The Boss
When I am laying on my deathbed, counting my regrets, one of them will be that I didn't go see Bruce Springsteen in the 80s or 90s. By the time the 21st century rolled around, I was done with concerts for big names. There just isn't any way I'm going to pay a hundred dollars an hour to be entertained. That doesn't take away from my enjoyment of music. I'm glad that Bruce and other senior citizens like Sir Paul McCartney are still performing live for the people who want to see them and don't mind parting with the dough.
I started listening to Springsteen when I was 14, in 1979 when he released the double-album, The River, still one of my favorites. A couple of years later when Nebraska came out, I became a fan for life. That sparse record, recorded on a four-track machine in Springsteen;s basement is my nomination for the perfect album in the canon.
My respect and admiration for The Boss comes from a variety of elements. I think he is a master of the English language, a people's poet if there ever was one. He was not, as he was once labeled, the next Dylan. He was just the first Bruce. Those songs from The River and Nebraska carried me into adulthood in the very spirit of the late 70s and early 80s. Springsteen's musical knowledge ad skill, coupled with his respect for people like Woodie Guthrie and Pete Seeger, mean a lot to me. His admiration of those men speaks to his values and mine.
I don't think he's perfect, by any means. He's made mistakes. His first marriage was rocky. He didn't always treat the guys in his band with the respect they deserve. By his own admission, he has a pretty outsized ego, but JFC, so would I if I were Bruce Springsteen. As artists go, he's just someone who makes music that speaks to me and has for decades.
The Perfect Album | Living Out Loud
Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska by Warren Zanes | Goodreads
Born to Run (autobiography) - Wikipedia
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