Wow... look at you. I doubt anyone knows about this page, but you stumbled across it. You're like an online version of Sherlock Holmes. Impressive. Anyway... this is where I ramble on about my love of Springsteen. It's going to get pretty sappy, so... you may want to leave.
Still here? Ok... I hated Bruce when I first came across him. It was the late 70's; I was just a kid. I was into songs by the Osmonds and every other crappy pop band of the day. I remember hearing my sister listening to the Born to Run album (she's six years older). It sounded like he was constipated. "Oh hell no", I thought... as I raced back to my 45 of "Puppy Love." Well... I grew up. My taste in music improved. A few years later, I heard The River. I was impressed. A double album (how many artists are that prolific and ballsy to release two albums in one?). I loved it, but... I moved on to other bands (I was heavily into Van Halen and Rush during this period). It wasn't until 1982 when I revisted his catalog. He released Nebraska ... an album he recorded in his house that was meant to be a demo for the band. Turns out the demo was a fucking masterpiece (half the Indie artists today - from Wilco to Ben Harper - were deeply influenced by that album); he wisely decided to leave it alone and released it "as is." Nebraska helped spawn the Lo-Fi genre. Here's one of my favorites... "Highway Patrolman."
Anyway... I remember listening to it and thinking... "this guy is an AMAZING songwriter." I immediately went out and bought all of his albums. I was blown away... especially when I got to Born to Run. That album left such a mark on me. It was a novel. Incredibly poetic. It was just... so damn romantic. It pushed me to grab a pen and paper and start writing.
Flash forward to 1984. He released Born in the USA and I became an even BIGGER fan. I remember where I was the night I first heard that album. If I close my eyes, I can still see my bedroom. Then I caught him in concert. It had such a profound impact on my life. I went from being a "huge fan" to a fanatic. Many have said this concerts are like a religious experience; I don't know about that, but I do know that his show felt like an old-fashioned tent revival. It was full of sweat, grief, communion and pure joy. Springsteen doesn't have the best voice. He's smart, but he's not Dylan. He's cool, but he's not early Elvis cool. No, but he's definitely one of the most charismatic performers to ever grace a stage. His concerts serve joy on tap. You walk out feeling better about your life. You feel a connection with thousands of strangers.
Some will say that Springsteen is just "Classic Rock", but I don't think they grasp his true appeal. This is a guy who has had hits in many styles. Rockers. Ballads. Folk. Pop. Soundtracks. Bruce is not unique, no; he's a composite of all those who went before him. He bleeds his influences. Elvis. Phil Spector. Brian Wilson. James Brown and Otis Redding. Van Morrison. Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. On top of that, he is one prolific songwriting machine. Manfred Mann had a huge hit in the 70's with their cover of "Blinded by the Light." He gave the Pointer Sisters "Fire" and it was a Top Ten hit. He gave Patti Smith "Because the Night" and it resulted in her only big hit to date. Others have mined him for years.
He's now 60, but he shows no signs of slowing down. He's just getting started.
Are you a Bruce fan? If so... click here to go farther down the rabbit hole.