[Marianne]

FYI

[Revolting cat!]

Bruce is a manufactured Bob Dylan. His Svengali was rock critic par excellence, former editor of the great Fusion Magazine, and most recently film producer (Titanic, if I'm not mistaken,) Jon Landau. Keith Richards captured the essence of Bruce when he said many years ago that his music sounds "contrived".

[Chi-townChief]

Pretty good article - I admit that I was a Springsteen fan back in the 70s but we're all entitled to a mistake or two.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

Replace 'Springsteen' with 'President Clinton' and the article still largely holds true.

[Aggie Mama]

BTTT

[Arkinsaw]

At the risk of being called a Bruceophile I'll make my comment anyway. I'm not sure the author of this piece has actually listened to the album. Most of the album, it seems to me, is aimed at those who lost family members on 9/11 and deals primarily with personal loss and redemption.

The songs deal with a variety of feelings that came out of 9/11 including loss, revenge, peace, war, resurrection, duty, faith, etc. These things are dealt with as they come and as they are and Springsteen doesn't seem to inject to much beyond the personal. He really makes no grand political statement and he articulates the desire for revenge several times throughout the album. His only qualification seems to be a desire that the revenge be focused (think before you shoot - tree of evil,tree of good). His statements in interviews that he was pleased with the Afghanistan operation because it was well thought out seems to echo the sentiment on the album.

To me this not a political album and is instead a very personal album. I find absolutely nothing on it with which I can find a political complaint. Even his song about the suicide bomber strikes me as pointing out the deadness of the bomber and the finality of it and puts that in opposition to another path that leads to life.

Springsteen seems to have taken on the idea that he is the heir to Woody Guthrie. We can perhaps find some complaints with that and have some valid criticism of both the concept and the results. But this album, in my opinion, was a labor of love outside that concept. Done for the city of New York and the families of those who died. If I were a family member I think several of these songs would provide great comfort to me.

The song "Empty Sky" is to me, the one song of any that I have heard that captures the morning of Sept. 11. For me, I know that 25 years from now I will be able to listen to that song and capture that morning. To me, that is art. So whatever his politics, or whatever criticisms I may have for "41 Shots", etc., I am always going to be grateful to him for that song.

[WhiteGuy]

I still love The Boss & The E Street Band.

Their first 4 albums were still their best work.

THE CULT OF BRUCE (fawning over Springsteen)

The author thinks this is bad?

He should surf over to "A day in the life of president bush"

[Barnacle]

I would say that Springsteen was one of the most over-rated talents ever. But, that might imply that Springsteen had talent.

[beckett]

Springsteen is an alright guy, but Judge is right about the repulsive fawning. Matt Whatshisface, Couric's sidekick at NBC, said something like, "I'll be able to tell my kids I was there," when Bruce played at Battery Park for the Today show.

You were there, Matt? You work there, you idiot! Besides, I've been to a few supposedly world-transforming cultural events myself, and the truth is almost all of them have disappeared into the great ocean of forgetfulness. A few so-so tunes by the "great" Bruce Springsteen ain't that big a deal.

[Roscoe]

Paging Robert Hilburn...

[Minn]

Bruce has added more than his share to the legacy of R&R and has alwasy given a hell of a show. His Boyhood chum, Southide Johnny however, has added much more to my enjoyment of life. It's great that Southside has never made the big time. It allows for enjoyment of the music without the pointless arguments generated by Bruce's megafame.

[Middle Man]

When he burst on the scene in the 70's he was simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines. The fact that those two mainstream rags were pushing him so hard smacked of overhype then and still does today.

There's something not right with a counter-culture hero who once gave George F. Will a backstage pass.

[rockfish59]

'The Boss' speaks for the working man!
HARDY 'EFFIN HARR!!

There's nothing worse than a rich liberal!

[amused]

THE BOSS RULES....period.

BTW have I mentioned I'm from Jersey. ;-)