# Bruce Springsteen



## schuberkovich (Apr 7, 2013)

What do you think of him? He seems to divide opinion between those who love him and those who think him grossly overrated.

I ask because I haven't found any other songs which reach the same levels of youthful restlessness, energy, emotion that some of his songs do, like:
Thunder Road 





Rosalita 





and The River 





A lot of his output to me is very run of the mill, but the gems there more than make up for it. Apart from a few songs, to me it's obvious that he peaked in the albums Born to Run/Darkness on the Edge of Town.
I'm wondering if a lot of the negative response is from people who've only heard his most famous songs, like Born to Run (which I find sterile and formulaic compared to the rest of the album), Born in the USA and other songs from the same album etc. (but I do admit that I love I'm on Fire and Dancing in the Dark).

I wonder if these people listened to Thunder Road repeatedly (it took me a month to fully appreciate it) will begin to love him.

Any thoughts welcome.


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## Mesa (Mar 2, 2012)

Wasn't much of a fan, but recently friend recently introduced me to Nebraska.










Utterly unpretentious and proof of his legitimate creative brilliance.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I've been a big fan for a long time. I couldn't put it better than Jackson Browne did, so I'll quote him:

"Combining strains of Appalachian music, rockabilly, blues and R&B, his work epitomizes rock's deepest values: desire, the need for freedom and the search to find yourself. All through his songs there is a generosity and a willingness to portray even the simplest aspects of our lives in a dramatic and committed way."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/bruce-springsteen-20110420


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Grossly overrated Schmaltz. Tiresome 'guaranteed to sell' American patriotism. Run-of-the-mill mainstream radio music.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> Grossly overrated Schmaltz. Tiresome 'guaranteed to sell' American patriotism. Run-of-the-mill mainstream radio music.


Incidentally, I must have heard "Born in the USA" a thousand times before realizing it was a protest against American foreign policy.

Sort of like that "tell me why I don't like Mondays" song--

sneaky


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## schuberkovich (Apr 7, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> Grossly overrated Schmaltz. Tiresome 'guaranteed to sell' American patriotism. Run-of-the-mill mainstream radio music.


I'm just curious - how much of his music have you heard? Apart from Born in the USA (on a surface level) and his more recent albums, he doesn't seem to me anything like "guaranteed to sell" American patriotism. I say this as someone from London who's never set foot in the USA!


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

The rousing chorus of Born In The USA has certainly contributed to it being one of the more misunderstood songs ever. However, that doesn't change the fact that it is a great song.

This version, which wasn't released until his Tracks box set of unreleased material, more closely matches the tone of the lyrics.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

schuberkovich said:


> ...how much of his music have you heard? Apart from Born in the USA (on a surface level) and his more recent albums, he doesn't seem to me anything like "guaranteed to sell" American patriotism.


I heard the albums of the '70s and '80s to death, and not by choice  They were _inescapable_ in North America. His style of music was the antithesis of what moved me. I listened to some samples of more recent songs on Amazon a few months back and they sounded (to my untrained ear in the genre) folky, which is an immediate turn-off for me. Perhaps "mainstream" is the wrong adjective, but to me, who listens to classical music, art rock and experimental jazz, Springsteen sounds mainstream.


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## schuberkovich (Apr 7, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> I heard the albums of the '70s and '80s to death, and not by choice  They were _inescapable_ in North America. His style of music was the antithesis of what moved me. I listened to some samples of more recent songs on Amazon a few months back and they sounded (to my untrained ear in the genre) folky, which is an immediate turn-off for me. Perhaps "mainstream" is the wrong adjective, but to me, who listens to classical music, art rock and experimental jazz, Springsteen sounds mainstream.


Fair enough. To me his music does often sound like typical rock, but I haven't found anything vaguely similar to _Thunder Road_. And I haven't found anything by him from the last 20 years that has had any impact on me.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

brotagonist said:


> I heard the albums of the '70s and '80s to death, and not by choice  They were _inescapable_ in North America. His style of music was the antithesis of what moved me. I listened to some samples of more recent songs on Amazon a few months back and they sounded (to my untrained ear in the genre) folky, which is an immediate turn-off for me. Perhaps "mainstream" is the wrong adjective, but to me, who listens to classical music, art rock and experimental jazz, Springsteen sounds mainstream.


That's all perfectly reasonable. If you don't like the style, you don't like the style.

The comment "Tiresome 'guaranteed to sell' American patriotism" did catch me off guard. I suppose he is patriotic in his way, but certainly not in a jingoistic, "America- Love it or Leave it" kind of way. He certainly writes about America, but in a more often than not critical way.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Try the Seeger Sessions or try other people singing the songs. Johnny Cash did an excellent version of Highway Patrolman or try Steve Earle's version of State Trooper.

It's precisely the "folk(s)y" characteristics that attract me.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Regarding Thunder Road, that song (which I think may be the greatest American rock song ever) has one of my all time favorite lines when he sings "show a little faith, there's magic in the night.......you ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alright."

When my wife and I first started dating that song came on the radio, and I told her that one of my all time favorite lines was coming up. After she heard it she said" "You ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alright? No man should ever say that to a woman for any reason."

I said, "yeah, it would definitely require a bit of finesse to make that line successful."


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## schuberkovich (Apr 7, 2013)

EricABQ said:


> Regarding Thunder Road, that song (which I think may be the greatest American rock song ever) has one of my all time favorite lines when he sings "show a little faith, there's magic in the night.......you ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alright."
> 
> When my wife and I first started dating that song came on the radio, and I told her that one of my all time favorite lines was coming up. After she heard it she said" "You ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alright? No man should ever say that to a woman for any reason."
> 
> I said, "yeah, it would definitely require a bit of finesse to make that line successful."


That's my favourite line as well! To be fair though, I do love every single line of Thunder Road. What amazes me is how the initially banal seeming lyrics seem magical in that song, like:

And my car's out back
If you're ready to take that long walk

gets me every time. I think it's the way he says 'long'.

Another favourite part:

With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now? 
Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow
Back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

schuberkovich said:


> That's my favourite line as well! To be fair though, I do love every single line of Thunder Road. What amazes me is how the initially banal seeming lyrics seem magical in that song, like:
> 
> And my car's out back
> If you're ready to take that long walk
> ...


I love the live version of the song that is on his live box set. I couldn't find that exact version on youtube, but this one is pretty close. Accompanied by just the piano. From 1975:


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Taggart said:


> Try the Seeger Sessions or try other people singing the songs. Johnny Cash did an excellent version of Highway Patrolman or try Steve Earle's version of State Trooper.
> 
> It's precisely the "folk(s)y" characteristics that attract me.


Seeger is another that I lump into the Springsteen camp, sort of "folk(s)y", and I have stayed away ;-)

I would like to hear that Johnny Cash song. I'll have to locate the album. I have _The Ballads of the True West_, which is excellent (although I wish he hadn't ruined the song cycle by chattering between the songs).

Steve Earle's _The Mountain_, with Del McCoury, is_ colossal_ (I am a big McCoury fan and like his style of bluegrass). On the merit of that one, I have taken out numerous other Earle albums from the public library, but the magic that McCoury brought to the music was sadly absent.

Why do some music genres resonate with me, while others leave me feeling indifferent? Paradoxically, there are artists, like Steeleye Span, from a mostly indifferent genre that appeal to me rather strongly. Generally, I prefer instrumental music, hence my classical and jazz interests, but those old English songs are _most_ enchanting.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Johnny Cash >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

I like the "Americana" Bruce more than the Arena Rock Bruce. Ghost of Tom Joad is one of my favorites. However, My Hometown always breaks me up.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Taggart said:


> Johnny Cash _Highway Patrolman_


Thanks for posting that  My family means so much to me, too!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

When it comes to Tom Joad, I prefer Guthrie.











I much prefer Copperhead Road to Thunder Road:


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks for posting that performance of Ghost Of Tom Joad. I hadn't seen it.

Rage Against the Machine's cover of the song is very good, too.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> Thanks for posting that  My family means so much to me, too!


Man turns his back on his﻿ family ain't no friend of mine!


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

I really adore the songs on Born to Run. Beautiful music ^_^ Thunder Road is definitely a fav.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Taggart said:


> Man turns his back on his﻿ family ain't no friend of mine!


Exactly what I heard/meant, too!

 _Copperhead Road_ was one of the albums I got from the library! I liked this song (wish they all sounded like this one), but I'm not buying the album anyway ut:


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