Tag Archives: Bruce Springsteen

Deutsche Grammophon

Used record stores (or any kind of record store) are so rare nowadays that I always try to track them down whenever I’m on my travels. On my recent trip to Germany, I found myself with a few hours to kill in Nuremberg. After a quick search on the internet I saw that there were no fewer than three situated on a street called Jakobstrasse. I found the street quite easily (a rarity for me) and the first shop I made it to was the one you see above, Copacabana Records. The store was longer than it was wide and with a high ceiling, but it was nicely laid out and very tidy. The main area was given over to loads of vinyl records and these seemed to be quite reasonably priced. Unfortunately, I had to ignore these as I wouldn’t have been able to fit them into my luggage. I found the CDs in the corner and these were as neatly arranged as the records. There were lots of jazz, rock & roll, blues and soul and I found a few bargains amongst these. Live in Dublin by Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band is a nicely packaged double CD with a DVD and was the most expensive album I bought on this excursion, though it was still good value at two euro below a tenner. The other four I bought here cost that much between them and, having listened to them, some proved to be better value than others. Brook Benton was mostly known for A Rainy Night in Georgia and it’s the best song on Fools Rush In. Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs had a big hit with the hilarious Woolly Bully and, listening to their Greatest Hits, it’s easy to see why they didn’t have any more. I only knew J.B. Lenoir from Elvis Costello’s version of Eisenhower Blues from his King of America album and that’s not even the best song on this collection. I’ve already got far too many collections of northern soul, but that didn’t stop me picking up After Hours 2: More Northern Soul Masters. I found it hard to pick one track from the album but eventually plumped for Archie Bell & the Drells

Continue reading →

Teardrops On The City

Last night, Clarence Clemons passed away six months shy of his 70th birthday in Florida. Also known as “The Big Man” ever since Bruce sang about him on Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Clarence was an integral part of the E Street Band’s sound and particularly for his energetic stage presence. I was fortunate to see the E Street Band on two occasions and getting to see The Big Man was a highlight each time. It was pretty hard for anyone to compete with Bruce’s on-stage antics, but Clarence and, to a lesser extent, Max Weinberg were the only ones who succeeded in taking some of the limelight off the bandleader. Clarence’s saxophone was mostly to the fore on the Born to Run album, but he was also responsible for some percussion and vocal duties after that. He worked with loads of other musicians besides Bruce and released many albums in his own right. His version of an unreleased Springsteen track called Savin’ Up is taken from a 1997 tribute to The Boss called One Step Up – Two Steps Back. In 1985, his duet with Jackson Browne, You’re a Friend of Mine, was a hit in the United States. I’m sure it will get a few more airings in the coming weeks as Clarence will no doubt be jamming somewhere with his old friend, Danny Federici


You’re a Friend of Mine – Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne

Savin’ Up (Bruce Springsteen cover) – Clarence Clemons

Stride Over Stride

Five years ago on this date, Grant McLennan died in his sleep from a heart attack at the age of just 48. Along with Robert Forster, he shared songwriting and vocal duties in the brilliant but unappreciated Australian band The Go-Betweens. I’ve always put the pair up there with popular music’s most celebrated writing partnership: Lennon and McCartney. Grant and Robert worked in a similar way to John and Paul, in that both often worked separately on their songs and then the other would tweak it here and make a suggestion there. The writer would then take lead vocals on the recording, though the song would be credited equally to both. Lennon was always my favourite Beatle (Harrison came second), while McLennan was always my favourite Go-Between. Funnily enough, Forster’s songs were more similar to Lennon’s and McLennan’s shared some similarities with McCartney’s. All of the Go-Between’s songs were literate and melodic and most of them dealt with failed relationships. Grant’s songs tended to be more melodic than Robert’s and his lyrics often made reference to nature. Robert had a darker approach and his lyrics tended to be more cynical than Grant’s. It was a creative partnership that combined to make half a dozen wonderful records throughout the 80s

Continue reading →

Highway Patrolman

There are far more songs that make me happy than sad, but there are a few sad ones that I tend to enjoy. Some of these are non-vocal classical pieces by the likes of Éric Satie and Arvo Pärt. Others still are by such legendary purveyors of melancholy as Leonard Cohen, Joy Division and The Smiths. For me, listening to sad songs when I’m unhappy fulfills as important a function as listening to upbeat numbers when I’m feeling good. In fact, I derive no joy from listening to pop songs when I’m down in the dumps and much prefer to listening to a singer who sounds even worse than I do. The one I’ve chosen isn’t a sad song as such, but the combination of its melody, lyric and the dejected voice of the singer always conjures up feelings of sadness when I hear it. Highway Patrolman was one of ten sparse acoustic songs that Bruce Springsteen wrote for his 1982 album Nebraska. It was also one of two songs from that album that Johnny Cash performed on his Johnny 99 album the following year (the other was the title track)

Continue reading →

America’s Favourite Pastime

Major League Baseball in the States is about to finish up for the regular season this weekend. I’ve been keeping an eye on the standings over the last few weeks and am delighted that one team in particular has made it to the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years. I’ve still got a lot to learn about the sport, so I’ve been reading up on its rules, history and culture recently. Today, I’m going to talk about four songs that focus on different aspects of America’s favourite pastime. The picture above has been captured from the music video of Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen. The song was one of numerous singles from his seventh studio album, Born in the USA (1984). Like many of the songs on the albums that preceded and followed that release, the lyric of Glory Days contrasts the high hopes and great expectations of youth with the stark realities of adulthood. In the first verse of the song the narrator recounts a chance meeting with a former high school friend who he remembered as a talented baseball player. It seems that his friend never realised his potential as all he talks about are those “glory days”. The same fate has befallen another schoolfriend and, it seems, the narrator as well. This downbeat lyric is counterbalanced by an upbeat tune and typically energetic backing by the E Street Band

Glory Days – Bruce Springsteen from Born in The USA

Continue reading →

Covering the Oscars

Tomorrow, the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony will take place in Hollywood. This annual shindig is a huge marketing tool for the film industry and is a chance for members of the Academy to tell each other how great they all are. In the US, the large number of independent and low-budget films that have been nominated for Best Picture over the last few years has also led to a drop in TV viewers (and advertising revenue). I would argue that a deterioration in the quality of films coming out of Hollywood over the last few years may be the actual reason for this decline in audience numbers. I was shocked that Crash and Slumdog Millionaire were recent Oscar winners for Best Picture because I felt that both of these films were turkies. In an effort to get more people watching, the organisers have doubled the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten. In order to fit clips from these extra titles into the show, something had to give. This year, the major casualties arising from this change will be the nominees for Best Original Song. The usual live performance will be replaced clips from the film from over which the song will appear. This year, Randy Newman will attempt to add to his solitary Oscar from 2001 as he is nominated twice. Perhaps he’s glad that he won’t have to perform as well

Continue reading →

Love is in the Air

In most corners of the world this weekend, certain sections of the economy are going to receive a welcome boost. In particular, restaurants, florists, confectioners and greeting card companies should see a significant swell in their coffers as a result of all the goodwill generated by Valentine’s Day. February 14 has been known as St Valentine’s Day since the end of the fifth century and was called after a number of Christian martyrs who were all named Valentine. According to this site, around a billion Valentine’s cards are sent around the world every year, with men spending twice as much as women during the weekend. In the Middle Ages, lovers spoke or sang their greetings while handwritten cards began to appear in the fifteenth century. Mass produced greeting cards originated in the nineteenth century and, thanks to such companies as Hallmark, it is second only to Christmas as the most profitable period of the year for card companies. Over the years, songwriters have constantly drawn upon the theme of Valentine’s Day as the basis for songs about love and the like. So, for all you funny valentines out there here is a collection of songs to get you in the mood for tomorrow. I’ve also included some blue valentines as well as one for those of you who’ll be celebrating the day on their own. Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!

Continue reading →

Happy 60th, Tom!

Tom Waits turns sixty today and I think it’s fair to say that there’s life in the old dog yet. I first came across his music when I heard Bruce Springsteen’s version of Tom’s song, Jersey Girl. I liked the lyrics and the melody and it wasn’t long before I picked up a tape of his Big Time live album in a bargain bin. I must admit that I was quite flummoxed by the sounds that I heard. The instrumentation was unusual and it sounded like pots and pans were being used instead of regular percussive instruments. I was also a bit thrown back by the sound of his voice. The guttural roar that I heard sounded like a combination of someone who had been chain-smoking for years who had come down with a heavy cold after being on the lash for a few weeks. I played it a few times but I couldn’t get into it. Then, I bought a couple of his earlier albums and I was equally surprised by the comparative smoothness of his earlier singing style. The music was more conventional as well and the influence of blues, jazz and country on his earlier albums was apparent. As the years progressed, his voice became more gravelly and the music became less conventional, but it also become far more interesting. I still like some of his early songs but it’s his albums from the last few decades that I now prefer
Continue reading →