Monday February 1, 2010 10:37
Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen
Product Description
The definitive look at The Boss and how his music has both shaped and confronted American mythologyEmerging on the music scene with 1973’s “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.”, Bruce Springsteen was heralded as “the future of rock and roll”, and since then his influence and popularity have exploded. Rob Kirkpatrick’s Magic in the Night uses Springsteen’s biography as a lens through which listeners can reevaluate his music as he morphs from “the next Bob Dylan” to… More >>
Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen
Related posts:
- Bruce Springsteen & The ESB -The Making of Magic (Part 2/2) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band recording “Magic”....
- Bruce Springsteen & The ESB -The Making of Magic (Part 2/2) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band recording “Magic”....
- Bruce Springsteen & The ESB -The Making of Magic (Part 2/2) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band recording “Magic”....
- Bruce Springsteen & The ESB -The Making of Magic (Part 2/2) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band recording “Magic”....
- Bruce Springsteen & The ESB -The Making of Magic (Part 2/2) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band recording “Magic”....
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
- Category: Bruce Springsteen
- (5) Comments
Bradley F. Smith
February 1st, 2010 at 12:12 pm
The author makes no bones about his zealous fandom for Bruce, so if you seek a critically dispassionate look at the Boss, this book is not for you. Inside, you get a fan’s analysis of each album. I found the related info about the records more useful than the song by song analysis, which bored me. Enough already. Springsteen had some good tunes in the 80s – mainly on Tunnel of Love where he didn’t scream – but Max Weinberg’s heavy handed drumming isn’t my cup of tea and Bruce’s vocals are always a dicey prospect. If you lost track of Bruce soon after Born in the USA, as many did, then this book will catch you up on what he did since then. For real fans only.
Rating: 3 / 5
Stone Coyote
February 1st, 2010 at 2:21 pm
The author does not introduce a whole lot of new information but it is still a read worth having. It was my impression that the book was going to go in depth with Springsteen’s songwriting but it is merely a biography.
Rating: 4 / 5
Midwest Book Review
February 1st, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Other books have covered the life and works of popular musician Bruce Springsteen, but few offer the depth of analysis and critical assessment of The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen, which opens with a brief biography before it turns to the heart of the matter: all of his significant albums, in chronological order, which provide a musical analysis of themes, motifs, and underlying ideas. College-level students of popular music will appreciate the attention to detail and the insights which lend to a far greater appreciation for Bruce Springsteen’s works.
Rating: 5 / 5
Carolyn Russ
February 1st, 2010 at 6:16 pm
I was given this as a Christmas present. I had to force myself to finish it because it is so poorly written. Kirkpatrick’s book is really not an analysis, it’s a recitation. He fails to connect the dots in Bruce’s songs over time – the religious themes, the notion of grace, the meanings of all those willows, dusty beach roads and dresses. Although he does get to the highways, he doesn’t do much more with the place of roads and highways in Bruce’s lyrics than enumerate them. There’s just not a lot of real insight.
There are also infuriating errors which may be due to bad editing rather than Kirkpatrick’s ignorance. One, when “Mary’s dress waives” (sic), what is she waiving – her rights? Then, he repeatedly refers to the Clash’s “Sandanista” (sic) – come on, the guy’s name was SANDINO, it’s a political party, not just an album title – get it correct.
The interpretations of songs are sometimes just wrong – for example, in “Tougher Than the Rest”, Kirkpatrick states that all the guy wants in the world is for the girl to dance with him. NNNOOOOOO – all the guy wants is a second chance in life, a shot at redemption!
This book just really disappointed me. I’ve listened to all these lyrics for years, and have probably seen Bruce about 10 times in concert. I am a huge fan, but not a fanatic. And I could have come up with deeper thoughts on his lyrics than this. Kirkpatrick is playing in the shallow end.
Rating: 1 / 5
P. Christopher
February 1st, 2010 at 7:28 pm
The book seems to be better suited for me as a companion to the songs off the albums covered in this book. I tried to sit down and just flat out read the book, but grew bored quick!
Being a huge Springsteen fan relating to the songs isnt the issue, I wanted something that gave me some history behind the lyrics. The book does a fair job at that….
I did however have the book laying in my office one day while I was listening to “Darkness on the edge of town” and picked the book up and lightly read certain things that pertained to the song playing. Seemed to be a better fit for this book.
Rating: 3 / 5