What does it sound like?:
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this – presumably a lot of backstage chatter and some music clips, basically a promo for the upcoming tour, but we actually get quite a moving rumination on what being on the road means to Springsteen and the rest of the band after doing this for 50 years (one of our number watching with us was in actually tears at one point). I’m hesitating to say too much here as it would spoil the narrative, but it starts with the band getting together to rehearse after 6 years away from the stage. In that period Bruce released Letter to You and the soul album Only the Strong Survive, and we see him putting the set list together incorporating songs from those which have actually never been played live. We do hear that Bruce really isn’t one for rehearsing too much, and a lot is made of retaining the spontaneity in live performance, and there is one song they try out where Max Weinberg and Gary Tallent realise it is being played far too slowly! We also see the E Street Band expanding to include backing singers and a whole new brass section, and Steve reveals (hilariously) his new title. Quite how they marshall all of this on stage is a wonder.
We get to realise that the set list he is putting together isn’t just a random collection of the hits, but there is a theme running through it as Bruce carefully sets one song against another – the older songs then taking on new meaning juxtaposed against the new numbers.
There are flashbacks to earlier incarnations of the band and a bit of historical footage, along with some fan interviews but, it feels, that doesn’t get in the way and there is plenty of the music to enjoy.
There is an accompanying digital soundtrack – I’ll put a link in the comments.
What does it all *mean*?
Bruce isn’t going quietly, in fact quite the opposite.
Goes well with…
A few beers on a Saturday night
Release Date:
25th October on Disney+
Might suit people who like…
Bruce, obviously, but anyone who loves live music will enjoy this.
NigelT says
dai says
Saw the premiere last month in Toronto with the man himself in attendance. I enjoyed it very much. Will finally catch the show in 2 weeks all being well (Canadian tour was delayed a year because of his illness)
dai says
And it’s actually being released at what would be the end of the tour. Only dates left after the Canadian ones are make up dates in 2025 after cancellations in Europe this year, plus a few added on to make the travel worthwhile I guess
Jaygee says
B is a stadium crowd approbation junkie.
It’s how – and why- he keeps going.
And long may he continue to do so
Black Type says
I just watched it on Prime. Really enjoyed it – possibly more than the actual gig I attended. Does that make me a bad Afterworder? 😉
Jaygee says
Yes.
In our soon-to-be Trumpian dystopia, you have moved from ‘nice’
to ‘nasty’.
That box of 10 Xmas cards I bought in the Poundland sale is starting
to look like an unforgivable extravagance
Everygoodboydeservesfruita says
I watched it two nights ago and I don’t want my response to be seen as a negative to Nigel since I was hoping someone would review it. I have watched a few docs on BS and lately ( the last few years) I have found the slightly ( or more ) sycophantic tone of the films to be disconcerting. His might be the most tightly controlled media process of any the biggies. There is, as usual, in my view, nothing revealed. We have heard the claim that he doesn’t just do a list of songs but there has to be a “narrative”. Well, no kidding. Like many who have spent too long in the same space, the people in the doco make the most mundane remarks and there is a self-consciousness that is cloying – there not an ounce of spontaneity or the unexpected.
Jon Landau turns up again for some arse licking all round. He confesses to still be in awe of Springsteen’s attention to detail. What an insight. How can he be? He claims sometimes to “suddenly realise” … So much bullshit.
Consider for a second that Prove it All Night is once again in this narrative. As is Dancing in the Dark. Backstreets also. Badlands – once my favourite song but the arrangement is unchanged in a bajillion years;. Yes, there are songs from Letter to You but its the most recent album. There is no real sign that Springsteen has really taken many chances here. As for not liking rehearsal – well, they have been playing some of these songs for half a century nearly – I’m sure he’s as sick of them as I am. These are pros after all. And given the classic sludgy sound of the band, it doesn’t seem like it would really help them.
By comparison, play and listen to those 1978 shows or the 1975 show on the fantastic BTR box. That’s a band that’s committed to their art – this is a band committed to the sound of applause. Understandable but not interesting. Consider the solo Tom Joad tour and how much he was on the line there.
The rhetoric about their fans and owing to it to the fans and caring about each person – I don’t really blame Springsteen for the ticketing fiasco at all but you can’t keep talking as if they are giving this away or charging a tenner at the door. I notice that there was not one word spoken about this.
Western Stars was a great record – where the hell are those songs?
He’s old guy now but he has given in to the idea of his legend and these Thom Zimmy films are hagiographies. I wonder about the last time anybody asked him a question he hadn’t prepared an answer to…
That’ll do.
dai says
I think this one did have some mild criticism of Bruce. Of course Bruce is also a co-producer. I think you have to accept that it is what it is and enjoy it or not given those restrictions. I was glad we heard more of the E St Band talking and the live footage was phenomenal and I thought very well filmed
This tour differed from other ones in that he did a much more static setlist than usual for this “narrative”. No requests. This has changed quite a lot in 2024 although the theme is similar I believe. From all reports still killing it on stage for more than 3 hours in his mid 70s. This is enough I think although the ticket price issue still leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
As for no Western Stars songs, not an E St band album. He could do one or two solo or in different arrangements though. His choice
He should not be immune to criticism, but I found the pros outweighed the cons and I enjoyed it much more than some other recent films on him
At the premiere Bruce said he runs a “benelevent dictatorship”, so any film that he grants this much access to isn’t going to tear him apart
Have you seen the show?
Everygoodboydeservesfruita says
No – I’m in Australia – no show for us. Not looking for him to be torn apart. Just something a little more real – I’m not sure that they know what is real anymore.
Mike_H says
Benevolent Dictatorship is the only way to successfully run a band where you are the frontman and songwriter.
You can be open to ideas by others in the band, for song arrangements and how performances are conducted, but ultimately the thumbs that go up or down for such ideas must be yours alone.
dai says
One reveal from the doc was that Steve Van Zandt is now in charge of song arrangements (“about 40 years too late”). Not sure if he has any input into the setlists, but it’s possible
Mike_H says
But are those arrangements different in any significant way?
dai says
I think so, at least in some cases, as the band is much augmented with horns and additional backing singers. Steve has a lot of experience arranging horns.
NigelT says
I think his remark was that he had now been made ‘musical director’ and that it was about 40 years late!
dai says
Ah yes, MD. Been about 6 weeks since I saw it
Jaygee says
It’s a puff piece, same as the last one he did with Apple.
Doubt anyone of BS’s stature really needs the publicity or is going to allow a warts and all Metallica style documentary at this late point in their career.
Having got used to him mixing it up most nights, share various other AWers’ disappointment re the decline of spontaneity in his recent sets.
That said, he’s one of very few acts that is guaranteed to deliver every time he sets foot on a stage though
Leffe Gin says
Maybe he gets a good fee for the sync rights to his music when used in film/tv like this? I know that some artists make a ton of money this way, but not that many have twigged that making a documentary about themselves is a good way to get more cash. (just a theory.)
Mike_H says
Of course you’d need a pretty high profile in the first place to be sure of it paying off, Leffe.
dai says
He sold his catalog to Sony for an estimated 500 million, so they get the money now presumably
NigelT says
From memory, I think he makes similar observations in his autobiography about being in charge. Clearly it isn’t a democracy, and I suspect there has never been a band in history that was….although I guess someone here will now give an example of one.
Black Type says
REM, perhaps?
deramdaze says
Yep, I think we all have a romantic image about pop music which is so unrealistic as to be funny. ‘Bruce Springsteen’ is, after all, a multi-million dollar industry.
I’ve been listening to a whole load of those excellent ‘Nothing Is Real’ podcasts on the Beatles and, there is no other way of putting this, Paul appears to be… erm… a ‘testing’ character away from his public persona.
But then he would be, wouldn’t he? Indeed, he probably has to be.
dai says
They are a bit mean to him at times I think. After Epstein died, I think The Beatles may well have folded if not for him and he was right in the end about Klein which was probably the main factor in the group ending as it did
Blue Boy says
I watched – and greatly enjoyed – the film tonight, and I think Springsteen and McCartney have a lot in common. They are both showmen, utter professionals, and as discussed above, very much in control of their music, their band, their business, their image and everything around them. Springsteen always has been; it took Macca a while to get there. I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all – their drive, and their attention to detail are absolutely part of what makes them so special. That and their genius for songwriting. Looking forward to seeing Bruce in Manchester next year. Long may they both run.
Twang says
Queen always seemed pretty democratic. Ironically.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Like, possibly love, Springsteen. Not sure I want to delve into how he runs his “business” or what kind of a guy he really is. Benign dictator or some bastard who fines a roadie $311 for losing The Boss’ canoe? Don’t care as long as he fulfils his promise to play my local bar real soon. The first demi is on me.
dai says
I can assure you he will play your local bar soon. Congratulations on your move to Asbury Park, NJ!
Jaygee says
Currently reading an anthology of the always excellent Craig Brown’s writing called Haywire which contains an expanded version of his typically insightful review of BS’s 2016 autobiog,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-3802547/Brutally-honest-brilliantly-written-superb-rock-autobiography-proves-Boss-born-write.html
Mike_H says
Like most biogs of rock/pop stars, Bruce’s is much too long. The final ⅓ should have been severely edited down. The gist of his story had been told by then.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
If only he’d had a decent editor, eh?
Hot Shot Hamish says
Watched last night and really enjoyed it. Having been to a few of his concerts over the years one thing that always stands out is the emotion that comes from the audience in a way I haven’t seen with any other performer and that was very much in evidence in the film. And special mention to Miami Steve’s black hat – that’s a belter!
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Never thought I’d be bored watching Bruce. I was Wrong.