Bruuuuce! The Boss! The American Bryan Adams!
Well, it's about bleedin' time. Fifty posts into this blog, and it's my first Springsteen post. I have a full 160 Springsteen songs on itunes, but for some reason the 'ol random button never seems to pick them (but it loves it some Black Sheep - go figure). Give it credit for picking a great song for his first, though. Well done, random!
I'm sitting here trying to pinpoint the beginnings of my Springsteen fandom, and it's hard to do. My first brush with him was, probably like most people my age, through the Born in the USA hype in the mid eighties. I really had no context for him then, as far as I knew at the time, he was the dude fighting it out for Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna for 80's pop supremacy. Of course I bought that tape, and of course I loved it, and yes, of course (like Ronald Reagan) I famously misread the subtle irony of the "Born in the USA" song.
I remember there being huge hype for the subsequent Live 75-85 record set, but that included alot of his classic tunes that I wasn't familiar with at the time (though I loved his cover of Edwin Starr's "War"). By the time Tunnel of Love came out, I just casually listened to the singles and moved on. Of course, how could a fifteen year old really grasp the subtle genius of a track like "Brilliant Disguise" or "One Step Up"? It's impossible).
I think I started paying attention again through Bizarro Wuxtry, of all places. In the late 90's, I ventured into that venerable Athens store and availed myself of the famous "records by the pound" offer. One I happened to buy was Darkness on the Edge of Town. When I took that bad boy home, placed the needle on the record and heard the first beats of "Badlands" blast out, I was thinking, "Holy shit. How did I never hear about this before? Why wasn't I told?!" And they kept coming off of that album - "Adam Raised a Cain", "Candy's Room", "Racing in the Street", "The Promised Land", "Prove it all Night", "Darkness on the Edge of Town"...are you kidding me?
Again, are you kidding me?
As soon as possible I went back and bought the other albums from the pile - The River...Greetings From Asbury Park...finally got into Tunnel of Love...and, lord Jesus, Nebraska. I was a convert. Then to seal the deal, my wife bought me Tracks, the four CD set of rarities and B Sides from which this song comes. It all lead up to seeing him play at Philips arena on the next Live CD tour, and that was that. Shoot, my wife and I's first dance at our wedding was to "Happy", another unreleased song from Tracks. Since then, I've gobbled up everything he's released, read tons of books on the dude, and am just as pleased and excited with last year's "Magic". Bruce Springsteen IS Rock & Roll, and screw all you haters.
"This Hard Land" was one that he wrote back in the mid eighties, and he's said that it's probably the best song that he's never released. It's hard to believe he didn't, as it would have been a sure-fire hit back then. Although, I see his point if he didn't want to include it on the Tunnel of Love album, as it's not really about the disillusion of a marriage or the artifice of love. Yikes.
He starts off with a Dylanesque harmonica riff, then goes almost acapella for the first verse, with only a stummed guitar for accompaniment. By the time he hits us with the melodic hook "They've just blown around / From town to town / Back onto these fields" at :32, he's given us two classic Springsteen moments - a "Sir" and a "Mister". Do you know how many "Sirs", "Misters" (or "Mary"s) he has sung to over his career? It's quite a bit.The rest of the song is just that straightforward - verse, chorus, repeat. For all intents and purposes, it ends at 3:43, but he rocks another fuckin' harmonica solo until the song fades out. It keeps going live, as you might imagine. I love the dissonance of this tight, upbeat song against the depressing subtext of the lyrics - the struggle of the main characters to maintain hope in the face of adversity. It's not unlike the "Born in the USA" phenomenon that I mentioned earlier that had all of America fooled.
One other thing I've liked about Springsteen's songs is that they are a steel pedal and twangy dilevery from being kick ass country songs. Those core themes in his songs of family, perseverence, nostalgia, dreams, drudgery, maturity, hope, friendship and loss are universal to all genres of music and to all Americans. That's why a suburban kid from a southern town can count a New Jesey / rustbelt singer as maybe his favorite artist. Ever.
Here's a live video for "This Hard Land", but I actually like the recorded song better...
http://www.mediafire.com/?mkgmmxud90d
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5 comments:
Dave Grohl said it best. "If Bruce Springteen is the boss....I fucking quit."
A few months ago, homemade posters began appearing on telephone poles in Carrboro, North Carolina (the Paris of the Piedmont) showing a picture of a young, confused looking Bruce, and a caption reading "THE ONLY BOSS WORTH LISTENING TO."
I honestly don't believe I am the kind of person who automatically insists that the early stuff was better, but in the case of Bruce -- and I do admire the later, mature songs mostly -- it never ever got any better than this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zEema3T8wCI
OK, d rail. I anticipated you and / or eric would include that. I almost mentioned it in the original post.
First of all, I hear about this quote a bunch, but I've never seen it or even seen it quoted.
However, I did dig up this interview with Grohl from 2000:
"Well, you know the '70s vibe. It was fun. I love the AM '70s soft rock. That's what I grew up listening to driving around in my mom's Ford Maverick with her on her way to yoga class playing Phoebe Snow or something like that. We're working on our stage costumes right now. It's going to be a full Bruce Springsteen '70s vibe. I'm telling you, it really is. You just wait. You're in for a surprise."
Sounds like a fan to me. Also, did any of you catch the tribute to Joe Strummer with Grohl, Springsteen and Elvis Costello playing together? Doesn't seen to have a problem here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiSQIbNxjcU
And finally, if he did say that, he's full of shit. I like Nirvana and Foo Fighters as much as the next dude, but let's be honest...they've been recording the same album for about fifteen years now. He's got a looong way to go (both artistically and in longevity) before he has the right to shoot his mouth off like that.
Nick - how ya doing? Good to hear from you!
Check the links in the post - I beat you to it :) Good stuff, indeed
Bryan Adams is not American? But his teeth are straight, aren't they?
I like Bruce, but like most our age, I found him when he exploded and had no clue he had a career before Courtney Cox and "Born." I have since explored Young Bruce and Old Bruce. I must say that while his newer material is worthwhile, I am a fan of the Young Man. Gruff and rough.
Wild & Innocent is my top. "Incident on 57th Street," "Rosalita," and "New York City Serenade." Too many other musicians put crap after a strong opening track.
Oh, and, Blue Oyster Cult.
I'm not one to hang out around the watercooler with Grohl much either. Not after I heard what hapenned to that Cobain fellow he worked with in sales.
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