I have to admit that it was Lefsetz that got me all wound up. His newsletter is a definite read for anyone who remembers laying on his bed, listening to records while ardently reading and re-reading album liner notes. Back in the day, when being first to hear the latest album, or uncovering some rough gem and getting your friend over to say, “Man, you’ve GOT to hear this!” Bob Lefsetz is that kind of music junkie. Though his tastes run a little too much to the now departed Warner Brothers/Reprise stable, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of tunes that everyday has me firing up the Wayback Machine. The one drawback to Bob, if it is one, is he is a bit of a cynic about the bizness of music, with good cause. But it does have him “reading” into things that may not be there. He brought up the “Outlaw Pete”/Kiss connection. “We're supposed to believe in a man who's turned on everything he ever believed in, who has resorted to copying the work of hacks and pawning it off as his own?” Bob said. That’s one of the nicer comments. Bob gets that way. He pointed me to the You Tube video and, well, I freaked.

I have another brother in arms, Sal Nunziato (who’s blog, Burning Wood, you shouldn’t miss). Sal is also very passionate about music and very generous with the seemingly acres of music at his disposal. He argued that the song was better than heard on first blush. He also took issue with the premise that Bruce hadn’t written anything over the last 15 years that matched the output of his first 15. I said that Springsteen really hadn’t written a decent song since the Academy Award winner, “On The Streets Of Philadelphia.” That may be a cause for debate in some circles. You can talk among yourselves.
Bruce may be the most prolific writer in rock music history. I remember reading a quote by Steve Van Zandt that Springsteen always has a song in his back pocket. I will state right here and now, that Bruce Springsteen can write a better story on a wet cocktail napkin and keep it under five minutes (and add a chorus and a verse) than I can do re-editing a 1,000 words essay over two days. His catalog is littered with characters and emotions that have had me actually feeling and living in his imagination. Springsteen is an artist. Compared to him, I’m still writing “See Spot run!” What Sal misunderstood and what Bob overstated was this. Bruce is so good and has set such a standard that his latest output seems strained and is not quite hitting the mark.
By understanding his position in the Parthenon, he seems to be trying to capture the mood of his fans vis-à-vis the social and political atmosphere of the time he is writing in. That’s the change. In the past, he told us what he thought and wished, even if he called himself Handsome Johnny or told us how he wanted to bust out of this town. Didn’t we all, and it was that common dream we held with him that drew us to his music. In his music now, he seems (again, to me) trying to capture what we feel and think, trying to draw himself closer to us. Does he feel separated? Is that one of the prices one pays for the privileged life of celebrity? Hell, I’ll never know.
Listening a few more times, "Outlaw Pete" is better then I first thought. But, whether you like “Outlaw Pete” or not is not really the issue. I suppose it’s like saying that Henry the IV, pt. 2 is better than Henry the VI, pt. 3. It’s the entire work that makes the artist. With Springsteen, I may be disappointed with the current output as a fan, but I’m glad

One thing hasn’t changed in Bruce, I have never seen any one enjoy him self more in playing music. Of course, his shows are legendary. You can just hear a live Springsteen performance and know that the man is having a good time. He, obviously, is a man comfortable in his own skin when he plays. The playfulness he exudes in his Christmas shows, the “Open All Night” from the Dublin Session Band Tour, anytime he does “Ramrod” or “Thunder Road”, and this one, “Light of Day” from New York City.
When he plays with other people, famous and not, the deference they pay this man speaks volumes of his status. He just naturally becomes the band’s leader. Playing with Roy Orbison or playing “Mustang Sally” with a bar band in the Stone Pony, the band becomes Bruce’s band. The man loves to play and that is the reason I love him so. I understand that he has 40 years of touring experience, and has learned to pluck every audience string as well as he rips that Fender. So what? He shares with his band mates (and us) the fun he’s having and we all have a “Hungry Heart” to be part of his band.
No comments:
Post a Comment