Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 I love him! Greatest songwriter of all time...
HomesickAlien Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) You should be forewarned that Springsteen is reviled by many around here. I'm not quite sure why, but you'll find out. Edited October 25, 2013 by substancewithoutstyle
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 I know...partly why I made this poll...I want to know why!
HomesickAlien Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 I know...partly why I made this poll...I want to know why! You must be a glutton for punishment. Good luck.
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 I am curious! What can I say? But I will always be a massive fan, even if his last few albums were hardly him at his best!
Narps Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 There is no denying that the man has talent. Songwriting etc. Being the older gentleman that I am, I have obviously heard his music throughout my entire life. I have never been a fan or tried to go see him live or any of that. Some of his stuff is touching and some is " toe tapping ". Again as an older person he among many other popular artist's of the time were unavoidable. When I was growing up and in early adulthood his music was mixed in with many others on popular FM radio. I was busy trying my best to avoid that stuff. Taste in music, art etc is personal and if his music speaks to you and you go out of your way to listen to it you are obviously not alone. :codger: Quick Springsteen story from my youth: One of my best friends in high school was a huge Springsteen fan. He was also into The Clash and some other stuff that I was not. Anyway, he got 2 tickets to see Springsteen. This was in the very early 80's and he was the toughest ticket to get then. Maybe he still is. I have no idea. He was looking forward to this like it was the greatest thing he would ever do in his life. He went with another mutual friend. The night of the show the mutual friend got so wasted right before the show started and passed out, upchucked, the whole nine yards . Long story short he (they) never got to see the show. He talked about it for years after. I doubt he has forgiven him to this day. :boohoo:
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 Nice! I love so much of his stuff, I can look past the few bits and pieces I dislike without much fuss! His first four albums are absolute masterpieces. I could not pick a favourite (but The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle could very likely be The One!). The boxset of rarities entitled Tracks is an amazing selection of songs, most more than worthy of an album release, the first two discs being fine examples of Bruce in his element! The River, The Rising, Magic and the gorgeous double-album The Promise are further favourites! The latter is another selection of rarities and b-sides that had failed to make an album thirty years prior! Too many beloved Bruce songs, but Thundercrack and New Your City Serenade are songs I come to regularly, as I do Jungleland and Roulette.
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 Oh, and his own rendition of Because The Night (made famous by Patti Smith, written by him) is one of the most gorgeous soundingg love songs ever written!
RushBoingo Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 Well I don't know many Springsteen songs, in fact I only know two, Dancing in the Dark (which I love) and Born in the USA (which make me cringe). So I did not vote.
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 You must try Born In The USA acoustic! It wasn't intended to be this big anthem...and the lyrics are completely misunderstood...its not a patriotic "I love America" type song, and thats putting it mildly! The Born In The USA album is an important Springsteen album, but perhaps not truly essential. It represents only a shadow of his musical achievements, which is okay as it brought him the much needed attention his genius deserves! In all honesty, I like it (but not overly much...).
RushBoingo Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 You must try Born In The USA acoustic! It wasn't intended to be this big anthem...and the lyrics are completely misunderstood...its not a patriotic "I love America" type song, and thats putting it mildly! The Born In The USA album is an important Springsteen album, but perhaps not truly essential. It represents only a shadow of his musical achievements, which is okay as it brought him the much needed attention his genius deserves! In all honesty, I like it (but not overly much...).I don't know Bruce never seemed like my cup of tea from the songs that I can't name (because they did not impact me). I seem to only go for alternative bands/underappreciated bands (by which I mean within their genre). I will say this though, if I do have a change of heart on his music, I would be majorly excited for one of his famous four hour concerts.
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 His music is very much underappreciated. Born To Run, Born In The USA and much of The River is overexposed...rightly or wrongly... It took a while for his work to grow on me. Although his fan base is huge, I think its possible he may have three times as many haters. Either way, why is it so many Rush fans cannot stand him? Was their some sort of rivalry or coldness between the two? Their respective genres don't really have a middle ground...so I would imagine they aren't to each others taste..but what about a lot of you (fellow) Rush fans?
sitboaf Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) When I explored his first couple of albums recently (I was quite young when they came out) I found them amazingly original.However, my appreciation of Born To Run is dulled by overplay and countless imitations (not Bruce's fault, I know).After that, the quality got lower, and he got stuck in a car-song phase. Did he forgot how to write good lyrics? It seemed more and more like he just wanted to be liked. Then Born in the U.S.A. was adopted by the neo-conservative movement and played to death, so that was a further turn-off. (And yes, I know the title song is the depressing tale of a Vietnam soldier.) In the '90s, he got slower and s l o w e r and s l o w e r (the…se…cret…gar…den…zzzzzzzzz), finally joining Bryan Adams and Sting in the "how to make money after your nards are cut off by writing songs for movie soundtracks" club. After that, I just gave up. Sounds like there has been some good stuff (finally) lately, but I just don't care anymore. Edited October 25, 2013 by sitboaf 1
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 Try The Rising...honestly its brilliant, and its a fine blend of different styles. Im not keen on all his slower stuff, but every album has its gems! In the last 13 years, he has only had one album that I would deem slow. When you say first couple, which album are you referring to? A lot of people I speak to don't realise that Born To Run was his third release, as they thought it was his debut! And for the record, I adore BTR, but the two that preceeded it (Greetings From Asbury Park and The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle) and the one that came after (Darkness On The Edge Of Town) shine perhaps a little more brightly in my opinion! I love this man!
sitboaf Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 Try The Rising...honestly its brilliant, and its a fine blend of different styles. Im not keen on all his slower stuff, but every album has its gems! In the last 13 years, he has only had one album that I would deem slow. When you say first couple, which album are you referring to? A lot of people I speak to don't realise that Born To Run was his third release, as they thought it was his debut! And for the record, I adore BTR, but the two that preceeded it (Greetings From Asbury Park and The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle) and the one that came after (Darkness On The Edge Of Town) shine perhaps a little more brightly in my opinion! I love this man!I mean albums #1 and #2 - Greetings from Asbury Park and The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle. Such a unique vocal style. Too bad he couldn't sustain it.I find the song quality to be quite a bit better on Greetings.I will listen to The Rising a couple times on Spotify and see if it grabs me.
ReRushed Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 I like Bruce Springsteen, but I don't get the cultish admiration. I had a friend (he passed away four years ago) who worshipped Springsteen. A 10 night stand at Giants Stadium, he was there for at least 8 of the shows and for the following week he'd attend 3 out of 4 shows in Philadelphia. Washington D.C.? Yep, he was there. That says a lot about Springsteen's popularity. As for Rolling Stone magazine and rock critics in general there was never a box of Kleenex far away, so yeah, Springsteen is overrated. He puts on one hell of a concert (I saw him once and once was enough) and he's written some fantastic songs, some among my personal favorites. But he's not the greatest. 3
Lorraine Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 I am not familiar with anything he has done after the eighties, but I liked him back then. I don't know if he has changed, but back then he was down to earth. You never knew when he would show up at a Jersey shore bar. and mingle with everyone. He had a very heavy New Jersey fan base (not surprising).
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 I am not familiar with anything he has done after the eighties, but I liked him back then. I don't know if he has changed, but back then he was down to earth. You never knew when he would show up at a Jersey shore bar. and mingle with everyone. He had a very heavy New Jersey fan base (not surprising). He is still a good recording artist, and I think he is far more approachable and accessible now than he was in the nineties (although I find the politics of the last album a little too preachy for my liking).
hobo73 Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 oh GOD I hate that man's music. well, let me rephrase- the E Street band are very talented, awesome.His vocals.....like nails on a chalkboard. NEVER liked him. I hate his music so much lol. (at least I'm not like my husband- he only has to hear a split second of the music and he's like "MAKE IT F***IN STOP G**DAMN BRUCE!!!!!!!" I mean, he gets PISSED. lol.) His vocals suck. Songwriting, not so great IMO.Terribly overrated. 1
Yooper Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 I was a fan for some time in the 80s and 90s then he turned far too political for my tastes. A shame too because I did enjoy what he released. I won't listen to a thing put out by him anymore.
Segue Myles Posted October 25, 2013 Author Posted October 25, 2013 oh GOD I hate that man's music. well, let me rephrase- the E Street band are very talented, awesome.His vocals.....like nails on a chalkboard. NEVER liked him. I hate his music so much lol. (at least I'm not like my husband- he only has to hear a split second of the music and he's like "MAKE IT F***IN STOP G**DAMN BRUCE!!!!!!!" I mean, he gets PISSED. lol.) His vocals suck. Songwriting, not so great IMO.Terribly overrated. I will admit to understanding your view on his music. I think his voice is love/hate thing. I love a lot of his stuff, but I ueed to find he E Street Band pulled me into a song, and Bruces voice would push me away! And his songwriting, especially his early years, is definitely all over the place. I get this hatred! Although it works for me, I can see where your coming from! I was a fan for some time in the 80s and 90s then he turned far too political for my tastes. A shame too because I did enjoy what he released. I won't listen to a thing put out by him anymore. Yes I agree...I still enjoy the music but the lyrics are a little to preachy for my tastes! Still...I can take his recent stuff in moderate doses. He is still far better than mkst acts half his age!
Hatchetaxe&saw Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 Love him now, not so much in my youth. But, the last decade or so I've dug deep. Seen him live a bunch of times. His first 2 are good, but he really came in to his own with Darkness On The Edge of Town(The Promise box set OH MY GOD!) & Born To Run. Candy's Room is one of the most exciting things I've ever heard. I think some of the Rush fan Bruce hate is politically motivated, which is nuts if true. I could be wrong. But I love him, a rocker and a poet. 2
thesweetscience Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 I place him somewhere between mildly overrated and ridiculously overrated. I put him up there with U2 in the category of decent talent with a few really good songs but not nearly the Gods that some people think they are. My opinion of course. 3
Lorraine Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 Candy's Room is one of the most exciting things I've ever heard.Thanks for reminding me about that song. I used to love it.
custom55 Posted October 25, 2013 Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) There is only one song that I REALLY LIKE from Bruce...I'm from NJ and I'm not a fan...ooops. I've been to a few of his concert ( taken by friends ) and he does put on a good show. I was in Asbury Park last weekend just walking the boardwalk. I've been to MANY shows in the 70's at the Asbury Park Convention Hall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJQ5A3qHgOo Edited October 25, 2013 by custom55
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