Bruce Springsteen released "Working On a Dream" yesterday. I heard the title track on the radio. Not favorably impressed.
Let's back up a few paces. I am a Springsteen fan from WAAAAY back. Back in high school -- during the early 80's -- I regularly had to defend the Boss to friends who hated his voice, twang, over-ratedness, etc. It wasn't his working class roots or blue collar ethic or rock poet stature that drew me to his music. I just liked the stories he told and the way it sounded.
Following the success of "Born in the USA", Bruce started to break down the pillars that supported him. He went "solo" by putting the E Street Band on hiatus. He married Yoko, I mean, Patty Scialfa. Not that marrying your soulmate is a bad thing. But c'mon! He brought her on tour. The old Bruce - the one we all knew and loved - ceased to exist. A Bruce divided against itself cannot stand!
All this would be inside-baseball trivia if not for the fact the music started to decline. "Born in the USA" perhaps was too big to follow. It spawned at least 4 hit singles; four times more than "The River", a (solid) double album with twice as many songs. One of my favorite songs from "The River" is "Sherry Darling".
Which brings us to "Working On a Dream". The title song uses nearly the exact same chord progressions as "Sherry", though in stark contrast to the raw, good time feel of the earlier work. With the new, we're treated to a well-produced, yet soft country-western sound instead of driving rock 'n roll. We're blessed with processed background vocals and glockenspiel accents; the former non-existent in the old (read: good), the latter worked in the song "Born to Run" but seem forced here.
And that is the irony of Bruce. When the glockenspiel sounds forced, it's time to move on. Back to the Future.
Compare for yourself:
Independent Bruce (Quoth Clarence, "I love that Bruce.")
Relationship Bruce ("a Pre-Nup?" asketh Patty)
8 comments:
I've got a pain in my glockenspiel, and my flugelhorn is all backed up.
If you're looking for great stories and driving rocknroll, I recently discovered Nick Cave's "Dig Lazarus Dig," which delivers on both counts and rewards repeated listens. The lyrics are especially notable--often dark and funny at the same time, and literate without being pretentious (similar to the best work of Bob Dylan and Lou Reed). The Bad Seeds, Nick's band, provide solid backup throughout, and Cave's vocals range from sounding like a deranged preacher to a cynical drinking buddy. It's on heavy rotation in my car right now--check it if you get the urge, and you won't be disappointed!
The River is still my favorite Bruce, I used to veg late into the night listening to Fade Away and Ramrod on my turntable, side 3 I think, God I'm old. Anyway, the new Bruce sure aint no River and it seems the days of Jungleland are long gone. Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain....
a) I'm definitely gonna check out the Nick Cave. Have heard some stuff from him before -- don't know what, don't know where, but it stuck with me...in a good way.
b) My favorite Bruce is also the River. I met a little girl and I settled down. In a little house out on the edge of town. We got married and swore we'd never part. But little by little we drifted from each other's heart. I'm drivin' a stolen car. Down on Eldridge Avenue. Each day I wait to get caught. But I never do.
c) As Eddie once said in Mr. Cohen's English class about the Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" - this song is NOT about me.
d) You make up your mind. You choose the chance you take. You ride to where the highways ends. And the desert breaks. Out on to an open road. You ride until the day. You learn to sleep at night. With the price you pay.
e) Aye-yie-yie-yie-yie-yie-yie...the ties that biy-yee-yie-ind.
PS Love that "Bruce Divided" line.
Mucous: The "Bruce divided" line was written for you, my tasty friend.
- Costanza
I'm working on a nap, I'm working on a nap ZZZZZZZZZZ
My favorite Springsteen songs:
Badlands
Darlington County
Johnny 99
She's the One
Tunnel of Love
Racing in the Streets
Atlantic City
Trapped
American Skin
Streets of Philadelphia
Born in the USA
Because the Night
Born to Run
To me, Springsteen has always danced that delicate line between sincerity and corniness, and while I can't fault the guy for believing in the healing powers of rocknroll, at times I resist the lack of irony that he often displays. That's why I prefer the Frankie Goes to Hollywood version of Born to Run--it amps up the cheese factor so that it becomes obvious, and by doing so it somehow achieves a greater authenticity for me than Bruce's original, heart-on-sleeve version.
However, the guy has definitely written some all-time classics, and though I have never seen him on person, I do understand and appreciate teh appeal of his blue collar, hard working persona. Just last night on the HD music channel, I watched about two hours of a concert from a couple years back at Madison Square Garden, and it was undeniably compelling to see how he gave it all up for the crowd, and how the crowd gave it back.
I also have to take issue with one of Philbony's points regarding the wife--while I am certainly not the Bruce fan that he is, watching that concert last night it struck me how appropriate it seemed for Patty S. to be there on stage, since Bruce presents his show as a kind of communal celebration, with an assortment of colorful characters (Clarence, Little Steven, etc.) all playing their part. Having the missus there adds an almost Sly Stone-ish vibe to the inclusive nature of the E Street Band, as well as a nice dose of female energy to interact with those Jersey boys.
Now, it's time to start drinking in preparation for the Super Bowl (looking forward to seeing Bruce at halftime). Deb & I have Steelers -7 and under 46.5, so we will see what happens...
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