Same As He Ever Was...Only Better

In my life in music there have been many times where I have been privileged to listen to artists at their peak. Bands like the Beatles, The Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East, the Sex Pistols, Journey, and (insert your own here).

These words are only my personal ramblings. That's the great thing about music...its subjectivity, you know, one man's ceiling, etc.

That being said, I can only recall two artists who not only reached the top of their game but continued to push the bar higher. Two artists who got better as they aged. One was Mozart, who literally crammed a full artistic lifetime into 35 years. The other is Bruce Springsteen.

Thanks to two people who have forgotten more about music than I will ever know, I was exposed to a video yesterday that absolutely stunned me. Thanks to Sal and Steve. You never let me down.
Take a gander at Sal's "Burning Wood" and Steve's "Power Pop" and see what I mean.

I'll let Steve Simels tell you the background of the live video:
"...a crazy Italian fan had been following the band around from show to show with a huge banner asking for a performance of '(New York) Serenade,' and for this occasion, Bruce surprised the guy by hiring a string section and dedicating the song to him. Like I said, words fail me."

After watching the video, words failed me, as well. What musical artist does that today? On a whim, goes and hires a string section and conductor, just to give one fan thanks for his support. Who does that, indeed?

Has any artist in the half century stayed as near his roots as any superstar possibly can? The Beatles, burst upon the music scene, internalized themselves into an impenetrable bubble and, like a super nova, imploded.

Other superstar acts get further and further away from their audience. Can you imagine the Rolling Stones or Eagles going off message and just letting it happen? No, I can't either.

Springsteen is in a position I don't think I've ever seen any popular artist in. He can, and will, do anything he wants with an unabashed confidence that no other artist has, at least to my knowledge, ever shown before.

He has a band that can turn on a nod or hand gesture. The E Street Band is so in the pocket that even member's death cannot stop the juggernaut that is the E Street Band. It's little wonder they continue to play together. Where could they go that could possibly fulfill them any better artistically?

Nils Lofgren, in an interview with Sam Gnerre, said this about working with Bruce,"It's interesting and great to see all these professional musicians discover what a joy it is to work with Bruce, and what a cool guy he is. He has a great sense of humor, and so much common sense about what it is we're doing, and the improv nature of it, the reckless loose ends. He's got great common sense mixed with his talent, and it's a joy to see him and enjoy that." Nil continued, "But hey, I've been blessed. 44 years as a musician, and I'm playing in one of the great bands of all time. (emphasis mine)  I've never seen Bruce in better shape musically or physically. I'm very grateful to be out there with him and the band."

You would think with the accolades and awards that Bruce Springsteen would just mail it in every night. He's earned the right to and many other rock "heroes" do just that, exerting all their effort just to stay focused.

In the Daily Beast, the author, Elizabeth Wurtzel, in explaining Bob Dylan wrote this about Springsteen (emphasis me, again),"Bruce Springsteen is, even as the biggest rock star in the world, the person he was growing up in Freehold, New Jersey; he is an evolution, and an ongoing project of constant connection of birth and rebirth going back to his origins."

This video shows that Bruce Springsteen is the same as he ever was, only better. Just watch...