce turns into a kid on stage and he doesn’t give a damn, and nor should he. It is the ultimate crowd pleaser, and the ultimate show closer. To be honest, Rosie could be played anywhere in a show and it would fit in perfectly. That’s how good it is. He didn't play it for 15 years with the band because the fans expected it every show. So he stopped playing it to remind people who The Boss was!

Oh, and that opening guitar riff, amazing.

[YOUTUBE]3qFdcHo7Z7w[/YOUTUBE]

Thirty years later, and you would still think he’s playing it in 1978.

[YOUTUBE]CO5GMVxkiVQ[/YOUTUBE]
 

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