The Springsteen survivor has finally reached its top 15, so I decided to make a post to kind of say a few words about the man, as well as make a top 15 of my own (I encourage the rest of you to do the same; I'm curious to see just how representative the survivor's top 15 really is).
I don't post in here a whole lot, partially because I became a huge fan in the past 6 months, well after the discussion for WOAD had begun to fizzle out, and partially because I couldn't afford to see Bruce myself, the insult to injury made by the fact that the E Street Band may be calling it quits soon. Though I've made myself scarce, I want to be a more regular presence in these threads, and I'm really excited for Bruce's future music. This decade ended on a low note with WOAD, but you can't ask for records more vital than The Rising and Magic at this stage in his career.
That being said, I'm definitely a bigger fan of his earliest work, and it really has always been that way. The Wild, The Innocent... kind of blew me away from the start, its skilled instrumentation giving me a good idea of what Bruce's band was capable of, and its freewheeling air offsetting the image I had of him being incredibly supercereal (thank you, Devils And Dust, which was the first Bruce album I ever heard, IIRC). Born To Run followed...I've always appreciated that album, even from the first listen. I knew that this was some epic shit. The rush of the title track, Clarence's solo in Jungleland...it seemed like a masterpiece. The thing is, you don't comprehend Bruce Springsteen's music, you feel it.
A couple years later, it all clicked. I turned 18, I fell in love, and finally it all started to make sense. Born To Run, both the song and album, don't really sink in properly until after you've experienced those lyrics for yourself. Thankfully, that album's sentiment is something we've all had the chance to experience for ourselves, and possibly long to get back to. In that way, I think Born To Run exemplifies the everyman quality that people love so much about his music; we've all been there, and even on listen #1, the album sounds nostalgic and lived-in.
Well, naturally, I opened my ears to the rest of his discography, some of it I was already quite familiar with, some not so much, but it all rang true, like I was hearing it for the first time. It's hard for me to wax philosophical about the rush I felt hearing The Ties That Bind and Lonesome Day for the first time because it's not something that's meant to be analyzed. Those songs just tap into some primal urge that makes you want to break out and really, truly live, you know? Best of all, he's got a fucking ton of it. As I worked out a top 15 in my head, I was overwhelmed by how many of his albums I loved, and it really hit me that after many so many years, I now place him in the pantheon of classic songwriters. I thought for the longest time that his music was overblown and naggingly sentimental, but it's the heart and feeling in his best work that causes it to appear that way, very much like U2's. Again, this is music you have to open yourself to, and that can be the most challenging of all to love.
Anyway, just some musings I had to get down on paper, or interweb tube. The best music is the kind you can write shitty, meandering essays about in your less lucid moments. Without further ado, here's my top 15, several years in the making:
1. Born To Run
2. Atlantic City
3. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
4. Candy's Room
5. Incident On 57th Street
6. Spirit In The Night
7. Backstreets
8. Lonesome Day
9. Nebraska
10. The Ties That Bind
11. Valentine's Day
12. Point Blank
13. I'm On Fire
14. Growin' Up
15. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
A good chunk of those wound up making the finals, so yeah, I'm pretty OK with how it's gone so far. I don't think there's a chance of any disappointing finale at this point, as every track is pretty great.
from a thread on BTX:
