Bruce Springsteen (Official Thread)

[TheSound]

Sounds like fun Sound! Do we each do one every day or take turns? And anyone else can join in too.

Nice one gcczep. Great sounding bootleg. I think all the Bruce activity here is due to the fact 2012 is going to be a huge Bruce year again with a new album and tour.

Sure Jackie, anyone can play!! All threads I assume are open to anyone if they want to play along, anyone can just pick a Bruce song, and explain briefly why they love it... just posting a YouTube with no explanation isn't really what I have in mind. I expect you'd agree that the reason Bruce is so much loved is that he writes songs which many ordinary people can relate to day-to-day, either personally or romantically or politically, so it's fun to talk about them and what they mean to us as fans/people. I was thinking one song per day each, not alternate, or at least as long as we're around, I try to log in here most days, but I have a very unpredictable life and so you never quite know what's coming next, especially at weekends, so if I miss a day or two, still post your own song of the day, and I'll catch up! Also why not rate the Bruce songs that you don't post yourself...for example you just posted 'You're Missing' - it brings a lump to my throat for all the reasons you described so nicely, scores a 10/10, not possible for anyone to find a grain of fault in a moving song like that. We lost a friend on 9/11, not a close personal friend, but somebody known well to the family, and we attended the funeral/memorial service, can't say enough about that whole The Rising album, it was typical of Bruce to tap into that whole post 9/11 trauma with such an incredibly uplifting and resilient record.

Btw, hope you like my new siggy! Oh I know I fiddle around with my sig/avy quite a lot, but I think I'm settled on this one for quite a while now, we really missed seeing Clarence up there with the guys the other night, so that's two of us on here now with Clarence on display (well, you have his shoulder, but it's all good, the man had one hell of a shoulder for Bruce to lean on over the years!)

OK, my next one, THE SOUND'S 'BRUCE SONG OF THE DAY', TUESDAY ...I'm picking 'Frankie' which is maybe a bit out of left field for my second pick, it's on the 'Tracks' collection, it was an outtake from the 'Born in the USA' sessions and has always been one of my favourite ever Bruce outtakes...



"Shining like these street lights down here on the strand, bright as the rain in the palm of your hand" is just such poetry, Its a "real" song, nothing like what you see written in today's pop or hip-hop scene, although there is still a little hope in today's rock. It's one of those Bruce songs where you take whatever you take from it. I also love the sudden dramatic last minute key change at around 6 min 10 seconds which leads into a great sax solo from The Big Man. Reading these sorts of poetic lyrics made me realize that Bruce is one of the greatest songwriter ever...

Dark weekends in the sun out on Chelsea Road
Descending the stairs, Frankie, my one
Check your makeup in the mirror c'mon babe let's go
We'll dance 'round this dirty town 'til the night is all done
Let all the finer things sleep alone tonight
Let all the minor kings lose their thrones tonight
Don't worry about us, baby, we'll be alright

Well everybody's dying, this town's closing down
They're all sittin' down at the courthouse waiting for 'em to take the flag down
I see strange flashes in the sky up above
Gonna spend the night at the drive-in with the one that I love
At dusk the stars all appear on the screen
Yeah, just like they do each night in my dreams
But tonight's no dream, Frankie, I can feel myself too
Well now and forever my love is for you

Walk softly tonight little stranger
Yeah into these shadows we're passing through
Talk softly tonight, little angel
You make all my dream worlds come true

Well lately I've been standing out in the freezing rain
Readin' them want ads out on Chelsea Road
I'm winging down the street in search of new games
Hustling through these nightlights' diamond glow
Well Frankie I don't know what I'm gonna find
Maybe nothing at all, maybe a world I can call mine
Shining like these streetlights down here on the strand
Bright as the rain in the palm of your hand

Walk softly tonight, little stranger
Into the shadows where lovers go
Talk softly to me, little angel
Whisper your secrets so soft and low

 

[JerseyGirl]

All this talk of The Boss has prompted me to spin a 3 disc set of his show at The Winterland in San Fran 12/15/78. Magnanimous of the man to broadcast the show via FM and all music fans are grateful to the soul that taped it!

JEALOUS JEALOUS JEALOUS G!!! That has a great setlist. Hope you enjoyed it.


TS...LOVE the new signature! I'll be getting to my song sometime today.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I love Frankie! Just like Cynthia (I'll be posting this at a later date), sometimes I wish my name was Frankie. Bruce can talk softly to me anytime! 9/10

JerseyGirl's 'BRUCE SONG OF THE DAY', TUESDAY

While I was going to post Cynthia next, I decided to go with a song where Bruce actually does say my name. I have to admit that's what got me to really listen to the song originally many years ago. I have since matured and realized there is much more to New York City Serenade than the name 'Diamond Jackie' (oh and my birthstone is a diamond). Hmmm, maybe THAT should have been my user name. This song is from The Wild, The Innocent, one of his best. I love how Bruce can make you feel the characters in his songs and this one especially does that and even though they are not romantic characters, the song makes them feel that way. The use of the instruments makes you feel every note, every chord, the way it starts with the strum of a guitar and then the piano, the jazz-ness of the song. Bruce's voice where it drops down to almost a whisper and then becomes strong again. I love everything about this song and it's one of my favorites. This is a 10/10 for me.


(Embedded disabled so just click on 'Watch On YouTube'.)

New York City Serenade - Bruce Springsteen

Billy he's down by the railroad tracks
Sittin' low in the back seat of his Cadillac
Diamond Jackie, she's so intact
As she falls so softly beneath him
Jackie's heels are stacked
Billy's got cleats on his boots
Together they're gonna boogaloo down Broadway and come back home with the loot
It's midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute
It's a mad dog's promenade
So walk tall or baby don't walk at all

Fish lady, oh fish lady
She baits them tenement walls
She won't take corner boys
They ain't got no money
And they're so easy
I said "Hey, baby
Won't you take my hand
Walk with me down Broadway
Well mama take my arm and move with me down Broadway"
I'm a young man, I talk it real loud
Yeah babe I walk it real proud for you
Ah so shake it away
So shake away your street life
Shake away your city life
Hook up to the train
And hook up to the night train
Hook it up
Hook up to the train
But I know that she won't take the train, no she won't take the train
Oh she won't take the train, no she won't take the train
Oh she won't take the train, no she won't take the train
Oh she won't take the train, no she won't take the train
She's afraid them tracks are gonna slow her down
And when she turns this boy'll be gone
So long, sometimes you just gotta walk on, walk on

Hey vibes man, hey jazz man, play me your serenade
Any deeper blue and you're playin' in your grave
Save your notes, don't spend 'em on the blues boy
Save your notes, don't spend 'em on the darlin' yearlin' sharp boy
Straight for the church note ringin', vibes man sting a trash can
Listen to your junk man
Listen to your junk man
Listen to your junk man
He's singin', he's singin', he's singin'
All dressed up in satin, walkin' past the alley
He's singin', singin', singin', singin'

 

[TheSound]

Fantastic Jackie...I wish I had time to respond to this right now, but tonight is my big night in the kitchen!!!...HELP!!!!!...so I am really pushed for time, and it will have to wait until tomorrow, it is only meant to be 1-a-day after all, so I guess tomorrow will do, post my next one then also.

Hey, you're getting greedy, you get enough references already in songs!! - this isn't Bruce, but is by one of my other Top 5 artists ever, Tom Waits...I know you're going to say that when Bruce sings a cover version of this it's better, but in this instance imo there's just no way any cover could be better.

Later!!

 

[JerseyGirl]

Sorry, though I respect Tom Waits, Bruce's version of Jersey Girl can't be beat.

Have fun tonight!

 

[JerseyGirl]

Some Grammy photos from Blogness.


MORE IN LINK: Blogness on the Edge of Town: A Bruce Springsteen Blog | Facebook

 

[TheSound]

Cool pics! ***:

Hey there ‘Diamond’ Jackie, that was just a wonderful choice, the 'Serenade'. Great song, and you write so well about your love for Bruce, anyone can tell it’s such a passion for you. ‘Wild Innocent’ was actually the first Bruce record I ever heard, it was loaned to me by an old college friend many years ago, and ‘Serenade’ and ‘Sandy’ are my two favourite tracks on there, it’s like a mini rock-opera, just amazing writing by Bruce – 10/10 again!


SOUND’S 'BRUCE SONG OF THE DAY', WEDNESDAY....'THE LAST CARNIVAL'

Wasn’t sure what to pick next, as we’re only just getting started here, but I’ll actually go for this song, even though it’s on ‘Working on a Dream’, which is mostly just so poor imo and an album that I really don’t like much at all, though I keep trying to like it! So I’m actually a bit nervous about the new ‘Wrecking Ball’ album and just keeping my fingers crossed, I read it’s not going to be an E Street Band album, and it seems most of the guys won’t feature at all, and the couple who do play are apparently only used on a few tracks, so it sounds like he’s involving lots of unknown elements on this one, though those Seeger Sessions guys are just amazing players if they are on some of the album, so I would really love it to be something very special after WOAD. But 'The Last Carnival' is just a beautiful song, I guess it’s really about the band and Bruce moving on without Danny Federici (RIP) ….maybe symbolic of Danny's role in the E-Street band coming full circle... as you will know on the very first album, Wild Billy's Circus Story depicts a kid at the circus being amazed by it all, and in the end joining them, well now Billy's gone, but the circus has to keep moving on, which is an amazing reference really, and a great tribute to his friend. We all are wondering I suppose just what Bruce has put into a song about Clarence also dying, and so soon after Danny? OK, here it is…you’re up next!



Sundown, sundown
They're taking all the tents down
Where have you gone my handsome Billy?

Sundown, sundown
The carnival trains' leavin' town
Where are you now my darlin' Billy?

We won't be dancing together on the high wire
Facing the lions with you at my side anymore
We won't be breathin' the smoke and the fire
On the midway

Hangin' from the trapeze my wrists waitin' for your wrists
Two daredevils high up on the wall of death
You throwin' the knife that lands inches from my heart
Sundown

Moonrise, moonrise
The light that was in your eyes
Has gone away

Daybreak, daybreak
The thing in you that made me ache
Has gone to stay

We'll be riding the train without you tonight
The train that keeps on movin'
Its black smoke scorching the evening sky
A million stars shining above us like every soul livin' and dead
Has been gathered together by a God to sing a hymn over your bones

Sundown, sundown
Empty are the fairgrounds
Where are you now my handsome Billy?

 

[JerseyGirl]

Did you have to bring a tear to my eye so early in the day? Nothing more I can say about that song than you already said. A beautiful song, a beautiful tribute. 10/10

Thanks for the kind words on my Serenade review. I love that song. I'll be back in a little bit with my next 'song of the day' after a few more cups of coffee.


In the meantime, I was reading this a little earlier. To me, it makes sense.

Bruce Springsteen's sidekick Steven Van Zandt has confirmed reports suggesting late sax man Clarence Clemons' nephew has joined the E Street Band.

The Boss and his bandmates have asked Jake Clemons to tour with them this summer (12), and guitarist Van Zandt can't wait to share a stage with the new member.

He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "We had a lot of discussion. It was a tough thing to try and figure out. But in the end we felt it's not going to be possible to replace Clarence, and it wouldn't really be fair to the person. So we decided to have a horn section. In this case, we're going to have two saxes.

"Whoever plays the sax part will emerge from the horn section, then they go back to the horn section, so it takes the pressure off that spotlight of suggesting that he's replacing Clarence, which is just impossible to do.

"So we thought that was a good solution, and, at the same time, it's going to be fun for me, because as you know I'm a horn guy. So I'll be able to have some fun with our soul and R&B roots and emphasise some of that during that tour.

"And then we have the added bonus of keeping it somewhat in the family with Jake being the nephew. And I think that helps us emotionally, and I think it'll maybe help the audience emotionally to make that transition by keeping it in the family."


LINK: Bruce Springsteen | Van Zandt Confirms Clemons' Nephew Is In The E Street Band | Contactmusic

 

[JerseyGirl]

By the way, Bruce took his Fender Esquire out of the 'Bruce Exhibit' just so he could use it for the Grammy show.

 

[JerseyGirl]

JerseyGirl's 'BRUCE SONG OF THE DAY', WEDNESDAY....'BADLANDS'

Badlands is the first track on the great Darkness On The Edge Of Town album. In my opinion, Bruce couldn't have picked a better first track on an album filled with so many gritty rock and roll songs. I love this song right from the beginning with Max's drums and then the piano and that great guitar riff. To me this song is about the average working man that does the same thing day after day but dreams of better things, while at the same time being happy with what you do have. When Bruce does this song live in concert, it truly gets the house rocking and the entire audience gets involved, that it's a show in itself. This is such a true E Street Band song. Darkness is probably my 2nd favorite album after Born To Run and just like BTR every song is a favorite.




Badlands - Bruce Springsteen

Lights out tonight
trouble in the heartland
Got a head-on collision
smashin' in my guts, man
I'm caught in a cross fire
that I don't understand
But there's one thing I know for sure girl
I don't give a damn
For the same old played out scenes
I don't give a damn
For just the in betweens
Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul
I want control right now
talk about a dream
Try to make it real
you wake up in the night
With a fear so real
Spend your life waiting
for a moment that just don't come
Well, don't waste your time waiting

CHORUS

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
and these badlands start treating us good

Workin' in the fields
till you get your back burned
Workin' 'neath the wheel
till you get your facts learned
Baby I got my facts
learned real good right now
You better get it straight darling
Poor man wanna be rich,
rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
till he rules everything
I wanna go out tonight,
I wanna find out what I got
Well I believe in the love that you gave me

I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the faith that could save me
I believe in the hope
and I pray that some day
It may raise me above these

CHORUS

mmmmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm

For the ones who had a notion,
a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin
to be glad you're alive
I wanna find one face
that ain't looking through me
I wanna find one place,
I wanna spit in the face of these badlands

CHORUS