Tramps Like Us
Springsteen. The name itself is polarizing. You love him or you hate him, but few are indifferent. I understand both sides. I can see how some think he’s one of the best songwriters and performers of the past 40 years, but I can also see how many think he’s “cheesy” and “overrated” and ... just plain awful. It doesn’t end there, though. For those that “love” Springsteen, many of them love one side of him. He’s had hits in every genre - from Rock to Folk to romantic ballads, even dabbling in Dixieland Jazz. Even those that love “Rocker Bruce” differ on what makes him great. Some prefer the “classic” sound of the early albums and others prefer the River-era Bruce. Some worship the acoustic Nebraska, but loathe the rest of his catalog.
If you haven’t guessed from my blog, I’m a fan - a big one. I remember where I was when I first heard Born to Run in its entirety. I pulled out that LP (remember LP’s?), listened to the opening lines of “Thunder Road” and... as I read the lyrics ... I was blown away by the imagery and the sheer romanticism of that record. It was a novel. It was James Dean and West Side Story. It was Shakespeare and the history of Rock. No album before or since has ever moved me the way that album did. I wanted to write like that. I wanted to feel the intensity of loving someone so much that you wanted to die in an “everlasting kiss." I bought all of his records in the span of a week.
When Born in the USA came out, I finally caught his live show and became a fanatic. I saw him many times over the next few years and it lived up to the hype - a religious experience, of sorts - not in the “Bruce is God” sense, but a tremendous feeling of “community." It’s hard to explain, but his concerts have always been one big tent revival. You don’t go to worship Bruce ... which is why (as famous as he is) his fans don’t mob him. There was a time when he and Michael Jackson were the two biggest celebrities in the world, but where Jackson couldn’t leave the house... Bruce hung out in bars and mingled with the rest of us. He’s never put himself on a pedestal; he’s always been one of us. I think that’s also why it’s been hard for critics to tear him down (or want to). He works hard, writes good songs and treats fans with respect.
Most of you probably hear “Springsteen” and think Born in the USA. You see Courtney Cox. You think “80‘s” and ... when you hear his name these days, you’re left wondering why we’re still talking about a guy who stopped being “relevant” over 20 years ago - if he even was back then. Thing is... Born in the USA is an aberration in his catalog. The synth-heavy “Dancing in the Dark” wasn’t his style; Bruce didn’t do “Pop." This was a guy who wrote 10-minute romantic epics with string sections and trumpets and scorching guitar solos - the artist that was a huge influence on early bands like U2 and Pearl Jam ... along with newer artists like Arcade Fire and The Hold Steady. It was street poetry. The lyrics were beautiful, yes... but rooted in a world populated by Wendy’s and Mary’s. He wrote of Exxon signs and the darkness on the edge of town. Rich, character-driven stories. Cinematic, but grounded in reality.
The early Springsteen would wait years to release an album and each time he did so it was considered a “classic." For every album he released, there was another album’s worth of material in the vaults - stuff he didn’t think was good enough or didn’t fit with what he was trying to say. It wasn’t until the 90’s that he started to loosen up the grip on his catalog. He didn't wait as long between albums; as a result, many viewed the quality as being uneven. He released a four-disc box set of unreleased tracks - the throwaways. For anyone that listened to those “outtakes” or “b-sides”, it became clear that this guy’s garbage was another artist’s gold. In fact... his songs have provided hits to lots of people over the years. Manfred Mann scored a #1 hit with their cover of “Blinded by the Light." The Pointer Sisters had a Top 10 hit with “Fire” - a song he chose not to release. He gave “Because the Night” to Patti Smith and it became her only hit to date. Johnny Cash covered a few of his songs. He’s been an incredibly prolific songwriter ... which is where we find ourselves today. He released an album last year, Magic, and while he was touring in support of it, he wrote another one ... Working on a Dream... which was released on Tuesday. I like this one a lot better than Magic. Better melodies.
Rolling Stone has delcared it a “masterpiece” - his “third great album this decade." Uh huh. He could release an album of whales mating and they’d heap praise on it. Just as he can do no wrong in the eyes of Rolling Stone, others (still expecting Born to Run, Part 2) have said it’s “weak” and “embarrassing” and blah blah blah. You want to know what it is? It’s Bruce releasing what he’s got ... songs he’s written - some good, some so so. These are the “tracks” that would have ended up on the Tracks box set. If I look back at every one of his albums since the mid-80’s, I realize that ... there’s really only one album that I love in its entirety - Devils and Dust. That said, he’s written lots of gems in recent years - from “Streets of Philadelphia” and “Secret Garden” to “My Beautiful Reward”, “Straight Time” and “Girls in their Summer Clothes." Had he not released that stuff, I wouldn’t have heard them and... what a shame. Hell... the outtakes on Tracks are some of my favorite songs - tracks like “Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart”, “Happy” and “Brothers Under the Bridges." Yeah... they’re lightweight and no they’re not on the same level as a “Jungleland” or “Highway Patrolman”, but so what. I like listening to them. Same is true for the new album. If you get a chance, listen to the outro for “This Life”; it features some of the most gorgeous harmonies since “God Only Knows." I think “The Last Carnival” and “The Wrestler” are stunning songs. Beautiful. Haunting. “Surprise, Surprise” is something The Byrds would have written and while “Queen of the Supermarket” isn’t a strong song, it’s still a good song. It's a charming little tune about unrequited love.
If you don’t like Bruce, that’s cool. If you do... ask yourself this: would I rather not hear from him for 3-4 years and get a great album or do I want him to stop being a damn perfectionist and just release it as he writes it? I fall in the latter category. He’s almost 60 years old. I don’t even want him releasing “albums” anymore. If he could take a page from Ryan Adams and just post it to the Web ... and make singles available for download, PERFECT. Let me be the judge of whether it’s good or not. If it is, I’m downloading it. If it isn’t, I’ll pass and wait for the next one. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. He’s released some of the greatest albums in Rock. He has a huge global fan base in the millions. He’ll go down in the history books alongside Elvis, Dylan and the Beatles as one of the defining voices of our time.
He's an American archetype.
Love him or hate him; I choose to love him. Keep mining that Muse, Boss.
Buddha
Reader Comments (5)
I'm a big Bruce fan as well. I can even deal with "Dancin' In the Dark," though it's not my favorite fro his catalog, by any means.
I agree with just about everything you wrote. I do have one minor quibble with you, though, in that I don't think "Born in the USA" is an aberration.
"Born in the USA" actually strikes me as classic Springsteen. It's really a song of protest and frustration, although most people don't know the lyric well enough to realize it.
Riff... great point and thanks for weighing in. You're right in that the title track is definitely classic Bruce - if you view "classic" as songs of "protest and frustration". That was my point, though (which, of course, I did a piss-poor job of explaining).
His fans tend to fall into so many different camps - each with its own idea of what makes Bruce ... Bruce.
Some, absolutely, see him as the guy who is able to hook a listener with a catchy sound, while all the while serving up some dark lyrics.
Some see him as the guy who writes about cars and girls and think THAT is the classic stuff ("Born to Run", "Ramrod"). They cringe each time he sings in "that voice" and tries to channel his inner Woody Guthrie.
Some view him as the heir to Dylan, but with the soul of Whitman and Williams. They love when he sings about immigrants and those who find themselves marginalized and adrift.
Some hear "Dancing in the Dark" and the synth-heavy sound of that album and, to them ... that's "The Boss". They think his early stuff was too wordy ... the sound "too big" and they hear the title track, yes, as a blind patriotic anthem. You also have folks, though, who think that CD was the PERFECT marriage of his dark material and his fun persona.
What, then, is "classic Bruce"? I suppose I'd vote for "all of the above". I mean... I like "Born in the USA"; I've got quite a few of the tracks from that album in my playlist above. It's a great CD, though a bit dated.
What I meant by it being an "aberration" is that it was a new sound (and look) for him at the time. He was suddenly on MTV with fog machines, synthesizers and a buff physique. While some of his albums that followed dabbled in that "Pop" world, he didn't fully return to it until "Magic" (and, recently, "Working on a Dream").
Then, again... that's my opinion. I know there are a million Riff Dog's who would argue against - and they would be right, too. The one thing we agree on, for sure, is that he's an amazing artist and ridiculously prolific. He's still relevant.
He's many things to many people.
Riff... what are your favorite Bruce songs?
Nah, I'm not gonna argue against anything you just said because I think it's exactly right. And in the context you put it, I'll even agree that "Born in the USA" is an aberration. Makes sense to me.
It's just that "Born in the USA" is a hot button for me because I have some right wing friends who think Bruce is a hypocrite for being politically leftist on most of his stuff, but then trying to wrap himself in the flag with a jingoistic song like "Born in the USA." So I have to suggest they actually listen to the lyric.
I'm just overly sensitive with that one song. Doesn't apply in your case. So don't mind me! ;-)
I was not much of a Bruce fan until I was dragged to a concert once about 15 years ago. I was blown away. Ever since, I've been hooked on all of it. Not just the concert stuff. Although, my favorite song is "Born to Run" because it is soooooo damn good in concert.
But my favorite album is probably Nebraska. Least favorite would be "Dancin' In the Dark," although I even like that! ;-)
I've heard the same bullshit argument about him wrapping his leftist beliefs in upbeat songs - especially the "jingoistic" title track. First off... it was one fucking song. It had a great melody and good lyrics. They need to get over it.
As for my favorite to least favorite album...
Born to Run (perfect in every way)
The River (so many great songs)
Devils and Dust (terrific stories, melodies)
Nebraska (bleak, haunting)
Seeger Sessions (wonderful)
Darkness ("Racing in the Street")
Born in the USA (upbeat, infectious)
Wild & Innocent (epic)
Tracks (some fun songs)
The Rising ("Nothing Man")
Tunnel of Love ("One Step Up")
Lucky Town ("My Beautiful Reward")
Working on a Dream ("This Life")
Ghost of Tom Joad ("Straight Time")
Greetings ("Growing Up")
Human Touch ("Man's Job")
Those who hate The Boss simply don't know him. On your playlist - Ramrod sounds promising, Stolen Car is haunting, Nebraska is one of my favs, Secret Garden is a song about ME, I'm On Fire is one of my theme songs, and I love those Seeger sessions - that one about Mrs McGrath is my fav. SIGH imagery and sheer romanticism... I feel like weeping now...