The heart can be a horrible thing. Horrible in that it dissuades logic and reason and throws irrationality to the fore, and in 1970, the weaker strains of the heart were all The Beatles had left.
THE END OF LEGENDS
The narrative for the eventual Beatle break-up has two well-trodden beginnings: the death of Brian Epstein and the emergence of Yoko Ono – with neither one placing blame on The Beatles themselves. In the ashes of the break-up such thought was heresy. The Beatles were musical gods, the Lennon-McCartney partnership etched into musical history. They had saved a generation from the death of Camelot, and no one could believe that the members of the inner circle were capable of their own undoing. Such was the power of The Beatles that individualism could not be deemed the cause. The heart played tricks on The Beatle-loving public, and even as time wore on the blame kept landing on individuals outside of the fabulous foursome.
Even with the lavish attention that was fostered on the quartet, we, the public, only had glimpses of each band member’s desires. Let It Be showed the band under tremendous strain, but we insisted that the arm-twisting of McCartney only be seen as him trying to keep the band together, rather than driving it apart.
Yet The Beatles were four men, and only four men, replete with differing ideas, who had nonetheless worked together well enough to coalesce into a sound that defined an era. Men can only be human, their acts the only thing that becomes immortal. The Beatles had slipped the reins of being individual members; they were an entity that couldn’t possibly fall victim to human error. Such is the cruelty of the heart. They officially broke up in April of 1970, but their identity would forever linger, a ghost that would haunt their individual lives and careers as long as teach had a mortal coil.
Pressure Drop, the follow-up to 1974′s Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley would find Robert Palmer at an interesting crossroads in his career as despite the great craftsmanship on his previous LP he was still vastly unknown outside of the NYC music scene. As a result, Pressure Drop was not as cohesive as an album due to the desire to be more commercial. Unfortunately for Palmer, 1976 was a time where schmaltzy and breezy arrangements were in high demand and despite his best efforts this makes the album quite dated. However, the highlights on here stand up along with the best of Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley, from the title track (a cover of the famous Toots & The Maytals tune), to the slow burn of “Fine Time” as well as the rollicking “Riverboat” and “Trouble”,it’s quite clear (even from the album cover) that Palmer and his crack session band of Little Feat and the Muscle Shoals Horn Section and even James Jamerson (the bassist of Motown fame) have a whole lot of fun.
To many people, Robert Palmer represents the power of MTV when music videos were in their heyday, a man whose sartorial talents were the great substance behind numbers like “Simply Irresistable” and “Addicted To Love”. Both numbers are products of their time and suffer greatly as a result, propelled by the videos of attractive women peddling instruments as sex machines and little else. But that was before I discovered Robert Palmer, the same Robert Palmer whose fame was a product of the badly aged MTV generation, had a much more compelling career before ever making it big.
One of the most amazing facts of stumbling upon his 1974 releaseSneakin’ Sally Through The Alley is the fact that this little known expat managed to lock down both The Meters and members of Little Feat, along with session greats like Cornell Dupree and Bernard Purdie to back him through an extraordinarily funky trip down NOLA inspired, hot-laced grooves. Palmer oozes charisma, and he makes clear right away that he is an excellent interpreter of other’s songs, feeling comfortable handling everything from Little Feat drug odes to Allen Toussaint R&B, mixing in his own songs with nary a change of pace.
Of the many albums that have come out in my years as a music blogger, there are a choice few that really stand out as excellent albums and one of my favorites, the one that I will start with, is Big Echo by The Morning Benders.
It’s strange to realize that the album, or LP (whichever suits your preference) has once again taken a back seat to the single. Thanks to the internet’s ability to grant us instant gratification, most listeners no longer have the patience to sit through an album. iTunes and other per-MP3 vendors are in part responsible for this, as it’s a much cheaper deal to buy a single song for a dollar than a whole album for 10 or more.
But what of the exceptions? The listeners who do still crave a full album experience? It’s for them that I chose Big Echo, an album whose first 4 tracks are absolutely stellar as stand alone numbers, while the remaining tracks work more as a cohesive unit, one that rewards repeated listens.
It’s an amazing thing, looking back at the entire Beatles career and realizing, damn they were good, but why couldn’t they ever have written a lyric worthy of Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue” or Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” or even for that matter a songwriting epic worthy of “Born to Run”. Yet as a Beatles fan I’ve come to realize that The Beatles true talent, was that of creating entirely cohesive albums, rather than individual stand-out songs, much like that of the individual members themselves, whose separate careers, although good were nothing on a level with their whole output as a group.
You can file this away in the well thats just obvious department, but Abbey Road is a great album and not only their ultimate be all end all album as a group, but also one that succinctly summarizes what made them great on the first place. It is also an album that remains timeless upon each listen, there is not one discernable part of the record that makes you think “Oh wow well you can tell this is from 1969″. The tracks are pristine, benefitting from the band finally having overall access to a brand new studio, with 8 tracks to play with, rather than the usual 4-track limitations. (In that regard, Sgt. Peppers should be regarded as a spectacular achievement). Long having since been known as a vocal group, the harmonies on the album are precise and beautifully done, finally showing their vocals talents in all their glory. Abbey Road is more than just a collection of songs, but one of gorgeous melodies as well; from the swamp-rock rhythms of “Come Together” to the rock-and-roll bombast of “The End”. Typical of most of their works, Abbey Road never drags and features many different styles from old-time music hall “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” to summer of love acoustic numbers “Here Comes The Sun” even foreshadowing musical styles to come in songs like “Sun King” and “You Never Give Me Your Money” and containing as Frank Sinatra would often say; the greatest love song of all time, in “Something”. If you’ve somehow managed to avoid listening to the album ever, congratulations you’re probably due for some reward, but to be sure there is no ultimate album out there that would be as lasting, and as perfect as Abbey Road.
While it is common fact that Paul McCartney officially called the Beatles quits in the spring of 1970, most people don’t realize the immense struggle it put McCartney through. While Lennon, Harrison, and Starr went on with solo careers with the vigor of free men, it was McCartney who seemed to suffer. This struggle was rampant through his songwriting of the time; usually a songwriter who prided on third person narratives and story-telling, McCartney was writing about something completely new, himself. “Two Of Us”, “Let It Be”, “The Long and Winding Road”, “Carry That Weight”, even perhaps “Oh Darling” are all not only skilled love songs and some of his best material, but they also reflect a man troubled on the inside. McCartney, his eponymous debut still showed the scars of this massive breakup, with “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Junk” both showing the man with his heart on his sleeve, and the ragged production not only a sign of his talent but perhaps his mood at the time.
However, McCartney is too much of a showman, and too much of an immense talent to let such things bother him for long, although his writing partner was perhaps more famed for his fight for the working class, it was McCartney who had really come from one, and thus this hardship was almost a challenge for him to do better. Music never seemed to be the issue, McCartney’s appreciation for music was only eclipsed by his talent for it, and of his previous band’s members, he was the most well rounded. Yet this was an unknown commodity of the time, it was a scarce few people who knew that he had played drums on numbers such as “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and “Dear Prudence” as well as lead guitar on songs such as “Taxman”, “Good Morning, Good Morning” and the like. Many musicians who have met the man in fact will attest that he is a guitarist of prodigious skill, and only limited by his choice to play bass.
So McCartney set about recording Ram in late 1970 and finished in March of 1971. It had been recorded partly in McCartney’s home studio in Scotland, and it was finished in New York. This accounted for the intriguing overall soundscape of the record, it wasn’t quite polished, but it wasn’t as ramshackle as its predecessor , McCartney, had been. The inclusion of a formal studio led McCartney’s whimsical and homespun melodies to get full production treatment, and let his vision be un-compromised in scope.
Critics, hungry for the sound of his former band, were very harsh at first with the overall consensus being that it was full of whimsy but not much else. However as time played its course, many began to find new insight into Paul McCartney’s second album, some even called it the first indie record, a label which given the range of styles found on the record, seems rather fitting. The album, track by track, after the jump.
We never undervalue The Beatles impact on music, their legacy well deserved and safe for years to come. Over a period of 8 years they were constantly changing with the music scene around them, their albums seemingly taking what was popular and yet being ahead of their time. It’s easy to appreciate their great latter-day efforts from Revolver to Let It Be in terms of style and evolution of their musical form.
In some ways The White Album is misunderstood as an anomaly, its spread too diverse, too unfocused compared to the majority of their efforts. Yet that would be too easy an out for critics to come down on the album, and not appreciate its madness. In fact of all their efforts, the White Album reflected the times the most accurately, bridging the gap between social unrest and the Summer of Love, with a genre-bending number of styles between ska-rock (Obla Di-Obla Da) lilting acoustic melodies (Mother Nature’s Son, Blackbird, Julia, I Will) country (Rocky Raccoon, Don’t Pass Me By, Why Don’t We Do It In the Road) heavy psychedelia (Dear Prudence, Glass Onion, Savory Truffle, Cry Baby Cry)soft psychedelia (Long, Long,Long) soft-shoe and classical (Honey Pie, Piggies, Goodnight) hard rock (While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter, Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey, Yer Blues, Birthday) sarcastic rock (Happiness Is A Warm Gun, I’m So Tired, Sexy Sadie) classic rock (Back in the U.S.S.R., Revolution #1) and just generally off their rocker (Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, Revolution #9). The Beatles were also becoming fully self-sufficient of producing their own material, helping the diverse sound of the album from song to song.
Key Sounds and Arrangement Styles:
Bass is often heavy and metallic in the mix, more of a proto heavy rock sound than he would ever focus on again
Drumming is also heavy in the mix, especially on tracks like While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Dear Prudence, Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey, Sexy Sadie, Helter Skelter, Long, Long, Long, Dear Prudence, and Glass Onion.
Electric Guitar is often distorted and put on an effect while the acoustic guitar playing is clean, aside from maybe a little reverb, when the two are in the same song it adds to the off kilter mix.
Songwriting focus is split between ballads and rockers, the themes mostly varying between bucolic odes to nature and disillusionment and/or mock ups of society
The songwriters styles were signs of what was to come later in their solo careers;
McCartney would continue his acoustic balladry and classic rockers on McCartney and Ram and songs like Martha My Dear would stylistically be continued in his Wings career.
Harrison would continue his elegiac songwriting style of While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Long, Long, Long on All Things Must Pass and Living in the Material World.
Lennon would continue his rootsy primal hard rock style on Plastic Ono Band and albums throughout the rest of his solo career.
Starr would continue his odd style choices like Don’t Pass Me By and Goodnight in later solo albums like Beaucoups of Blues and Sentimental Journey.
Other Notes:
Although While My Guitar Gently Weeps is perhaps the strongest song on the album, McCartney is the one who shines, none of his songs are weak on the album and they encompass a myriad of styles. That’s not to say Lennon and Harrison are lacking in their own material but the diversified style of the White Album benefits McCartney, the most natural melody maker, the most.
McCartney styled this rocker after two of his favorite groups, the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry, while not as sarcastic in nature as some of Lennon’s songs on the double LP, its a fine homage with the jet sound opening perfectly fitting into the first guitar chirp. McCartney’s singing is in fine form, and he contributes the drumming and guitar on the song while Harrison plays the bass. (5/5)
Back in the U.S.S.R. fades perfectly into this Lennon number, an immediately ear grabbing melody dominated by finger picked acoustic guitar and perfect lock-step bass and drum playing (both supplied by McCartney, though the ending fills seem more Ringo). A circular sounding song that matches perfectly with the chorus.(5/5)
Glass Onion completely flips around Lennon’s Dear Prudence, a more heavy rock influenced I Am the Walrus with Lennon clearly playing around with his audience and the arrangement is wild and perfect. (4/5)
The closest thing to a drinking song the Beatles ever recorded with a hook so catchy its hard not to sing along. There’s a story behind the intro piano banging as being the one part McCartney couldn’t figure out the tempo for weeks, driving the rest of the group mad until Lennon played it out of frustration saying “Is this what you fucking mean?” Ironically it was exactly what McCartney wanted. (5/5)
Listen to this if only you need proof that the Beatles had their shortcomings, at 53 seconds i have no idea why they even bothered putting it on the album. (0.5/5)
Listen if only for the intro chorus, and a verse structure that would be very stylistically like David Bowie, the rest of it, specifically Yoko’s singing contribution, is regrettable, but overall its listenable. (2/5)
Everything about this song, from the intro on is perfectly done, the song structure divine, the lead guitar (played by Eric Clapton) double tracked with an oscillator an enviable and inimitable sound, and Harrison’s singing and lyrics among the best in his career. (6/5)
This song stands among Lennon’s best in terms of lyrics and its structure is a creative masterpiece shifting styles and tempo and coalescing perfectly. And that little guitar part is excellent. (5/5)
On the surface its little more than a song about his dog, but dig deeper and its a chiding of his ex girlfriend Jane Asher. Arrangement-wise the bridge is like a foreshadowing of the 70′s with strings and rhythmic guitar interlocked, an interesting song all the way around, and like most of McCartney’s output, incredibly melodic and tuneful. (5/5)
A more raucous I’m Only Sleeping, with paranoia replacing the good-natured drug induced vibe of the former, with instrumentation perfectly fitting the mood of sleepless restlessness. (4/5)
Truly a beautiful acoustic song, in its melody, structure and lyrics. McCartney wrote it as an ode to the racial tensions escalating in America only making the song more moving. (5/5)
An interesting song in terms of its arrangement and its literal and Charles Manson’s interpreted meaning. Harrison had written it as social commentary on upper class greed, Manson took it as a reference to an imminent race war and prominently referenced Piggies in his murder scenes. (3/5)
A lovely song with a great narrative, whats most impressive is McCartney’s ability to assume and incorporate Americana into this story of the American West, no small feat for an Englishmen. (5/5)
The only song Ringo wrote for the album, the arrangement is strangely off kilter and heavy and the lyrics typical of Ringo, with a country edge that would only be endearing in his presence. (3/5)
A song completely recorded and played by McCartney, its a fun little blues romp with only two different lyrics with McCartney’s vocal range jumping all over the place. (3/5)
One of the most beautiful and touching love songs ever written, not just by the Beatles. The melody is beautifully crafted, the arrangement simple and sweet, with Paul McCartney doubling the bass with his voice. As off the cuff as it sounds this little majesty of a song took 38 takes for McCartney to achieve what he wanted.(5/5)
It’s a ridiculously long title for a fast paced no holds barred rock song, with The Beatles energy at full force, it’s nothing ridiculously good but its yet another stylistic direction. And the bass fill near the very end of the song is a fantastic add. (4/5)
They were simply putting their balls on the line, Paul McCartney had read that groups like The Who were the loudest in rock, this was The Beatles response, some say it is one of the first proto metal songs to exist, and that riff is perfect. (4/5).
The quietest song on the whole album coming after The Beatles loudest, it’s George Harrison in pure reflection mode, with great guitar work and drumming. An underrated masterpiece.(5/5)
This is the stripped down acoustic version of Revolution, the single they had released earlier with the heavily distorted guitars and screaming, this version puts much more sarcastic wit in the mix and it is quite the catchy number. (4/5)
Some would say Honey Pie is too schmaltzy and cheesy. But it’s a perfect homage to the 1920′s Tin Pan Alley style right down to how its recorded. Lennon takes on the lead guitar on this song and it fits perfectly, in fact its hard to comprehend that this song is from 1968 instead of the 20′s it pays credit to. (5/5)
There is no mental state, sober or otherwise, where this song will make sense but its not supposed to. It’s a whirling maelstrom of samples and musical collages that were put together piece by piece from the minds of Lennon and Ono. There’s not a single song in the world like it, and for that it deserves credit. (4/5)
The perfect ending to a absolute mind bender of an album, classically arranged by George Martin, with Ringo singing a lullaby written by Lennon, sweet and beautiful.(5/5)
It was late 1970 and The Beatles were officially over. Many wondered whether any of the four members would be able to create something worthy of their previous output, after all they had dominated the 60′s music scene and had amassed such a devoted following that the bar was set extremely high, people wanted a reason for why these four believed they could be on their own, and music to prove it.
By all means, George Harrison stood the most to gain, after all as his talent progressed in songwriting and lyricism, McCartney and Lennon were still the leaders of the group and wanted their songs in the forefront. We didn’t hear much of Harrison’s songwriting in The Beatles but most of those we did were among The Beatles best (Something, Here Comes the Sun, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Taxman, I Want To Tell You etc..) Still he was fueled by being constantly under-appreciated and undermined to polish the songs he did write into being top form.
The world had yet to realize it, even Frank Sinatra would refer to Something as his favorite “Lennon McCartney song” but by the end of 1970, All Things Must Pass would hit the record shelves, a triple album mostly dominated by songs written in The Beatles period, never given a chance by his band mates. It featured a grand sweeping sound helped by Harrison’s friends Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Jim Keltner, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Ginger Baker, Phil Colins, Peter Frampton, Klaus Voormann, and even Bob Dylan.
There’s something special about Harrison’s craft. While he never really mastered the story telling ability of McCartney, or the absolutely no holds barred cynical emotional output that was Lennon’s trademark, his lyrics had depth coupled with a spiritual understanding that didn’t seem over or underwhelming, his lyrics came off like that of a philosopher, questioning and observing the world for what it was. You can’t help but feel enlightened listening to his work.
Arguably the most beautiful slide guitar George Harrison ever laid down to tape, the lyrics were written by Bob Dylan and given to Harrison to provide the arrangement and its hard to say who did the greater job. (5/5)
What this song is known for is how it was a subconscious rip-off of an old Chiffon’s song He’s So Fine. What it should be known for is its sweeping grandeur, fantastic guitar work and the unfathomable ability of taking something religious themed and making it into a memorable and beautiful piece of music, the wall of sound is in full display here, if they sung this song instead of hymns at church, I might have kept going. (5/5)
You could argue that this is a throw-away track, after all the lyrics don’t really say anything, why you shouldn’t argue that; this song literally gave birth to the Derek and the Dominoes sound, Harrison’s knack at melodic guitar lines is on full display and the chord progression is great. (4/5)
Another superbly arranged and produced song, the piano and guitar in perfect syncopation with some very moving lyrics by Harrison before it slowly sweeps into a grand crescendo of Hey Jude proportions (In the outro you can even sing Nahhh-na-na-nananana along with it). The strings and horns and guitar are perfect players on this one. Coldplay’s Chris Martin said that it was this song that inspired him to write The Scientist, which I maintain is still their best work, and the chord changes are very similar, a truly great song. (5/5)
The brightest song on the whole double album with a great descending guitar melody and a very strong chorus and the Wall of Sound production only helps the overall sound even more. (5/5)
George Harrison was an outstanding songwriter in his own right, so it meant a lot that he devoted a song on his debut to being a cover of Bob Dylan, and I dare say its better than the original, the vocals are stronger, the arrangement is great, you can just hear the respect Harrison has for Dylan in this performance. (5/5)
A very countrified Harrison, the Wall of Sound isn’t as grand on this performance but its understatement has a beauty of its own. This was written for Bob Dylan after he had been in a motorcycle accident and its very touching. (4/5)
Back to the epic grandiosity of the Wall of Sound production, this song was written while Harrison was still with The Beatles during the Let It Be period which is interesting because save Across the Universe, the lyrics on the Let It Be album are nowhere near as deep, an interesting melody and nice chord changes. (4/5)
An interesting long forgotten Harrison track, it wouldn’t be out of place, and in fact it would probably be better suited in Cat Stevens catalogue, a nice song none the less. (3/5)
The vocals are redone and the arrangement half modern half original, from a song originally left off the album. Dylan’s influence is noticeable here in both the arrangement and the lyrics.
The acoustic demo of what would be the powerful song that would lead off side three of the album (the side when you flip the record over). The stripped down demo really brings forth the power of the lyrics in the song.
A stripped down version of the bombastic Let It Down which again highlights the lyrics with a nice acoustic arrangement, Harrison was no slouch on acoustic guitar.
An instrumental version of What Is Life that featured piccolo trumpet and oboe that was left off the final version, Harrison’s ability of melody is on full display here.
Another Dylanesque song which prominently features harmonica and acoustic guitar, a sweet wistful ballad written about the fans that would constantly gather outside Apple studios. (4/5)
Like The Beatles themselves, one of those songs where the sum is greater than all its parts, there is no outstanding piece of this song, but its the song overall that is great. (5/5)
An upbeat sarcastic track about the state of organized religion which is still relevant today, and again goes to show Harrison’s prowess as a melody maker to make songs with huge religious overtones appeal to the average music listener, great message, great song. (5/5)
The most intense guitar playing both Harrison and Clapton contributed to the album, its a real barnstormer of a song with Harrison and Clapton trading off lead guitar licks, proof that when he wanted to Harrison had the chops of a great lead guitarist. (4/5)
Escape, that’s what most people look for out of music, a way to leave hum-drum reality behind and be part of something bigger, those who play it aspire to be remembered, to leave this Earth knowing they’ve accomplished something and mean something greater than existence itself. It’s no easy thing to accomplish and there’s proof in the pudding, for every band that made it big, there are thousands of others that drifted in unrecognition, dreams never realized, their existence at best maybe a footnote in some musical history book (if they’re lucky). It takes a combination of unstoppable focus and drive to make it big, and even more to stay once you’re there, but the reward is worth the risk for if you succeed, you will be remembered for a long long time. Perhaps there was no greater example than Bruce Springsteen.
He wasn’t completely unknown before Born to Run came out, he had two albums released previously, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ and The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle which both garnered critical success and comparisons as “the next Bob Dylan” and “the next Van Morrison”, high praise but both misunderstood his genius and commercially he was a failure, only having a small gathering of fans from New Jersey, ground zero for the development of his E Street Band. Both his two previous efforts had shown his artistic promise, but for the common consumer they were too wordy and musically too busy (see Blinded By the Light) and the great songs from that time period (New York City Serenade, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Kitty’s Back, E Street Shuffle) were in danger of becoming footnotes rather than starting points. His pianist David Sancious had departed for a career in jazz fusion and his drummer at the time Vinnie Lopez would leave in 1974 after fighting with the bands manager over money issues.
He convinced his record label, Columbia, to grant him a larger budget for one last chance at making a commercially successful album, if it failed, his career would be pretty much over.
Springsteen knew that he wanted this album to have an epic scope. His album productions which were predominately heavy and warmly mixed would be replaced by a wall of sound technique (made famous by Phil Spector and Motown) to augment his songwriting in a midst of grandeur and epic beauty. He would later recall this decision saying he wanted the album to sound like “Roy Orbison singing Bob Dylan, produced by Spector.” During the early writing of Born to Run, Roy Bittan, a pianist, and Max Weinberg, a drummer were added to the E Street lineup, and the modern version of the E Street Band was born. The album would take him 14 months to complete, 6 months alone were spent on Born to Run itself, with 11 guitar tracks in on the mix, and Thunder Road the albums opener is rumored to have 30 different guitar overdubs. Simply put Springsteen was a perfectionist, spending hours looking for the right sound because he had huge aspirations “When I did Born To Run, I thought, ‘I’m going to make the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record ever made.’ “
And what a record it is, when it comes to songs, one of the most important things is the introduction, if you get a listener hooked at the very beginning, you’re pretty much guaranteed a hit song, Born to Run didn’t just have one good introduction, it has 8 of the best introductions in rock and roll. From the bittersweet harmonica and piano opening of Thunder Road, to the horn and drum swaggering rhythm of Tenth Avenue Freeze-out, to the immediacy of the snare drum and saxophone blast of Night, to the beautiful swirling piano intro of Backstreets, to the epic snare drum and guitar line of Born to Run, the low guitar rumble and high organ playing on She’s the One, to the stark piano and horns of Meeting Across the River, to the absolutely beautiful violin and piano intro of Jungleland. Born to Run doesn’t let up from beginning to end.
Lyrics are another key element of songs, ones that have a strong chorus and message are the ones that stand the test of time, and Springsteen’s on Born to Run are a thing of epic grandeur, the finest poetry ever committed to rock form. Springsteen is so detailed you not only hear his words but you can see his characters fleshed out. Mary dancing across her front porch listening to Roy Orbison singing “Only the Lonely” on the radio. Bad Scooter (Bruce Springsteen) overcoming the odds to find himself on top with a band, saved by the Big Man (Clarence Clemens) and his saxophone. Driving around at Night with the world busting from its seems, driven to escape from the menial day time job and breathe in the beauty of it all, thats just the first three, all of them are magnificently written.
Springsteen would never look back after Born to Run, becoming a huge commercial success and have a great live act. Only Dave Matthews Band would hold only a candle to the reverence with which his followers held his live act and there was no one better from the 70′s-80′s. Born to Run is by all means a classic album, and is in the Top 10, if not the Top 5 of all time.
