Witnesses

<body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" height="100%"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="105" bgcolor="#111111" text="#F7F7FF"> <div><img src="87955540.jpg" border="0" width="85" height="84" align="bottom" hspace="0" vspace="0"></div><br> <div><img src="126639310.gif" border="0" width="57" height="49" align="bottom" hspace="0" vspace="0"></div><br> <br> <br> </td> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#080000" background="079cb9a3.jpg"> <div> <b>Witnesses</b> </div> <div></div> <div> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2" src="stm31.js"></script> </div> <div> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2">  </script> </div> <div></div><br> <div><img src="1326cdf20.jpg" border="0" width="205" height="242" align="bottom" hspace="0" vspace="0"></div><br> <div> "He made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time" </div> <div> Jon Landau, legendary critic (after seeing Bruce in a small Boston club), 1974 </div><br> <div> "I remember seeing him and thinking, 'My God that's amazing. I'd never seen anyone do that'" </div> <div> Peter Buck, R.E.M. (describing Springsteens charisma onstage) </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"I was nervous as hell when Bruce Springsteen sat down on the couch next to Nick and I. I mean, he's the FUCKING BOSS! He then introduced himself (as if that was even necessary) and proved to be incredibly humble and friendly. In all sincerity, I don't think I'll ever forget it... "<br> <font color="red">Ben Gibbard, Death Cab For a Cutie (on meeting Bruce for the "Vote for Change" tour)</font></p> </div> <div> "Springsteen does Dodger Stadium for a week and sells out in minutes. That's the biggest band in the world to me" </div> <div> Chester Bennington, Linkin Park (on his band being seen as "the biggest band in the world") </div><br> <div> "'Born to Run'" </div> <div> Pete Yorn (when asked .. "If you could only save one album from a burning fire...?") </div><br> <div> "'I don't mind 'The Boss'.  I think he's an honest guy'" </div> <div> Henry Rollins (when asked to comment about his dislike for "larger than life" Rock gods - like Springsteen) </div><br> <div> "It was like hearing Shakespeare in Rock and Roll.  If anyone could make you dream, it was Springsteen" </div> <div> Melissa Etheridge (reflecting on the "Born to Run" album) </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"When Bruce Springsteen broke through to national recognition in the fall of 1975, critics hailed him as the savior of rock & roll - the single artist who brought together all the exuberance of '50s rock and the thoughtfulness of '60s rock, molded into a '70s style. He rocked as hard as Jerry Lee Lewis. His lyrics were as complicated as Bob Dylan's, and .. his concerts were near-religious celebrations. One critic became so enamored that he quit reviewing to become Springsteen's manager"<br> <font color="red">All Music Guide</font></p> </div> <div> "I saw Bruce when I was 25 and he <i>killed</i> me - just killed me" </div> <div> Tom Waits </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"Between 1975 and 1984, Bruce Springsteen made five albums ... each of them an indisputable classic - as impressive a run of unfettered genius as any rocker has ever displayed. When 'Born to Run' was released in 1975, it earned then-unknown Springsteen the rare honor of simultaneous covers on both <b><i>Time</i></b><i></i> and <b><i>Newsweek</i></b><i></i>. The attention was warranted then and .. it still is now"<br> <font color="red">Amazon.com Bio</font></p> </div> <div> "He made me want to make music in the first place" </div> <div> Badly Drawn Boy </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"What makes Bruce totally unique and cosmically surfeiting is his words. Hot damn! Bruce Springsteen is a bold new talent with more than a mouthful to say, and .. one look at the pic on the back will tell you he's got the glam to go places in this Gollywoodlawn world to boot. Watch for him."<br> <font color="red">Lester Bangs, legendary critic (reviewing Bruce's debut album)</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I like the new Nine Inch Nails record. Also, I really enjoyed the Springsteen concert this week. It was amazing, just incredible. When I was in high school, when I had friends who said they were going to see him I'd say, 'Are you out of your mind? All that money and he's not even heavy metal?' And I went through an anti-Bruce phase when 'Born in the USA' was popular, because I hadn't really listened to the words and there were some songs that were really syrupy- sweet and I thought, 'That is really whack-ass shit.' But then he was on HBO or something doing an Amnesty International concert from Brazil, and I couldn't believe what I saw. It was so moving. Nothing like those dumb 'Glory Days' videos. And there were 200,000 people there and it was like he controlled the crowd with all the intensity of, like a small Jane's Addiction show. So I had to go out and buy his albums. The first one was 'Darkness on the Edge of Town', and I thought, 'Wow, this is pretty good!' And then I got 'Nebraska'. And I went from there until I had them all. 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' was my favorite album of the '90's. He's just so deep and profound."<br> <font color="red">Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"The audience is shattered with astonishment. The writer remembers a scene in Butch Cassidy where the two heroes apply for jobs as payroll guards. A mineowner asks Redford if he can shoot. You mean like this, just standing there? He fires, misses. The mineowner starts to walk away. Redford asks.. 'Can I move? I'm better when I move'. Sure. The Kid whirls, fires and the target becomes sunlight. With complete authority, Springsteen gets the job. He carves the visual space, singing the body electric. Every gesture is or seems to be absolutely necessary. Littering the stage with clues, he stalks the world he creates, looking for pieces that fit, the details, the phrases that will make the song come alive. He doesn't offer solutions, just enough pieces to suggest that there is a mystery, that at least he is on to something. And with surprising frequency, there are connections, moments of recognition between the audience and the performer. The contact can be tentative, fleeting, a glimpse of what might have happened. Or it can be solid, a moment you build a life around."<br> <font color="red">Playboy, 1976 (covering the Springsteen phenomenon)</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I'd love to be Bruce Springsteen"<br> <font color="red">Sheryl Crowe (on whose career she'd most want)</font></p> </div> <div> "I wrote 'Hero' after listening to him.  I saw him when I was young and I knew that's what I wanted to be" </div> <div> Enrique Iglesias (talking about how he idolizes Bruce) </div><br> <div> "Bruce has always been our fearless leader" </div> <div> Bob Seger </div><br> <div> "I love Bruce Springsteen.  It's one of those ... <i><b>perfect</b></i> albums" </div> <div> Brett Anderson of Suede (referring to "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle") </div><br> <div> "I like Bruce.  I liked 'The Rising' a lot".  I could not stop playing that song" </div> <div> Spike Lee (on why Springsteen's "The Fuse" ends his latest movie) </div><br> <div> "I've always looked up to Bruce Springsteen as my idol" </div> <div> Deana Carter </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"Only Springsteen and Curtis Mayfield deserve to be in. Mayfield's a genius and Springsteen changed the face of things; they should be in there"<br> <font color="red">Mojo Nixon (on the Rock Hall of Fame nominations)</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"He basically distills things down to such an essence, which is what turns people off who aren't fans. It seems simplistic to them, or obvious. But I think that's where the power of his songwriting lies - he talks about things in a way that is direct and powerful, without coming across as banal."<br> <font color="red">Superchunk</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"My husband and I were listening to 'The Rising'. I was like, 'I can't believe it. That's it! We live in New York City, and of all the stuff I've seen and read (about Sept. 11), Springsteen just said it: 'I woke up to an empty sky'. He got it. How did he do it? Where were the new songwriters to write that line? Where was Dar Williams? It's back to Springsteen. He truly woke up as a poet does on that day, saw it, observed it and got the most trenchant details. And got that song."<br> <font color="red">Dar Williams (on "Empty Sky", from "The Rising")</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I love him. He's the filthy rich guy who never forgot. He's a nice guy. He's brilliant - a great songwriter. He's one of our national treasures."<br> <font color="red">Pat Benatar, 2002</font></p> </div> <div> "Bruce Springsteen, he sees the picture" </div> <div> Public Enemy </div><br> <div> "I think 'I'm on Fire' is one of the best songs written in the past 25 years" </div> <div> Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) </div><br> <div> "I love that song - it's sad, you know?" </div> <div> Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream on hearing Springsteen's "I'm on Fire") </div><br> <div> "I make no bones about being into Springsteen.  It's evident in what I do" </div> <div> Paul Westerberg (The Replacements) </div><br> <div> "It immediately struck me that there was a movie there" </div> <div> Sean Penn (upon hearing Bruce's "Highway Patrolman", wrote a movie a based on it) </div><br> <div> "Bruce Springsteen. In fact, I've urged him to run" </div> <div> Ex-President Bill Clinton (when asked.. "Who do you wish would run for President?") </div><br> <div> "I saw Springsteen a few times and he influenced me - his raps" </div> <div> Don Henley (talking about the stories Bruce would tell to introduce certain songs) </div><br> <div> "'We both have similar roots'" </div> <div> Mike Ness, Social Distortion (commenting on why Bruce was a guest singer on his solo album) </div><br> <div> "This is something Bruce Springsteen said, and I think about it a lot" </div> <div> Suzanne Vega (Bruce said "People don't come to see you, they come to see themselves") </div><br> <div> "I"m a Jersey boy - Springsteen" </div> <div> Jon Stewart, Comedian (when asked.. "Who's your favorite musician?") </div><br> <div> "If I could only take one, I'd take Bruce Springsteen's 'Greatest Hits'" </div> <div> Cher (on her desert island album) </div><br> <div> "Springsteen is one of the great balladeers of our age" </div> <div> T-Bone Burnett </div><br> <div> "Bruce is The Boss - I have no pretensions to his throne.  He knows he's the best"" </div> <div> Billy Joel </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"He's a great talent. I admire his music. What he's done is what every artist has to do - be yourself and make your music for whatever reasons are important to you"<br> <font color="red">Dwight Yoakam</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I admire Bruce Springsteen because he's a heroic person who has lots of integrity and has this incredible body of work that is so vital."<br> <font color="red">Elizabeth Wurtzel, writer/feminist</font></p> </div> <div> "Hearing 'Jungleland" was an important moment. That song was a <i><b>book</b></i>" </div> <div> Jack O'Connell, writer </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"Thank God for Bruce Springsteen. He's carrying on the tradition of Woody Guthrie. Once again, he's speaking the poetic soul of our generation. What Woody had to talk about was one thing, and what Hank Williams had to talk about was another, but Bruce Springsteen has taken up the mantle of the common man"<br> <font color="red">Emmylou Harris</font></p> </div> <div> <i><b>"</b></i>He was, and still is, a <i><b>huge</b></i> influence for us" </div> <div> Margo Timmins of The Cowboy Junkies </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"I've heard hundreds of people over the years and he's the first one who's ever moved me like this. While listening to him audition, I wrote down .. 'greatest talent of the decade'. I knew at once he would last a generation"<br> <font color="red">John Hammond, legendary talent scout (Billie Holiday to Bob Dylan)</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"It's about promise and redemption and hope and faith and strength. I listen to it everyday. It's the most uplifting thing I've listened to in years. Some people read the Bible every day. I get in my car and rock with him."<br> <font color="red">Pat Riley, coach of the Miami Heat (on Bruce's newest CD, "The Rising")</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"His guitar playing is only the beginning of what makes Springsteen such a stupefying spectacle. Measured in terms of charisma, energy and fan affection, who can touch him? When a rock star reaches 52, you're obliged to mention his age and then comment about how vital he is, given his advancing years. But the years have barely laid a glove on Springsteen as a live performer. He bounds around less than he once did, and he's certainly too rich to actually be the regular-guy-in-flannels he seems onstage. No matter. Rock is his religion and for as long as he ministers, his flock will know a thing or two about faith."<br> <font color="red">The Washington Post, 2002</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I'd say (Bruce) Springsteen. I've never seen that many live shows, so I'm probably not qualified, but I'd say Springsteen is the real deal. I like musicians that don't need fancy light shows to keep you entertained. I always really liked that."<br> <font color="red">Jewel (when asked... "What's the best stage act you ever saw?")</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"As the world's greatest living rock and roll star, Bruce Springsteen has unconsciously proved former <i>Rolling Stone</i> critic Jon Landau totally correct. Landau appeared smug and brave when he made the arrogant statement in 1974, 'I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen'. Word got out to the public that here was something special. Springsteen wrote directly to his fans in a language which they understood. Here was a working class American, writing about his job, his car/bike, his girlfriend and his hometown. 'Born To Run' came in 1975 and immediately put him into rock's first division. This superb album contained a wealth of lyrical frustration, anger and hope. The playing was faultless and the quality of the songs was among his best. Critics and fans loved it, and the album was a significant hit on both sides of the Atlantic. During the accompanying tour, Springsteen collected rave reviews and appeared as cover feature in both <b>Newsweek</b> and <b>Time</b>"<br> <font color="red">MTV.com Bio</font></p> </div> <div> "There's a certain amount of envy watching Bruce.  He's the best show in Rock" </div> <div> Jackson Browne </div><br> <div> "He's such an incredibly genuine artist.  You can't argue you with his sincerity" </div> <div> Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers and.. Bob Dylan's son) </div><br> <div> "Springsteen's a good man" </div> <div> Kris Kristofferson </div><br> <div> "I am his <i><b>biggest</b></i> fan.  He really influenced me" </div> <div> Steve Earle </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he's no <i>longer</i> God. I've never seen him, but.. I love his albums and .. I've heard such good things about him. Right now, his fans are happy. When he gets down to facing his own success and .. growing older - having to produce again and again, they'll turn on him. I hope he survives it"<br> <font color="red">John Lennon, 1980</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I understand that there are people, particularly young people, who are unable to connect with <b>The Bruce Springsteen Legend</b>. It's been 18 years since Springsteen distilled the American Zeitgeist with 'Born in the U.S.A'., an album that sold more than 10 million copies - a stratospheric number back then. And because he broke up his fabled E Street Band in 1989, there's many a youth who's never witnessed one of their thunderous, marathon concerts. For these people, Bruce Springsteen is a part of the long-ago past, and they're tired of hearing their dotty elders gabbing about the guy.</p> <p align="justify">I wish all of these doubters could have been at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, when Springsteen and his great band, back together again at last, put on a virtually non-stop two-and-a-half-hour show that lent fresh resonance to the tired old cliché 'earth-shaking.' Like the group's pile-driving concerts of yore, this one had the feel of a rock and roll event, the likes of which probably won't be seen until ... well, until the next time these guys play New York.</p> <p align="justify">At an age (52) when most rock figureheads (the Rolling Stones, the Who, etc.) are either creatively faded or reduced to hustling the nostalgia market, Springsteen is making some of the most galvanizing music of his 29-year career. He seems completely contemporary. 'The Rising', his new album, with its vibrant songs and moving reflections on the terrorist attacks of last September 11, debuted at #1 on this week's Billboard chart and seems likely to become one of his biggest hits. The record had been out less than a week when he played the Garden, but a surprising number of the 18,000 people in attendance were already singing along with the new songs.</p> <p align="justify">Springsteen is so impressive in so many ways - a gifted hitmaker, Blitzkrieg guitarist, masterful singer and showman. It's hard to imagine who among the current roster of rock-concert performers might credibly constitute his competition. His voice alone seems a force of nature.</p> <p align="justify">He commands the stage in a way that recalls past masters like James Brown, among very few others. He's entirely mesmerizing even on those rare occasions when he puts down his guitar and stands alone at the microphone (as he did for one of The Rising's most heart-stirring 9/11 songs, 'You're Missing'). More oddly problematic for younger people might be one of the man's most endearing attributes — his undiluted identification with the roots of rock and roll music. Onstage, in full frenzy, he recalls everyone from the primordial Elvis Presley and Little Richard to Solomon Burke and the aforementioned James Brown. His Garden show was burnished with gospel overtones, and there were unmistakable references throughout to such now-departed stars as Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield (including a brief rendition of Mayfield's 1965 Impressions classic, 'People Get Ready'). It would be understandable that people in their late teens or 20s might not get all these references. It would be sad, though, if they didn't care. The Rising, and the first U.S. leg of the tour supporting it, which'll run through mid-December - could bring Bruce Springsteen back to the rock mainstream in an undeniable way. His concerts are still (I use this word advisedly) astonishing, and will surely convert even the most determined skeptics. Those who've never witnessed his live act are in for a transcendent musical experience. And even first-timers may find that, somehow, without knowing it, they've really missed him."<br> <font color="red">Kurt Loder, MTV (reviewing Bruce's 8/12/02 Madison Square Garden show)</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">'Born to Run' is a magnificent album that pays off on every bet ever placed on Bruce Springsteen - a '57 Chevy running on melted down Crystals records that shuts down every claim that has been made. And it should crack his future wide open. The stories Springsteen is telling are nothing new, though no one has ever told them better or made them matter more. Springsteen's singing, his words and the band's music have turned the dreams and failures two generations have dropped along the road into an epic - an epic that began when that car when over the cliff in 'Rebel Without a Cause'. Springsteen has achieved something special. He has touched his world with glory, without glorifying anything: not the unbearable pathos of the street fight in 'Jungleland', not the scared young lovers of 'Backstreets' and not himself"<br> <font color="red">Greil Marcus, legendary critic, 1975</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"'Nebraska' is one of my favorite records"<br> <font color="red">Ani DiFranco (on her contribution to "Badlands", the tribute to Bruce's "Nebraska" album)</font></p> </div> <div> "He was the <i><b><u>one</u></b></i> person we always really wanted to have on" </div> <div> David Letterman (his final show on NBC, after Bruce was the last guest) </div><br> <div> <p align="justify">"Never had I heard someone who excited me so much as a listener, who turned my dials so high .. who just made me feel so fucking happy to have ears"<br> <font color="red">Stephen King, writer (on first hearing "Rosalita")</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"Back in the 80's, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen were the biggest stars in the world. Michael wouldn't leave his house without 25 bodyguards, whereas ... you could bump into Bruce at a local bar. Fame is what you make of it. I"m never going to do the whole bodyguard nonsense. It's just not me. They're all Michael Jackson and, I guess, I'm Bruce Springsteen"<br> <font color="red">Matt Damon, on fame</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I was really struck by Springsteen. I hate people who hate him"<br> <font color="red">Nick Hornby, writer (<u>High Fidelity</u>, <u>About a Boy</u>)</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I can tell how good the concert is by whether the fans notice me. At a Springsteen concert, people don't even know I'm there. At a Michael Jackson show, oh Lord.. I ran out .. and .. I had to take 5,000 people with me. Michael's a good performer, but.. Bruce is in a league all his own"<br> <font color="red">Prince</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"My parents told me it was impossible to become a rock star, but I had a role model in Bruce Springsteen. I watched him grow into a superstar. I remember .. he used to buy me food when I didn't have any money. I've never resented the fact that I've always been in Springsteen's shadow. It's a great place to be. They don't come greater than him. I would never have wanted to be a musician had it not been for Bruce. He was my hero"<br> <font color="red">Jon Bon Jovi</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"Not every audience is going to connect with every picture. And hopefully they'll come on these journeys with you. And I thank them for the support they gave "Eyes Wide Shut". I hope it promoted conversation, ideas. Not every picture's the same. And I gotta do what I gotta do. It's like Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska". I <b><i>love</i></b> that album. It wasn't as big as "Born in the USA", but <b><i>what</i></b> a classic album. It has an audience in me. And I still buy Bruce's other albums"<br> <font color="red">Tom Cruise</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"I like stories. A lot of people bring up Bruce Springsteen sometimes like it's a bad word - because of the success of the 'Born in the USA" album; I think Springsteen - in his first few records - was pretty fucking amazing. He really embodied/captured for most people, not only Americans, a realistic, gritty American view. Few people have done that since."<br> <font color="red">Everclear</font></p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">"His songs are stories with characters. He writes about the disintegration of lives due to social forces. But his people keep striving, hoping."<br> <font color="red">Bobbie Ann Mason, writer</font></p> </div><br> <br> <br> </td> </tr> </table> </body>