Bruce Springsteen

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Badlands…gee I remember Melb 2017 when that came on and the Pit went wild

It’s one of those songs I’ve got off his website for various Live shows across his career and the most recent incarnations live bring a full band sound that I simply love

I’m worried that a lot of the songs you have mentioned are probably in my top 10 so I’m keen to see what the remaining list will be !😊
 
The Wild the Innocent is another album that grows with you, when I first heard it in my teens it was about the possibilities of youth, I wanted to hang with Rosie and Spanish Johnny and Puerto Rican Jane, smoke weed on the beach with Sandy. I managed my own version of that and now I put that album on and relax with my own memories.
 
Gasometer said:
Badlands…gee I remember Melb 2017 when that came on and the Pit went wild

It’s one of those songs I’ve got off his website for various Live shows across his career and the most recent incarnations live bring a full band sound that I simply love

I’m worried that a lot of the songs you have mentioned are probably in my top 10 so I’m keen to see what the remaining list will be !😊
Click to expand...
That's the beauty of music - all subjective. What you love, I may not and vice versa.

What's your 10 anyway?
 

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14) I’m Goin’ Down (Born In The USA)

But when we kiss I can feel a doubt

Much like Dancing In The Dark, I’m Goin’ Down’s upbeat arrangement and melody hides its darker meaning.

I feel like I’m Goin’ Down is the forgotten track off Born In The USA, the others get heaps of coverage, and this feels like it’s not as frequent as the others, which is a shame, because it’s so much fun.

Highlighting the deterioration of a relationship, it may as well have the final nail in its coffin. The good times are gone, and whatever the guy in the song does, he cannot win.

What I love most about the track is the intro with just the guitar and the vocal. The guitar has some grunt and attitude to it.

While the lyrics may be simple, the imagery is clear and plain to see.

I’m Goin Down may be not as complex as other songs, but it doesn’t need to be. Less is definitely more in this case. The track is an absolute blast to listen to and hear it a show.

This version below is much longer than the standard live takes. It was done on a sweltering night in Sevilla, there is a breakdown, and Steve plays a reasonably long sizzling solo that takes the track to nearly six minutes long.



13) New York City Serenade (The Wild, The Innocent and The E-Street Shuffle)

Hey vibes man, hey jazz man, oh play me your serenade

Without fail, every single time, New York City Serenade floors me with its stunning beauty.

How this was written before he turned 25 is completely unfathomable. Something so grandiose, so ambitious, so exceptional is something I struggle to fully understand. To compose something like this at that age is remarkable.

From the very beginning, it’s clear we’re in for a spectacle. Roy’s work is nothing short of exceptional. It’s breathtaking to both watch and listen to as the piano takes us on a journey that twists and turns, twirls and dips before finally plateauing and leading the way for the remainder of the track. It’s perfect at what it does as it creates the melody after the impressive, dramatic, jazzy introduction. David Sancious was told in the studio to “do what you want as long as you want”, pretty incredible stuff considering what came out of it.

When the acoustic guitar joins it, it only adds to the charm of track. It begins to set the scene, beginning to lead us on the journey for what’s to follow. The vocal is beautifully tender and expertly controlled, and is perfect accompaniment to the already stunning arrangement.

The introduction of the strings is executed to absolute perfection. Their addition effortlessly helps the song ascend into another dimension that it’s almost ethereal. They soar so gracefully and effortlessly while whisking you away. Close your eyes, New York City is so close you can almost smell it.

With everything else to focus on, it’s hard to notice the bass. But when you hone in on it, you can feel it floating by at points, standing back at others, or up front when asked to be. Bass may not be appreciated by some people, but the role it has in a song like this shows how essential it is – especially when you can hear it at the front of the mix with the strings. Like the strings, it is elegant in appearance.

The saxophone is wonderful, at times taking centre stage, but taking nothing away from all the other instruments. Hearing it fly in the last few minutes is great after only minor flurries earlier on. It isn’t often the sax isn’t the hero of the track, but this time, the glory belongs to those glorious strings.

The song is an excellent example of how finely tuned The E-Street Band is, and is perfection in every sense of the word.

I walked down 5th Avenue in NYC in the snow listening to this song. It is one of the greatest moments of my life.

There are only a handful songs which I attach the word masterpiece to. This is one of them.



12) Ghosts (Letter To You)

By the end of the set we leave no one alive

Ghosts grabbed me as soon as I heard it the very first time. My ears pricked up immediately and I was hooked from those opening bars. Those thumping drums, and then Bruce roaring that opening line at me, I was hooked, and have been ever since.

I love everything about Ghosts. Its themes, the power and force behind it, the lyrics, the imagery, all of it resonates so deep inside me.

The guitars are full of power, the sax is jubilant, the piano and organ both sound cheerful, and the E-Street Band are doing what they do best, and that is act in cohesion.

With how incredible live shows are, I love how Bruce has channelled the feeling we all feel at shows. The stage is home, the stage is a safe place, and Bruce playing to us, at a show is the exact same feeling.

I’m alive…



11) Thunder Road (Born To Run)

Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk

Is there a better introduction to an album than Thunder Road? Hint: The answer is no. To begin an album with an opening like that is genius. It isn’t pretentious, it’s not judgmental, it’s not intrusive, it’s warm, it’s friendly, it’s freeing.

Thunder Road takes you on a ride that makes you feel anything is possible. It makes you believe that you can reach the unthinkable, do the impossible, reach for the stars and conquer the difficult things in life. It gives you unfounded belief you didn’t know you had. It exudes everything that a fan feels not only hearing this song, but being at a show. It makes you feel alive.

That harmonica just screams liberation, freedom and escape all wrapped into one. It shines so brightly in tandem with the piano guiding it along. The sound of youth, the sounds of freedom and innocence all come to greet you so welcomingly, and you’re grateful for the introduction.

The images are so innocent and warming. If you’ve never pictured Mary dancing across your porch have you even lived? The image is so stark and stands at the centre of my mind, completely unobstructed.

The guitar has a real drive to it, even though it is not as prominent as it is in other tracks. The vocal is full of youthful exuberance.

The last verse rises above everything that’s come so far, the vocal is passionately raised, and the music matches the conviction in both the lyric and vocals. The thumping of the drums going blow for blow with the vocal so determinedly. It’s a joy to behold.

That final sax break is a thing of beauty. It’s playing as the characters are pulling out of that town to win, driving off into the sunset. The hope is riding in that car with them, with whatever their future awaits.

Turn it up, and let that wind blow back your hair. Because that my friends is what Thunder Road so vehemently demands. And it’s nothing less than it deserves.

 
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10) The Ties That Bind (The River)

It’s a long dark highway on a thin white line, connecting baby your hear to mine

I cannot get enough of Ties. It’s so damn uplifting, its energy is contagious, its passion electric. I can play it over and over and over and not tire of it. Spoiler: it’s my favourite song on The River, and obviously I hold it in very high stead, because there aren’t many songs that can top it for me. I think the hook, combined with the energy the track gives off is what does it.

Whether it be an album opener on The River or a show opener, The Ties That Bind is excellent at both. With its crashing snare drums and energetic guitar riff, the scene is set for what is to follow.

It’s a high octane track that really only lets up in the bridge and it brims with unnerving energy. The organs that soar in the background are stunning, the twangy guitar is by your side the whole way, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better hook than the ties that bai-ai-ai-ai-ai-ai-ind. And Max’s work behind the kit is full of zest and

The sax break is so jubilant and uplifting and is an excellent link to the last verse. It lifts the whole track onto another level, it’s that good. The bass and organs are also worth paying attention to here too.

The vocal conviction in this track is almost unmatched. Hearing the exclamation of “you can’t break the ties that bind!” at the end of the final verse is incredibly powerful and equally stirring. I particularly love Max’s work on this track, those regular drum rolls fill me with hope, joy, and promise.

You can’t break the ties that bind.



9) Night (Born To Run)

You work nine to five and somehow you survive til the night

There is only one way to listen to Night. And it’s very, very loud. Turn it up as loud as you can, you will not regret it. I urge you to.

Night comes flying at you a million miles an hour. It is virtually unstoppable in its high voltage head first charge at you. It’s like a shot of adrenaline locked on to you like a homing missile. It’s inescapable and you can’t help but let it take control of you.

Night will forever be one of my favourite Bruce Springsteen songs. It’s easy to forget about it, though. Born To Run has so many great songs, and so many of those songs are considered among the best he’s written, but Night – I feel – is often forgotten, among all that. There is so much to love about this track.

You’re assaulted with a barrage of instruments. The guitars whack you with their real grunt and grab you by the scruff of the neck with their sheer power. The saxophone blows you 10 feet back and the drums, piano and bass all hit you collectively, leaving you unaware what to focus on after being knocked out into a musical daze.

We’ve all connected with the more obvious themes in Night at one point or another in our lives. Working that job, hanging for the weekend, wanting something better out of our lives than that shitty, dead-end, 9-5 job, with a boss you absolutely loathe. You’re hanging out for the night, to bust out of there and feel alive.

It’s one of the all time great Springsteen driving songs. It’s filled with references of being on the road, most likely on a motorbike and it’s incredibly difficult not to be swept away with its references. I mean if the lines

And sit at the light, as it changes to green
With your faith in your machine off you scream into the night

If that doesn’t make you want to floor it, then are you even alive?

Underneath the onslaught of sound that is Night, there is a beautiful romanticism tucked away. And that folks, is that.



8) Something In The Night (Darkness On The Edge Of Town)

Well you can ride this road til dawn without another human being in sight

One take. That’s all it took to record to this. That is incredible.

The haunting melody on the piano is excellent, and the rumbling of the toms – along with the driving piano – amplifies the tension with each passing bar during the introduction of Something In The Night. It sends a shiver up my spine nearly every time. You can really feel the hurt and pain behind those wails before the band crash in to really symbolise it.

The imagery is so powerful on the dark ride it takes you on, through Kingsley. Our character is alone behind the wheel, in the black of the night, hurtling towards the unknown. I imagine the surroundings to be so bare, and desolate. The only light around is from that of the dashboard. He’s surrounded by the woods, and there is nobody out there for miles.

The drums and piano work so perfect in unison, and are such a potent tool in this track as the song is driven on by them. Max’s work on this track is flawless. He nails it.

The breakdown is brilliant where it’s just the vocal, kick drum and the tom – which was completely unplanned in the recording – Bruce threw his arms up and Max instinctively knew to stop – before a wail breaks everything and in come crashing drums and guitars to highlight the pain once again. When the guitar comes back the sheer sound of force is fantastic. It would have to be one of my favourite pieces of his entire catalogue.

The highlight of this track for me is the arrangement and composition. It’s one of the best, if not the best, dark track in his entire catalogue. Perfection.

If there was ever a clip to represent this song, this is it. A song I love to listen to when it’s raining.



7) Born To Run (Born To Run)

We’re gonna get to that place where we really wanna go

There are not many songs which start off as exhilarating as Born To Run. It makes your heart race, and it fills you with euphoria from the very beginning. Your heart rate increases and there is an enormous grin plastered across your face that nobody can get rid of. It’s spine tingling.

From that opening drum roll on the snare, the horns, glockenspiel, the guitar – in all its grunting might –, bass and piano, the wall of sound envelops you with sheer force and unrelenting pressure, and you can't help but to be soaked up in it all. It’s hard to work out what to focus on and where to listen, all of it is so good.

The first verse takes us back to the familiar lives of blue collar workers, and these guys want to get out of their town, it’s ripping the bones from their back. They don’t want to be there still when they’re old. They want to get out while they’re young.

It’s so alike to Thunder Road – for me – where it makes you believe anything is possible. It spurs you on, it’s the sound of freedom and liberation. The passion in the vocal is exhilarating and inspiring, and I feel this only adds to the feelings produced while listening to this.

I love the hope and innocence in the words of the second verse “I want to know if love is wild, I want to know if love is real”. We’ve all been there, but there is a sweet innocence to them, and I think it’s because when it was written he was still so young, and perhaps discovering who he was as a person.

The sax solo brims with hope, courage, and fearlessness before we hit the bridge. I love the image of girls combing their hair in the rearview mirrors. I picture it every time in my mind without fail. The guitar break with the sax really drives things forward at the end of this verse. It’s echoing the characters conviction in the song, pushing them to go for it.

The last verse is sheer ecstasy. The whole song builds up to that point, and once you hit that final verse everything erupts and you reach the summit with joy pouring out of every pore. There is jubilation, triumph and accomplishment. Him and Wendy have made it, they’ve got out. They’ve left the town that rips the bones from their back, If you feel anything less than on top of the world at that point, you are simply not human.

Born To Run is a four and half minute exhilarating rock and roll power ride that you don't want to end. Born To Run IS Bruce Springsteen.



6) Incident on 57th Street (The Wild, The Innocent And The E-Street Shuffle)

Upstairs a band was playing and the singer was singing something about going home

It is simply astonishing that a song with a bar set so high was written so early not just in his career, but in his life. It makes you sit there and scratch your head how someone so young could pen an absolute masterpiece (arguably at least his third by this point in his career). The track is outstanding with its cinematic story telling. I feel as if I am there, witnessing right before my very eyes, the story told in this song.

Incident On 57th Street starts on a high and it never drops from there. The piano is so delicate and draws you in, using the organ in support, while the guitar blows you away with its quick uppercut of power.

"Spanish Johnny drove in from the underworld last night."

What an opening line; up there with the very best in his songbook. We meet Spanish Johnny – and for me, the greatest named Springsteen character in all of his songs. Johnny is a street fighter, and he loves it. He’s offered his feelings to street workers, but they’re not interested. The pimps accusing of being both a cheater and liar. But he soon meets Puerto Rican Jane – another excellently named character – who he seems to be falling for. He wants to take her away from this dark side of town, the underworld.

I absolutely love beginning of the second verse, the phrasing, delivery and structure is perfect and I cannot put in words enough how much I love it.

Well, like a cool Romeo he made his moves, oh, she looked so fine
Like a late Juliet, she knew she'd never be true but then, she really didn't mind
Upstairs a band was playin' and the singer was singin' something about going home

He plays Romeo, to her Juliet. But as much as he loves this girl, the allure of street fighting is too hard to resist.

It’s quite sad that Johnny has found Jane, but she just can’t give him enough fulfilment. The verse where Jane wakes up to see Johnny putting his clothes in is incredibly powerful and vivid. It’s like a movie, and you’re witnessing all this, and you’re shouting at your television in vain at Johnny to not do what he’s going to do – leave Jane.

The breakdown – also in the aforementioned section – with the bass is wonderful. It is like it’s the ticking of the clock, you’re just watching time pass and in this instance, the bass is the time as each note ticks on in the story. It’s also worth paying attention to the organ too throughout the track. It’s magnificent.

The instrumental after the story has been wrapped up is phenomenal. The solo is freakin’ outstanding. It goes for about two and half minutes and I never want it to stop when it does. Not the song needed any more elevation, but this lifts it even higher than humanly possible. You can hear the wails of Jane, and notes tinged with regret of Johnny’s actions. It rises and rises before plateauing and eventually wavering out, to leave the piano to confirm our worst fears. Johnny’s gone and he ain’t coming back.

 
5) I Wanna Be With You (Tracks)

I come when you whisper, I run when you call

From its opening chords I Wanna Be With You electrifies you. I loved this song from the first moment I heard it. I fell in it love with it instantly and it’s still reeling me in. It can completely transform my mood.

The intro with the guitar welcomed me with open arms with its raw power and the piano made me want to stay even longer, and I absolutely loved the big beat too.

It’s fun, and doesn’t take itself seriously at all. I Wanna Be With You doesn’t aim to knock you out of the ballpark. It’s a simple pop/rock song about the declaration of love for another person.

The lyrics are goofy and it’s hard not to have a smile on your face on especially in the second verse;

Now I lost my job at the Texaco station
'Cause instead of pumping gas I'd dream of you

The sax solo sparks new levels of joy, and the oomph of the guitar only adds to it.

You can hear the joy coming out in the vocal. One of his boisterous best. So damn fun.

Hands down the best version on YouTube is this one below.



4) Growin’ Up (Greetings From Asbury Park)

When they said sit down, I stood up

Growin’ Up is the sound of youthful innocence, fun and naivety without demonstrating a care in the world that it lacks life experience. Growin’ Up is the youngest person in the room and not giving a shit at all, but holding all the confidence.

The piano is bright and full of life. It sparks joy and a curious wonder. It’s engaging and warm. It makes you want to know what is to come. It continues through the duration of the track in the same vein.

Growin’ Up is exactly what the title alludes to. There is no hidden metaphor or meaning behind the title. And I think part of that is what makes Growin’ Up so wonderful.

The sax continues with the ride of joy and fun, and it also brims with a nonchalant innocence. Hearing that piano melody the whole way through is wonderful too.

I love hearing everything musically tighten up at the beginning of the last verse, almost like it’s being constricted, only to explode again like an atomic bomb. It’s a declaration of not caring who he is, and how he is seen.

The conviction and delivery in that second line of the last verse about being the cosmic kid is a joy to behold.

The killer line though is

And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car

We’ve all got our own engine of an old parked car. I’m probably one of the youngest in this group and grew up not as long ago as some others here. But it’s a beautiful thing finding something you absolutely love that you can connect with like nothing you ever have before. As a kid, my love for music came from a very early age, and while I still can’t sing to save my life, or play any instrumentthe bond I developed with music early on, thanks to my dad, has been by my side for as long as I can remember.

Hearing the track on Broadway was something else altogether. Being in that tiny theatre, after traveling all the way from Australia, was the greatest musical experience of my life. I was captivated from the moment he hit the stage. The crispness of the opening notes on the acoustic guitar left me awe-struck with the clarity and its surprising power.

The best thing about Growin’ Up though is that it makes you feel OK if you’re different.

Growin’ Up is another song that is magical and brings me extraordinary amounts of joy whenever I listen to it. It’s a peach of a track.

The story after the bridge here is magnificent. 6.48 is AMAZING.



3) Lost In The Flood (Greetings From Asbury Park)

Everything stops, you hear five quick shots

Lost In The Flood is without a doubt one of the finest pieces of work Bruce has, and will ever create. It's a dark masterpiece that uses a gunfight as its backdrop to hook us in. He's given the characters in this memorable names, and this tied in with how the song builds an incredible amount of tension make it remarkable.

The cinematic story telling which unravels, its musical nuances are incredible and the images that it allows the listener to visualise are all unbelievably powerful. To think all this is off his first album, written in his early 20s makes it all the more unbelievable. I don’t think there is a song with starker imagery than this. Period.

The musical nuances in this track which I alluded to earlier – when performed live – are absolutely second to none in what I’ve heard in music. They are brilliant touches which only amplify his greatness as a musician and a songwriter.

The opening of Flood lets us know danger is in the air. It's imminent. The feedback from the electric guitar gives you the first indication you should be getting out of here as fast you can. Then you can hear it in the notes of Roy's piano. While it is not sudden, you know what follows isn't going to be good, you can almost sense it. You're made to wait and keep checking over your shoulder. Roy's piano is full of swagger, suspense and tension. You can hear the drama that lies under all those notes, just waiting to pounce. There’s an impending doom that is just around the corner and you’re powerless to stop it.

The story begins with the introduction of the Ragamuffin Gunner, and some religious references - to the holy stone and nuns. We meet another character - Sticker - in the first verse, but only for one line, as he smiles at our gunner. There is a narrator who poses a question to Gunner. The flood however, may be a metaphor. What for, I'm not sure exactly, but it's definitely not one of those face value statements. The vocal is powerful and it's loaded with conviction.

There is only a brief break in vocals but, barely enough time to catch our breath. We're introduced to a street racer - Jimmy the Saint (which will forever remain one of the all time great Springsteen characters). Jimmy the Saint's whole introduction is fantastic. Yeah, we know he is a street racer. But we are awarded with this extraordinary image of his racer, how it looks, and how he regales stories. And during this, Bruce's vocals go up a level and you can hear him really going for it. Immediately following, The E-Street Band announce themselves, charging in at full force, like an unexpected crack of thunder and flexing all their muscles while doing so. It’s almost as if the band’s introduction signals the beginning of the peril that is alluded to in the song’s introduction. The drums crash, the organ wails, the piano screams, and we're fully aware of the The E-Street Band's omnipotence. A destructive forced not be reckoned with. There is a wall of sound that is unrelenting and it completely swallows you whole. You’re left, gasping for air in the tsunami of music that has just crashed down upon you.

We meet the blaze and noise boy straight after Jimmy The Saint, who is reckless and holds no fear, though it becomes his own undoing. The imagery to describe his downfall is nothing short of spectacular. I mean, riding head first into a hurricane. How powerful is that? It paints the character with this don't-give-a-shit-attitude, while at the same time it progresses the song to its next point, his death. The drums continue to boom, the piano pins us down, forcing us to watch the carnage unfold before us.

By this point, I'm so far invested in the song, I need to know how this street tragedy unfolds. I'm engrossed in this story. I feel like I'm right there, hiding behind a dumpster watching this all unfold in front of my own eyes, and I’m unable to look away, no matter how much fury is to come. I need to know more. I have to know more.

Things have begun to simmer. The chaos has subsided, but only temporarily. By the third line however, we're hit smack bang in the face with another standout line - And Bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware. Isn't the imagery there outstanding? The image it paints is stark and doesn't leave anything to spare. I have this incredible image sitting at the forefront of my mind with this character, facing up to the enemy with his hand on his holster, ready to have a gun fight. He's going for it. He's not going to hold back. One of the musical nuances is put to good use here – the lyrics “you hear five quick shots and the cops come up for air” immediately following the five quick shots line, you hear Max bash the snare to represent the five shots. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG, he’s dead. It only adds to the spectacle and engrosses you further.

The last half of the third verse is where things definitely reach a climax. The Whizbang Gang (another excellent name for some characters) are now brought to the fore, and they're creating all sorts of chaos and havoc. The gang are now unleashing their fury, Roy tickles the ivories to echo Bruce's words of the gang shooting up the street. The cat tries to retaliate, but it's all in vain and he's quickly dealt with, and just like that, he's dead, much like the kid who comes blasting round the corner.

We're are yet again presented with some more fantastic imagery, with the boy laying on the street holding his leg. It's a deep lyric and is quite confronting given the circumstances around it. Yet again, another musical nuance announces itself. Max's drums thunder to resemble the thumping of the body hitting the ground. Again, another great lyric. This track is littered with them, and they're all outstanding. While it may only be subtle, these nuances add another dimension to the song and take it to the next level.

Bruce's solo at the end is searing and unforgiving. His playing describes the chaos that has ensued. It’s wild, reckless and merciless. The drumming only echos the points the guitar is making, and the piano hammers the point home some more just in case you didn’t quite get it. It slowly winds down, though it does take its time getting there however. Hearing that organ slowly fade out just before the closing piano is fantastic.. And just like that the song ends with Roy, just as it begun. A very clever touch.

It astounds me how someone so young, and so innocent in that time of their life was able to produce such a masterpiece. It leaves me floored and amazed that something so intense was portrayed with such ease, and in a fantastic amount of detail.



2) Jungleland (Born To Run)

Kids flash guitars just like switchblades

Whatever anybody says about Jungleland will never do the song the justice it truly deserves. It will forever be the greatest song I’ll ever hear in my life and nothing else will ever come close. The song is perfect. It cannot be improved, it cannot be beaten. From the moment I first heard it when I was about 20, I knew I’d never hear a better song than it for the rest of my life.

The introduction is stunning. The violin is perfect, as is the piano, and neither give any indication of the havoc that is to follow. I get this whimsical feeling, and feelings of joy and intrigue. The swirling organ only adds to the charm and mystery.

Another one of the great Springsteen characters is introduced virtually right away – The Magic Rat. The lines immediately following about the Barefoot Girl are a brilliant piece of imagery. It’s such an innocent image. Then, they’re driving away together.

The organ during this first verse is exceptional. While the piano may be standing ever so delicately in the spotlight, the organ slowly builds with each line from about halfway through and you can hear the force behind it as it races to join up with the band. The piano also generates more drama and tension in its playing, and come those first words of Jungleland, The E-Street Band have taken off and are on an ascension to greatness like you’ve never heard before.

That third verse is exceptional as a whole (especially the organ!). I can’t pinpoint one line that’s better than the others. But I do love the story it tells. It begins with The Midnight Gang (another excellent name – I wonder if they share turf with the Whizgang Bang from Lost In The Flood?), selecting a meeting point for a deal of some sort. The line about the Exxon sign is yet again another excellent use of imagery and it’s hard not have this at the forefront of your mind as soon as you hear it. I love the use of both opera and the ballet to describe vastly different situations.

Kids flashing guitars like switchblades is an excellent command of the English language and I love that the guitar is being used like it’s a weapon. I just love the line “the hungry and the hunted explode into rock and roll bands”. It just sparks so much joy and enthusiasm inside me.

The guitar solo – one of Steve’s finest – is clinical and as it sends us to the bridge, and I think the bridge highlights that if you’re away from the thick of it, you can be completely oblivious to what is occurring in the outside world. Bruce’s guitar in the bridge is ****ing epic, full of power and grunt. It’s doing all the heavy lifting – but only temporarily.

The saxophone solo almost creates the bridge in the song which takes us from the rock opera, to the drama that unfolds in the back end. It starts slowly, climbing a staircase ascending to the heavens, and then soars – incredibly high – and hovers there for some time, before slowly descending to the chaos back on street level. While it’s easy to be seduced by the saxophone, the bass supporting it is stunning in its own right, creating a stable foundation. The piano leads us down a darkened path, and it is from there we gain a deeper understanding of what is going on.

The Rat has got himself in trouble, and it seems nobody cares that he’s gone

Just Bruce and the piano in those closing verses is stunning. The vocal tension is a masterclass, and those howls to close are nothing words can do justice. What a way to close out an album. Superb.

The E-Street Band don’t just make music, they make magic.



1) Backstreets (Born To Run)

But I hated him and I hated you when you went away

How can you adequately put into words your favourite song without feeling like you’ve not made a real hash of it?

From the opening bars of Backstreets it’s clear that you’re in for a spectacle. The piano is grand in its sound, and demands attention during the stirring introduction it provides. The rumbling of the floor tom give the intro more power and drive, with the bass lending a strong a hand. The organ is exquisite and only adds to the awe-inspiring wall of sound as it swirls around everything. But when the guitar comes in, it’s like a giant wave has just crashed. You can feel the intensity rise with each note and the song is demanding your full attention as you’re engulfed in the wall of sound. There is no greater moment for me in music when I hear the combination of everything, it is perfect in every sense of the word.

Backstreets is full of hurt, pain, anger, sorrow and a whole heap of disappointment. The exclamation in the chorus is powerful and it’s easy to sympathise with our narrator when he proclaims “hiding on the backstreets”, and having a love so hard, but being filled with defeat is so bittersweet.

That pain and hurt I mentioned earlier is ever present in the bridge. The intensity and pain is pouring out the lyrics and you can hear it in the delivery. The shift in music also demonstrates this. You can hear the instruments tighten, and we’re taken away from the thumping drums – but only momentarily. The stability is still there, but the command isn’t quite as strong. The piano charges forward, and the power in the guitar is taken all the way up to 11, in between remarkable flurries on the piano and organ. Those final lines of the bridge stained with resentment and betrayal set up the solo perfectly.

The guitar solo is full of torment and heartbreak. You can hear the tears pouring out of some those notes as they fly out rapidly at you. It’s undoubtedly one of his best solos.

The breakdown is stunning. The vocal is full of soul, passion and longing, and the slow build gets better and better as each second passes. The piano slowly building with the vocal gaining that little bit more intensity and momentum in tandem each time, and hearing the drums thump, and thump and thump, all before reaching a brilliant crescendo where The E-Street Band knock you out with their all encompassing power. Steve’s backing vocals here too are perfect.

Backstreets is flawless when looked at in every light. There are no blemishes or imperfections.

I’d have listened to this song easily – with no exaggeration – over 2000 times, and I never tire of it. And I never will.

We swore forever friends.

 
I like version of Growin Up on 75-85 when he talks to his parents about their hopes for him as a child and ends the monologue with "tonight you're going to have to settle for rock n roll" and the band goes nuts. Spine tingling stuff.
 

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Gough said:
I like version of Growin Up on 75-85 when he talks to his parents about their hopes for him as a child and ends the monologue with "tonight you're going to have to settle for rock n roll" and the band goes nuts. Spine tingling stuff.
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That is from the Roxy venue in LA - West Hollywood show on 7th July 1978. I have been playing that show a lot in my car the last 3 or 4 weeks and he does a number of monologues on that show, as it was broadcast live on a local radio station and syndicated around the nation - "For all those bootleggers out there, roll your tapes."

Of his first 11 tracks on Live 1975-85, 8 come from that show. The opening track Thunder Road came from the Roxy but in 1975
 

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