Bruce Springsteen

Along with Michael Jackson and Madonna, Bruce Springsteen stands as one of the largest popular music icons of the 1980s. Yet unlike Jacko and the Virgin Queen, the Boss has managed to outgrow his teen idol image with his songwriting abilities and critical esteem 100 percent intact.

By the time he rose to international superstardom in the 1980s, Springsteen was already a well-established artist. After releasing two strong, but largely unnoticed albums, he released his first masterpiece, Born To Run in 1975. Featuring some of his most well-known rock anthems -- "Thunder Road," "Backsteets," and "Born To Run" to name a few -- the album officially began Springsteen's career-long examination of the American identity. And with "Wall Of Sound" production, inspired lyrics, and an epic musical vision, Born To Run secured Springsteen's reputation amongst rock lovers.

What makes Springsteen such a wonderful artist to appreciate is his almost obsessed attention to his craft. Each of the albums following Born To Run are worthy of close study. While 1984's Born In The USA marks the commercial apex of the singer/songwriter's career, his less commercially succesful albums best stand the test of time. On albums such as 1978's Darkness On The Edge Of Town, 1982's Nebraska, and 1987's Tunnel Of Love, Springsteen creates musical visions that are both deeply personal and amazingly universal.

As a songwriter, Springsteen continually returns to the same themes -- love, loss and moral redemption, to name a few -- and continually finds new insights and perspectives. Be it the sprawling rock epics of his early career, "Incident On 57th Street" (The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle), or the concise acoustic dirges of his later work, like "Dry Lightning" (The Ghost Of Tom Joad), his songs mine the hearts and souls of his characters and follow their everyday dilemnas with startling clarity.

To top it all off, Springsteen is arguably the best live performer in the history of rock, if such a claim could ever be definitively made. At the height of his physical abilities, he was able to put on four-hour stadium-sized shows, rocking 50,000 in legendary fashion. Now in his mid-50s, he performs a shorter show -- but one with increased musical and vocal precision.

Like the Rolling Stones and Dylan and all the other rock legends that came before him and informed his work, Springsteen will be celebrated for years and years to come. But unlike artists such as the Stones, we have every reason to believe Bruce will continue to make noteworthy music and grow as an artist. And without question, we will be there to listen.

Album reviews

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Sony (2006)
This album is a hoot and a holler, an old-timey, jubilant, front-porch throwdown and a carnival of Americana.

Devils & Dust / Prairie Wind
Sony (2005)
A self-aware retread of Bruce's other solo acoustic albums. When will he drop the Okie accent and get the band back in the studio?

The Rising
Columbia (2002)
Album of the year? Many seem to think so. NATN founder Ben French offers his take on Springsteen's latest before the Grammys have their say.

Live In New York City
Columbia (2001)
Artists like the Black Crowes and Phish are using the Web as a means to an effective medium to distribute their songs. Why not Bruce?

18 Tracks
Columbia (1999)
A pretty good overview of Springsteen's unreleased work for any listener who needs further insight into one of America's greatest rock and roll poets but doesn't want to shell out the bucks for the full version of Tracks.

Tracks
Columbia (1999)
Between 1982 and 1984, Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded more than 100 different songs. Only 12 of the recordings were selected for his next album, leaving the rest in unreleased oblivion, placed on top of the thousand or so other songs Springsteen had already left behind and forgotten.

'Missing'
Columbia (1996)
"Missing," Bruce Springsteen's contribution to the little-seen 1995 Sean Penn film "The Crossing Guard," represents the Boss' most unusual musical departure to date.

'Hungry Heart'
Columbia (1995)
Released as a single to promote Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits, this EP starts off with the original studio version of "Hungry Heart," plus a live version of the song from 1995, which really doesn't give the Springsteen completist much cause to celebrate.

The Ghost Of Tom Joad (Recommended)
Columbia (1995)
Years after its release, The Ghost Of Tom Joad only grows in its ability to astonish.

Human Touch
Columbia (1992)
Well, everybody has their off days.

Lucky Town
Columbia (1992)
Lucky Town is a brilliant album that outshines the weaker Human Touch (released on the same day) with its unmatched examination of a rare '90s rock topic: happiness.

Born In The U.S.A.
Columbia (1984)
This is Springsteen's most popular work of art, his most obvious achievment, yet NATN co-founder Ben French says the title track's selection for this record is the biggest mistake of the singer's great career.

Born In The U.S.A.
Columbia (1984)
Tired of indie kids ripping on this album? Well so is Jeff Vrabel. Read his take on Springsteen's Born In The U.S.A. and learn why he feels this record is an artistic success as much as a commercial one.

The River
Columbia (1980)
Ever played The White Album game? NATN co-director Ben French gives the pastime a new twist.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Recommended)
Columbia (1978)
This month marks the 25th anniversary of this album, Springsteen's most vital work to date.

The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (Recommended)
Columbia (1973)
Are you a Bruce doubter? Maybe you should listen to the second side of this record.

Concert reviews

July 15, 1999
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, N.J.
A reminder of the power of rock and roll.

May 29, 1999
Parkbuhne Wulheide, Berlin
Believe it or not, German music fans rival the world's most excitable listeners, as well as the Earth's fittest and tallest.