Your Friday Bruce Fix

Bruce Springsteen, The Wish, My Hometown, Real World, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

Sometimes I have a plan in mind for these weekly fixes of mine and this was one of those times. If you've been following along, you no doubt noticed that the last two weeks I've featured performances from Bruce Springsteen's appearance at the Christic Benefit in Los Angeles in 1990. I had planned this as the last of 3 weeks of such videos.

Then, late Wednesday I got my first sniff of the fact that Bruce had released the first single off his upcoming album 'Wrecking Ball', which itself is due to be released on March 6th. I started to contemplate changing my Christic Benefit plan to instead feature the new single 'We Take Care of Our Own'.

By Thursday morning, all hell had broken loose on the internet. "Bruce Springsteen" and "Wrecking Ball" were both trending on Twitter, and I realized that by Friday all of this would be old news. So, I've reverted back to my original plan. After all, this blog isn't about me trying to break the latest news on Bruce Springsteen. It's just about getting our Friday Bruce Fix. So, here's hoping this week's fix fixes you up real good. (but, do keep an eye out for that Wrecking Ball...)

I read at Springsteenlyrics.com that at one point Bruce and manager Jon Landau were considering releasing an album culled from the two nights of performances at the Christic Institute Benefit shows. I think it would have made for a great album and who knows, maybe one day we'll have the pleasure of such a release. I especially love the solo piano performances and Bruce is in great voice on these. Today's fix has three such examples for you.

'The Wish' was recorded for 'Tunnel of Love' in 1987, made its debut at the Christic Benefit, and was released as part of the 'Tracks' 4cd box set.

'My Hometown' was released in 1984 on 'Born in the USA'. It seems there may be a 'Wrecking Ball' connection as there will be a song called 'Death to My Hometown'. It will be interesting to hear whether this new song will update or reference the old one. I'm thinking it will.

'Real World' was released on 'Human Touch' in 1992.  I believe this standout performance was its debut. I wish he would have released a rendition just like this one on 'Human Touch'.

'Tenth Avenue Freeze Out' from 1975's 'Born to Run' hardly needs an introduction. With a new tour just around the corner, this story of the E Street Band coming together reminds us we've lost a couple of key members in recent years and it will be particularly interesting to see how Bruce fills that Big Void.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road X 11

November 11th is a special day every year, being Remembrance Day in Canada, Veterans Day in the US, the first day of Carnaval in Mainz, Germany (starting at precisely 11 seconds after 11:00am), or who knows what in other countries.  The maple leaf in the Canadian flag has 11 points, and today is also the debut of the movie 11/11/11.

Today is extra special because it is one of those rare days on the calendar, 11/11/11, where all the numbers line up, and if you happen to be looking at a digital clock at precisely the right time, say 11:11:11 am or pm, well all I can say is enjoy it, and maybe do something special, because you won’t be alive the next time all those six 11s, or 12 1s come around.

So, in honour of this extraordinary moment in our lives, what better way to celebrate than with 11 versions of Thunder Road, the one Bruce Springsteen song that most often comes to mind whenever someone presses me to come up with my number one all-time favourite song.  Since we have a lot of music to get through today, let’s get right to it.  My sincerest apologies to your boss/partner/spouse or whoever will be pissed off about your loss of productivity or attention.  Here's my #1, 11 times.

Please note that I've given each version a name, and if you'd like to vote on your favourites, you can do so here: 

Wings For Wheels, Main Point, 1975 (Angelina instead of Mary)

Acoustic Guitar, Studio Outtake, 1975 (Christine instead of Mary)

London, 1975

St. Paul, MN, 1977

Passaic, NJ, 1978

Landover, MD, 1980

Paris, 1985

Stockholm, 1993

 

Napoli, 1997 (Hotel Balcony)

 

Barcelona, 2002

 

VH1 Storytellers, 2005

Happy 11/11/11 – 11:11:11 Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, Jungleland

June 24, 2011, in the first Friday Bruce Fix following Clarence Clemons' death, I wrote about how difficult it would be for Bruce Springsteen to replace Clarence Clemons, particularly on stage.  I questioned whether Bruce would even try, and whether this might spell the end of the E Street Band. I wondered how Bruce could ever play 'Jungleland' again.

This past week, news surfaced that Bruce has called a meeting with his E Street band mates to discuss their future. Presumably, all options are on the table. I believe that the least likely outcome would be that this group of musicians will simply cease to be a band and never again hit the road together.

In the interest of being helpful and expedient, and saving Bruce and the band a whole lot of angst and difficult discussions, I'd like to give them the right solution to this quandary.

1. Keep the band together, keep on playing. It's who you are, it's what you do. The music must go on.
2. Do not attempt to replace Clarence with another sax player.  This is about much more than replacing an instrumentalist. Clarence is irreplaceable. No one else can stand in that spot on that stage, and fill those big shoes.
3. Replace Clarence with a horn section, probably 4 piece, trumpet, trombone, two saxes.
4. Play 'Jungleland'. When it comes time for the sax solo, play a video recording of Clarence playing that solo. The band keeps playing live, with The Big Man up on the big screen, bigger than life. I can imagine the crowd exploding with that first note, as Clarence appears on screen, and maybe a sustained roar throughout the solo. Bruce could lead the fist pumping. Would there be a dry eye in the house?

I'm not sure whether the video should be of one live performance, unedited, as was, or whether it should be a video collage of Clarence over the years playing that solo, but set to one continuous live, unedited performance.  The horn section can handle all the other sax parts.

I'd welcome other suggestions. Please post your comments. Let's help Bruce through this difficult decision. If you agree with my point of view, please spread the word via Twitter and in whatever other way suits you. Somehow, we have to get word to Bruce, as insurance against the unlikely event that he misses this week's Fix.

Oh, I almost forgot. Here's a rendition of 'Jungleland' to help you imagine the scenario I've described.

Happy Friday!

 

 

Bruce Springsteen, Lady and The Doctor, Baby Doll, Border Guard

First things first, happy birthday Bruce! I don't have any special greetings or a special birthday edition Friday Bruce Fix for you today, but you know we're all wishing you the best.

Today's Friday Bruce Fix digs way down deep into the archives to the first half of 1972, likely around the time then manager Mike Appel managed to arrange an audition for Bruce with CBS' legendary A&R Manager John Hammond. 

This was a prolific songwriting period for Bruce, and he recorded demos of quite a few songs that never made the final cut for inclusion on 'Greetings From Asbury Park". Today's fix features three of these songs.

Here are 'Lady and the Doctor', 'Baby Doll' and 'Border Guard'.

 

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City, Reason To Believe, Born To Run

When I saw Bruce Springsteen on his solo 'Devils and Dust' tour, I left that show convinced that Bruce was the greatest solo performer on the planet. Of course, the reality is that I am entirely biased towards feeling that way, and it really doesn't matter what I think.

So, rather than try to make the case that he is the greatest solo performer on the planet, admittedly a tough case to make, let me just say that what is truly amazing about his ability as a solo performer is that he also happens to be the single greatest band-leader/front man on the planet. Oops, there I go again.

Anyway, since I really am in no position to substantiate either claim, and since it is only a matter of opinion that can't really be proven or disproven, I'll just focus this week's fix on the solo aspect of Bruce's ability, and in fact I'll narrow it down to guitar performances only. I'll leave it to Bruce to substantiate my claim.

Here are three acoustic performances that I hope you'll enjoy. From his first solo album 'Nebraska'. here are 'Atlantic City' and 'Reason To Believe'.

We all know how hard Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band can rock 'Born To Run'.  Well, here's another way to do it that also works rather nicely.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Blinded By The Light, It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City, Frankie

This week's Friday Bruce Fix takes us back to a live performance in 1976 at the Allen Theater in Cleveland during the period of time when Bruce's legal battles with his former manager Mike Appel were preventing Bruce from recording with new manager Jon Landau. To make ends meet, feed the band and keep them around, Bruce would take them out on mini-tours.

Our first two tunes come from his first album, 'Greetings From Asbury Park'. First up, here's 'Blinded By The Light', followed by 'It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City'.

The final track for this week's fix comes from the same concert in Cleveland.  'Frankie' was probably written after the 'Born to Run' recording sessions and would eventually be recorded during the 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' sessions, and again during the 'Born In The USA' sessions.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Ballad of Easy Rider, Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol, Ballad of Jesse James

Maybe it's the hot summer weather slowing me down, but I don't feel like rocking today.  I'm more in the mood for ballads. So, for this week's Friday Bruce Fix, we're going to take it slow.  It's an All-Ballad Friday Bruce Fix!

Those hard rockers get me moving too much, and combined with the heat, well, they just drain my energy and I don't accomplish enough during the rest of my day. I imagine it's much the same for you, so I'm doing this for all of us, so we can still be productive with the rest of our Friday.

Ballad #1 is 'Ballad of Easy Rider', a Roger McGuinn composition that he wrote for the soundtrack for the 1969 movie 'Easy Rider'. This is Bruce's only known live performance, from the Benefit for the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, on August 20, 1981 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, in of all places, Los Angeles.

Ballad #2 is 'Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol', a Bruce original recorded February 20, 1973 that was considered for inclusion on both of Bruce's first two albums released that year. As suggested by www.springsteenlyrics.com, it would have been interesting to hear a full band version of this one, maybe a full on rocker, but then it wouldn't have qualified for All-Ballad Friday Bruce Fix.

Ballad #3 is 'Ballad of Jesse James", (aka 'Don't You Want To Be An Outlaw') another Bruce original, this time recorded with an early version of the E Street Band, likely known as the Bruce Springsteen Band in early 1972. This "ballad" actually does rock a bit. I didn't want you to fall asleep.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Goin' Back, Turn! Turn! Turn!, Roger McGuinn

Back in the mid-1960s, in Bruce Springsteen's formative years as a musician and band-leader, Roger McGuinn and the Byrds were reinventing popular music and in the process creating folk rock and country rock.  They (and others) were also instrumental in bringing Bob Dylan to the masses with debut hit 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and the 12 other Dylan covers they recorded between 1965 and 1970.

Roger and the Byrds were clearly an early influence of Bruce's.  I first became aware of this upon hearing a recording from the 'Born to Run' tour in 1975 from The Roxy in LA.  In October of that year, Bruce played 6 shows over 4 nights, each time performing 'Goin' Back', which the Byrds had recorded.  'Goin Back' was written by song-writing duo Carole King and Gerry Goffin.  On opening night at the Roxy, Carole King was in the audience and Bruce dedicated the song to her.

Fast forward about 33 years to 2008, on April 23rd during the 'Magic' tour's stop in Orlando, Florida.  Roger McGuinn joined Bruce and the E Street Band for two songs, 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and this great rendition of 'Turn! Turn! Turn!'.  The grins on Bruce and Stevie Van Zandt's faces during Roger's solo tell you they probably each played 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' over and over in their respective homes in late 1965, trying to learn that solo.

Finally, to complete our little Byrds fest, here's Roger explaining how this guest appearance happened.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Danny Federici, You're Missing, 4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy), Two Faces

It's hard to believe that three years have already passed since Phantom Dan Federici made his final disappearance after losing his battle with melanoma on April 17, 2008. I thought it might be nice to mark the occasion with a few songs that feature the soulful playing of Danny Federici.

Bruce wrote 'You're Missing' in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy. It feels right that one on my favourite Danny Federici organ solos comes at the end of a song about loss, about someone who should be there, but just isn't. Perhaps it's also appropriate that the video doesn't actually show the man Bruce liked to call Phantom Dan.

From behind the Hammond B3, Danny could comfortably step out to the front of the stage with his accordion and lend that boardwalk-on-a-hot-summer-night atmosphere to '4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)'.

I realize that I just featured 'Two Faces' a few weeks ago, but I need to do it again, because of the great organ solo at the end, which is a nice way to end this week's tribute to Danny.  I'm glad there's video of this, so you can see Danny feeling every note of his solo.

Happy Friday!  RIP Danny.

 

Bruce Springsteen, No Need, Backstreets

After covering other ground for a couple of weeks, Your Friday Bruce Fix returns with more matched pairs of songs, matched for the identical or nearly identical lyrics that appear in two different songs.  Thanks to suggestions from Friday Bruce Fix readers, we have another three pairs to work though.  Are there more?  Let me know if you think of any!

Today's pair, as you may have surmised from the title are 'No Need' and 'Backstreets'.

No Need

"In the deep heart of the night
When you finally let loose of everything"

Backstreets

"In the deep heart of the night when you let loose of everything"

'No Need' is believed to have been recorded around May/June of 1972, just before the official recording sessions for 'Greetings From Asbury Park', and after the John Hammond demo sessions in early May.  Bruce is on piano for this one.

'Backstreets' normally needs no introduction.  This particular version is not the one we're all so familiar with from the 'Born to Run' album.  This one is known as "Outtake Version #2" and features lots of strings, several different lyrics and some very different wailing.  Bruce picked the right version to release, but this is a great song no matter which version or live performance you prefer.

Happy Friday!