An in-depth look at the most guilty culprit for bad white people dancing this side of Kevin Bacon.
ENTERTAINER
He's been firmly established with the baby boomer demographic for decades. The 20-somethings I know seem to be about 50/50 on him, with opinions ranging from "he's the greatest ever!" to "I can't stand him", and everything in between. I fall somewhere between the former and the middle ground.
He burst onto the national scene in 1975 when Born to Run was released, appearing on the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week. He was hailed as "the next Dylan" and "the savior of rock and roll", but then disappeared in three years of legal dispute with his record label. When he reemerged, he put out three solid records to considerable commercial success, before blowing up like a jihad in 1984 with Born in the U.S.A., which sold 30 million copies. In the 25 years since, he's done much to maintain but little to expand his stature and legacy with the general public.
I've seen him live twice. Both times were after he turned 50, yet he was one of the best performers I've witnessed. About 3 hours straight of relentless energy and showmanship. The element of surprise is always in play at his concerts. Unlike the regimented show schedule that comes with dance and video and lighting choreography, the E Street Band can and will play anything off the cuff at Bruce's cue. I swear they must have 500 songs in their repertoire that can be summoned at a moment's notice. I have no idea how he remembers all the lyrics to that many songs.
He hasn't done much in the way of extracurricular career activities, though he did have a cameo in High Fidelity. He's been a vocal political activist, especially lately. I think I could let it slide to a certain point, since his music has always been grounded in working-class experiences and narratives. It's kind of an extension of his persona. But he has a tendency to get a little preachy and sensational with his views, which annoys me regardless of stance. So I'm docking him a little bit for it. This is not the kind of entertainment I look to him for. I could watch O'Reilly or Olbermann if I wanted that kind of stuff (and I don't).
7.5
SINGER
I've heard a few people say derogatory things about his vocals, but I actually think he does a good job. He's kind of a chameleon with his style shifting. He's excellent at folk, good at rock, and passable at soul for a white guy.
His falsetto is pretty bad but he tries his heart out, and it can become haunting in the right setting (those sparse acoustic albums). Live, it sounds like he's pushing his voice to the limit on pretty much every song, in a good way. He certainly doesn't have the greatest timbre, but he is one of those voices that grows on you, and then feels like home once you're accustomed to it.
6.5
SONGWRITER
He's been steadily prolific at it for 40 years now. As with most who can crank out songs like McDonalds makes Big Macs, there are plenty of highs and plenty of lows. He's got sole writing credits for every song on all his studio albums, except the Pete Seeger tribute record and three songs co-written on the forgettable Human Touch. He's written some hits for other artists. His only #1 song was the Manfred Mann version of "Blinded by the Light". He also co-wrote Patti Smith's hit "Because the Night". He won an Oscar in '93 for "Streets of Philadelphia" and got robbed of another one last year when "The Wrestler" was snubbed in favor of some piece of crap gimmick song from Slumdog Millionaire.
Lyrically, he's grade A+ when he's at the top of his game, though he doesn't usually reside there. "Thunder Road", "The River", and "Brilliant Disguise" are among his masterpieces. He can be a brilliant storyteller. He often creates memorable characters and develops them as a song unfolds. His most identifiable theme is the American dream, and he's written it from every angle. Restless youth, naive hope, bitterness of reality, frustration with social injustices, idealistic love, broken admission of failure in marriage, post-9/11 heartache, etc.
Musically, he's kept it pretty straightforward. He actually showed the most complexity early on, but pretty much abandoned it by Born to Run in favor of familiar and comfortable arrangements. His melodies are often strong, but rarely unique, and sometimes cliche or arbitrary. Like Tom Petty, he's done a great job of making the same formula seem fresh for a long time. But while there may one day be college courses taught on his lyrics, there won't be any about the music.
8.0
INSTRUMENTALIST
He's adequate at the guitar and piano. He's totally in command when solely accompanying himself with either. Early in his career, he laid down some really cool electric guitar parts ("Kitty's Back", "Candy's Room", "The E Street Shuffle"), but he hasn't featured lead guitar much since the beginning of the 80's. Live, he's definitely the worst lead player of the three E Street guitarists, but he puts by far the most soul and aggression into his sloppy notes. Some might actually call him the best because of that. His playing isn't groundbreaking or influential in any way, it's just solid accompaniment for the songs, which are usually the true focal point.
6.0
WEIGHTED MUSICAL OUTPUT
One of the great things about his career is that some of his most overlooked spots contain some of his best achievements. I personally prefer his second album (The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle) to anything else he's ever done. And while Tunnel of Love was a commercial letdown after his mid-80s arena rocking superstardom, I prefer its personal struggling and candid honesty to the fist-pumping feel-good sound of Born in the U.S.A. (which isn't as feel-good as it sounds anyway). In the last decade, he's reunited his band and put out 5 albums of new material. The Rising is by far the best of it, but there are a few worthy additions to his career highlights on all of them. Which isn't to say the albums are that stellar, but it's impressive that a guy pushing 60 who has written and released well over 200 songs still has a few good ones left in him. It's rare in the music world.
Top 2%ers
"Rosalita" - It's over 7 minutes long, and functions like a mini rock opera. In other words, it never drags its feet. On the contrary, it only revs up more as it develops and rarely retraces its tracks. It's full of playfulness and excitement, and serves as the culmination of all his pre-Born to Run raw talents.
"Thunder Road" - Lyrically superb. Unconventional song structure. Beautiful, quixotic, and desperate, it kicks off his seminal album quite perfectly. One of the best opening verses ever:
The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me, and I want you only
Don't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside, darling, you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright
Oh, and that's alright with me
"Born to Run" - Maybe a little too obvious of a choice, but it's deserving.
Worst Offenses
Some would say the "Dancing in the Dark" music video, containing horrible white people dancing with teenage Courtney Cox, and they would be right (but I like the song). He's also written dozens of songs that I'd call redundant or forgettable or even bad, but none of them are truly awful. Except:
"Born in the U.S.A." - Punishingly repetitive. Synth hook never stops or changes. Drums never change. Can't stand to hear it. Often mistaken for a patriotic anthem when it's actually a lament for war veterans. It's probably his most well-known song and that's a damn shame.
One-Disc Wonder?
No. His playlist was 2 hours long, and that's after I cut at least 10 or 12 songs that I initially wanted to keep. I am left with 29 songs that have endeared themselves to me, and stand out as special or noteworthy for one reason or another.
8.0
DGI SCORE: 7.2
(That's right. Higher than Michael Jackson. Deal with it.)
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