It Was 40 Years Ago Today...

I never know what to say about Springsteen other than I like some of his stuff. Mostly his early stuff like Marty but also doteot and the river to some extent. Born in the USA is ok too. I have his live box set. It's just ok. And this from a Rutgers class of 81 grad. I grew up in pa but observed how bs was/is worshipped in nj. So be it we all have our heroes.

Should we add Homer, da Vinci, Shakespeare, Wagner, Griffiths and N.W.A. to that list of artist who have had no real impact and are of little or no importance? Who remembers the wealthiest family at the time of Homer? The influence of great art survives over millennia. That's probably why they call it great.

It seems to be the rule (rather than the exception) that in rock music, most of the artists' best, most unique and creative work arrives early in their careers. Most people would say that about Bob Dylan, The Beatles (together and apart), the Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne and on and on. Why should Springsteen be any different? I agree that his best recordings end with Tunnel of Love (I personally never cared much for Born In The USA; Bruce himself has said during interviews that he was only happy with half of the songs, and it's his most commercial and dated sounding production). If interested, check out his many live concert recordings on Youtube from 1975-1980 (especially 1978) to hear him at his peak. Now he's in his mid 60s; we shouldn't expect him to be the same performer he was in his 20s.

Schubert, good luck with your narcissistic personality disorder.

I myself love the live sets he has released of the 1975 Tours, both London and Philly. Check them out at live.brucespringsteen.net

For the most part I agree with you Kb54.
However, although The Beatles early work was energetic and ground breaking, their best work arguably was Rubber Soul and after.