Those F***ing Signs!

One thing I admire about Bruce the person is his unique ability to remain true to his roots despite becoming one of the most famous artists in the world.
And that's not some line from his PR bio either.
During the 1990s, Bruce was known for taking to the streets of Freehold, N.J. to watch parades, a little Springsteen on his shoulders. Yet another small-town parent watching a parade, just one who happened to sell 120 million albums worldwide.
In "Bruce," Peter Ames Carlin writes of Springsteen riding his Harley through rural Jersey when he happened upon a couple dudes bullshitting over a motorcycle. Bruce pulled up and joined the conversation, eventually ending up in the stranger's backyard tossing back a Budweiser.
I will never interview Bruce, unless he starts selling insurance, but I did talk to a Mechanicsburg woman who did interior design for the singer. Carol Kemery said The Boss was a wonderful boss, and totally down to earth.
Oh, about my headline. One thing younger Bruce did not like about his public: "Those fucking signs" that popped up during his shows. In a tradition (one Bruce has made peace with), fans display signs of songs they want to hear.
Here's numbers 7-12 on my Boss List:

7. "The River." It took me a long time to warm up to title track to album No. 5. I've come to consider it, accurately or not, the last of Bruce's epic story songs. Most of his post-River work is shorter, uptempo rockers mixed with the occassional social justice song.
"The River" is a bit unbalanced to me. The first two verses are shorter and good, but the third verse is a big one, and tremendous writing. The music matches the dichotomy of quality. It's not that the first half of the song is bad, more that the second half is so terrific.
Of course, the story of "The River" origin is well known. Bruce's sister Ginny is the protagonist here, and supposedly heard the song for the first time at a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in 1979. Despite the tough circumstances Ginny and Mickey went through, the real-life couple remains married.

Video: The song.
Favorite line: "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?"
Instrumental highlight: Bruce pulls out the harmonica
Quibble: Bit of a downer, even for Bruce

8. "Backstreets." This is a big-time, powerful rock-and-roll song. This time, the extended instrumental brilliance comes at the beginning, as Roy Bittan plays the piano and organ to set the stage. Bruce sings of summer adventures, this time with "Terry," which has led to some speculation over the gender of the main character.
Bruce's vocals are mixed deep into the music. Overall it's a different sound, I guess representative of Ronnie Specter's "Wall of Sound" recording method. It all gives "Backstreets" a big, booming effect.
I feel this is the one major song in the Bruce collection that I have much more to learn about.

Video: The song.
Favorite line: "Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see. Trying to learn to walk like the heroes, we thought we had to be."
Instrumental highlight: Bittan delivers his best piano work here
Quibble: The mix buries some of the lyrics

9. "Independence Day." Probably too unsubstantial to be credibly ranked ahead of some of the powerhouse songs that follow, but this is my damn list. Fathers and sons will forever be fraught with complications and the themes here are meaningful to me.
The song is a simple message from son to father sung over slow piano, with minor acoustic guitar and drum parts. The mounrful sax solo is terrific. Bruce again delivers a semi-spoken part that mixes things up.

Video: The song.
Favorite line: "There was just no way this house could hold the two of us. I guess that we were just too much of a same kind."
Instrumental highlight: The Big Man's sax solo
Quibble: Bruce's vocals are oddly cheery given the subject material. Probably not a quibble, but noteworthy.

10. "Atlantic City." With its plaintative harmonica, haunting background vocals and vivid lyrics sung in slightly desperate tone, "Atlantic City" captures the seedy underbelly of a seedy city.
This is some of Bruce's best and original writing. In a rarity, Bruce sings the first-person character rather than assigning him a name. A young man with a girl, he is trying to go straight, but he's "been looking for a job but it's hard to find." And well, he's "just tired of comin' out on the losin' end."
The chorus -- "Put your makeup on and fix your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in Atlantic City" -- certainly has a few different meanings. The young man wants his girl to think they can make it. Maybe he's trying to convince himself, too.

Video: The song.
Favorite line: "Down here it's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line."
Instrumental highlight: Bruce's harmonica
Quibble: Probably not a tune you want to bust out at a party

11. "The Promised Land."
The dogs on Main Street howl
'cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister, I ain't a boy
No, I'm a man
And I believe in a Promised Land.

One of the more accessible, singalong songs in the entire Bruce catalogue, when "The Promised Land" re-appears in my CD player, it gets repeated over and over.
There's been much discussion among Bruce fans over what exactly constitutes "The Promised Land." The song lyrics accurately describe the soul-crushing existence of life on the fringe, while the chorus urges hope in an American ideal. Is it the American Dream? Love of family? Redemption? Religion? Bruce touches on all, but never exactly reveals.
Maybe the Promised Land is where we find it.

Video: The song.
Favorite line: "Blow away the dreams that tear you apart. Blow away the dreams that break your heart."
Instrumental highlight: Bruce's harmonica. Again
Quibble: Nothing. I love this song.

12. The Promise. Yet another Bruce tale on wrestling with life's demons while trying to find some self-love and happiness. And another song with two versions -- I prefer the stripped down arrangement found on "18 Tracks."
This is a somber song, yet accessible, about childhood friends, with vague hints of betrayal. Supposedly it was written about Bruce's split with original manager Mike Appel. The lyrics are extraordinary ("When the promise is broken, you go on livin', but it steals something from down in your soul.") and give hints to the Appel lawsuit without being overbearing about it. For example, the chorus refers to "Thunder road" and the song ends with "take it all, and throw it all away."

Video: The song.
Favorite line: "I lived a secret I should've kept to myself, but I got drunk one night and I told it."
Instrumental highlight: Bittan's piano accompanies the song
Quibble: Somber and artsy.