Bruce Springsteen - Page 5

New album "Wrecking Ball" due out March 6th. A spring/fall North American tour is to be announced some time soon as well. The first single, "We take care of our Own" can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=M3Bz0d2xm7U

 

And here's a Rolling Stone preview of the album: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-returns-with-wild-new-album-20120118

Can't wait for that single to be completely misinterpreted and misappropriated.

It's weird, I used to not like bruce at all, couldn't get on with his voice, it's only now, as I've got older that I like him. I find the same thing happens with me and Neil Young.

This Onion article has pretty much ruined Springsteen for me. 

I'll be curious to know if "Calvary" was a typo-- I could hear it either way, really.

 

His music has got me through bad times more than once in my life, so I can't pretend objectivity: I'm onboard for better (Magic) or worse (Working On A Dream).

 

And every now and again, he pulls a fast one:

 

Tracklist:

 

1. We Take Care of Our Own
2. Easy Money
3. Shackled and Drawn
4. Jack of All Trades
5. Death to My Hometown
6. This Depression
7. Wrecking Ball
8. You’ve Got It
9. Rocky Ground
10. Land of Hope and Dreams
11. We Are Alive

 

A special edition of Wrecking Ball will also be available including exclusive artwork and photography and two bonus tracks:

 

12. Swallowed Up
13. American Land

 

Interesting that two of the tracks on the album (three, including the bonus) were already staples of his live set. And though I rather doubt it's the same song, he'd sing the hell out of Ryan Bingham's "This Depression."

Booyah! After waiting around in a 'virtual waiting room" for almost an hour I was finally able to snag some general admission tickets to the Springsteen in Buffalo in April! I was about to give up hope and then the Rock Gods shined down on me. I'm gonna go blare some Springsteen now in excitement.

"Wrecking Ball" is Bruce's best since "The Rising". Or hell, maybe even since "Born in the USA". Much like how "Working on a Dream" was an experiment with different styles and having a more varied flavour "Wrecking Ball" goes to the next level. It's almost like "Dream" was him just being bored in the studio and he made a mix tape while horsing around with his band. "Wrecking Ball" is full of so much emotion, thoughts, power, heart, style, focus,... pretty much everything we're used too with Bruce. It's an amazing album.

 

I was excited about "Magic" and "Dream" but after listening to them I never felt like they were classic Bruce albums. "Wrecking Ball" does this. I can't nail down a favourite track just yet but I'm loving this "new" Springsteen in terms of how he's willing to add in different style of music to his work. There's some country twang going on, R&B, pop, rock, acoustic, Irish folk etc. It's a melting pot of sorts.

 

I may have read this wrong but I believe that Springsteen originally wanted this to be an acoustic type album with band members accompanying him only when needed. He was talked out of it and the album is elevated because of it. Again, the Boss makes the right decision. I really think Springsteen fans will love this new work. I'm already eagerly awaiting seeing him do some of these songs live. I can't wait to see how he brings them to the stage.

 

On a side note, when I saw that Land of Hope and Dreams was on the album I was worried how that would transition from a live only song to a studio recording. It's an amazing song when he does it live and he friggin' nails it. It's beautiful on the album how he did it. I really hope he plays it in Buffalo. It's one of my favourite Bruce songs. Though I'm not a fan of how American Land turned out and I think that works better live. Glad it's a bonus track only.

 

Well seeing as how I did feel like Magic was a classic Bruce album, this bodes well for Wrecking Ball.

I'll have my review for next week's Special Edition, but for the most part it's very impressive, and even it its weaker moments, it has a strength and commitment that is undeniable.

Here's a video of Springsteen & The ESB at the Apollo Theatre last night for a concert. It's long (10 minutes) but what he does around the 6-7 minute mark is great.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_XwmrUVyqss

The best part is when he calls out the key change from up in the balcony, and the band hits it perfectly on the next downbeat.

I was at the show last Friday in Buffalo. It was great as per usual.

 

Here's the set list:

 

He opened with 'Buffalo Gals' and then went into the show...

 

1. We Take Care of Our Own
2. Wrecking Ball
3. The Ties That Bind
4. Death to My Hometown
5. My City of Ruins
6. Rendezvous
7. Mountain Of Love
8. Jack of All Trades
9. Prove It All Night
10. Darkness on the Edge of Town
11. Shackled and Drawn
12. Waitin' on a Sunny Day
13. The Promised Land
14. Apollo Medley
15. Point Blank
16. American Skin (41 Shots)
17. The Rising
18. Lonesome Day
19. We Are Alive
20. Thunder Road
21. Rocky Ground
22. Ramrod
23. Born to Run
24. Dancing in the Dark
25. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

 

The tribute to Clarence during Tenth Avenue Freeze Out is fantastic. Bruce pauses for a long time and points toward the video screens and it shows moments from the years of Clarence with Bruce and the band. I was happy we got American Skin. I wonder if he added that to the tour specifically because of the Trayvon Martin shooting. I think it first appeared on the 2012 tour when the band were in Florida.

Sounds like a great set, and it's killing me that I couldn't budget a ticket to next week's show in San Jose.

 

What's most impressive as I read about the tour is the lack of old-time fans going "you hadda be there" in the "old days"-- quite the contrary, veteran Springsteen fans are saying this is some of the best sound they've ever heard at his shows, that his energy and guitar playing are through the roof, and that the band is as tight as ever, despite all the new personnel.

 

One thing that's struck me is that, even with the growing pains of such a big ensemble, they're already at the point we usually get only when the tour hits its stride. Typically, the new album is featured heavily the first few weeks, with only a little jiggering of the playlist. Now, though, there's already wholesale substitution of setlisted songs, song sequences rearranged, and it seems that every show brings at least one tour premiere: your show, I believe, was the first time they've done "Point Blank" or "Rendezvous;" without doing anything like actual research, I know I've seen reference to about three dozen different songs from his back catalog, with new ones added every night. And they're already taking requests! I'd have killed to hear "Mountain of Love"-- I treasure a dim old bootleg performance I have of that one.

 

And, yeah, "41 Shots" was added for Trayvon Martin, being still depressingly timely.

 

Really hoping that the new summer dates will eventually include another West Coast swing-- I'm saving up!

Tickets went on sale for Toronto today, I wasn't able to snag GAs but I ended up grabbing some other ones. I'm disappointed but at least I'll be able to go. He's playing the Rogers Centre which should be neat to see him there.

I'm interested in seeing him, even though I'd only like about half the set list (a few songs on The Rising are the only recent ones I can tolerate).

 

Gillette Stadium is the worst place I've ever seen a show. I just can't go through that ordeal again. I got nosebleed seets for U2 there back in 2009. The way they have the stupid zig-zagging concrete walkways set up, I swear you have to walk an entire MILE to get to the upper section from the entrance. Once the show started, the acoustic phasing was so bad the show was unlistenable. There's a 1-1.5 second delay overlapping with the sound, creating an unlistenable mess. After a few songs, I went exploring to try and find a better spot. Thankfully, the 2nd level walkway behind the stage was sparsely populated and sounded fine. The place is still a nigtmare, though. 8 dollar cans of Guiness, and 4 McDonald's on each level, but none with the full menu. I thought this was America! :P

Last week I went to the Sports Arena to see The Boss, I was invited by my dad. I always liked his music but I was never quite interested in looking them up beyond maybe four songs I had on my iPod. Well, after that show I became hooked. Now I've uploaded every album my dad lended me up to The Rising, I'll finish uploading the rest later as I've already got plenty of music to listen to until then. I've spent the whole week listening from the debut album to Tunnel of Love. At the moment these are the stand outs for me:

Born to Run
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Born in the U.S.A.
Tunnel of Love

Stand outs may change, as I'm just going through all of them. In a few minutes I'm gonna go out for a long jog, so I'm gonna start off with Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and move onto each succeeding album. I may do this all night if I have to, I'm really hooked.