Bruce Springsteen

Born To Run was very much a do-or-die effort for Springsteen, and perhaps that's why it has such a bitter quality to it. This time out, the Boss succeeded in capturing a sound big enough to match the epic, cinematic quality of his lyrics. Springsteen has such a rich and varied career; songs such as "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road" are some of his finest moments.

As a determinedly permanent resident of the West Coast, the furor Bruce Springsteen's live
performances have kicked up in the East over the last couple of years left me feeling
somewhat culturally deprived, not to mention a little suspicious. The legendary three-hour
sets Springsteen and his E Street Band apparently rip out night after night in New York,
Province-town, Boston and even Austin have generated a great tumult and shout... More >

Just how much American myth can be crammed into one song, or a dozen, about asking your girl to come take a ride? A lot, but not as much as romanticists of the doomed outsider believe. Springsteen needs to learn that operettic pomposity insults the Ronettes and that pseudotragic beautiful-loser fatalism insults us all. And around now I'd better add that the man avoids these quibbles at his best and simply runs them over the rest of the time. If "She's the One" fails the memory of Phil Spector's innocent grandeur, well, the title cut is the fulfillment of everything "Be My Baby" was about and lots more. Springsteen may well turn out to be one of those rare self-conscious primitives who gets away with it. In closing, two comments from my friends the Marcuses. Jenny: "Who does he think he is, Howard Keel?" (That's a put-down.) Greil: "That is as good as `I Think We're Alone Now.'" (That's not.) (Grade - A)