Bruce Springsteen: Songs

Rating:
Summary: Glaringly Incomplete Collection
Review: There's nothing wrong with having most of Bruce Springsteen's lyrics collected in one place. Add some brief comments about each of the albums from which these songs were taken, throw in a few good photos of Bruce throughout the years, and you have a decent book. But...as is so often the case with Springsteen's releases, you get the feeling that this could have been so much more. There's much wasted space- each song is printed in large type over a blank white page. Springsteen's comments are wonderful, but too general and brief. I would have loved to have read thoughts on each song, although I realize that this may have been a formidable task. Finally, there are so many songs missing. Nothing from "Tracks" or the bonus disc of "Essential", none of the various soundtrack or B-sides, and nothing on the many essential songs that appear only on Live 75-85 like "Because The Night". The updated paperback version contains lyrics from "The Rising" and the two new songs from "Live In NYC", but that's really not enough to justify rebuying this book if you own the original hardback. So for an attractive collection of lyrics from Springsteen's major albums (most of which already contain lyrics), I suppose this book does the job. But given that his work consists of so much more, this is disappointingly and unnecessarily incomplete.

Rating:
Summary: More story...less lyrics
Review: This is a well written historical perspective of Springsteen's last twenty five years musically. Unfortunately, a true Springsteen fan already knows the lyrics to his songs inside and out. If the book had been all stories and Bruce's insights to his songwriting it would have been perfect. Bruce's own words gives the reader an inside view of the artist's thoughts, decisions, and the aspirations of his music. The picture history ties it all together as a great document of a truly one of a kind performer. I recommend this book to anyone who understood that "Born in the U.S.A." was not an anthem for America but a cynical protest against our treatment of the Vietnam veteran.

Rating:
Summary: Like getting inside the Boss's head.
Review: This is the complete song lyrics that Springsteen has recorded, PLUS tons of photos that I can't remember seeing before PLUS notebook pages that show him working on his songs PLUS he wrote an essay on each album. It's like sitting down and talking with him. Fantastic!

Rating:
Summary: The only yearbook you'll ever need!
Review: This is the only yearbook you'll ever need! This book pieced back together for me, just how magical the Jersey Shore is and was. If your a Bruce fan or are not a Bruce fan, this book will remind you of those charectors you grew up with, all those life long battles and romances, summer days and sunsets, drinking beers with the boys or just how full life can be. Springsteens information on what was going on in his life in refrence to his lyrics and musical sound choice, drive you back through the streets of your life. The storyies of his and yours will come racing back in a passionate way. Lyrics you may not have appreciated as a youth stand tall, bold and emotional. Filling in all those pot holes on Ocean Ave., Late nights at the Windmill and longing for the return of summer. As the "BENNYs" come back, just sit back and it will all seem funny...

Rating:
Summary: Nice to have but disappointing
Review: Unlike the brilliant Tracks album that was also released this week, Songs is a disappointment. With chapter lead-ins written by Bruce, it was billed as an inside look at the creative process of one of rock's greatest songwriters. It is an inside look, but a safe and sanitized one. The intro sections are quite short, with the bulk of the book devoted to reprinting the lyrics to Springsteen's recorded work. With the exception of Springsteen's second album, "The Wild, The Innocent..." all these lyrpcs have been included with the albums and hence have been available for years. There are a small number of handwritten pages from Springsteen's songwriting notebook, two of which are intriguing (in the sense that they are more than just the published lyrics in Bruce's handwriting): pages of notes and drafts that evolve into the song "Prove It All Night" and a couple of pages of song title ideas, which give a brief peak into Bruce's actual process of starting with the germ of an idea and then building on it or incorporating it into other ideas. Those who have watched and studied Bruce for years will be left yearning for more: for instance, there is scant reference to how Springsteen takes the words that he has written and sets them to music. Perhaps the most glaring omission, on first read, is the failure to reference how the turmoil of his failed first marriage and divorce affected his songwriting. The reader is taken from the Tunnel of Love chapter (whose songs were written toward the end of his first marriage) straight into the middle of his next relationship with Patti Scialfa. Those of us who followed the break-up with Julianne Philips, the beginning of the relationship with Patti, and then the creation of Bruce's family with Patti, are left to read between the lines and wonder. Frankly, the lyrics to some of Patti's songs on her first album are more illuminating. What makes this omission most disappointing is that earlier in his career, Bruce brought his audience right into his life and the troubles he had with his parents, particularly his father. Bruce obviously feels the need to protect his privacy, which is his right, but not what we have come to expect from this performer. One further note: the vast majority of the pictures in the book are of Bruce backstage or otherwise not performing -- there are hardly any performance shots. They're nice pictures, in some cases great pictures, but again, they leave the reader hungry for more. For the greatest collection of Bruce performance shots, check out the coffeetable book that came out several years ago, with an intro by Robert Hilburn.

Rating:
Summary: Not The Songs, But The SONGS
Review: Well, I first read the book in anticipation of just including Bruce's lyrics and that's all, bye bye John. I was pleasantly surprised to see his own annotations. And I was thrilled when I was through with reading; it made me love this guy's work even more. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the exclusion of less-known songs, unpublished songs. 'Twould make this book a lot more interesting

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have For Any Serious Rock Fan
Review: What can I say? Every word Bruce has ever published, interlaced with his comments and some great pictures we've never seen....You've gotta have it. Put it on your Christmas list.