I have often been accused that some of my favourite Bruce Springsteen songs are from the original "Tracks" CD set. "These are outtakes" they told me, "they're not from a 'proper' album". "How can they be your favourite songs?". Well there is a reason for that. When Springsteen consigned some of his songs to the vault it wasn't because they weren't good enough. It was just that they didn't fit into the particular album he was preparing at the time. More of these songs resurfaced on the deluxe box set editions of older albums that were re-released ("The Promise - The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story" and "The Ties That Bind - The River Collection") however in the case of "Tracks II" we're talking about whole albums that went missing.
You will probably wonder why I'm reviewing this now almost a year after it has been released. Well, it was a very expensive box set. Very expensive. There's certainly no comparison with the original "Tracks" nor with the larger "Darkness" and "River" box sets. (We're still waiting for the "Born In The U.S.A." one by the way. Just sayin'). I couldn't buy it when it came out. I had to go to Milano to see Bruce live remember?
I did get a taste of what was in there when I managed to get the "Lost And Found - Selections From The Lost Albums" 2CD set. And I very much liked what I heard. Finally I managed to get the whole set in December, using my credit card to pay in installments. Which means I'm still paying for it. And during the Christmas holidays I found the time to sit down and listen to it. And one of the reasons I'm writing this review is that I didn't expect to like it so much. I would listen to two albums every day and it was like "Wow! A new Bruce Springsteen album!". And then "Wow! Another new Bruce Springsteen album!". Bliss!
So, let's start at the beginning: "LA Garage Sessions '83". This is classic 80's Bruce and several of the songs are clearly in demo form. There are several songs we were already familiar with, some from b-sides ("Johnny Bye Bye", "Shut Out The Light"), some from concerts and bootlegs ("Follow That Dream") and there's even an alternate version of "My Hometown" thrown in for good measure.
Next up is "Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions". That was the one I was mostly looking forward to. There was always talk about that "lost electronic album" from the 90's where Bruce plays synthesizers and uses drum loops. Now I have been accused (by the same people, mind you) that "I listen to that electronic stuff a lot". It's true. I like synth-pop and during the 90's I was into dance music. So I was intrigued that Bruce had the same influences and filled a whole album with them. As he mentioned on the book that is inside the box set he bought CD's full of drum tracks (maybe some that I own as well from Simon Harris's "Beats Breaks And Scratches" series? Who knows?). In the same book he goes on to say that they used these drum loops but later replaced them and played them themselves. They did keep a couple though and one of them is in the version of "Secret Garden" that's featured here. And as an added bonus, "Waiting On The End Of The World" is another song on this album, a track that previously I could only find on a YouTube video featuring an image of a Rolling Stone issue with Bruce on the cover.
The next album in the set is "Faithless", a soundtrack to a film that was never made. That was the one I expected to like the least. I thought that it wouldn't work without having seen the film. But, there is no film, is there?. That fact alone makes this conversation irrelevant. As expected, there are a few instrumentals, but the title track is my favourite.
"Somewhere North Of Nashville", the next album is a country album that Bruce was working on simultaneously with "Ghost Of Tom Joad". I was surprised to find here alternate versions of my two favourite b-sides "Stand On It" and "Janey Don't You Lose Heart".
"Inyo" on the other hand, is Bruce's "Mexican" album if you can call it that. The songs tell stories that take place around te Mexican border which immediately bring "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" to mind.
The penultimate album "Twilight Hours" is the companion to "Western Stars" with more Burt Bacharach and less Glen Campbell this time Now this is one album I really didn't expect to like. I wouldn't want to listen to Bruce playing the "crooner", I thought. But, surprise, surprise, it's one of my favourite albums on the set. Maybe I'm getting old... Anyway, "Sunday Love" is simply brilliant and "I'll Stand By You" which was originally written for the first Harry Potter movie but was later featured in the "Blinded By The Light" film is also included here.
Finally "Perfect World" wasn't a "lost album" per se, but something that was put together by Bruce collecting tracks from the vault with several of them being quite recent. This could have easily been an E Street band album and "You Lifted Me Up" is one of my favourite songs of the whole box set.
All in all, "Tracks II - The Lost Albums" made my Christmas holiday much brighter and I still wonder why Bruce wouldn't released these albums one by one every couple of years. It would have been cheaper for the fans. Aah, but I can't complain... I finally BOUGHT IT! (And Bruce promises there are more tracks in the vault)
I remember first seeing Lenny Kravitz on MTV in the early 90's (Or was it the late 80's?) Despite his heavy exposure, at first he was struggling to have a hit. The rumours back in the day said that he was promoted so heavily, because his parents were in the music business. However, another rumour said that he didn't seek the help of his parents and that he wanted to make it on his own. And that's what he did! I never bought one of his CD's back then, though. Until 2001 that is. That's when I was working at a record shop on London's Oxford Street. Some supplier brought us several promo copies of his "Greatest Hits" album. It was just the disc in a simple cardboard sleeve. I got one of these, as I thought it was too good a bargain to miss. And that's how I really got into his music!
When I arrived, The Last Internationale were already playing under a hot and blazing sun. I should mention here that concerts in August by international artists are uncommon in Greece, probably because promoters think that everybody will be on their summer vacation. (Most people in Athens tend to go on their summer vacation on the two weeks between the 1st and the 15th of August which is a good enough reason to avoid the popular vacation spots). Those of us who are left behind (I prefer to go on my summer holiday in September) usually enjoy the empty and quiet city, but dislike the fact that there are no gigs to attend. So, this festival date was a welcome break from the usual routine.
Next in line were Sleaford Mods. I was really looking forward to seeing them again, because they had fairly recently released a cover version of "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys. It seems they usually add a cover version to their set, because when I had last seen them two tears before they had performed Yazoo's "Don't Go". Sure enough, they didn't disappoint and they played it.
While they were still playing I took a stroll around the festival grounds to see what was on offer. As this was yet another festival (compared to Release and Ejekt), there were yet more differences. (Not so many freebies, though!). On the merchandise stand however, I found the latest album from The Last Internationale! Having by now seen them twice, this was rightfully my purchase of the night.
On my way back, I found some lawn chairs and that's where I sat down to wait for Lenny. Soon enough, there he was bursting into "Are You Gonna Go My Way?'. I was not familiar with his latest songs, but that didn't matter as he played a lot of his 90's classics. And by looking around at the audience I realized that this event was what I had suspected it to be: A 90's reunion party! A lot of the people attending had grown up in the 90's or at least they were in their 20's, so it was a really emotional time for them. And as Lenny finished his encore with "Let Love Rule" we all went home on a high note and a nostalgic mood...
Just a note of caution, though: When Greek fans buy a t-shirt of their favourite artist they should always read everything that's written on it. Especially at the back of it... since they are always eager to point out how sensitive they are about certain issues since the 90's. I bought a t-shirt (and a cap, mind you) - albeit, an unofficial one - but then again, I don't mind these things. Just sayin'...
SETLISTS:
THE LAST INTERNATIONALE 01. Kick Out The Jams 02. Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Indian Blood 03. 1984 04. Hero 05. Soul On Fire 06. Wanted Man 07. Hard Times 08. 1968 09. Hit 'em With Your Blues
SLEAFORD MODS 01. UK GRIM 02. Kebab Spider 03. Jolly Fucker 04. A Little Ditty 05. Air Conditioning 06. Force 10 From Navarone 07. T.C.R. 08. Mork N Mindy 09. B.H.S. 10. Tiswas 11. Stick In A Five And Go 12. Fizzy 13. West End Girls 14. Tarantula Deadly Cargo 15. Nudge It 16. Tied Up In Nottz 17. Jobseeker 18. Tweet Tweet Tweet
In my mind, I have a list of my favourite movies. When I see a movie that enters the top 10 this is great news. It means that this movie has affected me in some important way. But the number one movie in this list has remained constant for decades. It's "Until The End Of The World" by Wim Wenders.
It all happened quite by accident. It was on late at night, on a summer's night on a Greek TV channel. I sat down to watch it because I thought "Ah, that's the movie where that U2 song is featured". I had a few doubts at first because it was a Wim Wenders movie and I considered him to be a "difficult" director. Three hours later, as the credits were rolling I was sitting, dumbfounded, on my couch thinking "What the **** has just happened?" I couldn't believe what I had just seen and experienced. I knew right there and then that this was the best movie I had ever seen.
But the question is "why?" Why was this the best movie ever, at least for me? Well, I guess that it has to do with all the travelling done in the movie. Indeed, I love road movies, but this is a road movie whose characters are moving all around the world, a world which comes close to destruction, but in the end, while our heroes have gathered at one of its most remote corners, (SPOILER ALERT!), it is saved. That the two main characters fall in love during this journey, probably has something to do with it as well. Not to mention that it was set at the turn of the millennium which was then still a few years ahead in the future (This is after all a 1991 movie).
Another reason is the soundtrack. As you probably know well by know, music plays an important role - probably the most important - in my life. And although my decision to watch this movie the first time was because it contained a U2 song, which in fact is its title track ("Until The End Of The World" originally from "Achtung Baby"), it was other songs featured in the movie that made me fall in love with it. My favourites are : "Silent Kisses, Winter Tears" performed by Julee Cruise (but then again, this song was produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, a fact which says quite a lot), Nick Cave's "(I'll Love You) Till The End Of The World" (his "thank you girl" line at the beginning of the chorus is just sublime), "Death's Door" by Depeche Mode (all DM songs - at least during that era - sung by Martin Gore tended to be more downtempo and atmospheric and thus, appropriate for a movie), and finally the best one: "Calling All Angels". I love k.d. lang's voice, even though she's just a guest providing additional vocals on a song performed by Jane Siberry. Their combined vocals in the chorus is, in my opinion. the highlight of this soundtrack. There is also "Days", a Kinks cover by Elvis Costello, but no version of this song ever is going to surpass the one sung by Kirsty McCall in 1989.
The connection of Wim Wenders with U2 continued with his next movie "Faraway, So Close" which featured "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" from the "Zooropa" album as its title track. That movie was actually the sequel to his earlier "Wings Of Desire". Because of this fact, I also watched these last two movies and Wim Wenders, whom at first I had thought of as "difficult", became one of my favourite directors. On top of that, I fell in love with Solveig Dommartin who stars in all these three movies I have discussed here and I was deeply saddened, years later, when I learned that she was no longer with us.
"Until The End Of The World" may be my favourite movie of all time, but this isn't a view that is shared by many others. The movie didn't get good reviews and it seems its production was chaotic, mainly due to the fact that it was shot all over the world using different, mainly local, crews. But I love it, and the atmosphere it creates and I find myself watching it again every once in a while. In fact, the reason I'm writing this blog post now, is because a couple of months ago I watched the 4 hour director's cut for the first time from a special 3DVD box set. Meanwhile Wim Wenders had once again collaborated with U2 on "The Million Dollar Hotel" and it wasn't until years later that I finally watched what is considered by critics to be Wim Wenders's finest film, "Paris Texas".
And since I have mentioned my favourite movie list, here is how it currently stands:
01. Until The End Of The World - Wim Wenders (1991) 02. Dark City - Alex Proyas (1998) 03. Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino (1994) 04. Donnie Darko - Richard Kelly (2001) 05. Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson (2012) 06. Loving Vincent - Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman (2017) 07. Bohemian Rhapsody - Bryan Singer (2018) 08. Le Havre - Aki Kaourismaki (2011) 09. The Corporation - Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott (2003) 10. Casablanca - Michael Curtiz (1942) 11. Before The Rain - Milcho Manchevski (1994) 12. Forrest Gump - Robert Zemeckis (1994) 13. Ghostbusters - Ivan Reitman (1984) 14. The Shining - Stanley Kubrick (1980) 15. Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez (2007) 16. The Wall - Alan Parker (1982) 17. High Fidelity - Stephen Frears (2000) 18. Three Colours Red - Krzysztof Kieslowski (1994) 19. Mulholland Drive - David Lynch (2001) 20. Summer Lovers - Randal Kleiser (1982)
Us Bruce Springsteen fans were quite excited when the "Blinded By The Light" movie was released a few years ago. It told the story of a British Asian teenager who was a Springsteen fan in the 80's. I've seen the movie at the cinema, bought the DVD and the soundtrack CD which featured some rare live tracks and a "new" song "I'll Stand By You" which was originally intended for the first Harry Potter movie. Not to mention a couple of other 80's songs by A-Ha and the Pet Shop Boys. So why am I writing this now? Well, it's because I've also read the book. It's called "Greetings From Bury Park" and it goes much further than the storyline of the movie.
It tells us all about his life, not just as a teenager as we see him in the movie, but as an adult as well, who gets married and becomes a father. But the most important thing is that it shows us how Bruce Springsteen appeals to everyone, no matter what colour, religion or nationality. And it shows us how his music can help people through hard times, even if they're not the "typical" American fan. Having lived in Britain myself, during most of the period that the main events in the book take place, and having socialized with members of the British Asian community while I was there, many of the things and events described in the book are familiar to me. If you're Bruce fans you have probably already seen the movie, but I strongly urge you to read the book as well.
What is Dance Craze? Well, let me start by saying that I'm referring to a film. A 1981 film about the 2 Tone bands and the ska revival at the beginning of the 80's.
I got interested in that scene when I read about Madness and The Specials back in the day. I hadn't heard any of their music but I saw the albums and their reviews in a Greek music magazine so I bought "One Step Beyond" the debut album by Madness. According to the article I had read "ska is reggae played very fast". It also stated that "there's reggae, there's ska and in between there's rock steady whose tempo is somewhere in between reggae and ska". The article erroneously stated that "ska had evolved from reggae" when in fact the truth is that it happened the other way round. The bands that played that music according to the article were "Madness, The Specials, The Selecters (sic) and the Ruts" (As we all know that band's proper name is "The Selecter"). So after "One Step Beyond" I bought the first Specials album, their "Too Much Too Young" single and the first Selecter album. I didn't however buy anything from The Ruts because they weren't mentioned again as part of that scene. Instead I bought albums by The Beat and The Bad Manners.
And suddenly, at some point, all these bands appeared together in a live album called "Dance Craze". This was apparently the soundtrack of a movie showing all these bands playing live. Of course the movie was never shown in Greece, but the album was released featuring a poster with all 6 bands (Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, The Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers).
I never managed to find the film after I had moved to Britain and when I once again looked for it recently I learnt that it had never been released on DVD. I managed however to find a VHS copy. So the next thing I had to do was buy a VCR!
I managed to find a second hand stereo one and once I had connected everything I managed to finally see the movie 40 years later! Well, better late than never!
I have followed the 2 Tone scene over the years buying more albums from these bands and I even managed to see two of them live: Madness in 2007 and The Specials in 2010. I have just been informed though that Dance Craze is now being released on DVD and on a deluxe edition triple CD. I have already ordered both and I will finally manage to see a restored stereo version.
With Bruce Springsteen starting his new tour in the US in Tampa,FL (a city where I have lived and worked in), a tour which will later come to Europe, I decided to listen to "Letter To You" again. As it happened, it was snowing on that day which seemed to fit in with the album cover. This was after all the album he was going to promote with a tour before the lockdowns changed all these plans. In the meantime, he also released a covers album ("Only The Strong Survive") and it was apparent from the Tampa setlist that he was going to promote both of them, but he would focus more on "Letter To You".
This time I decided to listen to my vinyl copy for the first time instead of the CD. I used to buy Bruce's albums on both vinyl and CD, but I don't do anymore because this could prove to be a costly habit. However, I decided to buy this one when I found out that it was going to be a three-side album, with the fourth side being etched. And I secured a grey coloured vinyl as well.
I was surprised once again by how good an album it was. That's why I decided to write this belated review. I used to review all new Bruce albums in this blog, but somehow I stopped after "High Hopes".
First of all, it seems to be bookended by two songs about loss ("One Minute You're Here" and "I'll See You In My Dreams"). Having experienced personal loss in the past year, these two songs meant much more to me this time around. The title track, "House Of A Thousand Guitars" and "Song For Orphans" (the latter being one of three early songs that he re-recorded for this album) were my favourites when I first listened to it. This time round, apart from the opening and closing tracks I also appreciated "Burnin' Train" more. And let's not forget the drum intro of "Ghosts" which makes you think that he's about into "We Take Care Of Our Own" at any minute.
"Ghosts" and "Burnin' Train" look like they're going to be regulars on the setlists of this tour. Of course, that could change by the time the tour arrives in Europe at which moment I hope I will be able to see him and The E Street Band once again...
My first experience of pop stars singing Christmas songs came in December 1984. It was then that Queen, Wham! and Band Aid all released Christmas singles. ("Thank God It's Christmas", "Last Christmas" and "Do They Know It's Christmas" respectively). In the UK charts Band Aid went to number 1, Wham! were stuck at number 2 (because of Band Aid) and Queen, well, with that abundance of popular Christmas singles that year stalled at number 21. There had been of course Christmas pop hits before that and I got acquainted with most of those that were popular in the UK by acquiring "NOW The Christmas Album" (part of the "NOW That's What I Call Music" series). But then, in 1987, something happened: "A Very Special Christmas" was released with all proceeds going to the Special Olympics. That's the album which brought to my attention - albeit in new versions - the classic Christmas pop songs, several of which had been featured in what was considered the ultimate Christmas pop album: "A Christmas Gift For You", aka "Phil Spector's Christmas Album".
That's where I got "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (sung in the "rock" way, with emphasis on the first word, the same way that Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band sing it). Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band were in it as well, with "Merry Christmas Baby", which I already had as a B-Side of "War" the first single from the "Live 1975-85" box set. Other members of The E Street Band can be found on the album, namely Clarence Clemons and Roy Bittan playing on other songs. Artists from the Phil Spector Christmas album also make appearances such as Darlene Love who sings backing vocals on U2's cover of the song she herself had performed on the Phil Spector Christmas Album ("Christmas (Baby Please Come Home"). Bon Jovi were also in there with "Back Door Santa", however 5 years later that song was replaced with another from the same band, "I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas". I haven't figured why this happened. Were perhaps the lyrics of "Back Door Santa" considered too seedy for a family Christmas album? Run DMC are also there with what was probably the first hip hop Christmas song, an original called "Christmas In Hollis". But one of the highlights of the album is "Silent Night" with haunting vocals by Stevie Nicks. What makes this version more amazing is something that you would have to refer to the liner notes to discover: The backing vocals by Robbie Nevil. You might of course had easily recognized his voice, since he had a hit earlier that year with "C'Est La Vie".
Since then there have been many more albums in that series (six more at first and then some 25th anniversary and special editions, plus a DVD). And from those sequels, I will single out "Oi To The World", an original by No Doubt, true to their ska/punk roots.
10 years ago, on the 6th of March 2012, one of the most important albums in my collection was released: Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball". We knew there was going to be a new album since late 2011 when the world tour had been announced but we didn't know what the album was going to be like. There were many people who dismissed it as a bad album because (in their own words) "Bruce doesn't release any good music anymore", in fact there are many who still do (dismiss it as a bad album that is). Nothing could be further from the truth as I pointed out in my original review of the album which was the first post written in English on this blog (because my friends from the social media asked for it) and prompted me to convert my blog into an "English speaking" one since January of the following year, 2013.
My opinion on the Bruce Springsteen albums since 2007's "Magic" is a very specific one. First of all, going back to 2002, I think all fans agree that "The Rising" is a great album. I will not examine "Devils + Dust" and "The Seeger Sessions" because the former is a "solo" album (ie without the E Street Band) and the latter is a completely different project. So, it's clear that we're talking about albums with the E Street Band here. And from Magic onward a specific pattern seems to have emerged : One especially good album followed by a "not so good" one.
Let's examine this: I think most fans agree that "Magic" is a very good album, what with its depiction of Bush-era America et al. This was followed in early 2009 by "Working On A Dream" which consisted of songs written on the road during the previous year's tour and seemed to serve as a companion to the following year's tour. In fact, after the first few dates of that tour, Bruce dropped most songs from the album keeping only two: the title track and "Outlaw Pete". In the same manner, "Wrecking Ball" which was indeed a good album (and I'm going to remind you why that was soon) was followed by 2014's "High Hopes" which featured some older outtakes, new versions of older tracks recorded during the previous year's tour (though we were finally glad to have an electric version of "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" and a studio version of "American Skin"), and seemed to serve as a companion to the following year's tour...
So, back to "Wrecking Ball". It is indeed a great album. When the title was announced we realized that we knew one of the songs: The title track had already been released back in 2009 in a live version from Giants Stadium. One year later it was also released in a physical format as a 10 inch vinyl single. However, when we actually heard the album, a few days before it was released we realized what it was about. And it had come out at the right time: Bruce had written these songs about the recession in the United States, but by reading the lyrics we realized that he could just have written them about Greece, a country that was suffering from austerity measures at the time. And that made us look forward with even more anticipation to the European tour which, for some of us, would begin on the 10th of June in Florence which turned out to be a night to remember, for a totally different reason... There will hopefully be more about that in June when the 10th anniversary of that tour comes. In the meantime, you can read my original review of the album again which you can find at this address : http://papdx.blogspot.com/2012/03/bring-on-your-wrecking-ball_05.html. There's no need to repeat it here. As I re-read it myself after all these years, I realized that I needn't change a single word...
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