A Bruce Springsteen Appreciation Thread

bobomac2 said:
Quick Bruce Opinions:

Best Bruce Album: Born To Run
My Favorite Bruce Album: Nebraska
Most Underrated Bruce Album: Wrecking Ball (*ducks from shoe thrown*)
Most Overrated Bruce Album: The River (I love the River, but some of the songs sound so similar to me. Still, amazing album, just not one of my top 3).
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I like wrecking ball, that river take is pretty damn controversial 😂
 
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Joe Mac said:
I like wrecking ball, that river take is pretty damn controversial 😂
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I know, I know. I just always felt like it was more of a compilation of songs rather than something cohesive, like BTR or Darkness. Again, I love the album, and some of my favorites are on there (Independence Day, Stolen Car, Hungry Heart), but I could do away with about half of the album.
 
bobomac2 said:
I know, I know. I just always felt like it was more of a compilation of songs rather than something cohesive, like BTR or Darkness. Again, I love the album, and some of my favorites are on there (Independence Day, Stolen Car, Hungry Heart), but I could do away with about half of the album.
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Im kinda a fan of sprawling double albums so I wouldn’t change a thing. I tend to go between it Nebraska and Born to Run as my favourites, more often than not its Nebraska though!
 
I think it's a fantastic album! As a whole, better than anything he has recorded with E-Street since the reunion, IMO. I was a bit worried, when he announced it, that it was going to be another High Hopes-kinda deal with the three old leftovers and all, but damn, he nailed it!

Bit surprised at some of the mellow reviews, though. Even Rolling Stone settled for a 4/5.
 
I only listened to it once the other night. It’s ok but it feels a bit like a comfort blanket, playing to the crowd and familiarity over ambition. It’s good but not great. Western Stars was a much better album to me...
 
Joe Mac said:
I only listened to it once the other night. It’s ok but it feels a bit like a comfort blanket, playing to the crowd and familiarity over ambition. It’s good but not great. Western Stars was a much better album to me...
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For the record, I think Western Stars is a better album too, as well as The Ghost of Tom Joad. But as full band-albums go, this is the best since the 80's in my book.
 
Whiteout75 said:
For the record, I think Western Stars is a better album too, as well as The Ghost of Tom Joad. But as full band-albums go, this is the best since the 80's in my book.
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I think songs wise that Wrecking Ball is better but man is the production/mastering way too loud on that thing!
 
Whiteout75 said:
For the record, I think Western Stars is a better album too, as well as The Ghost of Tom Joad. But as full band-albums go, this is the best since the 80's in my book.
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As much as I liked Western Stars and Wrecking Ball, most of the recent albums lacked the iconic "E Street Sound" that I love, which is hard to explain but feels very familiar. I think they nailed it on this record. Some of the songs could've been plucked right from the Darkness session takes, and I wouldn't have noticed without a deep listen. Overall, I'm very satisfied and it exceeded my expectations.
 
Joe Mac said:
I only listened to it once the other night. It’s ok but it feels a bit like a comfort blanket, playing to the crowd and familiarity over ambition. It’s good but not great. Western Stars was a much better album to me...
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Western Stars is definitely a better written album. I think WS was his most consistent album since Tunnel of Live. But there's something about the sincerity of the emotions and the power of the arrangements on "Letter to You" that keep this album from sounding like a just string of Bruce's favorite cliches.

That being said, I'm really enjoying it.

The way I see it, these songs are dispatches from his current mindset. Trying to make sense of his personal experience, losing friends, he retreats to his past and the church of rock and roll. Springsteen has always written about himself, but always through the form of creating characters to help explain his personal state. Here, he's in conversation with us. A logical evolution following his Broadway stint. And that change in his form really is exciting.
 
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David A. said:
Western Stars is definitely a better written album. I think WS was his most consistent album since Tunnel of Live. But there's something about the sincerity of the emotions and the power of the arrangements on "Letter to You" that keep this album from sounding like a just string of Bruce's favorite cliches.

That being said, I'm really enjoying it.

The way I see it, these songs are dispatches from his current mindset. Trying to make sense of his personal experience, losing friends, he retreats to his past and the church of rock and roll. Springsteen has always written about himself, but always through the form of creating characters to help explain his personal state. Here, he's in conversation with us. A logical evolution following his Broadway stint. And that change in his form really is exciting.
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Oh don’t get me wrong I enjoy it too. I just don’t think that the songs are as strong as he’s done and that it’s playing to his crowd a little bit.
 
Joe Mac said:
Oh don’t get me wrong I enjoy it too. I just don’t think that the songs are as strong as he’s done and that it’s playing to his crowd a little bit.
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I mean, there has to be a level of familiarity with his biography for these songs to have significant resonance. I guess he set the state for that following Springsteen on Broadway. Without that, yeah, the songs would just lose their impact.

"One Minute You're Here," is a great opener. But the back-half to that refrain, "...Next Minute You're Gone," is not revelatory. Seems almost like he's settling. But the performance and arrangement more than make up for that.
 
Man, I've gotten three copies of LTY now, two gray and one black, and all have been pressed off center to varying degrees. Such a bummer! Side A seems to be the biggest offender. Friends who have copies and reviews I've read, no one seems to have reported this being an issue! Am I just that unlucky? The third copy I got was from a different retailer too, to try and get one pressed at a different point in the process.
 
So I finally got round to listening to the new album..very impressed ...his most 70’s sounding album in a long time..best since The Rising for me ..I found Western Stars a bit “studied” , this one has some great spontaneous joy ..particularly like “If I was the Priest” ..

Bonus points as it sounds great (got the Splatter pressing) and love the packaging
 
Highly recommend a watch of “Blinded by the Light” movie ..a great little film for a U.K. fan from the 80’s like me ...quite touching
 
Soooooo, Springsteen tix that went on sale today for some of this E-Street tour are fucking insane. People in Tampa are posting pictures of floor tix for thousands of dollars and nosebleeds for hundreds. Some sort of dynamic pricing has to be in play but it's still fucked.

Even someone from Boston posted floor tix for $350 and with fees, etc. two tickets came out to $875

KC tickets go on sale in a week and if this is the price level I may be out, even if this may be the last chance to see the E-Street band.
 
Endtro said:
Soooooo, Springsteen tix that went on sale today for some of this E-Street tour are fucking insane. People in Tampa are posting pictures of floor tix for thousands of dollars and nosebleeds for hundreds. Some sort of dynamic pricing has to be in play but it's still fucked.

Even someone from Boston posted floor tix for $350 and with fees, etc. two tickets came out to $875

KC tickets go on sale in a week and if this is the price level I may be out, even if this may be the last chance to see the E-Street band.
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Yeah, Seattle is the closest they are getting to me, and the cheapest ticket I can find is $267 before service charges. PLUS I'd have to get my ass to Seattle and back which would run another couple/few hundred. I was really hoping to catch this tour, but that looks very unlikely at this point.
 
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