“The hungry and the hunted explode into rock 'n' roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street down in Jungleland”—Bruce Springsteen, “Jungleland,” from the Born to Run LP (1975)
Thirty-five years ago today, amid breathless hype that some momentarily feared might cause a harmful backlash, Columbia Records released Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen. It was, of course, his make-or-break moment, when he leapt from being one of the “hungry and the hunted” artists—the kind who are one step from being dropped by their labels—to the performer who appeared simultaneously a few weeks later on the covers of Time and Newsweek.
The album can also be thought of as his transition point. Rock critic Jon Landau, brought on board to help bring order to the frustrating recording sessions and to help Springsteen better realize his vision, pressed for shorter, tighter songs. Soon, he was clashing with the singer’s producer-manager, Mike Appel, who found himself on the outside looking in, then pressed a lawsuit that sidelined Springsteen for a couple of years.
On “Jungleland,” the final song and dramatic peak of the album, Landau and Appel combined to produce something unique in Springsteen’s career. The tight, cohesive production owed much to the molding of pianist Roy Bittan, drummer Max Weinberg and rhythm guitarist Steve Van Zandt into the rest of the E Street Band—an aim of Landau’s.
But the long, suite-like structure of the song was the type of work Appel favored on Springsteen’s prior two albums—and you’ll not see anything of this kind again on any of the artist’s subsequent work (particularly Clarence Clemons’ majestic, magical two-minute sax solo, still a highlight of any Springsteen concert).
Born to Run made me a Springsteen fan for life. For myself and for many others, it remains his seminal work.
Thirty-five years ago today, amid breathless hype that some momentarily feared might cause a harmful backlash, Columbia Records released Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen. It was, of course, his make-or-break moment, when he leapt from being one of the “hungry and the hunted” artists—the kind who are one step from being dropped by their labels—to the performer who appeared simultaneously a few weeks later on the covers of Time and Newsweek.
The album can also be thought of as his transition point. Rock critic Jon Landau, brought on board to help bring order to the frustrating recording sessions and to help Springsteen better realize his vision, pressed for shorter, tighter songs. Soon, he was clashing with the singer’s producer-manager, Mike Appel, who found himself on the outside looking in, then pressed a lawsuit that sidelined Springsteen for a couple of years.
On “Jungleland,” the final song and dramatic peak of the album, Landau and Appel combined to produce something unique in Springsteen’s career. The tight, cohesive production owed much to the molding of pianist Roy Bittan, drummer Max Weinberg and rhythm guitarist Steve Van Zandt into the rest of the E Street Band—an aim of Landau’s.
But the long, suite-like structure of the song was the type of work Appel favored on Springsteen’s prior two albums—and you’ll not see anything of this kind again on any of the artist’s subsequent work (particularly Clarence Clemons’ majestic, magical two-minute sax solo, still a highlight of any Springsteen concert).
Born to Run made me a Springsteen fan for life. For myself and for many others, it remains his seminal work.
3 comments:
"Land of Hope and Dreams"?
A lot of that is because he becomes a more focused songwriter; for all the glorious excesses of "Backstreets" or "Jungleland"—echoing back to "Spirits in the Night" or "Incident on 57th Street"—tightens down to a single person or a couple.
The strange thing is that even the period when those songs could (or should) have been longer—the time of Tunnel of Love and Human Touch—you end up more with three or four songs that are different aspects of the same idea rather than a single effort. (Instead of Dylan's "Sara," we get "Tunnel of Love," "Two Faces," "Brilliant Disguise," and "One Step Up," for example)
It's also as if "Badlands" gets the DylanUrge out of his system, at which point he realizes how to write Springsteen songs. (Coincidentally, just about the time Prefab Sprout releases "Cars and Girls," he stops writing about cars and begins concentrating on adult women (and adult men).)
Hey Michael,
Another blog I like to read posted some thoughts & discussion on Landau just yesterday. I kinda went around resenting him not for the effect he had on Bruce's output so much as this notion that his first two records were something to be ashamed of.
http://powerpop.blogspot.com/2010/08/and-in-conclusion-jon-landau-bite-me.html
Jon
I saw Springsteen play Born to Run from start to finish last winter and "Jungleland" was definitely the high point of the show. The whole album is a wonderful experience.
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