Question about Springsteen

[burdette]

In terms of success on popular music charts, I admit I am a fair-weather Bruce Springsteen fan. I own Tunnel of Love, and don't really care for it except for the two most successful (I think) songs, Tunnel of Love and Brilliant Disguise. I also own Greatest Hits, and even some of those I'm not too keen on - I think it probably works out to "the more successful on the popular charts, the more likely I like it." And, when Springsteen fans talk about great Springsteen songs, I don't usually recognize the title as a pop chart-topper.

So, my question is... do true Springsteen fans consider his successful "pop" songs to be a "different" set of songs than his "real" stuff? Does he have two different modes of song writing, one that is really "the Boss" and one that wants/needs/? a song to top the pop charts?

In terms of Springsteen's music, is it that I am one of the mass-market sheep that likes his "pop" stuff so buys the occasional CD but never really gets into his real stuff so doesn't buy every import and bootleg etc. available?

Upon writing that, I realize I feel exactly the same way about the Beatles. The stuff of theirs I like (which is usually the pop-chart stuff), I *really* like; a LOT of the other album stuff, just never got into.

[TroyD]

That's a pretty fair question. IMO, I don't think that Springsteen has ever, really, written anything in order to appease the masses. I honestly his songs directly reflect his thoughts and visions on the things around him. I think if you follow the progression of his albums that they correspond directly with his thoughts and attitudes at the particular time in his life. I've found that his songs involve similar characters at different stages of thier lives.

Also, it's interesting that Springsteens singles chart performance, other than Born in the USA, have never really been all that stellar. Certainly not in step with the popularity of his live shows. His albums have always sold well but I don't think that he has ever had a #1 song. Dancing in the Dark reached #2. Of course, I also think the commercial success of Born in the USA was due in large part to the huge promotion efforts of his record label and the played up to the resurgence of patriotism of the Reagan years. I've always found it kind of strange as Born in the USA is not a flag waving song if you pay attention, it's really a critical song. Much of the Born in the USA material is not fundamentally different than the material on the Nebraska album (which has some fantastic stuff, BTW).

In the past few years, I've sort of fallen out of sorts with Springsteen's music, meaning, that I don't readily identify with the themes whereas, in my teens and early twenties, I would listen to the Born to Run album and think 'yeah, I can relate to that' then a little later, when I went through my divorce, I practically wore out my copy of Darkness on the Edge of Town. Blah, blah blah....

Anyway, my point to all this is that, IMO, that Springsteen's writing connected with a lot of people on a level that is pretty rare in pop culture. Born in the USA, being the anomally as in addition to that, was a huge commercial success.

BDT