Bruce Springsteen

I sort of missed Springsteen's rise to fame and never really got into his music but I was aware of it. This book was available as an audiobook read by Springsteen himself and I thought it would be a good chance to find out what I missed. I was very impressed with Springsteen's writing ability (although if I had paid more attention to his songs I should not have been). I loved him as the narrator; I can't imagine anyone else doing the book in as heartfelt a manner. Bruce wrote the book almost show more linearly, starting with his childhood in working class New Jersey, moving through his teen years learning his craft as a musician, then into his 20s when he started supporting himself with music after his parents suddenly upped stakes and moved to California. He wrote candidly about his father's mental health problems and how that impacted his relationship with Bruce and the other children. Bruce focused next on the formation of the E Street Band, his managerial problems and the band's growing success. Bruce Springsteen doesn't hide his light under a bushel but he gives credit to those around him who helped with his growth as a musician and a man. Bruce had his own issues with depression (still does).This book should be a wakeup call to all those people who think people who are depressed just need to get to work to get over depression. Bruce has to be one of the hardest working men in rock and roll but he still needed regular sessions with a therapist and pharmacological help to get over the worst stretches. He shows great insight into his own psyche and he gives great credit to his wife, Patty, for helping him parent well, write well, play well and be a decent human. He also talks lovingly of his bandmates, especially the great rock and roll saxophonist, Clarence Clemmons, whose death hit Bruce hard.

If I wasn't a fan of Bruce Springsteen before listening to this book then I am now. Maybe he'll tour near me so I can see him in person. show less

He's the Boss for a reason. His voice is singular, his storytelling is unparalleled, and his autobiography is everything you want it to be. Whether you're a Bruce diehard or a casual fan, this book tells the story of an American icon who worked hard for everything he got but who never misses a chance to give back and who always seems to recognize the inherent privilege in being a white, straight male in an America made for just that. Bruce is honest, candid, funny, and charming, while also show more managing to paint a clear portrait of his faults and the places in his life where he's gone wrong. He repents where necessary and gloats where he should, and he keeps you engaged in his story from start to finish. Long live THE BOSS. show less

Long before Dylan was unexpectedly awarded the Nobel for literature, I was thinking about Springsteen. His music is almost uniquely story driven, the albums like novels. There are other songwriters who tell stories but none so consummately as The Boss, and none with the same sensitivity to the literary concepts of story and character. Here’s what he had to say on the nature of his writing and writing in general in [Born to Run]:

“The precision of these types of songs is very important. show more The correct detail can speak volumes about who your character is, while one can shred the credibility of your story. When you get the music and lyrics right, your voice disappears into the voices you've chosen to write about. Basically, with these songs, I find the characters and listen to them. That always leads to a series of questions about their behavior. What would they do? What would they never do? You need to locate the rhythm of their speech and the nature of their expression. But all the telling detail in the world doesn't matter if the song lacks an emotional center. That's something you have to pull out of yourself form the commonality you feel with the man or woman you're writing about. By pulling these elements together as well as you can, you shed light on their lives and honor their experiences.”

The autobiography is a frank accounting of his career but also, and more importantly, his own internal life. Given the sensitivity of his music, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that his non-lyrical writing should be so sensitive. But the quality and poetry of the writing suggests a very literary mind. With the often raucous, bar-band music, the lyrics can get lost. It’s why Reagan missed that Born in the USA was a protest song and not a feel-good patriotic romp. I dare you to listen to the lyrics of that song and not be deeply affected.

Even more amazing is that he writes about lives he’s never really had. Sure, you’ll learn in the book about his hard-nose, and often drunk, father, and the hardscrabble youth. But he even admits that he’s made all these characters and stories up out of whole cloth – listen to the Broadway show song Growing Up for the confession. Springsteen should have gotten the Nobel.

The best part of the book is easily the last hundred pages, as he writes about the death of Clarence Clemmons, facing his own mortality, and a long battle with depression. He handles these topics of loss and faith and purpose better than most anything out in the modern fiction world these days.

Bottom Line: It helps if you’re a music fan, and certainly if you’re a Boss fan, but this is a great and literary book.

5 bones!!!!! show less

Let me throw out two things, right off the top. The first is, I am, at best, a very, very mild Springsteen fan, at best, and personally, I haven't had much interest in anything of his since Tunnel of Love. The second is, I goddamned loved this book.

There's a whole bunch of reasons for that.

The first is—and let's be real, it's a well-known fact that most famous people's biographies are ghostwritten by someone with some talent, not the famous person—but this book was stunningly show more well-written. If it was a ghostwritten, then bravo to that nameless soul. But, this is one I could see Bruce taking on himself. Either way, the level of craftmanship with the actual writing is way, way up there.

Second is the actual subject matter. I tend to groan when I start a biography, simply because I know I'll have to suffer through the subject's childhood and awkward adolescence, blah blah blah. With this one, I was flat out riveted from the first page, and wanted to hear more and more about ten-year-old Bruce's life. Yeah, it's that good.

Now, that's not to say that it's perfect when it comes to covering everything in Bruce's life. He tends to stick directly to himself, where I would have loved to have heard his thoughts on things like Manfred Mann's two big covers from his first album. He covered Spirits in the Night and, even bigger, the phenomenal Blinded By The Light. Nothing. He also never mentions Patti Scialfa's album. His own wife? Come on!

There are also times where you can actually feel him tiptoeing around some dicey topics involving his E Street Band members, and some other personalities, but I get that he's also not out to burn anyone.

Third, while still somewhat on the topic of subject matter, I'm impressed that he's both honest and open about his and his family's mental illness issues, and that he didn't write a "I fucked this person, then I fucked that person, then I played this concert..." He's much more inward-looking, introspective. I love that.

Fourth, he gives you lots of insight into the writing of certain key songs and albums, which I'm always fascinated in. Though, surprisingly, he also completely skips over some albums, not even mentioning Lucky Town, Human Touch, or Devils & Dust.

In the end, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this long book from the very first, to the very last page. Very likely the best biography I've ever read. show less