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Bruce Springsteen

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ManWithNoName said:
Well this is a map for Coldplay the same place.

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Maybe it's just the way the venue prices?
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Yeah I saw that one. Like you, I'd be surprised if it was any different (it's a stadium, after all) but having two GA ticket categories, and $250 A reserve has me slightly worried. Although I'm sure Bruce wouldn't allow seating to be the best/closest tickets after the 2003 tour debacle.
 
DrVanNostrand said:
Yeah I saw that one. Like you, I'd be surprised if it was any different (it's a stadium, after all) but having two GA ticket categories, and $250 A reserve has me slightly worried. Although I'm sure Bruce wouldn't allow seating to be the best/closest tickets after the 2003 tour debacle.
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Maybe that "lounge" seating is the expensive section?
 

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Cruyff14 said:
Thoughts on these current 10?
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Here goes.

Spirit in the Night. One of the Bruce tracks that I really enjoy when I'm in the mood, but I can also find myself skipping if it comes up when the Ipod is on shuffle. I thinks it's great live and it tells a pretty good story, it's just not a song that hits me on an emotional level like so many Springsteen songs do. Probably my second least favorite track on Greetings, but I still like it.

Wrecking Ball. Love it, especially live.

Night. A bit like Spirit, in that tend I regard it as just a filler on an album full of great tracks. I probably see She's the One in the same light. I've had a tendency to only see the Born to Run album as just my big 4 songs (TR, BTR, Backstreets and Jungleland) and have more than likely undersold the other 4 tracks over the years. Shows what a great album it really is. I probably haven't had a good listen to Night for over 20 years. That's something I will change right now.

Roll of the Dice. There's 6 or 7 songs spread across the Lucky Town and Human Touch albums that have a real generic, formulaic feel about them and this is one of them (others inc. Real World, Man's Job, Local Hero, All or Nothin at All, Real Man, Long Goodbye, etc.). All really good songs and I listen to all of them quite a bit, but there is nothing in them that really makes them stand out from the others. Having said that, Roll of the Dice if probably my favourite of all of these.

Land of Hope and Dreams. Epic....would be in the top 10 for me. I think you feel much the same way as I do in that the Wrecking Ball album track is probably the weakest version of the song that I've heard. After hearing and watching so many awesome live full band versions, finished seems to come off as somewhat lightweight. The Barcelona DVD version remains my favourite and as you've mentioned, Max's drumming really steals the show (but it's not not as good as the absolutely pounding beat on BITUSA on the same DVD).
It's a brilliant song. Love it to bits, especially when done with the "magic fingers...let me see your hands" and the "People Get Ready" ending

Maria's Bed - I like the arrangement rather than the song itself, but it is one of the dead-set gems on D&D and one of only 3 or 4 that I really played a lot when D&D first came out.

Tenth - see what I wrote for Night, but it's obviously come to mean a lot more and would have shot up my own list after seeing performed so brilliantly in concert.

Drive All Night - your description is spot on. It's mesmerising and should have been the closing track on The River. I can't listen to this track when driving, as I get completely lost in it and tend to lose all awareness of what else is going on. I love listening to this just sitting on the sofa in the dark, with the lights out and the headphones on. I hope to hell that we get to see and hear it in February. It would be so special.

Atlantic City - it's been my favourite Nebraska track for over 30 years now and I still like it as much as I ever did. The opening line is a killer. It's also got to be one of most covered of Bruce song's by other artists, with Justin Townes Earle's rendition probably being my favourite.

NYC Serenade - top ten on my list. Flawless track that I also love to listen to in the dark. I have this as my Iphone alarm at the moment and I wake up to it every morning, which has me setting the alarm 10 minutes earlier than I really need to. Echoed your sentiments to my wife this morning, trying to tell her just how amazing it was that this song could be written by a 23 year old.

It's Hard to be a Saint in the City - my equal favourite Greetings track. Would be right alongside Lost in the Flood in the lower half of my own top ten. I'd love to have known what was going through John Hammond's mind when Bruce unleashed this on him. Along with Backstreets, it's got just about the best bridge of any Springsteen track and as mentioned, the guitar duel at the end is sensational. There are so many good live versions out there on Youtube, I can get lost for hours.

I can't argue with many of these choices and I've really enjoyed reading your descriptions.

BTW, I have listened to Night a couple of times whilst writing this....it is definitely more than a "filler".
 
19) Girl In Their Summer Clothes
Album: Magic (2008)
Previous rank: 21 (UP 2)

Probably the best song to come off the Magic album. It’s got that happy feel about it, puts a smile on your face when it comes on and you feel better after listening to it. A good song too when you’re driving down a highway too, sunnies on, and the wind rushing through your hair.

Again Bruce does well with imagery throughout the song. The start of the song sounds like an outsider looking in, during a summer evening, everyone is happy, really enjoying themselves. As the song progresses, we reach the line

She went away
She cut me like a knife
Hello beautiful thing
Maybe you could save my life

Sounds like the character in the song has been dumped by his long time partner, but has found a new girl which has given him a new lease on life.

 
18) Downbound Train
Album: Born In The USA (1984)
Previous rank: 17 (down 1)

Entry 18 may come as a bit of a surprise. It never really receives that much recognition off BIT USA, but my word, it is a crackerjack of a song.

Let me just say, that intro for Downbound Train is awesome. I can’t describe how much I like it. The unique thing about Downbound Train is that it doesn’t have a bridge. Sure the music disappears, but the tempo remains the same. The song doesn’t really follow any sort of structure, well to me anyway. It’s pretty much five verses with three of them mentioning the title at the end of them.

Downbound Train is about a guy who is in a really terrible place. Lost his job, lost his girl and it just seems nothing is going for him. You can hear the anguish in Bruce’s voice when he performs this, it’s heartbreaking. And as I said, that opening riff is awesome!

Ah, Melbourne2!

 
17) Frankie
Album: Tracks (1998)
*New entry*

There is a beauty about Frankie which stands front and centre throughout the entire song. From the opening on the 12 string acoustic guitar, with Bruce following, then Soozie on the violin adding even more to the song, Charlie’s organ then takes the song to an even high level, and then the rest of the band comes in and you are listening to poetry in motion.

Frankie is not in your face, yet at the same time it is not timid. It sits comfortably without it being too overpowering, but it’s definitely not a ballad that bores you. The key change about halfway through is great, and the song moves up another level when Bruce does his thing on the harmonica. It then drops back down to how it was before the key change and just carries you along on the smooth ride that it is.

We are treated to another verse but now with an accompanying violin to support Bruce’s vocals. The song floats on and then the full band is in on the final outro with Bruce taking the solo, and the sax closes the end to a brilliant song.

This was actually a BIT USA outtake (although it sounds very River like). Understandable why it wasn’t on BIT USA, but you have to wonder, would Bruce have left this off The River had he written it a few years earlier? It could be entirely likely with the quality of songs that did not actually make it on to the album. Guess we’ll never know. That’s the beauty of it.


 
16) Thunder Road
Album: Born To Run (1975)
Previous rank 20 (UP 4)

Is there a better intro to an album than Born To Run? Seriously. As soon as you start playing Born To Run you are greeted with that lovely harmonica intro. The sound of youth, the sounds of freedom and innocence rings through your speakers, the sound of…. Brilliance.

And then you’re treated to the spectacle that is Thunder Road. Considered by many Bruce fans as his greatest song, and you can’t really argue much why it wouldn’t be (ironic I know it being at number 16), but it is really an amazing song.

I first remember hearing it on the Barcelona DVD (it closes that concert), it grabbed me straight away. Everything about it was great, I really couldn’t fault it. Then over the years it grew more and more on me and I can’t help but wonder how does someone at the age of 24 come up with something like this? Many artists of today would be honoured to have written anything half as good, but to Bruce, it’s just another amazing song in a long list of songs that have lyrics that only a few could match.

The lyrics, the music, the Roy Orbison reference, the live versions where the crowd sing the end of the first verse, the piano to carry it along, the sax solo. Where does Thunder Road fail to deliver? It doesn’t. I feel terrible having it so low, but it’s just personal taste and I just happen to like other songs more. Not taking away anything from Thunder Road, it is the perfect song to open or end an encore.

Thunder Road takes you on a ride that makes you feel anything is possible. It makes you believe that you can reach the unthinkable, do the impossible, reach for the stars and conquer the difficult things in life. It exudes everything that a Bruce fan feels not only hearing this song, but being at his concert. I have tears in my eyes as I write this because it is that ****ing good.

“It’s a town full of losers and we’re pulling out here to win”

Seriously, does that not make you feel like anything is possible? Then that sax solo just takes you into other worlds until the song ends and you revel in its sheer beauty and magnificence.

I’d list the classic lines in the song, but I’d have to list every line of the song. It is THAT good.

In whatever form, Thunder Road is perfect.

Thunder Road, ladies and gentlemen, is Bruce Springsteen near his absolute best.





 
15) The Rising
Album: The Rising (2002)
Previous rank: 18 (UP 3)

The only positive thing to come out of 9/11 was The Rising. Had that not happened, we probably wouldn’t have been treated to arguably Bruce’s finest album of recent times.

I remember when this CD was released my uncle gave it to my dad, and my dad absolutely raved about it. He kept pestering me to listen to it, and I brushed it off because he said that about a lot of other CD’s which I never liked, so I didn’t see why I should view this one any differently. Anyway, from memory, I gave in one day because I was bored and I whacked it in my CD player in my room. I was 14 at the time, then the love for Bruce really started growing. I would listen to the album on repeat because I couldn’t get enough of it.

Then the Barcelona DVD came out and this was the opening track for the majority of The Rising Tour shows. The violin gives us something different to start off the song. Lyrically, it sounds like a firefighter responding to the events of 9/11. The song is intense and powerful, you can’t help but picture the character in the song.

I have never paid that much attention to the lyrics in The Risng. It was not until this weekthat I was listening to an acoustic version and the lyrics were coming at me like an express train. The imagery is sitting up there in the upper echelon of his songs It really is criminal how underrated Bruce is a both a song writer and musician to the mainstream fan

And holy shit this is intense live. I couldn’t believe how the intensity Bruce generated when he played it. The lighting during the bridge was epic.

 
14) Racing In The Street
Album: Darkness On The Edge of Town (1978)
Previous rank: 14 (SAME)

Seriously, how a song this good can’t even break the top 10 speaks volumes about the man’s body of work. Any other artist would dream to have a song like this let alone actually writing it and releasing it.

Darkness is by no means a joyous album, and Racing In The Street shows this. A 7 minute ballad, and nearly 10 minutes when it’s done live, comes in at number 14.

The song sounds heartbreaking. You can hear the pain in Bruce’s voice, the depressive manner in which the piano chords were written, but it only adds to the song. The Professor’s piano work throughout the entire song is amazing. It is definitely up there with the best work he’s ever done with the ESB, or possibly the best. So delicate, yet played to perfection, and you really would expect no less. What he plays in the outro is nothing short of brilliant. Masterful flurries just one after the other, it blows your mind, especially when you see how he does it. It’s just amazing to watch.

The work on the organ can’t go unnoticed either, just after the end of the final verse, then Max chimes in. Eventually, the whole band is jamming and you see their experience show. Everyone shines, it really is masterful writing by Bruce. But the outro on Racing is nothing short of spectacular.

 

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13) Streets of Fire
Album: Darkness On The Edge of Town (1978)
Previous rank: 7 (down 6)

Back to back entries from Darkness. Probably will seem too high for a lot of people, but I have loved this song since the first time I heard it and still do now.

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 is incredible. Absolutely incredible.

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.

 
12) Lonely Night In The Park
*New entry*

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? I guarantee nobody saw this coming. But with this, I hope more people know go and listen to this song and enjoy it and get it in their libraries.

Surprising I know, but this is one high quality track. It sounds ironic as it didn’t make it onto any album, but with Bruce, it is understandable as we all know. It was written in the Born To Run era, and is on outtake from that album, and probably would have looked and sounded out of place had it been on the album.

It’s catchy, the opening chords are welcoming and the bass is soothing. Bruce sounds great, and when he goes high during some lines, it adds to it and takes that song up a few notches. Based on the music and Bruce’s tone, it sounds like a very fun song. But if you look deeper into the song and read the lyrics, you realize it’s about guy who is, as the title suggests, lonely.

This song makes me feel genuinely happy. I suggest you get it in your library too.

 
11) Born To Run
Album: Born To Run (1975)
Previous rank: 12 (UP 1)

One, two!

Your heart is racing, you are filled with euphoria, your fist is already pumping in excitement, you’re jumping up and down like an uncontrollable maniac, you’ve got a smile from ear to ear then nobody will wipe off your face and that’s because Bruce has just launched into BToR with the band.

From that opening drum roll, followed by the bending of those notes on Bruce and Steve’s Fenders, you know you’re in for an amazing song. The hit that shot Bruce to fame, one of the greatest albums of all time. Everything affiliated with Born To Run is phenomenal.

The music, the lyrics, the excitement it generates, the images, the fun, the liberation, the sax solo, the anthem-like nature of it, the moments it leaves you breathless because of how amazing it is, the woah-oh-oh-oh’s you sing at the top of your lungs no matter where you are because you just don’t give a damn when this is on. Born To Run has it all. If you’re going to have a song that everybody is going to remember you by, Born To Run is the song to have.

Don’t ask me why this is number 11. I love it, and I mean really love it, it would probably be higher any other time I make a countdown, but the songs ahead of it I listen to more, not to say they are better by any means though.

Tramps like us….

 

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Cruyff14 said:
Ibis hotel... 5 min walk from Acer... $99 for two nights.
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I'm only going if he's doing two gigs there. So I'd be Perth 6th-10th, Adelaide 10th-14th, home for the Melbourne gigs, Sydney 18th/19th-25th, Brisbane 25th-Whenever his last gig is.

Sydney accommodation is the one that hurts if I stay that long. Assuming I do Hunter Valley too.
 
ManWithNoName said:
I'm only going if he's doing two gigs there. So I'd be Perth 6th-10th, Adelaide 10th-14th, home for the Melbourne gigs, Sydney 18th/19th-25th, Brisbane 25th-Whenever his last gig is.

Sydney accommodation is the one that hurts if I stay that long. Assuming I do Hunter Valley too.
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I'm doing Sydney and HV as well as Melb.

I got free accommodation and more than likely transport from Newcastle (where I am also staying) to HV.
 
Cruyff14 said:
I'm doing Sydney and HV as well as Melb.

I got free accommodation and more than likely transport from Newcastle (where I am also staying) to HV.
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Hunter Valley will be dependent on them doing buses like they did for Hanging Rock.
 

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