Well I Got This Guitar

By the time I was 19 I had moved away from home but still returned every weekend to go out with my school friends to the local disco.

Around about this time my sister in law - Irene - and I decided we wanted to learn to play the acoustic guitar.  My first guitar had been bought many years before with Green Shield Stamps.  For those of you who are too young to remember, these were the equivalent of today's Tesco Reward card and the like.  In the olden days you were given stamps which you stuck in a book.  Along with this you had a catalogue, out of which you chose gifts, which were bought with the stamps.  I can't imagine how many books my mum and dad had to fill to buy a guitar but it must have been at least a sack full.  I don't know how old I was but my hand was too small to reach around the neck and the guitar soon ended up in the garage damp, warped and unplayable.  Not quite Bruce's guitar story but then he has a lot more determination than I will ever have.



Anyway I had my second guitar by the time my brother - Ian - rather rashly agreed to teach us.  He and Irene lived just down the road from my mum so my guitar travelled back and forth with me each weekend.

In a previous blog I mentioned how Ian had taught himself to play and told you how proud we all were of him.  I would watch his fingers form the chords and pluck the strings and itched to be able to do it myself. You will often find me at gigs concentrating on the guitarist's hands - yes ladies even at a Springsteen gig but then I watch his hands a lot because I love the way he does that kind of pointy thing and the way he conducts the band.  I digress but it gives me an excuse to include this



Ian is a teacher - not a guitar teacher but teaching is teaching I suppose - unless your wife and sister are the (rather unruly) pupils. We each had an exercise book in which we wrote the words and the chord changes for the songs we learnt.  'Sloop John B' was the first.  I also remember 'Singing The Blues' 'The Streets of Toledo' and a song which I am ashamed to say I didn't know at the time but which has since become a favourite - Roy Orbison's 'In Dreams'.

Now I can't sing!  I mean I really can't sing!!  I trill along to the radio and CDs all the time.  Mike remarks with much surprise if I am in tune but mostly he just asks me, not always jokingly, to be quiet.  My best mate Jacquie, who is a great singer, admitted in a truthful moment that my singing is really out of tune but at least I will never turn up on X Factor with false hope.

I sound OK to me but even I have to confess that my 'Born To Run' is awful.  My 'In Dreams' was bad too and therein lies the rub.  When you are strumming chords nobody knows what you are playing unless you sing the melody.  In my case nobody knows what I'm playing even when I do sing along!

Irene really wanted to play Bob Dylan: specifically a song called 'Visions Of Johanna'.  I had to buy Blonde on Blonde to learn it but because of this I gained an appreciation of Dylan which had escaped me before.  I assume Ian simplified the arrangement for us and removed the difficult chords and we could do a passable version in the end.

I am ashamed to say our lessons were short lived.  Frustration set in and that guitar went the same way as the first.

The grounding was there, though, and many years later when I decided to try again I could still play those first few chords.  Must be like riding a bike - you never forget.  I decided to make a concerted effort about ten years ago.  I bought a new guitar and new how to play book, worked up some nice hard skin on my finger ends and, although I say so myself, I progressed a little.

Mike bought his own guitar and together we could manage a few tunes.  'Blowing in the Wind' was our party piece and I could do a passable strum along of 'The River'.  

I didn't crack it then and haven't played for ages although we still have the guitars hanging on the wall.

The dream hasn't died though so one day when we are all at some get together I hope to be able to whip out my guitar and lead a sing-a-long!


Now other snippets:-

Firstly -  Tim Rice has been presenting a Radio 2 show in which he looks at the music of each of the American States.  This week: New Jersey.  All the usual suspects were mentioned - Franki Valli, Frank Sinatra, Bon Jovi.  Had to wait until about three quarters through to get Bruce.  They played 'Tougher Than The Rest' - a good choice I thought.  Didn't get the impression Tim is a fan but he couldn't do a piece about musicians from NJ without mentioning him.

I was surprised to hear a song from Mary Chapin Carpenter.  I mention this especially for Elaine who isn't a fan of the country music genre.  Mary is one of my faves and I didn't know she was from NJ.  She has covered 'Dancing In The Dark' but luckily for you I couldn't find a YouTube clip.  There's this audio clip though.  I have to say not sure myself - a bit dreary maybe.

Secondly - I browse around the internet all the time hunting out stuff for this blog.  News is hard to find some weeks so clutching at straws comes to mind with this house for sale here?   I don't know why Springsteen Avenue is odd.  We name streets and even airports after people all the time.  We live near Asquith Avenue named after the Prime Minister but I don't think of him when I see the street.   Perhaps it's because Springsteen brings such a strong, immediate image to mind that it's hard to picture it as a bit of tarmac and some houses.

And finally kind of back to where we started with gifts  What a fab Christmas Present.  Thing is, as many of you know, I love my handy crafts - hmmmmm - do I feel a quilt coming on?

Dancing in the Dark

I'm sure most of you know that story of how DITD came about.  The one that says Jon Landau needed a 'single' from Born in the USA. Bruce didn't want to fall into line, had no idea what to write about but came up with a song anyway.  Well I got up this morning to write my blog and I ain't got nothing to say.  Could do with changing my clothes, my hair and my face too but that's another story.


By the way 

In philosophy, "dancing in the dark" refers to any situational optimism, albeit leavened by physically-construed events, that is self-referentially seen as a way for the Id to manifest itself. 

OK can anyone explain that to me? 

There are a number of theories about what the phrase actually means from moving rhythmically to music with the lights out - which is, of course, true but rather literal - to we're all just going through the motions and the whole exercise is pointless.  

So just because:-

I picked this clip on purpose because we were there!  As I have said many times before the weekend we spent in New York City and New Jersey was the best few days of my life.  I still can hardly believe we did it.


The memories managed to sustain me for the best part of a year. Whenever the daily grind got me down I would remember how lucky I had been to make that trip, look through the photos and immediately life didn't seem so bad.  Now, though, more than twelve months on and in the dark days between New Year and Spring I need a lift that those memories alone can't give me -  a new tour !!!

There doesn't seem to be even a whiff on the horizon. Opinions range from Autumn this year to any time in 2012. There's been mention of Sam going to college next year so perhaps after that but what if Jessica is chosen for the Olympics?
Although this seems a little unlikely judging by this article.  


Anyway trawling through the internet for any news I found this 


Through trusted sources that I cannot devulge, the news on the E Street is that the band is breaking up. Little Stevie and Roy Bitten struck private deals with Bruce for more money which he accepted. The rest of the guys and ladies said to be leaving for sure. The riff is said to be over money which the band feels they deserve...being the E Street Band.
I certainly hope that this is only a rumor, but I am afraid its close to being true knowing the reliability of my source.


Scaremongering perhaps but who knows ?

Cover Me

I lived the first 18 years of my life by the sea.  Sutton-on-Sea to be precise – a small town on the Lincolnshire coast about 4 miles from Mablethorpe to the north and 15 miles from Skegness to the south. This has skewed my opinion of the seaside somewhat.  When I go home I have an irresistible compulsion to go to see the sea but suggest I get in the car on a sunny Sunday and drive to Scarborough or Blackpool and I would be horrified.  You see the seaside was my prison when I was a teenager.

Sutton was, and still is, a sleepy little place.  All the excitement,if you could call it that, was to be had in Mablethorpe (Skegness being an expensive and long bus ride away).  Here during the summer the amusement arcades opened and there was a funfair.

As teenagers it was expected that we would get summer jobs waitressing or selling ice creams, rock and candyfloss but during the evenings and on days off we would hang around the fair.

This was way back in the days before video games had even been thought of so our 'pleasure machines' were penny slots, table football or pinball.  There was a carousel, waltzer, twister and big wheel and we had our very own Madame Marie, although she was called Gypsy Rose Lee or some such..



There wasn't a boardwalk instead a concrete promenade lined with a few shops, cafes and beach huts.

A bit off topic you might be saying but as you know all roads lead to Springsteen (or in this case they lead from Bruce and back round to him again) and I was prompted to tell you this after I pulled out our copy of Light of Day – A tribute to Bruce Springsteen. 


The cover depicts probably the first picture I had seen of the Asbury Park boardwalk and I was struck by how similar it is to my home.  It's not that it looks the same it's just a feeling:something about the atmosphere of the place. Maybe it's just the sea.

Anyway I escaped my seaside town at about the same age as Bruce landed in his but in an odd way his affection for the place made me appreciate my own home a bit more.

So Light of Day was the first covers album we actually bought.  We had two albums given away free with Uncut magazine which Mike had played over and over.  He is a champion of the cover really.  In fact there are some occasions when he would choose to listen to the cover over Bruce's original.  On the other hand I know there are many tramps who can't even bear to listen to any version other than Bruce's.

I fall somewhere between the two.  I have nothing against covers.  Some I like, some I don't like and some are just so different that it makes me listen to Bruce's version in a new light.  On the whole though I don't think I would ever prefer someone else's interpretation of a Springsteen song more than his own.  At least I'd never admit it not even to myself.  Or would I ?... I'm not a Tom Joad fan but I like this






That version of 'Sinaloa Cowboys' is on the albums (it's a double) along with some other unusual covers.  I would recommend it to any Bruce fan just for the experience of hearing a new interpretation of an old, familiar and ,in some cases, much loved song.  I can't pick out a truly bad track.  There are artists we have never heard of, some we didn't know at the time but have familiarised ourselves with since and one who we have met a couple of times – you know who you are Mr Wright.

The first version of 'The Promise' we heard was a cover from the album by an Italian – Graziano Romani. During a holiday in Italy a few years back we went into every record shop trying to find something by him but to no avail. 

Anyway Mike's fascination with the cover means we also have One Step Up Two Steps Back – The songs of Bruce Springsteen. Another great double album.  More dubiously we own If I Were The Boss – The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen which includes such gems as 'Growin Up' by Alvin Stardust and 'Fire' by Shakin' Stevens.  The weirdest album? - it has to be The String Quartet Tribute to Springsteen.

Back in the days when we were just getting into ripping and burning, these many versions of the same song inspired Mike to make up two CDs of our own featuring only the one song in it's many guises. Atlantic City because it's his favourite and Thunder Road for me.

Well guys to be honest I can't find much Bruce news for you this week.  There's this DVD which is apparently being released in February.  For the intellectual among you this blog compares Steve Jobs with Bruce.

And finally this week to go back to the covers theme here's a medley for you to consider.  There is only a snippet of each so if there's something you hate it'll soon pass!

Beyond The Palace

So we did indeed get a few You Tube gems from Light of Day.  I love the sing-a-long-a ‘Thunder Road’.



The sound of a crowd singing along together is so uplifting.  It only goes to prove that most people there were Springsteen fans and they seem to have been treated to a great night.

In 2005 I had an urge to go to LOD.  We had a Badlands email advertising their trip and did a lot of research regarding flights.  I had managed to convince myself that I didn’t care if Bruce appeared or not.  The thrill of going to Asbury Park was enough.  In the end Mike persuaded me that I was kidding myself and he was right. Bruce didn’t turn up that year and I was relieved that we didn’t go.

We considered going this year but things have moved on since 2005.  We have now been to Asbury Park.  It was the most amazing day.  I would love to go back but the thought of the boardwalk on a cold January day doesn’t really appeal.

Seeing a show at the Paramount Theater would be fantastic.  Mike and I follow many of the acts that perform at LOD but, with apologies to those other artists, I have to admit that I would be gutted if Bruce didn’t put in an appearance.

Anyway back to the You Tube clips. This one along with a couple of others have been posted by Backstreetsbev.



I assume this is the same Backstreetsbev who I first came across on BTX. She’s quite the celebrity over there. All her posts include a photo of her and Bruce.

This was the first photo I had seen of Bruce with a fan and I was so envious - still am.

I seem to remember she was at Emirates night 2 when Bruce played 'Backstreets' and someone posted a brilliant photo of her listening in awe. This was the night I fell in love with the song.  It had sort of passed me by before but hearing it live I realised what an amazing song it is.

My little Bruce world is a bit subdued at the moment.  The excitement of the Darkness Box set has faded and there is nothing to look forward to.  For the first time for, well, possibly years I don’t feel the need to listen to Bruce music all the time.  I’m not getting the usual withdrawal symptoms if I choose the non Bruce play lists on my iPod so I’ve had a go at Biffy Clyro, The Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse, Matchbox Twenty and 12 Stones.  Can’t say I love any of them on first hearing although most will merit a second and third play.

We didn't even get excited about Bruce night on the Beeb.  In fact Mike hardly watched any of it.  I stuck it out until the end though although I'd seen it all before.

Anyway today Mike suggested we make Saturday a sixties day (so also a non Bruce day).  Some of you reading this weren’t even alive in the sixties but most of you will know hundreds of sixties songs and loads of those songs influenced Bruce.  So... whilst I was washing up I played The Monkees - the first band I really loved - but who had absolutely no influence on Bruce I imagine.  This afternoon I chose a compilation featuring girl groups - the likes of The Shirelles and The Crystals.  A bit more influence there then.

By the way the drum roll at the beginning of 'The Locomotion' is eerily similar to 'Born to Run'. I must have heard both songs hundreds of times over the years and never noticed this before.

This week when I was researching LOD I came across this piece about the Paramount show.

Sara has written a book which I have ordered.  I read the first page on Amazon.com and I am very much looking forward to reading the rest when the book arrives.  I’m not into e-reading yet so it‘s the paper version for me.  I’ll let you know what I think in a few weeks.




And to round off this week.  The folks on BTX are suggesting that Patti needs to hang on tightly to her man.  Apparently Shakira has split with her long time boyfriend.  I believe she is a bit of a Bruce fan and she's a good looking woman in anyone's book.   Just joking Patti - I think you are probably stuck with him for life now!