Artist bio

Along with Michael Jackson and Madonna, Bruce Springsteen stands as one of the largest popular music icons of the 1980s. Yet unlike Jacko and the Virgin Queen, the Boss has managed to outgrow his teen idol image with his songwriting abilities and critical esteem 100 percent intact.

By the time he rose to international superstardom in the 1980s, Springsteen was already a well-established artist. After releasing two strong, but largely unnoticed albums, he released his first masterpiece, Born To Run in 1975. Featuring some of his most well-known rock anthems -- "Thunder Road," "Backsteets," and "Born To Run" to name a few -- the album officially began Springsteen's career-long examination of the American identity. And with "Wall Of Sound" production, inspired lyrics, and an epic musical vision, Born To Run secured Springsteen's reputation amongst rock lovers.

What makes Springsteen such a wonderful artist to appreciate is his almost obsessed attention to his craft. Each of the albums following Born To Run are worthy of close study. While 1984's Born In The USA marks the commercial apex of the singer/songwriter's career, his less commercially succesful albums best stand the test of time. On albums such as 1978's Darkness On The Edge Of Town, 1982's Nebraska, and 1987's Tunnel Of Love, Springsteen creates musical visions that are both deeply personal and amazingly universal.

As a songwriter, Springsteen continually returns to the same themes -- love, loss and moral redemption, to name a few -- and continually finds new insights and perspectives. Be it the sprawling rock epics of his early career, "Incident On 57th Street" (The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle), or the concise acoustic dirges of his later work, like "Dry Lightning" (The Ghost Of Tom Joad), his songs mine the hearts and souls of his characters and follow their everyday dilemnas with startling clarity.

To top it all off, Springsteen is arguably the best live performer in the history of rock, if such a claim could ever be definitively made. At the height of his physical abilities, he was able to put on four-hour stadium-sized shows, rocking 50,000 in legendary fashion. Now in his mid-50s, he performs a shorter show -- but one with increased musical and vocal precision.

Like the Rolling Stones and Dylan and all the other rock legends that came before him and informed his work, Springsteen will be celebrated for years and years to come. But unlike artists such as the Stones, we have every reason to believe Bruce will continue to make noteworthy music and grow as an artist. And without question, we will be there to listen.

Albums by this artist

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)

Devils & Dust / Prairie Wind (2005)

The Rising (2002)

Live In New York City (2001)

18 Tracks (1999)

Tracks (1999)

'Missing' (1996)

'Hungry Heart' (1995)

The Ghost Of Tom Joad (Recommended) (1995)

Human Touch (1992)

Lucky Town (1992)

Born In The U.S.A. (1984)

Born In The U.S.A. (1984)

The River (1980)

Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Recommended) (1978)

The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (Recommended) (1973)

Concerts

July 15, 1999
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, N.J.

May 29, 1999
Parkbuhne Wulheide, Berlin

Bruce Springsteen

'Missing'

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» JEFF VRABEL | STAFF WRITER

Bruce Springsteen 'Missing' Columbia, 1996 RiYL: Bob Dylan's work with producer Daniel Lanois

"Missing," Bruce Springsteen's contribution to the little-seen 1995 Sean Penn film "The Crossing Guard," represents the Boss' most unusual musical departure to date.

Sure, the lyrics ("Last night I dreamed the sky went black / You were drifting down, couldn't get back") are quintessential Bruce, but the music -- a haunted mix of looped drums, pulsating guitar effects and creepy background falsettos -- is unlike anything Springsteen has ever let see the light of day in the States.

Still, the real presents here are three acoustic B-sides, the only official releases from Bruce's two-year solo acoustic tour behind 1995's The Ghost Of Tom Joad.

Springsteen tears through the ex-rock-anthem "Darkness On The Edge Of Town," with a furious reading that almost rivals the album version in intensity. The acoustic version of Tunnel Of Love's swaggering "Spare Parts" keeps its edge even without the boom of the E Street Band. But it's the start-and-stop, dirty blues version of "Born In The USA" that's worth the price of admission alone, finally doing justice to words that have been misinterpreted for well over a decade.

JEFF VRABEL | Jeff Vrabel may look like your average, strapping Midwestern-type, but lurking inside him is a passion for all things Springsteen, "Weird" Al, and regrettably, the Chicago Cubs. He's touched Britney Spears. He knows Slash's phone number. Obey him at all costs.