Your Friday Bruce Fix

Bruce Springsteen, Who'll Stop the Rain, Fire, 4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)

I had such a good time reliving a special Bruce Springsteen concert through last week's Friday Bruce Fix that I thought I'd keep rolling with it this week. So, today I'll feature 3 more songs from Bruce's Montreal stop on The River tour, from January 23, 1981.

Bruce dedicated his cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Who'll Stop The Rain' to "everyone in the back seats". I'm pretty sure he meant the seats behind the stage rather than the back seat of the car because, at the moment he said it, he was not in a car. It features a simple but tasty solo from Clarence Clemons, exactly the kind of solo we'll be missing on the next tour, and beyond.

'Fire' was a big highlight for me, largely because I'm pretty sure I've never laughed as much at a rock concert as I did during 'Fire'. I don't usually associate rock music with comedy and laughter, but on this night, I laughed. The video from this night is not exactly crystal clear, but I think you'll get a good sense of what Bruce and his sidekick Clarence were doing to make me laugh. Missing C just a little more after watching this one.

Always a fan favourite, Bruce pulled out 'Sandy' two songs later, maybe to help take a little chill out of a Montreal winter night with a little Jersey shore boardwalk ambience.  Of course, we miss Danny Federici and his accordion a little bit after listening to this one.

Happy Friday!

 

 

Bruce Springsteen, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Badlands, Sherry Darling, I'm a Rocker

Last night I was out for drinks and some live music with my friend Sunny, who also happens to love Bruce Springsteen. Naturally, at some point in the evening, the topic turned to Bruce and each of our favourite gigs that we had seen in person.

For any of you who've seen Bruce more than a handful of times, that becomes a very tough question to answer because his shows are so consistently outstanding. When asked this question, I often lean to the Devils and Dust tour show I saw in Toronto, which I cited last night. I love Bruce as a solo artist and that show was pretty magical.

As I thought about it some more, I drifted back to the Darkness and River tours, and settled on the River tour show I saw in Montreal at the historic Forum on January 23, 1981. I had front row seats and was thoroughly entertained, and by the end of the night, completely drained.

I remember going out after the show with my friends who attended the show with me. We wandered over to a favourite bar on Crescent Street, quietly had one beer, and all went home.  We were spent.

I told Sunny that I recalled Bruce being very energetic that night and dancing up a storm. He discovered Bruce a little later than me and hadn't seen all that much dancing out of Bruce. So, I thought I'd see if I could dig up some proof. Luckily, there just happens to be video evidence of that night, just a few days more than 31 years ago. Concert footage like this should be required viewing for any aspiring rock musician. This is how it's done.

Also, please take note of this particularly ferocious rendition of 'Badlands'. I very clearly recall the intense roar of the crowd after the song ended, and the wall of energy that seemed to push Bruce back from the microphone as he attempted to start the next song. This video clip cuts part of that roar short and the audio doesn't do it justice. I was lucky enough to have seen a number of exciting and emotional hockey games at the Forum from the mid-60s through the 70s, but I don't remember hearing a roar quite like that one for Bruce.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present, that dancing fool, Bruce Springsteen!

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Drive All Night

This rendition of “Drive All Night” is from Bruce’s solo tour in support of Devils and Dust, with a little help from a couple of friends, Stevie Van Zandt and Clarence Clemons, who may be familiar to you.  This video comes from the November 19, 2005 tour stop in Hollywood, Florida, at the Hard Rock Live Arena.

I caught this tour when it came through Toronto and I have to say it was one of my favourites. Seeing Bruce in a solo format really let the songs themselves shine, and highlighted the strength of Bruce's song writing.

There is a lot of poor quality video from this tour, but this one's not too bad. I wonder if there might be some pro shot video from this tour lurking somewhere in a vault, hopefully a complete show that will someday be made available for purchase. In the meantime, we must enjoy what we have!

Happy Friday!

 

Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town

As 2011 rolls into 2012, it is a time for reflecting on the year that was and the year to come. Every year presents its challenges and opportunities, and perhaps the trick is to see the opportunities in those challenges, and to fight for what you believe in. Whether you find yourself looking back on 2011 or forward to 2012, I think this holds true.

Music can be a source of inspiration for many of us, and if you're reading this blog, then maybe Bruce Springsteen's music inspires you. In the mid to late 1970's when I was getting into Bruce, some of my friends who didn't like Bruce used to comment that they thought his music was depressing, and they often cited 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' as an example. Despite my best efforts to convince them, they never really got it.

I've always felt that the power of this and many of Bruce's other great songs comes from their acknowledgement of the reality that life isn't always easy, and the need to face your challenges with faith, hope, the strength of your convictions and a belief in yourself and the people around you. I think 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' exemplifies this and can serve to inspire.

So, I leave you at the end of 2011 with a few choice lyrics and a few passionate performances over the years from Bruce to guide you as you take on 2012.

"Tonight I'll be on that hill 'cause I can't stop
I'll be on that hill with everything I got
Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost
I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost
For wanting things that can only be found
In the darkness on the edge of town"

Happy Friday and Happy New Year!

Bruce Springsteen, The Promise, It's My Life

This week’s Friday Bruce Fix revisits the period of time between the Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town albums when Bruce Springsteen was embroiled in a legal battle with his outgoing manager Mike Appel, which prevented him from recording with his incoming manager, Jon Landau. 

To make ends meet and feed himself and his band mates, Bruce took the band out on a few short tours in 1976 and 1977.  In early 1977, while on what became known as the “Lawsuit Tour”, Bruce often performed ‘The Promise’.  Likely because this song surfaced a year or so earlier during this difficult time in Bruce’s life, it has often been interpreted as being about inspired by if not about his battles with Mike Appel.  Bruce has denied that the song is about the lawsuit, and introduces it in this clip as a return to Thunder Road.  For more about the song, there’s a great description and probably everything you'd ever want to know about 'The Promise' at Springsteenlyrics.com.

On this tour, Bruce also covered 'It's My Life', written by Brill Building writers Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico, and originally recorded by The Animals. Given the passion and defiance in Bruce's performance of this song, and all that he was going through at the time, I do wonder if his legal battles inspired his decision to perform 'It's My Life'.

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, Fade Away, Be True

You know how sometimes a song gets stuck in your head for no apparent reason, and it just plays over and over again, and won’t go away?  Well, that happened to me last night and I thought it would only be fair to share that experience with you, and maybe the same song would get stuck in your head for a little while, too.  That song, is Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Fade Away’.

Going on memory, which is where I often get in trouble, I believe ‘Fade Away’ was the second single released from ‘The River’, following the breakthrough success of ‘Hungry Heart’, Bruce’s first top 10 single.  Looking back, as much as I love this song, I do question the wisdom of releasing ‘Fade Away’ as the follow up single to ‘Hungry Heart’. 

While it did fairly well on the charts, it never cracked the top 10 and I wonder if Bruce had released something more upbeat, like ‘Cadillac Ranch’, whether it would have appealed to a broader audience, many of whom had been introduced to Bruce through ‘Hungry Heart’.  Clearly, we’ll never know, and of course this is all just Friday morning quarterbacking.

Here, making it’s long awaited Friday Bruce Fix debut is a lovely, long live version of ‘Fade Away’, with an extended intro, recorded on ‘The River’ tour.  This recording is from the legendary New Year’s Eve, 38 song concert at the Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, NY as 1980 turned to 1981.

The “B” side of ‘Fade Away’ was ‘Be True’, a pretty great outtake from ‘The River’ recording sessions and since one song doesn’t always make a fix, I thought I’d flip you the flip side of 'Fade Away', recorded live in 1988. 

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Downbound Train

By most normal standards, I'm a pretty big Bruce Springsteen fan. My friend Howard, who saw Bruce live before I ever did, who has seen Bruce more times and in more places than I have, and who has a vastly bigger Bruce bootleg collection than I do, and who in fact, along with my other big Bruce fan friend Jeffrey is/was the source of most of the bootlegs in my collection, is arguably a bigger fan.  (All he needs now is weekly blog about Bruce.... naw... that would be a bit excessive.)

So when Howard called me out of the blue last weekend to tell me that 'Downbound Train' was one of Bruce's most overlooked or underappreciated gems, or something to that effect, he got my attention. I considered his point of view for all of about 2 seconds and quickly agreed. 

As with most great Bruce Springsteen songs, 'Downbound Train' is filled with great and memorable lyrics. My favourite, which immediately pops into my head when I think of this song, is "Now I work down at the carwash, where all it ever does is rain". Another characteristic this song shares with other great songs is how its greatness shines through in different arrangements.

'Downbound Train' was originally recorded for 'Nebraska' and thanks to one of the many other big Bruce fans out there, that recording has been posted for us on YouTube.

Here, from Paris in 1985, is a live performance of the more familiar arrangement that made it onto 'Born In The USA', featuring some fine work on the synthesizer by Roy Bittan.

Just so I don't leave you on too high a note to end your work week, here is a lovely dark and depressing reading of what was already a pretty bleak downer of a song, featuring Bruce on pump organ during the 'Devils and Dust' tour.

"Now I swing a sledge hammer on a rail road gang, knocking down them cross ties working in the rain, don't it feel like you're a rider on a downbound train."

Now get out there and have a Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, The River, Under Review 1978 - 1982

Bruce Springsteen's biggest, most iconic albums were 'Born to Run'. released in 1975, and 1984's 'Born in the USA'. Sandwiched between these two albums were three extraordinary albums in their own right, 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' (1978), 'The River' (1980) and 'Nebraska' (1982). 

Those of us who follow Bruce closely have also long known that during this period, Bruce wrote and recorded many other songs that deserved to be released. We've discovered them on bootlegs and our patience has been rewarded with the release of the double CD 'The Promise' with 21 songs that didn't make it onto 'Darkness on the Edge of Town', and several songs from this period that were included on the 'Tracks' 4 CD box set.

In fishing around for clips to feature in this week's fix, I found a documentary called 'Bruce Springsteen: Under Review 1978 - 1982 Tales of the Working Man'. I haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing just yet but did enjoy watching what I've seen. For a long time fan, I don't think there will be much in this film to surprise you, but on the other hand there are some interesting insights and perspectives provided.

The documentary clocks in at an hour and twenty two minutes, so you may want to watch it at home over the long weekend.  However, since you need your Bruce Fix now to get you through your working day, I've also posted a video of one of Bruce's best and most important songs from this period.  Here is his first live performance of 'The River' in 1979, prior to it's release the following year.  The documentary follows.

 

Happy Friday!

 

Bruce Springsteen, Promised Land, Restless Nights

Now and then I run into what I would call a novelty Bruce Springsteen video or two which I generally don't bother sharing with you. I thought I'd share two in this week's Friday Bruce Fix, just because they are so well done.

If you have kids, or if you've ever been a kid, or if you are still a kid (possible despite your advanced age) you may have played with a Lego block or two at some point. Well, some talented big kid went to a lot of trouble to create and animate the E Street Lego Band and give us this stirring performance of 'Promised Land'.

As if a Lego Bruce wasn't enough to make your day, how about Bruce in clay?  I'm just guessing clay, but I have to say that whatever filmmaker Roberto Ciriani used, the results are pretty astounding.

Check out the lighting, variety of camera angles, the mouth movements and shapes to match the vocals, the guitar playing, the leap onto the piano, clay Bruce's moves, all the little details, etc. Roberto is quite talented and clearly knows his Bruce. 

His choice of songs is interesting, too, as 'Restless Nights' is quite obscure and may have never been played live, that is until Steve Van Zandt requested it on his birthday, in Buffalo, NY on November 22, 2009.  This is the first ever Friday Bruce Fix appearance for 'Restless Nights', so a second play, this one from that night in Buffalo, seems like a good idea.

Happy Friday!