Sony Throws Us A Bone

This is going to sound like a cop-out, maybe even a laughable bid for credibility, but I gave up on Bruce Springsteen years ago when he decided that making some sort of grand political statement was much more important than writing a really good song, i.e., about 1984.

Legendary & Essential; Springsteen Conquers America

After his first two album sold very poorly this would become his make or brake sessions. Springsteen could hardly pay his band anymore and his legendary scruffy look of the time had more to do with him not being able to buy new clothes than carefull image building. The music press were raving about him. Both Rolling Stone and Time magazine featured article with him on the cover. The sales not on par with the hype. Not everybody was confident he could make it at the time, even in his innercircle. After recording the Rock & Roll classic Born to Run his drummer and keyboard player left the band. The Born to Run sessions found Springsteen plagued by insecurity but determinate to hit big. He stripped down his writing creating songs that had a cinematic quality to them. The opening lyrics of the album continue to be some of the most vivid songwriting in history of Rock.

History Lesson: The Making of a Rock Star

Without a doubt, the highlight is the DVD of the 1975 show in London. "Born to Run," the album, had put him on the cover of "Time" and "Newsweek" the same week in October, 1975, one of the very few times that has happened for a non-news story.