Springsteen is able to write darker, more gut-wrenching songs than anything I've ever heard from John Cougar.

I disagree with that, John Cougar has material that is just as equal as Springsteen, I prefer Cougar more so than you, so..it really depends on personal choice. I like Springsteen, but he is over played to me personally. John Cougar has written some very good songs through the years, but this is a Springsteen Thread, so..

Mellencamp doesn't stand the test of time like Springsteen.

Mellencamp's albums tend to be more filler than substance.

Mellencamp tends to rewrite others songs, for example I fight authority, authority always wins sounds a lot like the Bobby Fuller Four song from 1965 I fought the Law and the law won.

Oh my!

Springsteen over Mellencamp anyday!!!
Don't get me wrong, I like Mellencamp, but if I had to choose... Hands down Steen!

...great early video...and the more polished version...

-------

Save My Love






...hold me in Your Arms...and Our doubts won’t break Us
if We open up Our Hearts...Love won’t forsake Us...
...just let the music take Us
and carry Us home...

not much of a fan

i only like Nebraska

You should give The Ghost Of Tom Joad and Devils & Dust a listen, you'd probably like them too.

^^ok

Name one thing that he has written that is darker then what Springsteen has written. Just because something is overplayed does not mean it is not better.

Sorry John Cougar is nothing special IMO. Few good songs here and there, but I have yet to hear him write anything on par with Springsteen, or as dark.

QFT

RIP Clarence Clemons 1942-2011

Although, he's known as a saxophonist I always like his small part in Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

aw man clarence clemons died. damm

RIP. Never was huge on Springsteen apart from "Nebraska" and a few singles. But Bruce is still alright in my books.

One of my favorite videos though:


I am a big Social D fan, so seeing him here makes me happy.

Here's an excellent, long article about Springsteen that raises my opinion of the man.
Bruce Springsteen at Sixty-Two : The New Yorker

So I saw my first Springsteen show last night and holy ****, that guy kills it live. Here's some highlights from last nights show out in Foxboro (From youtube, not the actual show)...



Racing in the Street



Lost in the Flood



Death to My Hometown



Haters to the left...

What's the verdict on his latest? Personally I think it's Bruce back to his best: angry, unrestrained, blue-collar and just not fcking taking it anymore.

But that's just me...

On Wrecking Ball? Its really good. I don't know if, except for the late 80's, he really had a misstep. I think Springsteen is still putting together great stuff, and Wrecking Ball is not exception.

Though my favorite late-game Springsteen has been the Live in Dublin Album. That thing'll set you on fire.

You mentioned some of my favorites. Atlantic City, Brilliant Disguise. Cover Me.
I thought it was funny when England shut the show he and Paul McCartney was doing down. Bruce yells at them. I think they finished it from the looks of it.

I hope I look as good as he does at 62. I'm 9 years younger now. My birthday was this spring. He certainly has aged well. Just think. In 1979 at No Nukes, he was going on about turning 30, and he thought he was gonna die.

I kind of lost touch a little with albums after "The rising". Didn't really like D&D (must give it another try) and never listened to "Magic" or "Working on a dream", but everything up to then:pure class.

My all-time favourites would have to be (not in order)
Born to run
Darkness
Nebraska
Wrecking ball (yeah, I think it's that good)
Live 75-85 (I know, I know: a box set, but every note is gold)
Human touch/Lucky town (love them both in equal measure)
Tunnel of love

I have to mention Born in the USA, as it was the first Springsteen album I ever bought, but really it's quite commercial and kind of his "Eliminator", when you look at it: everyone was listening to it, just because it was cool. Like The The's "Infected": after the cool factor died everyone but the true fans drifted away. Men from the boys, ya know?

Live 1975-1985 my first set was cassettes, and I wore them out. I got the deal on CD. It is still magical.

d&d?

It is also a shame Clarence is gone and I believe Roy Bittan is too. He passed first.

Er, "Devils and dust". Not, as you might have thought, "Dungeons and dragons"... :laughing:

And Danny. Few of the E Streeters left. :( Time gets us all in the end...

Oh I had (and still have) it on vinyl. Big cardboard box, open it and inside are the albums each in individual dust sleeves. Biggest box set I ever got, and one of the few I ever played all the way through. Total magic.

I have always found myself liking Bruce Springsteen. He is someone who has always managed to be real whether you like or not. He is a true man. That is why I respect him big time.

Good analogy, but I wasn't old enough then to be listening to Bruce. I got into it later, and it is by far my favorite Springstreen album. However, I like "Tunnel of Love" (the song) and probably "Atlantic City" better than anything on Born in the USA. When one goes commercial, often some depth is sacrificed for breadth. I'm not a big fan of any Springsteen song after 1992 or so.

So I heard Born in the U.S.A. from start to finish for the first time the other day and dayum, that album is tight.

I was always reluctant to listen to it because the title and album cover made me think it's some nationalistic bullshit but apparently Springsteen isn't about that at all.

And anyway, I'm a whore for catchy tunes and that album is chalk full of them.

Actually, Springsteen is somewhat socially liberal and generally writes songs in that vein. Born in the USA, in fact, is about the horror that was experienced by a soldier in Vietnam. The Boss was later none too happy when Reagan used it as a political campaign theme song without even listening to the lyrics.

I'm just a whore, but there's a few tunes by Bruce and the boys I've learned to appreciate. I went through the entire Boss phase as a hater when BITUSA came out in the 80's since that was a requirement for being a Metalhead. After shedding those mental bonds of oppression the message he was conveying became a bit clearer and I came to appreciate the talent involved. His radio saturated stuff is a bit annoying but these few are on a couple of my playlists:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWLMaZ7H3B0


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmwJQ62Cs_o

This one hits me hard, since I had a musician friend pass away at the beginning of the year. The lyrics mirror exactly what I've felt and the accompaniment is solid with the ebb and flow of the tune:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJkaZ8hQM60

Rosalita's another one I won't turn off when it comes over the airwaves.