Bruce Springsteen - How Rock Legend Engages Audience

I have been told by my wife that I am a music snob. I am guilty as charged in that I like to think I "know" what is groundbreaking and or significant in the world of music or at least in my strange combination of genres. I have always gravitated towards two things, lyrical content and whatever elicits that visceral rush. You know the feeling. Like the opening riff in the Who's "Baba O'Reily" or "Happy" from the Stones. You feel it right in your gut.  It may also come in a ballad with a chorus that you sing at the top of your lungs and don't care who hears you! Please no Jimmy Buffett allowed....I told you I was a SNOB!

This week I watched the newly released documentary "The Promise" of the making of Bruce Springsteen's follow up album to his 1975's masterpiece "Born to Run." The long awaited "Darkness on the Edge of Town" was released in 1978 after a protracted legal battle with his manager over the rights to his music. Both now have in some way made amends although I doubt many of us would have forgiven someone who essentially kept us from our art and passion not to mention the ability to make a living.

Springsteen and his E-Street Band were and are family. The pressure Springsteen mentions as band leader must have been immense and you can see it on his face and in his obsessions in the studio. Shouldering the responsibility of his mates with a lack of funds due to the lawsuit must have been a bitter pill especially after the huge success of  "Born to Run" and a Time Magazine Cover declaring him Rock Star Royalty. The lawsuit    meant the band could only tour and after a two year absence in the studio the viability of the band began to come into question.

He was 27 and although the theme of his masterpiece Born to Run was about Hope and "Getting Out" he was now in a different space."Darkness" was more about all of those Jersey places, people and things of which he was still very much connected but could not ignore or escape and did he really want to. He spoke about pulling back those layers of what is a tough existence and dealing with the raw emotions perhaps for the first time. It was Springsteen truly becoming a Man.

Heady stuff that was driven by a more bare-bones sound that was crafted perfectly with the message. It is the message that struck me even more this week, more than when my friends and I said "wow" after the first listen 32 years ago. I sat literally on the edge of my couch this week as  I watched him talk, craft, mix, play, sing and share his heart.

"The Boss" has sold more than 120 million records but by all accounts he is a down home humble guy involved with his family and even seen at the public bowling alley on weekends.  What I think sets him apart from most musicians is his passion for his craft, respect for those who came before him, his altruistic nature and his willingness to step out from under the Rock Star God Status. He has continued to release meaningful work that never disappoints. Springsteen concerts are legendary for their length and his personal connection with the audience. He understands what few do in that the magic is on loan and only occurs when both performer and audience are truly engaged.  Springsteen's connection involves the rare and precious baring of his soul as witness to the commonalty of the human condition.

Everybody's got a secret, Sonny, 

Something that they just can't face, 
Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it, 
They carry it with them every step that they take. 
Till some day they just cut it loose 
Cut it loose or let it drag 'em down, 
Where no one asks any questions, 
or looks too long in your face, 
In the darkness on the edge of town.
From Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen