Born out of Hell

Jacquie and Mike our friends and neighbours are two of the Springsteen virgins we are taking with us to a gig this year.  In preparation Jacquie wanted to listen to Bruce's back catalogue and asked for BTR to start with. I thought this was a good idea. Greetings and WIESS are more of an acquired taste, I feel and, whilst Jacquie and Mike have a very eclectic taste in music the first two albums might be better left until later in their education.


When we went over this weekend for food,drink and chat Jacquie remarked that the album reminded her of Meatloaf/Jim Steinman. An astute observation as it turns out as this extract from the Wikipedia entry for Bat out of Hell shows:-


Bat Out of Hell is often compared to the music of Bruce Springsteen, particularly the Born to Run album. Steinman says that he finds that "puzzling, musically", although they share influences; "Springsteen was more an inspiration than an influence." A BBC article added, "that Max Weinberg and Roy Brittan from Springsteen's E Street Band played on the album only helped reinforce the comparison."







I have to say that I don't really hear it myself.  I'm a 'Bat Out Of Hell' fan but I think it lacks the really poetic lyrics of, say, Jungleland.


Incidentally in 'Rolling Stone's' 500 greatest albums BTR is number 18 and BOOH is number ... 343


Thought we might lend them BITUSA next.  The breakthrough album followed by the one with the widest appeal. When they have digested this we will start to fill in the blanks.


I had to go to hospital on Tuesday for an MRI scan - just a precautionary thing so I'm not worried about the outcome. I was a bit nervous about the procedure itself though. Lying completely still in a narrow tube for minutes on end isn't something I was looking forward to.


The machine makes a lot of noise so I was invited to take a CD along with me to play through some headphones.  No contest on the artist - it had to be Bruce - but I had no idea how long I would be in there.  I chose Greatest Hits in the end for it's length more than anything.  Mike was a little concerned as he has never seen me stay still whilst either BTR or Badlands is played.  There wasn't room to pump my fist though so the although the temptation was great it was impossible!


Mike looked more worried than me as I headed off to the MRI room.  I couldn't have him there with me but I had Bruce for company - the next best thing.  Anyway it wasn't anything like as bad as I thought it would be.


A sad day today as I finally cancelled my Dublin Hotel. We didn't get tickets for RDS and decided to give it up and save our money for (hopefully) an autumn tour in the States.  It occurred to me this week, though, that Bruce might be busy supporting Obama.  The 2012 Presidential election is on 6th November.


Finally this week a link to this music review.  I have already shared this with my Facebook friends and on Greasy Lake but it's so good I needed to include it in my blog.  Here's a little excerpt but I'd recommend you read the whole thing. I think the writer really captures the experience of a Bruce show.


...You don’t really get to understand Bruce’s universe until you go to one of his live shows. Until you sleep on the street with other unconditional fans to catch the first row. But it’s worth it. A Bruce performance is a unique experience, a musical communion, a rock and roll exorcism. A shared feeling of happiness fills the air...