Back in the late 70's and early 80's, when Bruce Springsteen was busy becoming one of the biggest rock'n'roll acts on the planet, I didn't really get it. The biggest problem for me was that the music was such a mess - a noisy, loose band, chaotic arrangements and not a single sign of a prog-rock inspired solo. I heard the occasional song I liked - like The River with its lovely harmonica and earthy story-telling. But when I listened to the whole album, the mess got to me again and I gave up. The first hint I got that maybe I was missing something was when someone I respect arrived at a meeting in 2002 full of excitement at just having bought a copy of his new album, The Rising . Then I read an article about how in each city he visited, he would meet a local community organisation, then promote their work during his show. Finally I gave myself another listen and bought a cheap copy of The Essential Bruce Springsteen . I was right, there was a lot of mes
'Contemplating the teeming life of the shore, we have an uneasy sense of the communication of some universal truth that lies just beyond our grasp.' - Rachel Carson