Runaway American Dream

May 30, 2005
Now in his 50s, the Boss, aka Bruce Springsteen, is selling more records and concert tickets than he did in his 20s—proving his fans' admiration runs deep. Editor and journalist Guterman (coauthor of The Worst Rock-and-Roll Records of All Time
) poignantly expresses his own love of the man and his music in this warm, absorbing collection of seven essays. He takes readers through a song-by-song analysis of Springsteen recordings and concerts going back to the 1970s. He weighs the relative merits of song selection, concert length and venue, and duly notes the comings and goings of various band mates, wives and girlfriends. Yet for all his admiration, Guterman doesn't get lost in minutiae or mired in nostalgia. He chattily discusses such topics as the shift in Springsteen's music starting with Born to Run
, as it became more traditional, mainstream "white rock'n'roll"; and Springsteen's uneasy back-and-forth between "pure artistic statements" like Nebraska
and The Ghost of Tom Joad
and more "frankly commercial enterprises" like Born in the U.S.A.
With subtle wit, real emotion and exactly the right combination of journalistic street smarts and music fan geekiness, Guterman has scored a success.

July 15, 2005
With a new album and tour, Bruce Springsteen is once again in the news, so the time is ripe for this analysis of the Boss's oeuvre, from his debut, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.", through "The Rising "(2002). (The recently released "Devils & Dust" receives only brief coverage in the introduction.) Music writer Guterman ("The Worst Rock-and-Roll Records of All Time") focuses squarely on the music, but he's no theorist -he never mentions so much as a key change or a chord progression. While generally enamored of the Boss, he does not refrain from dishing out criticism when deserved. Fans will delight in proudly noting when they are in synch with Guterman and when they aren't, finding that their arguments are every bit as sturdy. Guterman doesn't want to teach readers about Springsteen's music; he wants to engage them in a conversation about it. Sadly, the book's appeal may be limited to readers who are over 35 and already fans. Recommended for larger popular music collections and where there is demand for Springsteen titles. See also Dave Marsh's "Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts" and "Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader", edited by June Skinner Sawyers. -Lloyd Jansen, Stockton -San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2005
As the subtitle makes clear, this is about Bruce Springsteen's music; its perspective is that of a selfroclaimed "literate fan." Throughout, Guterman addresses Springsteen's strength--his consistency--and weakness--his musical conservatism. Though the curtain rises on the controversial Vote for Change 2004 tour, when Springsteen and like-minded musicians crisscrossed the country for Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry, Guterman comments on Springsteen's body of work: the "friendliness" of " Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., "the optimism of " Born to Run," and so forth. He discusses Bruce the Artist, who mostly pleases himself, and Bruce the Performer, everyman's favorite rock and roller, and how these "Two Bruces" have taken turns throughout his career, one releasing pure artistic statements, and the other blatantly commercial product. He dissects even such stinkers as " Human Touch" ("boring" and fullof "genuinely not-good songs"), seeming surprised, indeed almost offended, that Springsteen could have a bad record in him. Still, Guterman points out, in almost every live performance, Springsteen lives up to impossibly high standards. A must for Bruce fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)