Bruce vs His Legacy
Having grown up in the 80’s my earliest memories of Bruce Springsteen are not great ones. It was Born In The USA that was my dad’s favourite Bruuuuuuuuuuce cassette for most of the decade, actually, and I’ve always had conflicting feelings about it. As a kid its hard to dislike anything, so I genuinely enjoyed the songs. These days its one of my least-favourite Springsteen joints, partly because of the of the title track and partly because of the Kenny Loggins-sounding production. I don’t want to say I hate the 80’s, I just hate music that sounds so obviously 80’s. Dated, I guess you’d say.
I was re-introduced to the Boss when the movie Philadelphia came out, and the movie’s soundtrack featured an incredible original tune by Springsteen. My dad purchased a copy of the Greatest Hits CD and listened to it non-stop in his car, which is where I beheld the majesty of “Atlantic City,” the stand-out track from his sixth album (and perhaps somewhat ironically the record that preceded Born In The USA)
The Boss is constantly heralded as a chronicler of the human experience, penning tales that celebrate the glory and triumphs of the common man at turning points in their lives. That also encompasses moments of despair and flirtation with the darker side of humanity. Half the songs on Nebraska alone are told from the perspective of those involved with or witnesses of criminal behavior (”Nebraska,”"Highway Patrolman,” “Open All Night,” and “Atlantic City”). The album is tied together by its stark acoustic instrumentation and its bleak lyrical view, making up some of Springsteen’s darkest recorded moments.
“Atlantic City” is pretty much a perfect song as far as I’m concerned. Its quintessential Springsteen, using true-to-life events (mafia boss Philip Tesla’s assassination and the combination of the advent of gambling in the titular city and the expectation it would revive its economy) to set off a more personal tale of one man’s troubled life. The story carries an incredible weight, a sensible explanation of how one could logically find themselves drawn in by a criminal element and the specter of danger that lurks just around every corner once that possibility rears its head.
But Nebraska’s notoriously dour acoustic element almost never came to be. Springsteen and the E Street Band had recorded full-band arrangements of the demo tracks that would eventually make up the official release, but they were passed over. In interviews, his long-time manager insisted the right version of the songs was released, the four-track home-recorded demos giving the necessary bleakness and weight to the songs.
While the world has never heard those versions (assuming they still exist) we now have a peek into what they might sound like, thanks to the Hold Steady.
The Hold Steady released the 10th best album of last year, a follow up to the third-best album of 2006 (Boys and Girls In America). They’ve been subject to countless comparisons to the Boss because of Craig Finn’s knack for Springstonian “man of the people” songwriting. Where Bruce talks of redemption and the turning points of peoples lives, Finn writes stories about America’s wasted, disaffected youth and the greatest parties that ever existed in their minds. He’s explored the affects of religious upbringings through detailed character sketches of troubled kids that rebel in the worst possible ways. He’s chronicled the various ways teenagers can trip out at a summer music festival. He’s a genuine storyteller. The band’s wide-ranging bar band sound has plenty of E Street notes peppered throughout their discography as well, never afraid to throw some keys, horns, or saxaphone at a tune.
The band was recently asked to take part in a charity album released by the organization War Child. The concept is simple but interesting: have the artists responsible for some of the best songs ever pick a song from their catalogue and a band they want to cover it. Perhaps knowing what the result would be, Springsteen passed the chalice to the Hold Steady.
The group re-imagines “Atlantic City” as I would imagine the E Street Band did after hearing the original demo cuts from Springsteen’s home recording sessions, from the propulsive drumming to the sturdy guitars, even right down to the wailing Clarence Clemons-style saxaphone riffing. The band has fully embraced everything Springsteenian about them and amplified it and the result is electric.
Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City [3:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download the Hold Steady - Atlantic City [4:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadYou can find out more about the Heroes project and some of War Child’s other musical fundraising initiatives by clicking here.
