Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader Review

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(More customer reviews)How many people do you know who like Bruce Springsteen? If you're like me, probably not very many. Most people cite their dislike of his voice, or find him to be too intense, or don't find his melodies to be that memorable. That's fine- that's their loss after all- but it's not necessarily congruent with the critical praise steeped upon Springsteen. I've always known that Bruce has been a longtime critical darling for Rolling Stone- he doesn't get as much coverage nowdays (he doesn't do that much nowdays to warrant coverage), but back in the 70s and 80s, Bruce could absolutely do no wrong, and was voted "artist of the year" an unprecedented number of times in the mid 80s. Those writings are collected in the Rolling Stone Files anthology, to which this book is an essential companion. If anything, this book has more substance than the RS book, since many of its selections place Bruce's music in its social context. While I know that Bruce is a wonderful guy, I'm not terribly interested in reading about endless fawning over him or how great he is in concert- I know that or else I wouldn't be seeking out written material about him. There's certainly some element to that in this book, but many of the articles are well-written reflections on the meaning of his music and on the social and political influences that inspire and shape it. My favorite is the Lester Bangs review of early Bruce- the music seems to have knocked this rather pretentious (but wonderful) critic down a few notches closer to earth. I also enjoy some of the ficiton writings that contain prominent mentions of Springsteen's music. So for some well-written but well-grounded commentary and reflections on Springsteen's music and the society that inspired him, "Racing in the Street" is an excellent, highly readable anthology that doesn't numb you with syrupy praise but also doesn't burn you out with cynicism and lofty music criticism.

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