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, Jingle Bell Rock, Blue Christmas

It's Friday, Dec 23rd and I would imagine that if you're at work this morning, you won't be there very long, as you've probably still got plenty to do before Christmas arrives.  If you don't happen to celebrate Christmas, then you can certainly pretend you do so you can get out of the office early.  Of course, if you're not already in the office today, don't go in there but then, you didn't need me to tell you that, did you?

Since you've got so much left to do, let's dive right in with a December 6, 2001 performance of 'Jingle Bell Rock' from one of five nights of Christmas Concerts at Asbury Park's Convention Hall.

With the news that Bruce and the E Street Band will tour again in 2012, their first tour without Clarence Clemons, it feels quite right to close off with the last song from the last time Clarence performed with Bruce and the band, almost exactly 9 years to the day later, on December 7, 2010.  This rendition of 'Blue Christmas' comes from a performance videotaped just a short walk south along the boardwalk from the Convention Hall, this time at the Carousel. Five songs from this show were later shown via webcast, and were also included as bonus material in 'The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town'.

How fitting, that Bruce sang the words  "I'll have a blue Christmas without you" his last time on stage with his pal Clarence Clemons.

Merry Christmas and Happy Friday!

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, George Harrison, Something, My Sweet Lord, I Saw Her Standing There

10 years have passed since we lost George Harrison on November 29, 2001. I thought it would be appropriate to pay George a visit, through Bruce Springsteen.

Like most musicians of his generation, and so many in the generations that followed, Bruce was influenced by the Beatles, although not as directly as he was by others.  Still, now and then over the years, Bruce has covered Beatles tunes.

Today's Friday Bruce Fix leads off with a video you have no need to watch. Just hit play and listen to George's great composition 'Something'. The audio comes from The Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ, on December 3, 2001, just a few short nights after George died.

Bruce opened the show with 'Something', followed by 'My Sweet Lord'.

I'll keep this week's fix short after two very long ones in the past two weeks. This closing video features Bruce Springsteen and George Harrison on stage together, perhaps for the only time, along with a whole bunch of other people you might recognize, doing The Beatles' 'I Saw Her Standing There'.  This is from Bob Dylan's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on January 20, 1988.

Happy Friday, and thanks, George!

 

Bruce Springsteen, Levon Helm, Up On Cripple Creek, Atlantic City, Summertime Blues

Alright, here’s a rare occasion….  Bruce Springsteen and Levon Helm together on stage.

This seems to have happened in Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore, in the small but storied club called The Stone Pony.  Apparently Bruce dropped by to do a couple of songs at Levon’s gig.  There seems to be evidence that this may have happened in 1987, which makes sense to me judging by Bruce’s hair, and Levon’s pre throat cancer voice.  Of course, seeing the red baseball cap stuffed in Bruce's back pocket suggests this was around the time of his 'Born in the USA' album and tour, potentially placing this during 1984 or 1985.

The thing that throws me off is that this looks like low resolution digital from a cell phone or a point and shoot camera, yet no such thing existed in 1987.  It doesn’t look like it was shot on film.  Maybe just some low grade video.  Hmmmmm….   Any ideas?

Unfortunately, you’ve got to work for this one.  It’s in 5 parts, the audio is lousy and features a lot of fine close ups of Bruce’s back.

For a little twist here on the Friday Bruce Fix, fast forward to 2008 and watch post throat cancer Levon back out touring, performing Bruce’s “Atlantic City”.

This one’s a bit of a stretch, but for Levon, I’m prepared to stretch.  Both Bruce and Levon have covered this Eddie Cochran classic, although I don’t believe Bruce ever appeared on SCTV!  First up is Levon on SCTV, followed by Bruce opening his stop in Landover, MD on the Darkness tour in 1978. If you've still got the Summertime Blues after those two, the Eddie Cochran original follows.

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, Clarence Clemons, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Fire, Rosalita, Quarter to Three

I have to admit that I'm really struggling to find anything to say that hasn't been said over the past several days about the passing of Clarence Clemons. There have been some very moving and heartfelt tributes, and some great retrospectives on the tremendous legacy of studio and live performances he leaves behind. I just don't see how I can add to the conversation.

I'll miss Clarence, we all will, and I don't see how the E Street Band can be the same without him. There are other sax players who can play those sax parts but I don't think it will sound right to our ears after hearing Clarence play those parts for so many years. The issue is not so much the notes but the sound, Clarence's sound.  I don't have the knowledge or musical vocabulary to explain it, but when I hear that sound, I know it's Clarence.

The bigger issue is the man himself, his place on that stage, his friendship with Bruce, his role in the band, his place in their hearts and his connection with the fans.  No one else can stand in that spot.  I just don't see it.  It won't look or feel right, and with no disrespect to all the sax players out there, I don't think it will sound right.  You know something, I don't think I want it to sound right.

Will Bruce try to replace Clarence? Is this the end of the E Street Band? How can Bruce ever play Jungleland again, or get through the song without losing it? Will Bruce shuffle the deck, make some other changes and rename the band? I don't know. Time will provide the answers.

I imagine that the "What now?" question looms large for Bruce Springsteen, even though it's likely the last thing he feels like thinking about these days.  The music will go on, it will continue to be great, but it won't be the same.

Here's some of what I'll be missing, and what I'll always cherish. Would you want to try to fill these shoes?

It seems inadequate to say, but thanks Clarence, for everything.

Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, The Big Man

This was a tough week for a lot of Bruce Springsteen fans, hearing the news that our Big Man, Clarence Clemons, suffered a stroke this past Sunday evening. Very few details have been released, but it seems that things were looking pretty dire Sunday night.

By Monday his vital signs were stable.  I'm not clear on the degree to which he was paralyzed, but there seems to have been improvement on that front, too.  By Monday night he was conscious enough to squeeze the hands of friends and family, with both hands. A report in yesterday's Asbury Park Press suggested that Clarence's condition is still critical and that, while he may survive, he will have permanent neurological damage. Let's hope that if there is any damage, it ends up being minimal.

As always, it's hard to know the truth about his condition and prognosis for recovery, but Clarence is a fighter and he's got a lot of support in his corner, from all over the world.

In honour of the Big Man, this week features what may well be the biggest Friday Bruce Fix ever.  It's mostly about Clarence, but I did slip a little Bruce in there at the end. Enjoy and send some love to the Big Man.

Introducing...

Opening the second set on the Darkness tour with 'Paradise By The C'.

Interview

Guest appearance on David Letterman, playing Bruce's 'From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)', followed by an interview.

Playing the US National Anthem on April 1, 2011.

No tribute to Clarence Clemons would be complete without this powerful version of 'Jungleland'. I've watched this performance many times over the years, but for the first time, when I hear Bruce's closing wail, I can hear Clarence's determination to win this battle.

Get Well Soon, Big Man!

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, No Surrender, Eddie Vedder, Better Man

I'm still thinking about last week's Friday Bruce Fix with Sting and I've decided to feature another duet that I enjoyed, this time with Pearl Jam's front man, Eddie Vedder.  Both clips of this collaboration took place on October 13, 2004 on the 'Vote For Change' tour at its stop at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

'No Surrender' does seem like a perfect Bruce song for Eddie to sing.

'Better Man' does seem like a perfect Eddie song for Bruce to sing.

Happy Friday!