October 2, 2007

bruuuuce!

i can't quite figure out how to describe the way i'm feeling about this new springsteen album, i mean i really like it, it's good, but after all i heard about a return to form, i guess i was hoping for more...so i started reading other reviews, thinking maybe i'd find something i agreed with, that i could steal or change into my own words, but almost everything i read was saying what i expected, that it was fantastic, his best album since born in the u.s.a....& they're probably right, but he hasn't really had any great albums since then anyways, some great songs sure, but nothing that could be compared to his early work (i know my buddy sachin's got a soft spot for tunnel of love, & i really liked last year's seeger sessions, but that was more of a tribute than a springsteen album)...then i read what noel murray at the a.v. club had to say about the album & completely agreed; it plays like an album springsteen should have made after born in the u.s.a., it's how the boss should sound, just not quite how he did sound...i wanted greetings from asbury park or the wild the innocent & the e street shuffle, & i should have known that i wouldn't get it...so i guess this is the next best thing, & that's fine by me...magic came out today.

download: bruce springsteen - radio nowhere
download: bruce springsteen - gypsy biker

duece vs. douche: by the time manfred mann formed manfred mann's earth band in 1971, his approach to music had changed drastically from the three minute r&b/pop numbers of his initial self-named group of the 60's...the focus was garnered more towards the stretched out prog-rock format, & in 1977, the band broke through with a number one hit for their cover of springsteen's "blinded by the light", although they changed the song quite a bit, dropping verses & changing the line "cut loose like a duece" to "revved up like a douche" & then repeating it over & over again...i prefer springsteen's original, but they're both pretty good & mann must have really liked greetings from asbury park, because the earth band also did versions of "for you" & "spirit in the night".

download: bruce springsteen - blinded by the light
download: bruce springsteen - for you
download: bruce springsteen - spirit in the night
download: manfred mann's earth band - blinded by the light
download: manfred mann's earth band - for you
download: manfred mann's earth band - spirit in the night

chapter three: for the two years between the demise of manfred mann & the formation of manfred mann's earth band, there was perhaps my favorite of mann's projects, the jazz-rock orientated manfred mann chapter three...they only released two albums, volume 1 & volume 2, but they're both worth hunting down.

download: manfred mann chapter three - travelling lady
download: manfred mann chapter three - one way glass

new releases: also available today, the great 100 days, 100 nights from sharon jones & the dap-kings, which i mentioned back in july, plus a live disc from david byrne, a rarities collection from j.j. cale, a video game soundtrack from peanut butter wolf, & new albums from john fogerty & the sadies...among others.

download: sharon jones & the dap-kings - answer me
download: j.j. cale - ooh la la
download: john fogerty - don't you wish it was true
download: the sadies - anna leigh
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extra: if you haven't heard about the new radiohead release that all the blogs are buzzing about, here you go; www.inrainbows.com
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about the Bruce album. But he can't be young and new again. And he can't make us young and new again. We're all here and now and maybe this is good as it gets.

Unknown said...

Digging Magic right now. You "nailed it" with your review of the album. "Girls in their Summer Clothes" is quickly approaching Tunnel of Love status!

Anonymous said...

Of all the great armies of rock fans, few can match the devotion of Bruce Springsteen's. For them it's not just catching just one show-it's about catching them all. Anyone who has experienced Springsteen in concert will testify that the bond between audience and artist transcends the usual adulation. Something magical, almost mystical happens. Some might describe it as spiritual-most definitely it is life affirming. It is in trying to nail this phenomenon that the beautiful hardbound For You has arrived.
Edited by Lawrence Kirsch and replete with an amazing welter of outstanding photographs, it's a mind-blowing collection of thoughts and stories from fans of every age and many nations, each explaining why Springsteen occupies such an important place in their hearts. Covering all four decades of Springsteen's career it is possibly the ultimate fanzine for it is the fans who have made the journey and whose words tell us as much about them as they do about Springsteen. The warmth and humanity that flows from every page is truly moving and provides a beacon of hope from which we can all draw strength in these hard times. Not a book to be read at one sitting but rather to revisit and enjoy over time.

Subservient Experiment said...

I noticed you had posted 'Blinded By The Light', I was wondering if you've seen this: http://healthryder.blogspot.com/2008/10/which-one-are-you.html

I got the biggest LOL from it!

=w=