Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run: 30th Anniversary 3-Disc Set (CD/2DVD)
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Free Music Notes for Born To Run: 30th Anniversary 3-Disc Set (CD/2DVD)
Free Music Review: There are no words adequate (but here goes anyway)
Hit: 5 Stars
Epic...outstanding...grandiose... ambitious...visionary... theatrical... majestic... monumental...exciting...classical... timeless... fantastic... mythological... emotional...breathtaking... electrifying...exhilarant... eye-popping... far out... fine... flashy... hectic... compelling...impressive... intoxicating
How does one describe the greatest rock album of all time?
When Born to Run was being made Bruce Springsteen knew it was his shot at the title and he went for it with an indefatigable passion. The pressure was on. His backers at Columbia had moved on...the sales of "Greetings from Asbury Park" and "the Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle" had been less than impressive though both albums were critically well received. Bruce and his band mates new they were in danger of being dumped from the label if they didn't come up with a triumph.
Springsteen had a sound in his head, a big sound and a big song in Born to Run but getting that song and sound to match what he was hearing in his mind was proving to be frustrating and taxing. With meticulous dedication and grueling sixteen hour days in the studio and overdub after overdub after overdub Springsteen and the E Street band were finally able to achieve the Spectorish "Wall of Sound" they had been searching for and a classic was...well.... born.
In the process two band members were lost, Springsteen's then manager Mike Appel was at the beginning of the end of his business association with Bruce and John Landau, the man who was to write that he'd seen the future of rock and roll after seeing Bruce perform, came on board beginning a collaboration of like minds that has lasted to this day. Despite all the pratfalls, if asked if he'd do it all again I imagine Bruce would not hesitate because the end result took him to the top and enabled him to get everything he could have hoped for and more out of a musical career.
I was a kid when I fell in love with the album. I heard Born to Run blasting through the radio and had to have it for my own. It was the first song (that wasn't a nursery rhyme) that I remember having any investment in. Thirty years later with this special commemorative edition I now have eight copies of it.
First obviously was the original LP then I had to have it on cassette for the tape deck in my parent's car. The third version was the LP again when I just had to buy a copy when the family was on an extended Christmas vacation at my grandparents' house. Then CD's were invented and of course it was the first CD I brought. My CD player back then was a five CD disk changer and Born to Run had a permanent place in the number one slot. This proved to be problematic when I got a CD player in my car so along came version number six. Then I met my future wife and had to buy her a copy so she could learn to
some extent what she may be getting herself into, of course we live together now so it's `our' copy. Then there's this latest, greatest edition in remastered digital sound with the terrific extras.
Obsessed?
Maybe.........a little anyway.
Born to run is more than just the collection of individual songs....it's more than the wall of sound...it's more than the beauty and poetry of the lyrics....it's more than the passion and promise that the album contains.....it's a sum of all it's parts.
The themes of freedom, escape and redemption that are evident throughout are intrinsic to those that lay at the heart of rock and roll. The promise of that magic in the night, the question of is love real. Somehow less becomes more as the album was stripped back and condensed in comparison to what Springsteen had done before. His previous releases had been wordy and verbose, the byline for Greetings stating that Bruce was a performer who could put more into one song than most artists put into an entire album. Here he was able to tell more story in less words and the words he used conveyed a cinematic imagery with characters that we can all imagine with lives and hearts and minds of their own. Lives and stories that for a brief moment we can invest in and feel as if they contain a little piece of ourselves.
Thirty years on and the album still resonates as much now as it did back then and this latest edition is a fitting tribute. The packaging is terrific. Of course the iconic cover of Bruce slumped over Clarence's shoulder complete with impish grin, his Elvis badge and the famous Esquire telecaster slung alongside like an old West gunslinger. Inside the album itself is packaged like the original LP in a gatefold sleeve. The silver part of the disk is black and the picture side is made out like a record complete with grooves. Another CD cover containing the Born to Run single and the B side Meeting Across the River is set up to look like a record in it's sleeve.
The picture booklet is a collection of photo's from the Born to Run era as taken by photographer Eric Meola who was responsible for the classic image that became the albums cover. Somewhat disappointingly the intro to this booklet is an exert from Bruce's book songs rather than something written originally for the release. For mine it would have been interesting to hear what Bruce feels about the album thirty years on and what it means to him today.
The sleeve for the DVD of the E Street bands first concert abroad at London's Hammersmith Odeon is more satisfying as it is originally penned and in fact written the day before Bruce's birthday this past September. Bruce talks about how he felt about the hype and the marquee and the tearing down of the posters and the tension before the show. The DVD itself is the first official full release concert from the preceding century. Though the release proclaims this is never before seen footage there is quite a few bootleggers who would beg to disagree. Bruce acknowledges as much when he mentions that the" legendary performance marked only in memory, bits of bootleg tape and `I was there when' stories" For those that have the bootleg concert I would suggest that both versions are from the same source as it has the same grainy elements and camera angles. For those that have not seen it, this is not the buff Springsteen who muscled his way through the Born in the USA tour but a taut, skinny, hungry performer going for broke to win over a foreign audience with an impassioned delivery. It highlights why Springsteen and the E Street band garnered their reputations for being the premiere live performers in concert that they remain to this day.
The third disk is a wonderful little documentary titled "Wings for wheels" which was one of the original titles for the song that came to be known as "Thunder Road". The disk contains archival footage from the making of the album and current footage from all the key players including ex band members Ernest "Boom" Carter and David Sancious as well as the production team. Highlights include some of the versions (both good and downright cringe worthy) that didn't make the final cut, modern acoustic versions of select songs with detailed explanations in the mode of the recent Storytellers DVD and the Somerville theatre benefit shows from 2003 and a small segment that has Bruce showing of the famed Esquire telecaster.
The DVD concludes with a live three-song performance from 1973 including Spirit in the night, Wild Billy's Circus story and Thundercrack.
All in all it's a great testament to the greatest album and while I'm aware that most everyone who will purchase this is probably as bad as myself when it come to all things Bruce I congratulate those who are about to be introduced to Mary, Wendy, Terry, Eddie, the Magic Rat, the barefoot girl, Scooter and the Big Man for the very first time. Prepare to be enchanted.
Free Music Review: The "future of rock and roll" is found here.
Hit: 5 Stars
First, put on the CD of "Born to Run". The new mix sounds brighter than the previous CD (there is an audiophile-targeted version that some people like better).
If you've never heard the CD, it's something that was meant to be played in the car on a summer night. "Thunder Road" (the title taken from a Robert Mitchum movie) about a romantic young man begging Mary to "get the hell out of Dodge" because it's a town full of losers. Next is "Tenth Ave. Freeze Out", Bruce's bio of the E Street Band and meeting Clarence Clemons. "Night" is another "getting out" song, getting out of work to go racing in the night and cruising, something that "Darkness on the Edge of Town" would explore more. "Backstreets" is about broken friendships, where the best friend got out and left him there.
"Born To Run", the unofficial anthem of Jersey, is another "getting out" song, pays homage to Phil Spector, and pours everything into it as if his life depends on it. "She's The One" has got the "Bo Diddley" beat about a heartbreaker. "Meeting Across The River", something that could've been off the first 2 albums, about 2 young guys doing something they shouldn't be doing. The song would be perfect for a "Sopranos" episode.... Clarence's sax playing on here is haunting. The final track, "Jungleland", winds it all up, not just for "Born To Run", but for the type of writing he did for his first 3 albums, specifically "Rosalita" and "NYC Serenade" off of his second album. The sax solo takes the song up a notch.
The album cover is one of the most recognizable, with Bruce on one side, guitar in hand with an Elvis button and Clarence on the back cover playing the sax. It's not a dated "70s" album.
The 2 DVDs are the reason to pick this up though. The first, called "Wings for Wheels", could've been part of the "Classic Albums" series. It goes into detail about Bruce being on thin ice with the label and having to put something out to put him on the map, and everything that happened during the sessions,including having to replace 2 band members. The band recounts working on grueling sessions for hours upon hours. Bruce is interviewed driving to the place he was trying to get away from as well as in the studio. As with "Classic Albums", Bruce and Jon Landau discuss the songs at the soundboard. There are a few surprises here: videotapes of the sessions that show Bruce at his crankiest and weary, but keeping it going; in Surround sound, you get to hear some of the demos on their own. Bruce's former manager Mike Appel is also part of it, which is kind of a surprise considering they battled in court after this album, but time must have healed some wounds, but both Bruce and Jon give Mike credit for keeping them going when they were stuck. ..
A CBS promo film from 1973 is included here and is a far cry from the Bruce of the 80s or even "Born to Run". The E Street Band is loose and "jazzy", Bruce's acoustic roots that would come out in "Nebraska", "Tom Joad" and "Devils and Dust" are here. Too bad they didn't film the entire show, it looked like a lot of fun.
The other DVD, "Live at Hammersmith Odeon" was long-forgotten until a few years ago. Bruce thought he put on a terrible show at the time because of how the British received them(politely, and if you see Old Grey Whistle Test DVD, the reviewer wasn't impressed). Supposedly he stormed off stage at the end, but it looked like he has fun in the film. On "Wings for Wheels", Bruce didn't care for how they were promoting him and started tearing down posters in the venue.
But watching this, it's a crime that it was never released sooner. It's a representative setlist of his earlier shows, where "Rosalita" was the highlight, and a majority of "Born To Run" is done in concert, minus "Night" and "Meeting Across the River", both of which were rarely done in concert since, although the latter was done on his acoustic tour earlier this year.
The "Live 1975-1985" CD is mostly Springsteen from 1978 on, a more polished show, samplings from different tours, and you can tell that the shows were a far cry from the early shows after watching this and the 1973 footage. "E Street Shuffle" is a far different version from the studio version, and you get to hear "Lost in the Flood", "Kitty's Back", and "For You", and towards the end, the closers "Detroit Medley" and "Quarter To Three" which turned the venue into a neighborhood bar, the E Street Band being the best bar band in the world.
The footage is mixed quality, the footage from the stage looks like it was filmed last week, but from the front, it's more grainier, but not bad enough to be distracted from watching a great show unfold.
Bruce is one of the most bootlegged artists, and justifiably so. The live shows were and are always what sold him to people more than the albums ever did, although from "Born To Run" on, he seemed to put more attention into his studio output, the "Tracks" box set shows that he always had a lot to work with, not to mention the overall tone of the albums could've been radically different with each of them.
The tours have been recorded and filmed over the years, he's given the fans a lot in recent years, hopefully the tours from "Darkness on the Edge of Town" to the marathon "Born in the USA" shows will also see the "light of day" on CD and DVD.
Free Music Review: One Last Chance To Make it Real
Hit: 5 Stars
From my blog:
http;//theglenblog.blogspot.com
Bruce Springsteen's 30th Anniversary edition of Born To Run was released this week.
And it is incredible.
Did I mention I love Bruce Springsteen?
It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since I was basically dragged out to see Bruce on the Born To Run tour back in 1975.
Of course I had heard the album. I worked in a record store, and there was essentially no escaping Born To Run that year. It was everywhere. Rolling Stone was boldly proclaiming this guy as "the future of rock and roll". Similiarly bold pronouncements could be found in cover stories for both Time and Newsweek. The hype was absolutely enormous. And it was everywhere.
Personally, I thought the album was decent enough. Basically equal parts Dylan; Phil Spector; and Roy Orbison, the influences we're the right ones, and Born To Run had a cool "thoughtful street poet" sort of vibe to it...even if the cinematic scope of some of the songwriting was a bit, well "dramatic" and none too subtly overwrought. My own tastes in 1975 veered more towards the prog rock found on albums like Genesis "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" anyway.
But a free ticket to see "the future of rock and roll" was still a no-brainer.
30 years (and some 31 Springsteen concerts I have seen since that life changing night in 1975) later, and I am still thanking Jerry Fritzmann (God rest his soul) for that ticket.
Bruce and the E Street Band's performance at the Paramount Theatre that night not only did live up to all of the hype (no small task), it actually surpassed it. Not since I saw the Beatles on TV as a seven year old boy did a single rock and roll performance leave such a lasting impact on me.
Springsteen actually DID become the "rock and roll future" Rolling Stone had so boldly predicted, although it would be several years later before the public would fully catch up to the fact.
The 30 year Born To Run commemorative boxed set released this week is simply a beautiful package. The set contains a newly remastered version of the CD, that faithfully recreates the original package...right down to the original gatefold sleeve artwork and even the disc itself...presented as a "black vinyl" duplicate of the original LP. It even has "grooves".
The sound in it's remastered version brings new dimension and clarity to the original as well. The multi-layered "wall of sound" leaps out at you in crisp new detail here. There is also a very well done documentary DVD on the making of the landmark album, with original footage, new interviews with present and past band members, and some choice performance footage from a few years earlier.
But what brought the memories flooding back for me is the remarkable DVD of a complete 1975 show from London's Hammersmith Odeon. Bruce has remarked often in interviews that he was not fond of the performance that night (he offers a new, revised perspective in the liner notes here).
Here, on the shows first few songs I found myself in agreement with Bruce's original assessment. Bruce and the band are still lacking some of the "stagecraft" (though the chemistry, especially between Bruce and Clarence Clemons is undeniable) that they would hone to diamond like perfection on later tours. The band also looks somewhat ridiculous viewed thirty years later. With their matching wide brim hats, disco lapels (is that actually a pink suit Soprano Steve Van Zandt is wearing?), and even a bearded Max Weinberg sporting what looks suspiciously like a short mullet. Bruce's wool stocking cap is also an oddly chosen stage prop in retrospect.
But about halfway through, the band catches fire and you can start to see why they became arguably the best live band in the world. On a scorching "Kittys Back" especially, the band takes off an an extended jazz improvisation with Roy Bittan attacking the ivories like a madman as Max pounds away a backbeat that never loses a step.
I've gotten a lot of flack from my friends over the years because of my "obsession" with Bruce Springsteen. And I have to admit I occasionally question my own sanity over things like travelling clear across the country just to catch one of his shows (which I've done more than once).
But rediscovering the Born To Run album and tour on this great commemorative box makes it crystal clear just what it was, and still is, about Springsteen that makes me believe in the promise of Thunder Road's "One Last Chance To Make it Real".
Did I mention I love Bruce Springsteen?
Free Music Review: If you haven't experienced "Born to Run"...
Hit: 5 Stars
For me, it's just unimaginable to know music, and especially rock, without "Born to Run." This is one of the albums that I've grown up on since childhood, until each song has been so eternally emblazoned on my psyche that it brings so many memories. But outside of pure nostalgia, "Born to Run" is one of the premier rock albums ever in my mind. Bruce's third effort and first on a big budget, "Born to Run" captured people in 1975 with its good-time rocking music and lyricism that was all too real. But besides being a landmark triumph from a musical perspective, "Born to Run" accomplishes an amazing task by profiling the lifestyle of middle-class America in the seventies, surely making a grand statement. Bruce's depressing stories of the "losers," the wage-laboring men and women who get their weekend kicks by driving cars, hitting the boardwalk, and struggling through relationships, are inspirational and moving to someone of any economic standing. But outside of the lyrical content, the songwriting is phenomenal. The verses, solos, hooks, instrumentals, are all perfect. This is the album, to me, where the E-Street Band comes out of the background (although you could certainly say the same about The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle). Clarence Clemmons' sweet sax riffs, Gary Tallent and Max Weinberg's valuable contributions, and Steve Van Zandt's backup guitar simply add to the perfect product that is "Born to Run." The music is incredibly catchy, and each song in its own is a separate masterpiece. These are the kind of songs that will remain with you forever for numerous reasons, from the lyrics, the hook, the instrumentals, and the arrangement. If you own five music albums...make sure one of them is "Born to Run."
The first song is the rock n' roll classic "Born to Run," where Bruce evokes the spirit of Roy Orbison to create a simply beautiful rock and roll song, undoubtedly one of the greatest ever. And the twangy, piano-heavy rock of the joyful "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" makes just another absolutely timeless song. "Night" is an incredible ride through the nightlife of New Jersey, and it showcases the band in the spotlight. "Backstreets" is nothing short of incredible, from it's pumped-up intro with the piano, organ, and guitar to the rallying late-song chorus. The title song is certainly one of rock n' roll's finest, just a perfect song to me. "She's the One" and "Meeting Across the River" are probably the two lesser known songs from this album, but both embrace the musical and emotional spirit of the rest of the album. The final song is possibly my favorite, "Jungleland." Simply an amazing rock song.
If I haven't been able to express it to this point, "Born to Run" is a purely astonishing work of rock n' roll music that can be enjoyed on so many levels. Young listeners just getting into rock and roll might consider making this one of their first purchases. Otherwise, this is simply a must-have piece to any musical collection.
I would recommend the 3-disc remaster only for fans who are already familiar with the album and are further interested. The bonus material includes a "making-of" documentary and a live performance in London. Having seen Bruce live, I can say that the concert footage doesn't do him justice. The spectacle that is a Bruce Springsteen performance is a spectacular experience, and it's impossible to portray on video. Besides, Bruce is very young and appears a little overwhelmed in this footage, and I'm sure there's better available if that's what you're looking for. The packaging is pretty bulky. Old fans will probably enjoy the 30th Anniversary edition, but new fans should stick to the more economical Born to Run package.
Free Music Review: The Holy Grail for Springsteen Fans - the HAMMERSMITH DVD
Hit: 5 Stars
The remastered CD sounds great but as mentioned above the nearly 4 hours of bonus DVD material is the real reason to buy this boxed set. The mini-lp cardboard/packaging is very cool if you are into that kind of novelty (although the Japenese mini-lps do a better job with the actual dimensions but then again they are not remastered). The CD media device is even on one of those that looks like it has the album grooves and labels. Oh yeah, and the 48 page booklet is nice too....
...But back to the DVDs. The 1975 Hammersmith show is the real jem. This is the Holy Grail for long time die hard Springsteen fans who know about his bootleg material. It will also please those who are new to the Boss. This has been available on bootleg for almost 30 years now. And has been remastered almost to perfection in bootleg form. However, there are gaps of film and audio missing in what is available on bootleg and only half the concert was there. This version has the FULL CONCERT, all the film and audio which very few people knew existed!!! I can't begin to explain how excited I am that the entire show is finally available and in terrific video and remastered 5.1 audio. The "Making of" DVD is a great set up for both the album and the Hammersmith show. It provides great insight into the overnight sensation Springsteen was in 1975 and how this was - after two critically acclaimed albums which didn't sell but 200,000 or so copies - this was as he mentioned in "Rosalita", his "last chance" (although I don't know how much of "a big advance" the record company had given him at the time). More importantly, you see what a huge undertaking this album was, the efforts put in by everyone involved, the striving for perfection, retaking, rewriting, rearranging. Bruce was involved in every little detail of everything, from every note of Clarence's Saxophone solos to mastering of the final product. The B&W in studio footage is precious. Further study and insight of Springsteen at this time will tell you the BTR album was on the fringes of Rock and Roll at the time. No one could concieve of an album like this. His popularity and the excitement about Springsteen in the fall shortly after BTR was released no doubt hit the pop/rock world in the U.S. like an unexpected tidal wave. But the Hammersmith show is in England where he gets a lukewarm reception despite an amazing performance. The only thing in pop music that I can compare his overnight rise to stardom in the U.S. is the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964 and the release of Nirvana's Nevermind.
In summary, the jem is the 1975, 2 hour Hammersmith performance. The rest of the material, the booklet, remastered BTR and the making of BTR titled "Wings to Wheels" (an early title for the song "Thunder Road") are great to have as well. There are an additonal 3 songs from a show in 1973 which shows you how his music and lyrics had changed between 1973 and 1975. The jazz members of his band leaving after recording only one song on BTR which took 6 months. If you know about his later work you know how he simplified things and the songs became, less dense, more sparse but no less artistic. BTR has a "Wall of Sound". It is huge lyrically and musically.
I paid $28 for the box set and would have paid at least that for the full concert of the Hammersmith show alone. This is a must have for any Springsteen fan. A great history lesson for those who know little about the Boss but are interested in his music. And if you're not a Bruce fan in anyway, why are you reading this?