Bruce Springsteen – Page 3

Speaking of music: Bruce and R.E.M.

I mentioned in my running post that I was listening to some iTunes exclusives — three, in fact, but two that are worth noting:

Bruce Springsteen, Magic Tour Highlights: Four songs w/accompanying videos and proceeds going to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.

Consider the track listing:

1. “Always A Friend” (performed with Alejandro Escovedo)
Recording Date: 04/14/2008 (Houston, Texas)
2. “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (performed with Tom Morello)
Recording Date: 04/07/2008 (Anaheim, California)
3. “Turn Turn Turn” (performed with Roger McGuinn)Recording Date:
04/23/2008 (Orlando, Florida)
4. “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” (Danny Federici’s final
performancewith the E Street Band)
Recording Date: 03/20/2008 (Indianapolis, Indiana)

The $7.99 I spent on iTunes would have been worth it for any of the songs, but all four are gems. Escovedo, for readers who do not know, is one of the great Texas country-rock songwriters and one of my favorites from what is sometimes called the alt-country or Americana movement. Bruce and Alejandro let it all hang out and have a great time on the tune.

R.E.M., Live from London: a nine-song set recorded at the Apple iTunes Store in London includes tracks from Accelerate and several old chestnuts (“West of the Fields” and “Auctioneer” are real surprises, along with “Fall on Me” and “Man on the Moon”). Quite a great listen.

Also, check out the extended version of Accelerate (at Amazon, iTunes or elsewhere), which includes two torrid songs not on the CD (along with some live material): “Redhead Walking” and “Airliner” (a driving instrumental).

RIP, Danny Federici

Longtime Springsteen organist, the great Danny Federici (center, between Springsteen and Roy Bittan in a photo by A.M. Saddler from the Backstreets Web site), has died. Federici, with his swirling organ that intertwined with Roy Bittan’s piano, was as responsible for the E Street Band’s sound as anyone.

He’d been sick, with melanoma, and missed most of the current tour. He died today in New York.

From The Boss’ Web site:

Danny Federici, for 40 years the E Street Band’s organist and keyboard player, died this afternoon, April 17, 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after a three year battle with melanoma.

The Federici family and the E Street family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. A web site for the Fund is being established and we’ll post its link when it is on line.

Bruce Springsteen’s concerts scheduled for Friday in Ft. Lauderdale and Saturday in Orlando performance are being postponed. Replacement dates will be announced shortly.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

The Blog of South Brunswick

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Bruce hearts Obama

Springsteen is going to get some flack for this — he is endorsing Barack Obama for president. This is unfair, of course. First, endorsements like this have little real impact and, second, Springsteen fans shouldn’t hold the Boss to a different standard than almost any other performer. (I wrote an essay on this a while back that I’ll get up on my home

Consider: Springsteen endorses Kerry in 2004 and a mini-hailstorm breaks out over it. Brooks and Dunn appear in support of President Bush at the Republican National Convention the same year — not a word. And what of Chuck Norris and his eery presence standing behind Mike Huckabee?

In any case, Bruce offers his endorsement in a letter on his Web site:

LIke most of you, I’ve been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that’s interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where “…nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.”

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man’s life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we’re proud to support Obama for President.

In the end, no one should be surprised by this.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Bruce at the Basie

This is sure to be a great show that, unfortunately, will likely be out of my price range. Alas, the Count Basie is a great venue and Bruce, well, do I have to say it? Just think about it.

In any case, here is the release from the Basie Web site:

Bruce Springsteen will perform a benefit concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ on Wednesday, May 7th.

Proceeds from “An Evening with Bruce Springsteen” will benefit the historic Count Basie Theatre and help offset the cost of the renovation and restoration of the theatre that will begin this summer. A portion of the concert proceeds will also support other programs and operations at the Theatre, such as the Cool School. Patti Scialfa serves on the Board of the Basie Foundation and as Honorary Chair of the Capital Campaign.

Tickets will be made available to the public through an online “Make Your Best Offer” Auction beginning March 20th at http://www.countbasietheatre.org. Instructions on how the auction will work will be provided at www.countbasietheatre.org/ on
March 20th. Concert information can also be found at www.brucespringsteen.net/ and www.backstreets.com/.

Rusty Young, CEO of the Count Basie Theatre Foundation, said, “We are excited that Bruce Springsteen will be performing a benefit concert and deeply appreciate his willingness to help preserve and restore the Basie.”

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

Hillary Clinton walks off the stage to Bruce Springsteen’s “Land of Hope and Dreams.” Interesting, though I suspect that the Boss is staying out of the primary race.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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