Did we really understand it, this album about what happened to the kids that met 'neath that giant Exxon sign, that raced in the streets, that dreamt of escaping the workin', the workin', just the workin' life? Did we know about getting shot point blank by the pretty lies that they sell? Or that you can become the hand that turns the key to the jackson cage? We did, and we didn't. Bruce told us what we were going to face, but we were different. We had the courage and the vision. The Big Chill was for others.
Then came "Nebraska." Stark, down tempo, downright scary in places. I knew it was great, but I was a 19-year-old college sophomore. Me and my fellow rockers wanted, naturally, to rock. We listened. We went down in the well with Springsteen, but we needed more air, our limbs were loose and the night was calling.
By the time Bruce was ready to rock again, we'd moved on to The Talking Heads, Richard Thompson, Warren Zevon, Lou Reed, the Psychedellic Furs, The Blasters, John Prine, Marshall Crenshaw, REM, Bob Marley, plus standbys like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, the Stones, the Who, and Elvis Costello. And Bruce's 1984 release, "Born in the USA," just didn't measure up. It was watered down and amped up, it was large and anthemic at the price of depth and musical interest. Whereas "The River" sounded like a great band tearing it up and caught live in the studio (and mixed to perfection), "Born in the USA" sounded manufactured. Noel called it "Boring the USA."
Yet the CD was popular. Everyone was embracing our Bruce. But he wasn't our Bruce anymore. This was the world turned upside down. Bruce was supposed to be one of us. We were going to take on the world with Bruce leading the way, brandishing his guitar like the ultimate weapon to cut away the dross. Baby this town rips the bones from your back, but we were gonna get out, together. We were gonna tear down that sign on the edge of town that counts how many have fallen away to the price you pay.
Now, he'd left us. Dancing in the Dark? We hated it (synthesizers!?!) Born in the USA? Dull. Glory Days? Weak. What happened, Bruce? we asked. This may sound funny, but it hurt.
The Rising
With "The Rising," Bruce is back with his first studio album with the E-Street Band since that dark time. I'm married with two girls. I'm older than Bruce was when "Born in the USA" was released. Bruce isn't my idol anymore. He fell and crashed into a million pieces, and I did too. I've put myself back together, and I'm groping my way toward a more personal definition of adulthood. I see heroes everywhere now. The independent journalist, doctors, rescue and relief workers, my Mom and Dad, people doing the best they can with what they have.
Article comments
1 - Jimmy Jazz
The glory of Bruce in the mid-70's is one of the few things that makes me wish I were older.
Good piece.
2 - George Partington
Thanks, Jimmy Jazz. I only wish I had discovered Bruce before his 1978 visit to the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Ga. The show was broadcast, and I did pick up a copy of it a couple years later. Oh my, was Bruce ever on fire then. If you can find it, I highly recommend that show, or some others from that tour I'm aware of (many were broadcast on FM radio) such as Winterland and Philadelphia.
3 - Chris Browne
Well, Bruce is back to his best.
4 - Leon
Joey Fabian never understood..........
5 - XB Cold Fingers
Thanks. While I grew up on Dylan and Phil Ochs, courtesy of older brothers, I followed a similar path to Bruce in high school. So while others were listening to pop from Billy Joel to Stevie Wonder I listened to "Greetings From Asbury Park" and "The Wild, the Innocent, and the E. Street Shuffle." These are timeless, as is "The Rising."
6 - XB Cold Fingers
After watching the World Trade Center burn and fall - from Broadway between 34th St and 18th St - I wrote "City of Heroes," along with a few hundred thousand other people who responded with their guitars, pens and keyboards. My friends said "this is good but ... listen to 'The Rising.'" I did. Over and over again. Then I wrote "Gone Now Forever," which can be streamed (free) from xbcoldfingers.com slash gonenowforever.mp3