Musings on Bruce

The Boss (does anyone still call him that?) is all over the news lately, with the Inauguration, the upcoming Super Bowl appearance, and a new album hitting stores tomorrow. It’s a good time for me to offer a quick review of the latest 33 1/3 book I’ve read, on Born In The USA. The 33 1/3 titles are small, neat little books for those that need more than liner notes. Born In The USA is not one of my favorite efforts from Bruce Springsteen, so I picked this volume to reacquaint myself. It may have been the complete over saturation of Bruce in the music world when this record came out in 1984, or the heavily commercialized sound, but I rarely play this album. The author, Geoffrey Himes, makes the case that this record, along with Nebraska and the numerous outtakes from this period (many now have been released on Tracks) is Bruce’s finest hour. This is a tough argument for long time fans who revere the trilogy of Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River as his best work, not to mention some of his latest efforts as a mature songwriter.

Himes' main argument is that Bruce refined his songwriting approach from the romantic, symbolic and often complex lyrics of his earlier work to a simplified and ultimately more successful style during this period, culminating in Born In The USA. His other main point is that thematically, Bruce shifted from the youthful rock’n’roll dream mentality to a focus on real characters, and what it means face the harsh realities of life. I agree that the early records were often overwrought, with young Bruce trying to cram in every musical and lyrical idea he had into each song. But I would argue that the critical songwriting shift Himes points to really occurred in 1977-78, with Darkness on the edge of Town. We went from the dreamlike imagery of Jungleland to the realities of Factory in a heartbeat. Darkness paved the way to the stripped down songwriting of Nebraska and Born in the USA, but for me, musically it’s superior.

Going back and listening to Born in the USA, it’s a better record than I gave it credit for, but ultimately sounds a little dated, while Darkness sounds timeless. I’ve always felt that Born In The USA was a calculated effort to propel Bruce from cult status to pop superstar, and perhaps the simplified song style was more about public accessibility than the artist’s own refinement. But that’s the cynic in me. The songs hold up, and tunes like Surrender are certainly more accessible to a mainstream audience than It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City, but guess which one most fans would prefer to hear him perform live?

Whatever your point of view on Bruce’s music, the 33 1/3 book on this album is worth reading, even for the most knowledgeable fan.The book is very well researched and offers many interesting facts about this period in Bruce’s career. It would have benefited from some editing, as it is repetitive and a little tedious in spots.

Also, if you’re a Darkness fan, good news was released today; a 30th anniversary special edition re-release is planned for this year, along the lines of the Born to Run box set a few years ago.

Regarding the new record, I’ll reserve judgment until I hear it all, but early reviews are not impressive. Working On A Dream sounds fairly innocuous, but the Wrestler is superb. Bruce normally takes his time between releases, but this one comes right on the heels of Magic. I don’t want to suggest that the album was rushed to coincide with the Super Bowl performance, but in this era of music and marketing, I’m sure that is exactly what happened. I guess this means we'll hear Workin' On A Dream this Sunday instead of Candy's Room (one of my favorite songs when performed live) or Adam Raised A Cain.


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For obsessive compulsives

If liner notes and record reviews are not enough for you, turn to the 33 1/3 series of books from Continuum publishing. 33 1/3 is a series of pocket sized books, around 150 pages, that focus in detail on great albums old and new. Written by scholars, critics, and musicians the series has attracted a fanatical following. They have been around for a few years, and up until now I have resisted, thinking I'd rather spend 10 bucks on a CD. But the music geek in me has recently prevailed. I also have a weakness for collecting small things of identical size (there's a psychological condition for this, but I don't know the name). I love reading about music, and chances are if you're reading this blog, you do too. In some ways the books I've read are like graduate thesis papers; intriguing, but not always the best writing. Detailed footnotes and bibliographies are provided for further obsessing. Here are brief reviews of the first two I've read, to help you decide if you're ready to take the plunge:

#17 - Led Zeppelin IV - Author Erik Davis tackles one of the greatest albums of all time. Davis is an expert in mysticism and the occult, and delves into the hidden symbolism pretty heavily, maybe more than most readers care to read about. He does make a compelling argument for the overall meaning of the album, though, and balances the occult theory with a good knowledge of all things Zeppelin. He also offers a really insightful review of all the things we loved about the 12-inch record and the concept of creating an 'album' of songs, notions that have fallen by the wayside in the digital era. I was hoping for more detail on the recording sessions at Headley Grange, but there are other sources for that.

Conclusion: A must-read for Zeppelin fanatics. Casual music fans may be overwhelmed.

Buy It

#37 - The Who Sell Out - Written by John Dougan, a Who fan with a PhD in American Studies, the book is really more of a history of the Pop Art and pirate radio era in mid 1960's Britain than an intense analysis of the album. Sell Out is an overlooked masterpiece, and I found the discussion of cultural climate that led to the music very worthwhile reading. I didn't know much about the pirate radio movement and this book provides a complete history, which of course is instrumental in the concept of Sell Out. If you're looking for 120 pages on the Who though, you will be disappointed.

Conclusion: Anyone with an interest in 60's rock music should read it. If you're a Who fan that has forgotten about Sell Out in favor of the Who's more well-known albums then you should definitely read it.

Buy It

More to come as I continue to read. There's 56 in the series and counting....

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