[Harp-L] Springsteen?

[Hellerman, Steven L.]

Bruce Springsteen is an American natural resource, a true national treasure. He's Elvis and Dylan combined into one person, the most complete and perhaps greatest rock star of all time. I've seen him perform about a dozen times over the last 35 years or so, most recently this past St. Patrick's Day in LA; an amazing show, as good or better than any I'd seen before, nearly four hours of non-stop joy (and the man is 67 years-old!).


If you have never seen him perform live, make a point of doing so next time he comes around. It's well worth the $100+ a good seat will cost you. Just do it, you will be quite happy you did.


As for his harp playing: Springsteen exclusively plays straight harp (except on his wife's record, far as I know). It's not bad, and it fits quite well on the handful of tunes he uses it on. Like Dylan. Indeed, I'd say Springsteen's playing equivalent to that of Dylan or Neil Young. Nothing at all exceptional, but it's fine for what it is, when he does it.


(BTW: If you really like Clarence, check out some of the stuff he did w/ both the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band c. late 1980's. You can find some on youtube.)


SLH


Message: 8
Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2016 08:40:36 -0600
From: Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica at xxxxx>
To: robert mcgraw <harpbob at xxxxx>
Cc: Chris Hofstader <cdh at xxxxx>, Harp-L <harp-l at xxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Springsteen?
Message-ID:
        <CACQv+tzVBk6dypk+_hyD7LVHf6jMzmjv7JVg5Mg_xoUU0Z_geg at xxxxx>
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Great player who is completely intentional in what he does.
Michael Rubin
michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Sat, Dec 10, 2016 at 1:25 PM, robert mcgraw <harpbob at xxxxx> wrote:

> Can't play but it doesn't matter. Love the Boss.
> WVa Bob
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Dec 10, 2016, at 1:20 PM, Chris Hofstader <cdh at xxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I grew up in NJ and was 15 when Bruce released ?Born To Run,? so it?s
> one of those albums in my personal pantheon that no criticism will ever be
> able to change. So, when the audio book version of his memoir dropped this
> week, I got it off of Audible and am about half way through the 18.5 hour
> tome. I?m especially enjoying it and am listening at normal speed to hear
> Bruce himself read with really excellent rhythm. Some musicians read their
> audio books and listeners wished they could have found a professional
> narrator; others like Patti Smith, Bruce and Elvis Costello do a great job
> and add a bit of performance to the medium.
> >
> > ?Born To Run? opens with a harmonica and piano duet with Bruce on harp.
> In light of the recent discussion about Mick Jagger on the new Stones
> album, I?m curious what harp-l thinks about Bruce?s playing over the years?
> In the book, Bruce seems quite proud of that opening to the album and it?s
> probably one of the most widely heard harp parts in the rock and roll canon.
> >
> > I?m loving the book but I stated my bias above, Bruce was a demigod in
> suburban Jersey in those formative years and Clarence was regarded even
> more highly.
> >
> > Happy Hacking,
> > cdh
> >
>


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