Bruce
This sweeping biography of one of America’s greatest musicians is the first in twenty-five years to be written with the cooperation of Bruce Springsteen himself. With unfettered access to the artist, his family, and band members—including Clarenc
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The best Springsteen bio…so far,
Peter Ames Carlin’s biography of Paul McCartney wasn’t quite the definitive Macca bio…but it was the best so far. Same thing with this examination of Springsteen’s life. It’s great, but with an extra push he could have pushed this into a form of transcendence.
Overall, I liked the writing. It’s mostly breezy, and even the footnotes are fun. Some of the phrases made me cringe–they weren’t quite purple prose, but a long dip into the inkpot–but I found it engaging. (As a consequence, though, the readability of Carlin’s art made the clunkers stand out even more.) With close to three decades of Bruce fandom under my belt, I learned a lot about the man, his early years and of course his career. (Example: For the first time, I think, I finally ‘got’ the Mike Appel lawsuit.) Clearly Carlin researched his topic thoroughly, and his account of the early days of Springsteen’s career has a day-to-day immediacy to it that is exhilarating.
My main complaint is that the ending doesn’t hold up to the first four hundred pages or so. Events are presented a bit out of order, or then there’s a first mention of a person who, it occurs to you, should have been mentioned many chapters before. Much of what is depicted there has the air of ‘You already know this, so I’ll rush through it.’ For all the effort put into illustrating the Boss’ early years and first couple of albums, I would have appreciated a similar treatment for (to date) late-Springsteen music–even if it made the bio run another couple hundred of pages (or even into a second volume at a later date).
Do I recommend this book? Sure. As I said, it’s the best Boss bio so far. But can it be topped? One day, perhaps. In BRUCE, Carlin, as he did with McCartney, presents his subject as human, driven, mercurial, brilliant and flawed–which is really all one can hope for from a well-done biography.
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|Inside look at the magic of Bruce,
I had to start re-reading this book on Bruce as soon as I finished. It is an incredibly comprehensive inside look at the man and the artist. The author puts Bruce in a “lifetime” perspective that helps us understand the man from his earliest years through today. Although I have read many pieces on Bruce this one stands out for its insights on his lyrics, his madness for his art, his love of his extended family and his complicated relationships with fellow artists. It is painfully honest at times with Bruce seemingly giving the author incredible access to his most sacred thoughts and places. I have an entirely new perspective on songs I have listened to for as long as I can remember. This is a must read. Thanks for writing it.
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|Most personal biography on Bruce I’ve read,
In some ways, this biography is a rehash on the biography’s by Dave Marsh (Born to Run and Glory Days), but what Marsh didn’t give us, this book does, an intimate account of Bruce’s early life in New Jersey, to include dealing with a Manic Depressant father, which fueled Bruce’s loneliness (but gave us wonderful songs) and some very personal behind the scenes accounts of life on E-Street.
I’ve been a fan for nearly 40 years and Bruce has kept his personal life very guarded, which is ok with me and I respect that, but the effect of that has been a vision of Bruce constructed only from what his machine gave us.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the details of his early life. I’ve grown up with Bruce through his stories about his relationship with his father as told on stage and through his songs, but those only paint a picture of a father and son not getting along, as most fathers and sons don’t. The fact that Mr. Springsteen suffered from depression (and I would even bet it was PTSD from the traumatic loss of his sister from a horrific accident when they were young) has given me a whole new perspective to what a young Bruce, his Mom and his sisters must have endured. His father wasn’t just a stern, hardened man of the era wanting his son to pursue a noble profession, he was a deeply hurt man isolated and unable to connect with his family. This kind of depression went largely undiagnosed in those days and people had to deal with it the best they could, not truly knowing what was wrong. Bruce’s way of dealing with it was in words and music. A lot of teenagers are attracted to strapping on a guitar and being in a band just because it made you cool and you got all of the girls. Bruce strapped on that guitar to escape a fate he didn’t want anything to do with.
Especially precious were the details about Bruce and his relationship with his paternal grandparents, who basically raised him as a young child. They doted over him obsessively, much to the frustration of his mother. I enjoyed the same relationship with my grandparents so I understood and related to this part of Bruce’s life. It made me smile reading it.
The rest of the book of Bruce’s rise to stardom I’ve read before, but what I didn’t read about was some of the darker parts of life with Bruce by his band mates. For years, life on E-Street looked like pure Heaven on earth, playing in one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time, with one of the greatest rock and roll artist of all time.
All said, this book is perfect for the long time fan because we connect with Bruce on a level not enjoyed, nor understood by the casual fan. The casual fans may enjoy the book, but I don’t think will appreciate those intimate details as they are not connected to the songs.
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