Whats playing on your system today?
You haven’t heard Springsteen until you’ve heard him and the band live. A couple (of my many) highlights of being a dad was bringing my pair of junior high school daughters to two different Springsteen concerts. Both times the Big Man was with him. Extraordinary is putting it mildly- and I’m hardly the world’s biggest pop music fan. His autobiography is well-worth reading. He’s an American Iconic Treasure- with an abundance of rock and roll heart and seemingly endless energy. Naysayers and nitpickers need not respond. |
For all the voice coaches out there: This notes for you... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJroVZNx9lc |
Yeah pops, Springsteen’s heart is in the right place. I just wish he (and Elvis Costello, whose vibrato is WAAAY out of control) would calm the Hell down. Bruce is just "trying" to sing way too hard---his throat all tight, squeezing the lyrics through clenched teeth and jaw. I’m usually just ambivalent about him, but actively disliked him when he just couldn’t help himself during the all-star tribute show to Roy Orbison, behaving like he was the star of the show. Bruce, dude, this isn’t about you. Show some respect, stay back where you belong, as part of Roy’s accompaniment. As a songwriter, there’s not much to say. Pedestrian chord sequences, not much in the way of melodies, very little harmony singing. His songs have verses and choruses, but rarely a bridge/middle 8. Yawn. His band on the 1st and 2nd albums was just awful, especially drummer Vini Lopez. What a sloppy, amateur mess. After that it was only mediocre. THE most boring, stock drum and keyboard playing of any band achieving their level of success I’ve heard. No character, no style, no personality. No imagination, no creativity, no humor, no nuthin’. As I said, I don’t get it. Drinking with Lucinda! I met her only once, at a Long Ryders' show in the mid-80's at Club Lingerie on Sunset Blvd. I didn't know it at the time, but she was married to LR drummer Greg Sowders. I was slightly acquainted with their manager, whom I bumped into on the floor in front of the stage. After our salutations, he introduced me to the provocative yet shy, lanky blonde who was standing with him, saying to me "This is Lucinda, she's a singer too". I also didn't know she had already recorded two albums that had been put out on the Folkways label, performing traditional Folk Blues material, nor that she was about to start on what would turn out to be her s/t Rough Trade album. Her marriage to Greg was the first of many; she's on about her fifth, I believe. Good for songwriting material ;-). |
bpd24, I have seen Bruce live and enjoyed the show, but still not a fan. I saw him right after Johnny Cash passed and he opened the show by himself with a tribute "I walk the Line." I really appreciated that. +1 on Lucinda, Her entire catalog is excellent! My Company helped her get off the ground 25 years ago and I spent some time with her before one of her shows drinking buds! LOL! |
Joan Osborne: Pretty Little Stranger. Two thumbs way up! Joan Osborne: Songs Of Bob Dylan. Sorry JO, don’t care for it. Yet. I’ll give it a few more spins. Lee Ann Womack: The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone. Lee described it’s Genesis as her wanting to make an album having a rural, back-to-her Texas roots quality to it. So I gave her the benefit of my doubt, and bought a copy. My doubts were confirmed; over-produced, showbizzy slick, very non-rural. It’s what an Americana-style songwriter I worked with in the 90’s (Steve Tagliere, himself now back in Texas) calls Housewife Country. Lucinda Williams: Her entire catalog. One of the couple of greatest living artists, she’s the real deal. I can’t believe how many songs she’s written in the past 30 years, nor what a great singer she has grown into. Yes, I hear what some others have complained of in her singing---the inarticulate, slurred delivery. To me, she sometimes kind of sounds like her tongue is maybe slightly swollen. She delivers the lyrics in a rather laconic, very relaxed manner. I dig it! But beyond that, she sings them with an honest, heartfelt quality, like she has lived every word. I’m absolutely in awe of her talent. |
reubent and others who haven’t been Springsteen lovers, I too have yet to understand his allure, or the enormousness of his popularity. But I haven’t seen him live, and from the clips I’ve seen (and the accolades from those I know who have), that’s obviously his forte. The opposite of The Beatles! I give him high marks for caring as much as he does about giving his audiences their money’s worth. Before his unusually long shows, he puts his band through a 2-3 hour sound check! The hardest working man (and band ;-) in show business. |
I was not much of a Springsteen fan until I saw him live a couple of years ago. Now I'm a big fan. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is a great record. He has many other good to great records too, and many highlights to choose from the prolific catalog of records. He has no trouble playing for 3-4 hours and making sure everyone leaves happy. |
Crack The Sky, White Music Donnie Iris, "Ah! Leah"-- remember that one? https://youtu.be/GNjqYV2HGWc Jack Bruce Robin Trower, Seven Moons N |
regarding the Michael Nesmith lp above... This is my first time listening to it. All of my memories of him were from watching The Monkees tv show when I was a kid. Listening to this lp, (by the way, the sonics are pretty remarkable), after my years of musical interests, it's obvious to me that he had quite a bit of talent. These songs are well written, well performed, period. Not shy about listing it here. |
"...stumbled across Springsteen's, Darkness on the Edge of Town." I'm sure that reflects something of an age difference, N. DotEoT was THE Springsteen album for me when it came out. Greetings, ...E-Street Shuffle, & Born to Run all had their moments, but that one always hit me as something deeper. He was going through a tough personal/business situation at the time. Seems like the struggles made the writing better. Never followed him too much after The River and Tunnel of Love. |
