Bruce Springsteen

[glauber]

I read about this album yesterday and it got my attention. This morning i stopped by a Starbucks and they had it, so i'm listening to it now. It's a CD/DVD combo.

It's basically Bruce and a large acoustic band playing Pete-Seeger-ish material (some Seeger, some trad, no Springsteen material).

What a blast!

The instrumentation sounds wrong to me (it sounds very New Orleans to me). But who cares? And Springsteen was born to sing this kind of material. It should do him good.

This is an album to listen to loud in the car, with the windows open, and bellowing the songs with Bruce at full voice. Good stuff!


Bruce's credits say voice, guitar and mandolin. I'm not sure i have heard the mandolin yet.

[Tom C]

When I first when about this project it scared the living pajeebus out of me. I am not a Springsteen fan and can only imagine the worse. I'm sure I will hear it some day.

[glauber]

It's good, trust me. Just a bunch of musicians having fun. Big jam session. Maybe a little too loud.

[SternART]

I liked what I saw on Good Morning America......they filled a NJ theater with Bruce fanatics playing hookie from work
and the Big Band played a coupla tunes. It was good time music & there were some great solos.....fella on fiddle
tore it up. It did sound like New Orleans influenced music & Bruce indeed sang his heart out! I hope there are tunes
on the CD without ALL the musicians......some smaller ensembles on a few tunes IMO would be welcome.

I like it when an artist might turn their fans on to something they don't know about. Seeger
CD's might see a spike in sales. I learned about roots music from the Dead, BG & Monroe from OAITW, never hearda
Vassar before then.....learned about Django from The Great American String Band w/ Grisman & Richard Greene, etc

[glauber]

Yes, unfortunately, no little ensembles, just the big sound. They did include the earlier (1997) recording of We Shall Overcome, which is more intimate, almost turned into a love song - you gotta hear it to believe.

[250sc]

Tom C,

sorry to hear about your "pajeebus".

I've heard the CD. Kind of rough around the edges for me but maybe it will turn a new generation on to the music I grew up with.

[glauber]

You know, i really like that "We Shall Overcome". The guy has guts to do that song... but he pulls it out. And he manages to say "darlin'" without sounding like Elvis, which was probably the hardest part. Real pretty accordion arrangement.

I was surprised to see that it is a copyrighted song, by the way. I always assumed it was trad.

[mando Nick]

If you want to learn something about Pete Seeger, there is a nice profile on him in the recent New Yorker magazine, April 17, 2006.
Nick Royal
Santa Cruz, CA

[glauber]

If you want to learn something about Pete Seeger, there is a nice profile on him in the recent New Yorker magazine, April 17, 2006.
Nick Royal
Santa Cruz, CA

Is that available online?

Wikipedia has a good summary.

[Jeff A]

Pete was at Merlefest today having himself a good old time. I watched some at the little pickers tent for kids. Any of you that know me know I am not a little picker. So I didn't stay long. He sounded good and seemed to be enjoying his time on stage.

[glauber]

Jeff, that's cool.

[Mace]

Bruce has my 10 year old daughter singing old Dan Tucker and pulling out the old song books. Three cheers for returning classics to the mainstream

[Mandoe]

Caught the CMT show on the making of this CD this weekend. Pretty good stuff. Bruce rocked these classics. And seemed to really enjoy himself. This CD may be a part of my collection real soon.

[MDW]

I just put the CD on my must buy list after watching the CMT special. In the documentary Springsteen it's clear that he has a sound he's after in his head and communicates it very effectly to the musicians present. He's in control of the artistic direction while respecting the other musicians present. Yes, he seemingly gives the New Orleans treatment to most of the songs but he states in the video that is the intention - to recontextualize the music so it sounds fresh again and thereby gives the songs new life. If you like acoustic music, you'll probably like this stuff. If you're not into drums, don't worry the it's basically a very small kit - just snare and kick. Very roots oriented with a lot of energy.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

#If you like acoustic music, you'll probably like this stuff. #If you're not into drums, don't worry the it's basically a very small kit - just snare and kick. #Very roots oriented with a lot of energy.

...and no mandolin

But that just makes it a good CD for playing along.

Daniel

[glauber]

...and no mandolin

Bruce has mandolin credits. I supposed he overdubbed some somewhere. I have listened to the CD a few times and haven't heard it yet. It doesn't show up in the DVD either.

[Ken Berner]

glauber, I just happened to have that program on the tube, but was not listening UNTIL I woke up to the music that was being played. It quickly dawned on me that the songs sounded very familiar and connected them to Pete Seeger. It was really fun to see and hear all of that once more, and by such an out-of-character artist. Pete and Mike were both at MerleFest recently.

[Martin Jonas]

Just a head-up to Cafe members in the UK: the BBC is showing a one-hour live concert of Springsteen's Seeger material this Friday. #Details (and a 20-minute streamed preview) here, streamed audio of the full concert here.

Martin

[ira]

that 20 minute preview is awesome! the john henry alone is worth listening. thanks for posting it. tons of fun!

[Ken Sager]

I backed up Pete Seeger one evening in '92. He came to SLC to play and sing for a children's dance troupe. I spent an evening playing guitar with him while he sang and played his long-neck banjo for a hundred or so kids and their 500 parents... It was a first rehearsal for his performance later that week. I didn't get to do the show as they had hired a band, but that evening is one I'll long remember.

I grew up listening to Pete's songs. I've heard a few of Springsteen's versions and I like what I heard.

[Joe F]

The banjo player in our Saturday old-timey circle was raving about this CD last week (in a positive way). #He recommended watching the DVD first, before listening to the CD, since it shows a lot of the interplay between musicians as the tunes got going -- very much like a jam feeling.

I haven't seen/heard it yet, but it's on my list.

[chuck.naill]

for a hundred or so kids and their 500 parents

Must be that new math.

I have only heard the Nine Pound Hammer song. It seemed pretty noisey to me. I am probably too conservative, but I like for old timey to sound that way.

Van Halen is getting into the old time stuff to. Are these guys changing over or just getting into the popularity of traditional music?

[glauber]

Van Halen is getting into the old time stuff to. Are these guys changing over or just getting into the popularity of traditional music?

"A little bit from column A and a little bit from column B" (Abe Simpson)

[chuck.naill]

"A little bit from column A and a little bit from column B" (Abe Simpson)

I have no idea what this means, but if you are saying that they are diversifying, I doubt it.

Chuck

[madog99]

I'm a big Bruce fan to start with but I love this disc . I really like that NO sound .but yeah where's the mando ? I had to dub myself on to to "pay me my money down" in a fit of boredom . It was crying for that Orleans mando sound .He should have put a mando up front on that one for sure .