newcritics - Latest Comments in Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Peter Christmas — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:42:45 -0000

Born in the USA is the quintessential song and album of the 80s. The keyboard isn't cheesey, it's perfect. It captures the Yuppie generation better than any other sound I've ever heard. The Springsteen war cry is also perfect. Why? Because of the sadness and despair that underlines the pseudo- Jingo sound that goes with the powerful lyrics. Really listen to the keyboard and the key it's in and in emotion in the voice. Beneath the surface is a deep sadness.

It was the 80s in a nutshell. A mentaility spawning over the top spending, pride, and stupidity but underneath it all there was the truth that everyone wanted to ignore.

The Vietnam war and the treatment of the vets was just the setting to present the downfall of the American conscience that had been lost in the glitter and gold of the 80s. While people suffered all over the world (and in America), those born in the main stream USA were charging forward with nothing but sadness behind them.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Tom Watson — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:21:17 -0000

You always were a sucker for that tune...but generally I agree with you, BITUSA suffers in critical review from te hype and style that surrounded it.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Jason Chervokas — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:26:57 -0000

Bobby Jean is a good song.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Tom Watson — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:54:05 -0000

I agree on BITUSA - it's cheesey for two reasons: the dated synths, and Springsteen's Elvis-like preening (foisted by Col. Landau, no doubt). We remember the Dancing in the Dark video, and the ass on the cover. Some terrific tunes under the covers though - I'm particular to Downbound Train, I'm On Fire, and I'm Going Down. I'm not crazy about the Bobby Jean/Glory days ouevre though. The title track - so widely misunderstood - is a great song.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Jason Chervokas — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:56:23 -0000

Phil, "stale" is the word I used to describe "Radio Nowhere"...If it were the only song I'd heard from the album I wouldn't be interested at all. It's part of a trio of songs that open the album and which sound like they were written to give the band something new but familiar to play on the road (Livin in the Future is a triplet heavy R&B; riff that sounds like a 10th Ave. re-write, for example.)

But there are maybe half a dozen songs on the new record that are great, including several with arrangements and melodies that harken back to mid60s rock/pop (Think: Walk Away Renee) that add something new to Springsteen's arsenal and sound fresher than anything he's done in years.

Ted, BITUSA isn't so crappy. There's a lot of good and some great material there (esp. the title track) but the instant you heard it you knew the cheesey synth sounds were going to sound unlistenably dated in short order. And the do.

Of course there's are lots of great rock albums w/ more than a dozen songs, but I think Fred's point is well-taken. In the LP era rockers only needed 44 minutes of music to get an album to market, in the CD era they need to write 777 minutes--that's 70 percent more music. It's like baseball expansion and diluted starting pitching. There are lots of albums in the CD era that would have been more exciting and listenable at 44 minutes.

Ironically, Springsteen was once the guy with so much great material that a lot of it had to be left off the LPs (BITUSA would have benefited from songs like Murder Inc and This Hard Land, Darkness from The Promise, Nebraska from The Losing Kind).

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Fred Wilson — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:31:24 -0000

friend me on pownce and i'll send it

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

the shamus — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:15:11 -0000

Uh, how did you guys get a copy of the album and how about slipping it to your favorite New Critics shamus?

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

phil — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:51:43 -0000

takes...

1. havent heard the whole album but the new bruce song i heard sucks derivative rock balls... maybe i just dont get it...

2. many great albums with more than 14 songs dont know where to strt... the white alkbum (u mentioned), songs in the key of life, blood sugar sex magic, out of the blue, sat night fever soundtrack... heck, elvis costello and the a's mustve made 5 w more than 14 and they kicked ass everyone of em......

3. magical mystery tour was more a leftovers album than abbey road as the production process of side 2 of the latter became the brilliance of it transcending any of the individual song fragments...

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Viscount LaCarte — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:41:45 -0000

Just wanted to add that Ã¢â‚¬Å“Abby RoadÃ¢â‚¬Â was a collection of out takes from the Ã¢â‚¬Å“Let It BeÃ¢â‚¬Â sessions, containing more than 10 songs.

Some of the songs on Abbey Road were being bandied about during the Let it Be sessions, but Abbey Road to my knowledge consisted of all fresh takes of the songs.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Jason Chervokas — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:28:47 -0000

Three things, I think this is all new stuff from Bruce.

I think McCartney wrote a mess of new stuff for Abbey Road, no?

And the band sounds fantastic on the new Bruce record...hard and loose on the rockers. Makes me wanna go see 'em again.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Rod Wilson — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:56:49 -0000

Oops, hit the submit button too early.
Just wanted to add that "Abby Road" was a collection of out takes from the "Let It Be" sessions, containing more than 10 songs. "Led Zeppelin" was sort of a collection of out takes left over from the Yardbirds, only 9 songs.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Rod Wilson — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:49:36 -0000

Type your comment here.

Re: Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Ted Wilson — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:31:03 -0000

It took me a long time to appreciate Bruce, even longer to like him.

I'm glad he's working with the band again, seems to me that's his best stuff, with the glaring exception of 'Born in the USA' - what a crapfest that record is.

Why is it an issue if an album is made from a 'collection of outakes'? 'Tattoo You' is great, and I'd say there's planty of good records that were made that way, not to say that 'Magic' was, it probably wasn't.

'London Calling' has more than ten songs on it, so do most Ramones albums, then there's 'Blonde on Blonde', 'All Things Must Pass', 'Stadium Arcadium', I'm not a big fan of The White Album, but many others are.....I could go on, maybe somebody else will.....