Bruce Springsteen

[oasisfan35]

I'm curious to listen to the new BitUSA tribute album; supposedly they are slower possibly folk/country tinged interpretations, which is precisely how many of the album's tracks came to be having been recorded during the Nebraska sessions.

[McParadigm]

I kinda assumed they just heard one of the Nebraska bootlegs and built their "folk-tinged interpretation" exactly off of those original versions.

[oasisfan35]

I kinda assumed they just heard one of the Nebraska bootlegs and built their "folk-tinged interpretation" exactly off of those original versions.

Judging by the Born in the USA cover itself I would agree but I was reserving judgement until I heard the other artists takes along with the tracks that were written during the album sessions.

[LoathedVermin72]

So everyone agrees that Born in the U.S.A. is one of the greatest albums ever recorded, right? Like that's just known?

[surfndestroy]

So everyone agrees that Born in the U.S.A. is one of the greatest albums ever recorded, right? Like that's just known?

It definitely makes my top seven Springsteen records.

[Lament]

So everyone agrees that Born in the U.S.A. is one of the greatest albums ever recorded, right? Like that's just known?

It definitely makes my top seven Springsteen records.

Yeah, top seven sounds about right.

Let's just say top eight to be certain though.

[LoathedVermin72]

Yeah, it's definitely his best album. For sure.

[LoathedVermin72]

I'm listening to Live / 1975-85 right now. This version of "Cover Me", holy shit, it's a revelation. The song is totally transformed. He took one of the more disposable songs off the album and turned it into an atmospheric, borderline-proggy rock epic. Damn.

[LoathedVermin72]

Ugh, really not feeling this rendition of "No Surrender" though. Totally killing the momentum. This is such a great song, and so much of the greatness comes from its energy; an understated, acoustic version undermines what makes it special in the first place. This approach works for "Thunder Road" and "Born in the U.S.A."...but not "No Surrender".

[McParadigm]

I've been listening to some music-related audiobooks to pass the work day, and I'm on a Bruce Springsteen one right now.

It's not intended to be (best face always forward in Springsteen land), but post-1990 it pretty much becomes a series of examples of what it looks like when someone loses the plot thanks to success. He just sounds like he's surrounded by people who always agree with him about everything, and he unquestioningly believes it all.

From expecting the E-Streeters to "audition" against the demo during Tunnel of Love to the overconfidence of the 1991-2 sessions ("Hit," he declares after writing Roll of the Dice, "I've written a hit.") to tantrums and reductions in band pay and increasing self-importance...and all of it juxtaposed against his very different public persona. It really becomes a very weird narrative.

For me, the obsurdity of him turning to producer Ron Aniello after hearing a playback of We Take Care of Our Own and saying "This day's gonna change your life," and the producer's equally ridiculous reaction ("this must be what it's like to work with a genius"), is a perfect tiny glimpse into what total creative derailment looks like. It's also an extremized version of what I assume it must be like in the Pearl Jam camp, these days...while they're artistically floundering, the media reaction has never been more full of praise. There's no one around to go "Shit, I dunno guys...I think you can do better."

Except BoB. BoB, who hears the sirens.

[surfndestroy]

From expecting the E-Streeters to "audition" against the demo during Tunnel of Love to the overconfidence of the 1991-2 sessions ("Hit," he declares after writing Roll of the Dice, "I've written a hit.") to tantrums and reductions in band pay and increasing self-importance...and all of it juxtaposed against his very different public persona. It really becomes a very weird narrative.

To be fair to Bruce he did touch on this slightly during his induction of the E Street Band to the RnRHoF. I think he's realized he made some mistakes vis a vis how he has treated people in the past.

[Kevin Davis]

He made the E Street Band audition for Tunnel of Love? Kinda puts all that "blood brothers" bullshit in perspective...

[McParadigm]

He made the E Street Band audition for Tunnel of Love? Kinda puts all that "blood brothers" bullshit in perspective...

For every song

[oasisfan35]

It's not intended to be (best face always forward in Springsteen land), but post-1990 it pretty much becomes a series of examples of what it looks like when someone loses the plot thanks to success. He just sounds like he's surrounded by people who always agree with him about everything, and he unquestioningly believes it all.

This is certainly a story told many times in the music world.

From expecting the E-Streeters to "audition" against the demo during Tunnel of Love to the overconfidence of the 1991-2 sessions ("Hit," he declares after writing Roll of the Dice, "I've written a hit.") to tantrums and reductions in band pay and increasing self-importance...and all of it juxtaposed against his very different public persona. It really becomes a very weird narrative.

He started to fade out of the public eye after Tunnel and I'm sure that was hard-felt in the early 90s. He was surely grasping for a lot.

For me, the obsurdity of him turning to producer Ron Aniello after hearing a playback of We Take Care of Our Own and saying "This day's gonna change your life," and the producer's equally ridiculous reaction ("this must be what it's like to work with a genius"), is a perfect tiny glimpse into what total creative derailment looks like. It's also an extremized version of what I assume it must be like in the Pearl Jam camp, these days...while they're artistically floundering, the media reaction has never been more full of praise. There's no one around to go "Shit, I dunno guys...I think you can do better."

To my last comment, indeed if he had someone behind him that honestly said "you're reaching here, lets bring it back down" those albums (87-92) would have been quite different. But Bruce, from what I know, hasn't been told no since Born To Run and not that he's a monster but he's probably pretty damn close... just happens to be one that can produce a solid group of songs at times.

Except BoB. BoB, who hears the sirens.

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

What book is this McP?

[surfndestroy]

Bruce is probably a lot like Eddie. Understands empathy and can write with empathy far better than they display empathy in how they treat others.

[McParadigm]

He started to fade out of the public eye after Tunnel and I'm sure that was hard-felt in the early 90s. He was surely grasping for a lot.

Maybe, but the big WTF moment that is the audition was during the Tunnel sessions. Guy was at his public peak when that happened.

As for "grasping" during the 90s, it doesn't really come across that way when he's blurting out "HIT!" after writing something as middling as Roll of the Dice, revelling gleefully in his post-therapy upbeat writing style, and laughing off (at the time, and then again well after the fact) Steve Van Zandt's cricitisms of the Human Touch recordings.

Then, there's the way he responds in an "aww shucks" manner whenever the story is less than ideal.

The E-Street band: Bruce turned to Bitton just before one of the reunion shows, and ordered him to go back and "change that fucking shirt." Bitton told him no, and things got really tense. A lot of bitterness from over the years was coming to the surface. It was uncomfortable.

Bruce: Oh, we had some talking to do...things about, "how do you feel," "how do I feel," "hey I feel the same way." And that was a real important thing. It felt good.

To my last comment, indeed if he had someone behind him that honestly said "you're reaching here, lets bring it back down" those albums (87-92) would have been quite different. But Bruce, from what I know, hasn't been told no since Born To Run and not that he's a monster but he's probably pretty damn close... just happens to be one that can produce a solid group of songs at times.

I think the problem has been as pronounced in the 21st century as it ever was during that specific era. But I agree with you that it's a common story. First you work hard in an attempt to succeed, then you have to build up an infrastructure to handle that success, then the infrastructure turns on you and feeds you pills until you die on a toilet.

Just about every artist falls for it. It's gotta be just impossibly easy to slip into that feedback loop without ever realizing what's happened. And when that happens, you get Lightning Bolt. You get the entirety of U2's last 15 years. You get producers who respond to a song like We Take Care of Our Own by saying "This must be what it's like to work with a genius!"

Success probably is, in the end, the death of art. Tom Waits was making wild and brave records for a real long time and yet, as late as 2000, saying his name was a way to invite blank stares and 'ick' faces. Fast-forward to 2010, when he's got gold records, is a music geek touchstone, and has become almost a cultural reference point. The result: Bad As Me.

What book is this McP?

Pete Ames Carlin. His Paul McCartney book is interesting, too, if you need to pass 8 hours at your desk at work.

[LetMeSleep]

Still waiting for time to delve into the Clinton Heylin book. Any one read that yet?

[BigRedLedbetter]

Still waiting for time to delve into the Clinton Heylin book. Any one read that yet?

I have wanted to read that as well but not yet.

I read this a few months ago and loved it.

[LetMeSleep]

McP makes it sound fascinating. Did you enjoy it?

I haven't read any biographies of his only American Dream and Walk Like A Man which are more about the authors.

[BigRedLedbetter]

McP makes it sound fascinating. Did you enjoy it?

I haven't read any biographies of his only American Dream and Walk Like A Man which are more about the authors.

The Carlin book? Yes it's fantastic.