 Bruce Springsteen Is there any "major" artist more completely obsolete in the current music scene than Bruce Springsteen? Can you imagine a band getting up on stage nowadays and doing something like "Adam Raised a Cain" or "Rosalita"? Unfortunately, I'd have to say if anyone would be that misguided, it would probably be me, but even I would likely be aware that bar-band theatrics are hopelessly out of style. And yet were they ever really in style? Springsteen was kind of always in his own world, a world where pop songs can be ten minutes long and every song is an epic. It's amazing he never had a heart attack with all that straining and jumping around. No matter what you think of his music, it's a lie to say that Bruce ever gave less than 100%, even if that meant 100% bombast. Now, I've always been something of a closet "Boss" fan, and at certain points in my life some of his albums have had meaning to me. I'm partial to his smaller albums, the ones where he didn't seem to think he was making a working-class masterpiece – Nebraska, Tunnel of Love. The "big" records can be great (Born to Run and Born in the USA still have their moments) but so much of his output seems to be self-consciously aiming to be the Great American Music. I mean, "Night" is never going to be the national anthem. But for all of his over-the-top antics, stupidly imagistic lyrics and often ridiculously bad vocals, you can't really say Bruce Springsteen is bad. I think his problem is just that he takes himself too seriously, and it doesn't help that every idiot rock critic over 30 goes out of their way to spray their awestruck come all over everything Springsteen releases. Case in point: Live/1975-85, which may seem like an innocent enough album nowadays, but in 1986, there was no album that received more hype and praise. And I won't say it wasn't deserved, but this is not "the greatest live album of all time," "a monumental achievement" or "essential for any serious collection." A lot of it is kick-ass, but there is a lot of material on this 3-disc set (originally 5 LP's). As recently as 1988 I probably would have argued that this album is exhilarating, but I would have been in denial about most of disc 2 (drawing heavily on The River and Darkness on the Edge of Town) and some of disc 3 ("Cover Me" is virtually unlistenable). To my 2003 ears, Live/1975-85 is a very good album, full of vital moments, but flawed by far too many "classic Bruce" spoken introductions and the shamelessness of the E Street Band itself. The first disc, mainly performances from 1975-78, makes a great argument for the Bruce mythos, the hard-workin', hard-rockin' showman who whipped every audience into a frenzy with marathon shows and impassioned performances. A solo piano version of "Thunder Road" opens the album and remains a favorite, one of the best "unplugged" style performances in rock. The pleasure is compromised by an odd choice for track two, "Adam Raised a Cain" which is bar-band "dirty blues" and eminently skippable. The remainder of the tracks on the disc are totally solid, and if I rated the discs individually, disc 1 would probably get a 7. Disc 2 and 3 would probably get 3 and 4, respectively. Disc 2 kicks off with "Cadillac Ranch" (can you IMAGINE a band doing that one nowadays?) and then launches into seven straight non-starters ("Candy's Room" or "Racing in the Street," anyone?) – although to be fair, Bruce fans probably love this stuff to bits. Bruce does 4 songs solo with just a guitar toward the end of the disc (mainly from Nebraska, plus "This Land is Your Land"), and that short set redeems the disc. But immediately after "Reason to Believe," there it is: "Born in the U.S.A." Yucko. Followed by "Seeds." In other words, head for disc 3. But there's crap to be heard there too. A twelve-minute (possibly more, I didn't see the final time when I was listening to it) version of "The River" opens disc 3, followed by "War" (which, baffling to the 2003 mind, was THE SINGLE FROM THIS ALBUM), then into songs mainly from Born in the U.S.A. Your enjoyment of disc 3 depends on whether you like that album. For me, "Bobby Jean" is the best track on that album, and it's my favorite track on this disc too. "Darlington County" and "Working on the Highway" are hammy and pandering (who the fuck is buying into Springsteen as a working-class spokesman? The guy has hundreds of millions of dollars and I'm sure he doesn't even blacktop his own driveway), "I'm on Fire" and "My Hometown" are so-so. "Born to Run" doesn't add too much to the studio version. An acoustic "No Surrender" is surprisingly effective. The album closes with "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (ugh) and "Jersey Girl" (that's supposed to make you wispy). By no means a "rock classic," Live/1975-85 nonetheless is among the better rock live albums, and is a good portrait of this band during its heyday. Personally I can't imagine seeing one of those three-hour shows … after like two hours I'd be like "Fuck, man! You don't have to play EVERY SONG OFF EVERY ALBUM!" But then I think of all the "cool" bands I've loved who sucked live – at least the E Street Band could play. In a weird way, you have to admire Springsteen for having such balls to take a show like this out on the road (and he's still doing it!). However, there's no way in hell I'd sit through this in its entirety again, and if I had my way I'd trim it down to two 48 minute discs. Still, a very enjoyable album provided you program your CD player judiciously.
Review by Lucy Lawful-Neutral |