Album Review - Voice of America by Little Steven

Several weeks ago, I had finally discovered the hidden gem that was Little Steven's debut album Men Without Women.  It's a tough album to get your hands on, but I was fortunate enough to get in a two-pack from Amazon.com, where it was shipped with Steven's second album, Voice of America.  Since I was pleasantly surprised by Men Without Women, I held back a while from Voice of America as to prevent myself from coming in and being disappointed.  Unfortunately, this strategy didn't work.  Voice of America is quite a departure from Men Without Women, a respectable experiment that didn't quite work.

The changes in musical style are evident right off the bat: the horns are completely gone, and what we have is an album dripping in 80s synthesizers.  The songs, for the most part, aim for loftier political goals, whereas Men Without Women stuck mostly to personal relationships.  Songs such as "Checkpoint Charlie" underscore the problem with on-the-nose political commentary in pop music, in that it dates it to a specific time and place (as opposed to "Devils & Dust", where the metaphors are just ambiguous enough to take on different meanings to listeners throughout the years).  

That being said, there's enough strong rock songs to keep you coming back for more.  The above video is for "Out of the Darkness", perhaps the biggest hit on the album (and with good reason).  It goes back to Little Steven's roots with songs about relationships, but can also work as a political rallying cry.  "Los Desaparecidos" is propelled by a catchy Bon Jovi-esque riff and a strong rebellious story.  "Undefeated" closes the album on a positive note, and sounds like it could be used in an 80s movie montage.

Perhaps the strangest and most intriguing part of this album are Little Steven's experiments into a Reggae sound.  The above song is "I Am A Patriot", another protest song that Jackson Browne has made part of his act.  Little Steven busts out his Reggae voice again in "Solidarity", and the song "Among the Believers" starts with a funky baseline that strong percussion opening that is somewhat reminiscent of "Heaven's Wall".  Your mileage may vary on how much you enjoy these songs, but I appreciated the change of pace from the synthesizers.

Ultimately, the album was a mixed bag.  There were a couple of rockers here and there, but ultimately, the songs did not have enough variety, as the message of rebellion was hammered home in nearly every chorus.  As mentioned several times above, but this album is entirely 80s through and through, only topped by Clarence Clemon's campy debut album in terms of 1980s cheese.  That being said, it wasn't an overall unpleasant listening experience.  If I gave half-stars, this would be a solid 2.5 out of 5.  But, life doesn't give you half stars, so I reluctantly give it 3 out of 5 stars.  Perhaps if you are a die-hard Little Steven fan, or if you in the mood for some 80s arena rock, it would be worth checking out.  But, the casual Bruce fan can skip this one.

Great Moments in Springsteen Television History - Bruce Fallsteen In Jem

In continuing our thorough examination this week of Bruce Springsteen parodies in 1980s pop culture, here we see a shot from the classic Jem episode ""In Search of The Stolen Album".  I assume it is a classic, I actually haven't seen it.  However, as you can see, a musician named "Bruce Fallsteen" is number three on the charts.  In case you didn't realize, that is supposed to be Bruce Springsteen, but they changed it from "Spring" to "Fall" because fall is the opposite of spring when it comes to the seasons of the year.  If you need further help understanding the joke, please let me know in the comments section below.  

That's it for this Great Moment In Springsteen Television History.  Bruce Fallsteen does not appear anywhere else in the episode; in fact, the Great Moment is entirely captured in the screenshot above.  Was this a waste of time?  Perhaps.  But check out those other parody band names: The Moss Covered Stones!  The Roomoans!  Tom Potty!  As always, Jem is truly outrageous.

Comic Book Review - Transformers #14: "Rock And Roll-Out!"

FYI: Click on any image to enlarge

Has Bruce Springsteen met the Transformers?  Of course not, you idiot.  However, in the mid-1980s, legendary Transformers comic book writer Bob Budiansky tackled the question that has plagued us all: what would happen if Bruce Springsteen met the Transformers?  The answer lies in issue 14 of the original Transformers series.  Should you be unable to attain a copy for yourself (I mean, an issue this rare is trading on Amazon for $0.75!), please make due with my humble recap.

Let's hit the basic plot points first: the book opens with Jetfire becoming an Autobot (yay!).  Then, a machine is used to revive five old Autobots back to life (yay!).  Next, we peak into the nefarious Decepticons, who are looking to steal energy (boo!).  Now, let's rejoin the story, as the newly revived Autobots hit the town to learn the customs of the humans.

As the Autobots pull into the gas station, they are immediately greeted by the pleasant tones of Bruce Springste--er, I mean, Brick Springstern and the Tenth Avenue Band.  Of course, the blue-collar gas station attendants would listen to nothing else.  Springstern's hit song "Dancing in the Night" is playing, and one of the Autobots (I believe his name is Skids, so let's go with that) takes an immediate liking to the tune.

At this point, Optimus Prime chimes in, and explains the plot (for those of us still confused).  Basically, the Decepticons are stealing sonic energy, or something like that.  Where are they going to get said sonic energy?  Why, through the sonic energy produced by mister Brick Springstern and the mighty Tenth Avenue Band!  We are treated to one more Springstern classic, "Born To Ride", and off the Autobots go into action.

Finally!  By page 15, we get our first view of Brick Springstern, whose has ditched the "stern" and now goes by Brick SpringHORN.  He's in the middle of his classic anthem "Born In America", and the gang is all there: a hefty black saxophone player, some guy with a hat, some other guy with sunglasses, and the blue-haired drummer!  I have to say, I'm mildly disappointed it that there were 14 non-Brick Springsternhorn pages before this.  However, this little dialogue exchange is exactly what I wanted:

Skids: My analysis indicates a rhythmic tonal quality, Tracks, that positively stimulates the cerebro-circuitry.

Tracks: Which means--?

Skids: I like it!

Tracks takes one or two other digs at the Boss throughout the issue.  I wonder if Springsteen did get a copy of this comic book, read it, and was so bitter that Tracks wasn't a fan that he later named an album Tracks just to spite him.  Anyway, here's another panel, featuring the hit song "Margarita":

The Autobots find some power cord that the Decepticons are using to steal the sonic energy, and mayhem ensues.  During the chaos, the lighting scaffolding above the stage breaks, but fortunately, Autobot Hoist is there to save the day and repair the scaffolding.  Obviously, 40-foot robots attacking each other in an 80,000 seat venue could cause a panic, but that's where Brick Springhornstern comes in: he keeps playing.

It really is a Sophie's choice that I believe we have all wondered: if giant robots from outer space are attacking each other during a Springsteen concert, do you run for your life or stay at the show?  Who am I kidding, I know we'd all stay at the show.  

The good robots eventually chase the bad robots away, to battle again in next month's issue.  And, on a non-Springsteen related note, did you know that there was supposed to be a Captain America Broadway musical?

Now, according to my extensive Internet research (also known as the first link I see after I Google something), the musical never happened.  But, this magnificent advertisement still lives!  I love everything about it: Cap's top hat, his wiggle, the guilt trip message at the bottom ("You wouldn't want to let Cap down, would you?").  Unfortunately, Cap let us down by never making it big.

While this comic is no Watchmen (nor is it Wings for Wheels, a fantastic Springsteen-based comic), I still enjoyed it for what it was: 20-odd pages worth of classic 80s goodness.  I'd give it 4 out of 5 Bricks, and definitely worth a couple bucks to add to your collection.  Play us out, Brick!

Video Spotlight: "Sun City"

So 2013 kind of ended on a bummer, with the death of Nelson Mandela.  No matter what side of the political spectrum you land on, I think just about everyone can agree that he was a great political figure for tolerance and peace.  His death was greatly mourned, and rightfully so, by the entire world.

But in 1986, when apartheid was alive and well in South Africa, Stevie Van Zandt stepped up and wrote this defiant song.  While Rod Stewart, Queen, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, and others were playing the lavish Sun City resort (despite a cultural boycott issued by the United Nations), Little Stevie had the courage to stand up and say "No!" to a major venue.  He not only pledged not to play it, but wrote an anthem pledging not to play the casino/resort that was built on the back of slave labor.

As he wrote the song, Van Zandt named names of the artists who had played there, obviously attempting to shame them, but in the end he decided to make the song "a song about change not charity, freedom not famine."

And so the song moved forward with a hip hop and R&B influence, while still maintaining a pure E Street sound.  In addition to being written by Van Zandt, the song features Bruce and Clarence in addition to Miles Davis, Kool DJ Herc, Grandmaster Melle Mel, The Fat Boys, Ruben Blades, Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr and his son Zak Starkey, Lou Reed, Run DMC, Peter Gabriel, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Darlene Love, Bobby Womack, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Jackson Browne and then-girlfriend Daryl Hannah, U2, George Clinton, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Peter Wolf, Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates, Jimmy Cliff, Big Youth, Michael Monroe, Peter Garrett, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto, Gil-Scott Heron, Nona Hendryx, Pete Townshend, Pat Benatar, and Joey Ramone.  All of them, pledging not to play Sun City.

With Bruce playing South Africa this weekend, and the recent death of Mandella, I would not be shocked at all if Bruce pulled this song out at all one of the nights.  But again, when Bruce plays live nothing is expected and nothing is off limits either.

Happy New Year's from Legends of Springsteen!

The above video is from New Year's eve 1980 at the Nassau Colosseum in Uniondale, NY.  The concert went well over midnight, par for the course for 80's Springsteen, and Bruce was rocking on a cover of Wilson Picket's "In The Midnight Hour" in the minutes leading up to midnight followed promptly by the traditional classic "Auld Lang Syne".  I've seen Bruce play "In The Midnight Hour" at Metlife Stadium and he definitely brings the goods so I can definitely imagine that the Long Island crowd was getting into that New Year's eve.

A concert never really seems like a good way to spend New Year's Eve to me.  I have friends who go see Phish every year at MSG (which sounds like Hell to me, I hate Phish!), and one of my friends was trying to get me to go see Billy Joel in Brooklyn this year for New Year's.  But as fun as this concert looked, and even the old technology and shaky handling can't hide the fact that sharing champagne with Bruce at midnight would be amazing, I love New Year's Eve too much to spend it at a concert.  The booze, the countdown with friends, the fact that it's completely acceptable to kiss random women at midnight (don't even attempt this on any other night, and practice caution even on New Year's) all make for one of my favorite nights of the year.  However, if I was alive in 1980 and looking for New Year's plans, spending it with Bruce wouldn't be the worst way to do it.  So enjoy and a happy 2014 from your friends at Legends of Springsteen!

Bruce Springsteen by the Decades

In so many ways, Springsteen’s music is timeless. Without prior knowledge of a song’s release date, it can be difficult to pinpoint what decade it was produced. While Bruce’s songs may be instantly recognizable as his own, they are rarely defined by the decade in which they were released. Even with the massive popularity of the Born in the U.S.A. album, you’re less likely to find his songs on a “Best of the 80s” compilation than you are to find the work of the Go-Gos or Tears for Fears. However, Springsteen does have a few songs that are a bit easier to characterize. What follows is a list of songs that scream the decade they were created. Decade by decade, I’d argue these are his “most 70s” or “most 90s” sounding songs. Disagree? Let us know in the comments!

1970s – “The E Street Shuffle”

Lengthy instrumentals, background chatter and abrupt changes in pace. This is easily the grooviest song on Bruce’s grooviest album.



1980s – “Tougher than the Rest”

Synth-heavy with a lot of deep organ sounds. Is this Bruce Springsteen or an outtake from the Top Gun soundtrack?



1990s – “Man’s Job”

Every time the background vocals come in on “Loving you is a man’s job, baby” (see 0:50 for the first instance) I just picture ripped jeans, mullets and old school VH1 logos.



2000s – “Worlds Apart”

Bruce’s most clear attempt at “world music” boasts a Middle Eastern influence and a distinct vocal styling that denotes a time when global consciousness received heightened awareness.



2010s - ???

It’s too soon to tell – both due to the newness of the decade and the prospect of more albums to come down the road (fingers crossed!). But if I had to speculate, “Wrecking Ball” sounds like an old school barn burner, “Rocky Ground” feels more like early 2000s and “Death to my Hometown” just feels like it exists in its own time and place. For now, my money is on “We Take Care of Our Own.”

Video Spotlight - Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne in "You're a Friend of Mine"

I'm currently reading Clarence Clemons' semi-autobiography from a few years ago (a review should be coming in the next few weeks), and I've had everything Clemons on the mind.  As I tried to find a clip of Clarence guest-starring on My Wife and Kids (which is frequently referred to in the book), I stumbled across this 1985 video which was previously unknown to me.  And, boy oh boy, is it a gem!  I'm not really sure how to put into words how much I love this video, so I'll list a few highlights:

• It starts off innocently enough, with an infectious 80s beat and Clarence's saxophone solo.  But then, out of nowhere, Clarence starts singing!  It was shocking for this Springsteen die-hard to hear - Clarence's voice will still always be strange to me.
• The decor is classic "this is the first time I'm making a music video" that has come back to haunt many musicians.  It looks like it was filmed in a hotel room in about 20 minutes.  The background is filled with odd objects seemingly placed there at random: a Victrola, a soccer ball, random picture frames, etc.
• Daryl Hannah's there!  She seems to be torn between painting Clarence and Jackson, or filming them with a camera that looks like it weighs about 80 pounds.  Also, I'm not convinced she was actually in the room at the time they were shooting this.
• As for the other participants: Jackson Browne looks very unhappy to be there, the drummer looks ecstatic, and the keyboardist looks jealous of Daryl Hannah's hair

However, Clemons owns this whole video, for many reasons.  First, he reacts to every word in the song as if it were a real conversation.  He hams it up, making large gestures like a Vaudevillian performer.  Furthermore, he is fully committed to the hetero-romance of the song, not being afraid to get as close to Jackson Browne as possible.  This is not a comfortable thing for most men to do (as you can see Jackson squirming to get some personal space); it takes years of being inches away from making out with Bruce to get this naturally close to another man and still be completely comfortable in your sexuality.  Finally, that saxophone, while enormous in any other man's hands, looks like a toy in Clarence's arms.  As he lays down the outro, he swings the sax with wild abandon, and you remember why the E Street Band will never be quite the same again.

Great Moments in Springsteen Cinema History - Back To School

There's an old saying in the movie industry that goes: "Every ticket you buy for a movie is a vote for 10 more movies exactly like that."  The smash hit Animal House inspired a decade of madcap college comedies, while Caddyshack's success made stars of its diverse cast.  These two elements collided in the 1985 film Back To School, starring Rodney Dangerfield.

In an early scene in the movie, Mr. Dangerfield is battling long lines to sign up for classes.  As a rich entrepreneur, waiting in line among the juvenile masses just would not cut it.  So, he devises a scheme to thin the sea of humanity.  All of a sudden, we see the student body rush outside the building, converging on a limousine   The name on that limo?

This legendary Springsteen cinema moment is probably his most "topical" moment.  In 1985, his name would inspire the same type of frothing fandom that Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga would incite today.  

The film Back to School dares to explore the world of finances and academia, providing chuckles along the way and climaxing with a rousing diving competition.  The scenes of the blue-collar Dangerfield trying to pass a variety of tests got me thinking: how "smart" is Bruce Springsteen?  While we heap praise on him for his musical skills and storytelling ability, Bruce himself has never gone back to school.  He has chided his parents for saying it isn't too late to go back to college, and he claims he has learned more from a three-minute record than he ever learned in school.  And yet, I don't doubt that Bruce understands the importance of higher education, as all of his children have attended college.  While Bruce has been very successful without a college education, this blogger would be interested in seeing him take some classes.  I've been immensely satisfied knowing that there's a Dr. Shaquille O'Neal in the world, how great would it be if there was a Dr. Bruce Springsteen?