As big a Bruce Springsteen fan as I am — and I've seen the man in concert 32 times — I was not exactly crazy onboard for the Seeger Sessions project when it was first announced last year. I just figured that after a year of Springsteen doing the acoustic thing on the Devils & Dust album and tour, that he'd got the folk bug out of his system. Like a lot of Springsteen fans, I was ready for some E Street Band action.
So, the last thing I wanted or expected in 2006 was what sounded suspiciously at the time to me like another round of Springsteen getting his folk on. To me, it seemed too much like another "vanity project." But when I voiced that opinion over on the message boards at Backstreets Magazine, I was damn near chased out of town by angry Springsteen fans.
Seems some of those folks knew something I didn't. And it turned out, they were right.
One listen to the joyous noise made on the track "O' Mary Don't You Weep," and any doubts I had about The Seeger Sessions were wiped clean off the map. In a gruff voice reminiscent somewhat of a born again Tom Waits, Springsteen summons all the fire and brimstone of Moses himself as he belts out the lines about how "Pharoah's army got drownded" while his gospel army of singers and musicians wail on in rapturous delight.
As my fellow Blogcritic Lisa McKay put it in an email just the other day, "'O' Mary' kicks ass." Yes it does, Lisa.
Live In Dublin, the new concert CD/DVD document from last year's Seeger Sessions tour is worth owning for the inclusion of that track alone. Although this album comes in both CD and HD-DVD only versions, your best bet is to spring for the deluxe version which includes the entire 23 song performance on both the DVD and 2 CDs. This is a concert that needs to be seen as much as heard.
The setlist here runs the gamut from the Springsteen Songbook to the Smithsonian. You get the "Seegerized" versions of Springsteen classics like "Atlantic City," "Blinded By The Light," and "Growin' Up." You also get well chosen covers from the folk tradition like "We Shall Overcome," straight up Dixieland jazz in the form of "When The Saints Go Marching In," and even spirituals like "This Little Light Of Mine."
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
great review glen.
you know, when i ran into lisa mckay on the way out of the Sessions show near boston last year, she said something to the effect of "not the E Street Band....and yet, sort of like the E street Band!"
i've seen a lot of Bruce shows myself and this one really knocked me off my feet.
2 - El Bicho
I have been a big fan of Bruce's acoustic folk ventures ever since his "Unplugged" album. I'll have to check out the deluxe DVD.
3 - Glen Boyd
Unplugged album? What Unplugged album?
-Glen
4 - Lisa McKay
Since I've been name-checked twice, I'll put my two cents in. I knew the doubting Thomases would have regrets once they saw what they missed out on.
5 - JC Mosquito
Call me Tommy - I hope it's as good as you all say it is - I have no reason to doubt your impeccable taste, but Seeger Sessions didn't intetrest me much. Part of the reason is that I was still digesting bits of the Anthology of American Folk Music assembled by Harry Smith - everything else just wasn't, as Greil Marcus said, "the Old Weird America."
Possibly it will still take some time before the impact of Bruce's foray into traditional music makes sense in the big picture of his career - in the meantime, there's a couple million old rockers out there waiting for another "Hungry Heart" or "Cadillac Ranch." They might be waiting a looooooong time, but Springsteen's music always did have a hopeful quality in it, didn't it?
6 - Glen Boyd
Okay -- "Tommy" (you said I could call you that, remember?)
Seeger Sessions Bruce is not something everyone is going to "get", to be sure. As Lisa kind of notes above, I too was once a "doubting Thomas." But the exuberance of this performance is nothing, if not infectious. And thats coming from as hard core a fan of E Street "Rock Bruce" as you are likely to find.
So I love the whole Seeger deal...now. But I admit I was a bit of a Johnny-Come-Lately to the party.
That said, I am damn ready for an E Street record and tour this next go-round.
Thanx for the comment Skeet (and Mark...and Lisa...and Bicho)
-Glen
7 - Mark Saleski
for the sake of accuracy, i must point out that i name checked lisa because she has informed me that she is always right.
;-)
8 - Glen Boyd
I name checked her because that is what she said in the e-mail. And I quote:
"O' Mary Don't You Weep" Kicks Ass!"
It was something I was more or less going to say anyway, but I thought she said it rather well.
And I'm only right MOST of the time.
-Glen
9 - HB Beverly
Bruce once again proves to the world why he's called "The Boss." I haven't been this impressed with his arrangments since I first heard "The Rising" back in the summer of 2002, on the Boardwalk at Asbury Park during the Today show tapings there.
I have to admit I'm not always 100% along with Bruce when he takes a turn with his experiments in music. I support his right to do that, and more or less put up with his search for what is best for the listening world at large. But without exception, he ALWAYS comes back with something to follow that up, that makes you forget all your worries about him ever losing it as a viable and still exciting artist. As usual, I once again had to chastise myself for ever doubting him in the first place - he always pleases in the end....
I think he knocked it out of the Park on this one, and for my money the Sessions Band is one awesome band, and are high on the talent scale. For their young age as a group playing his music, they're every bit as good as the E Street Band. But, I love the E St. Band as well, and am looking forward to them making their presence known again - post Sessions Band. It should be truly awesome!
10 - Glen Boyd
I wasn't along 100% at first either HB. But the album and now this performance sold me all the way. Gotta admit though, I cant wait for the E Street Band to get back into action. They are supposedly recording in Atlanta right now --- fall album, tour in 2008 maybe?
My fingers are crossed.
-Glen
11 - Mark Saleski
Possibly it will still take some time before the impact of Bruce's foray into traditional music makes sense in the big picture of his career
as far as the Seeger music goes, if you attended a show and witnessed them playing "O Mary Don't You Weep," you would know that it already does make sense.
12 - JC Mosquito
But I didn't see the show, Mark, and Springsteen has only played within a day's drive of here two or three times in the last 35 years. As powerful as he is live (yes, I did see him once with E Street) I'm primarily a fan of his written and recorded work, and that's my reference point for all things Bruce.
So many of his studio recordings are the portrait of an artist's growth over a period of decades, and each phase of his career follows logically upon the previous one - except for the recent Sessions phenomenon. Maybe I was out of touch, but this seemed to me like the left turn at Albuquerque that Bugs Bunny always talked about. I mean, where's the precedence, the inspiration, the incentive to go in this direction? And I'm sure there IS a reason, but I don't see it in the grand scheme of things - not yet, anyways.
13 - Glen Boyd
Backstreets Magazine, which is BY FAR the biggest Springsteen fan mag just linked this review to their front news page:
Check it out here
Probably cause I linked them in the article and mentioned my story about getting chased outta town there--LOL.
-Glen
14 - j. arroyo
Bruce Springsteen is one of the most talentless people out there. As a police officer, I patiently await the day of his death and hope it's just as violent as his Cop-Killer song. By the way, I'm glad that Blogcritics allows their writers to shill for artists, but they should at least shill for artists who are relevant. Bruce Springsteen hasn't had a hit in years.
15 - Glen Boyd
Uhhhh, Daryl is that you?
16 - Tony
J Arroyo - While I agree you are entitled to your opinion on Bruce, since when does having an hit record make you great???? And as for the cop killer song, perhaps Bruce wouldn't have ammo if like he says, the police didn't fire, "47 shots"
And as for your comment on the way you'd like Bruce to die, I find that attitude unbelivable considering you are a police officer. I hope all U.S. cops arn't like you. Oh by the way I am a British Officer and we can arrest people without the need to fire "47 shots"
17 - J. D. Rummel
A year ago this weekend I got to hear Bruce and the Sessions Band in Des Moines. I've seen him multiple times before but this was something else. I'd never seen him have so much _fun_. He truly re-engineered his music in ways that took my breath away. You should hear, the Tex-Mex "Ramrod" or "Rag Mama" Wow! I went for a walk today and listened to _Dublin_. The album doesn't have the same cumulative effect of the live show but does convey just how incredible the Sessions shows were. Not trying to rub it in, but if you missed one, _Dublin_ only hints of the joy.
18 - Don Falch
The DVD is great. Bruce continues to surprise and never rests on his laurels. Respect! Can't say I have much respect for a guy who calls "American Skin" a cop-killer song. He obviously hasn't read or listened to the lyrics. I recommend Dave Marshs book "Bruce Springsteen on Tour". There's a few pages about the song that I think make it easier for people who have to have songs interpreted for them. Personally, I think the song is one of his very best. Very powerful.
19 - daryl d
Glenn, no, it's not me. Read my review of the Blu-Ray disc, which is pretty positive.
Note that I wouldn't ordinary go out of my way to review a Springsteen blu-ray disc, but my neighbor did. I went into watching it with negative feelings but was quite surprised on how enjoyable it was. You see, even if I don't like what Bruce has become (and we can argue all night and day about this), I have to be objective and say that perhaps I missed out on a decent concert when I refused to attend last summer.
20 - TPCL
I love this show. I saw the 2001/2002 concerts with the E street band in Tacoma, Portland, LA and Vancouver, BC. It is interesting how much the audiences differed even though they were all "west coast". Tacoma rocked but Portland tended to sit on their hands. LA was the best and Vancouver seemed to be responsive but interested in politics. The most ineresting thing is how Bruce worked the crowd. In LA he was a complete loon and worked very hard at giving it all. Once he connected he was LOL funny and warm and...
The comment earier about how the "recorded works seem to stack one on the other". It made me think that the Sessions are like the Babybook you yard out and get reaquaited with yourself. Thank god for Mothers. That is what this is then, Bruce reborn and seeing his music through his own Babybook of music with professional eyes. Doesn't have anything to do with validation. Just a shared memory of an Irish/Catholic/Italian/American singing at Christmas with the family. I actually think that this "Blinded" is the best ever version.
Ignorance is bliss, think about it, why would the cop be on a Bruce site in the first place unless he had other reasons? Just a thought.
21 - Glen Boyd
TPCL --
Do I know you? The reason I ask is because we attended exactly the same shows (Tacoma, Vanc BC, LA. and Portland) on the Rising Tour. You are daed right about that Portland crowd too--dead as a doornail, which is surprising because they actually got the superior setlist I thought.
Daryl --
I did read your piece on Live In Dublin and was pleasantly surprised by your objectivity on that one. My problem with your articles on Bruce in the past has nothing to do with whether or not you like Springsteen. Each to his own as far as I am concerned. What bothered me about them was the fact that you seemed to have such a personal axe to grind. Up until this latest one, you were basically writing the same "I hate Bruce" rant over and over. Everything was all about your rock critic friend who supposedly got fired from Rolling Stone because he wrote a bad review; the fact that Bruce hasn't had a hit single in awhile; and how Bruce's politics piss you off. It just got a bit, well...redundant would be the most polite way of putting it. The bias still shows on your latest, but it was refreshing to see you take a more objective look at your subject matter this go-round, rather than simply repeating the same tired points.
-Glen
22 - TPCL
Not only a better setlist but the best venue by far... The old LA venue of Jerry West's Laker's fame, seating 17,505, the Fabulous Foreum of my youth... wow. My memories were dashed. What a pit but it seemed to suit Bruce. Easily the best show. Do I know you? I don't recognize the name but I've live in Oly since '76 and spent a lot of time at the E-9 and Swiss in Tacoma for post work brews.
T
23 - epppie
I myself was surprised when I first heard about the Seeger Sessions project. But I wasn't at all surprised that Bruce would delve into folk music. HIs interest in Woody Guthrie as a role model is well known, going back to the early eighties. It was part of the inspiration for Nebraska.
What surprised me was that Springsteen would put together an entire band of folk musicians. It's a breathtaking leap across genres, for one thing. It's like the reverse of Bob Dylan plugging in. But, more than that, it's a rather crazy idea. I mean, when I think of folk combos, I think of 4 or 5 musicians. 17 musicians, not counting Springsteen?! Granted, I'm not as up on the folk music scene as I was when my brother was a folk music dj, but that alone is a pretty wild idea.
As I was listening to Live in Dublin lately, I suddenly realized what it is: it's a folk Big Band!! It's Bruce trying to be Pete Seeger AND Chick Webb at the same time! The music in Live In Dublin doesn't just rock. It swings.
There's quite a logic to that, I think. I would argue that jazz was the music form more than any other that combined all others into one. That makes it a pretty logical place to go if you want to create a compendium of American Folk Music on stage, if you want to be able to hold a bunch of musical idioms in one matrix.
While the Seeger Sessions work is not overtly political, for the most part, I don't think the project can be understood apart from Bruce's politics. As we know, Springsteen has been wearing his politics on his sleeve a lot lately. I always think it's funny when folks on the right wing complain about this; how soon we forget. It was Saint Ronnie who actually called Bruce out into the political arena, when he tried to appropriate Springsteen's music at the height of his fame. Basically, Springsteen was thrown bodily into the political arena by others.
And the way politics works, once you are there, you are there. There's no backing out. Even if you tried to leave politics behind, that in itself would be interpreted politically.
At the same time, every artist knows that the underlying purpose of art is to unite, and the underlying purpose of politics (as practised) is to divide. Bruce COULD have made an overtly political album, instead of Seeger Sessions, ala Neil Young. And that would have been great. But I think what he wanted was something larger than that - hence the leap of inspiration that led him to revisit not just the history of American Folk Music, but specifically those songs that have lost their power due to familiarity.
Country of immigrants. Country of struggle. Country that is shared. I think these are the things Springsteen wanted to remind us of. The miracle is that he has done it without turning into a schoolmaster. I remember the first song from the Seeger Sessions that I heard on the radio as clearly as if it were on right now. It was Erie Canal. I didn't even know it was Bruce until the announcer said his name. I just knew that I'd never heard a better version of the song and that I felt I understood the song better than I had before.
That's the joy of Seeger Sessions and Live in Dublin. They make you feel like centuries of American history are standing together on that stage, in that cd or vinyl or dvd player.
24 - Frauke
Couldn't agree more! I wrote my thesis on this topic - 170 pages on Bruce's politics. Enjoyed reading this.