Scan barcode
A review by quaerentia
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
4.0
You wouldn't expect anything but openness and raw honesty from the Boss, and this autobiography does not disappoint on that front. He's particularly good on his upbringing and the world on the New Jersey seaboard where his family grew up with real poverty and many challenges. It is fun to have the background to the songs on the early albums especially - I always loved the Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, as well as of course Born to Run, and his recollections add further dimensions. A case in point was Sandy
The second half of the book tends to be a litany of the processes behind each album - which I guess is fair enough - but his insights into the legacy of family mental health issues (especially in his father and then himself) are powerful and very helpful indeed. He is unsparing about his own flaws and ego, with a complete shouldering of responsibility for the failure of his first marriage. Patti S is clearly a remarkable woman, able to manage his demons and heal his scars - and their family life is as normal as a billionaire rock star's is ever likely to get.
Just occasionally I could have done with an editor's pen - to excise repetition or the interminable lists of vices and virtues that Bruce is prone to indulge in like some kind of runaway poet. There were seeds of that in the lyrical exuberance of his early albums. But it gets a little tiresome in print after a while. On top of that, there's always the dilemma of trying to find the words to capture the indescribable alchemy of a great rock record. Bruce certainly hasn't quite solved that one!
Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read - probably mainly for the most die-hard of fans, though.
The second half of the book tends to be a litany of the processes behind each album - which I guess is fair enough - but his insights into the legacy of family mental health issues (especially in his father and then himself) are powerful and very helpful indeed. He is unsparing about his own flaws and ego, with a complete shouldering of responsibility for the failure of his first marriage. Patti S is clearly a remarkable woman, able to manage his demons and heal his scars - and their family life is as normal as a billionaire rock star's is ever likely to get.
Just occasionally I could have done with an editor's pen - to excise repetition or the interminable lists of vices and virtues that Bruce is prone to indulge in like some kind of runaway poet. There were seeds of that in the lyrical exuberance of his early albums. But it gets a little tiresome in print after a while. On top of that, there's always the dilemma of trying to find the words to capture the indescribable alchemy of a great rock record. Bruce certainly hasn't quite solved that one!
Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read - probably mainly for the most die-hard of fans, though.