I am genuinely surprised you had not heard it before. It's considered one of the top 5 songs he's recorded and is the first song on the landmark "Born to Run" album. It's his second most played song in concert behind "Born to Run." I've seen it as a rock song, as a solo piano song, and on acoustic guitar. I don't know if you read the lyrics at some point in your analysis, but it's a beautiful, poetic song and the imagery is amazing. And if you want to see Springsteen fans argue, ask them if Mary's dress sways or if it waves. 🙂 FWIW, I would have recommended the 1975 Hammersmith Odeon because it is pro shot and an official release where the sound quality is spectacular. That's the solo piano ballad version. 78 Houston is a full band version that is official quality release. Some of us hardcore seem to geek out over specific bootleg performances and forget that official releases are probably better for your reviews.
Great analysis! In 1975, Springsteen would open his shows with just him and Roy Bittan on piano and sing the song as a ballad. You nailed the flexibility of this song and how it can be slowed down and performed as a ballad. Agreed regarding sound quality. It’s not the best. For both top video quality, sound quality, and performance, you cannot beat the No Nukes performance of Thunder Road. Top notch. Anyway, enjoyed your reaction, review, and rant! I like your new star system, by the way! Hope you have a great 2024!
He did slow it down in 2012 in hyde park, with just him and Roy on the piano, video is on here somewhere. Personally this is the best song hes written, really can't wait to see him again in June and know that you will see him in April, cant wait for your concert review! Happy New Year!
Agree that this is lyrically the best song Bruce has written. First song on the Born to Run album, he called it his invitation to join him on a journey to somewhere....where, he didn't know.
Bruce kissed Clarence on stage beginning in the 70s as an expression of their brotherhood and unity, and as an F You to racists. The early version of The E Street Band had 3 white guys and 3 black guys (until the recording of BTR in ‘75) and apparently some people had a problem with that. Not a huge issue but it did exist. Bruce witnessed Clarence dealing with racial issues on several occasions off stage and saw how it hurt him.
Greatest song ever written,thanx for the reaction...I saw him do accoustic version live....Really incredible...Loved that you really found "the soul"of the song.One of the most important songs in his career... Greetings from Germany
The guitarist is Nils Lofgren. He took over from Steven van Zandt in the mid 80s. Little Steve tried a solo thing at the time. In later years (mid 90s and onwards) Van Zandt and Lofgren have both been on stage with Bruce as guitarists. Nils Lofgren is also good at the Accordion and Steel guitar and have fulfilled those roles on stage at times. Van Zandt sometimes plays the mandolin but he usually sticks to guitar.
I'll say this until I die: Since he came out against a certain "politician" you hear a lot of folks giving him crap and saying he's overrated. I say if he had only ever released Thunder Road and Born to Run he STILL would have earned his legendary status. Yeah, some other cheesy songs afterwards, but he still wrote those two.
Happy New Year David and Mrs. David!!!! If there were a Springsteen "Mount Rushmore", Thunder Road" would be there, along with Born to Run and Jungleland. The fourth song would come down to everyone's personal perspective, I lean towards The Rising!! Great review, everyone has said all that I would have said, so, I'll say no more!!!!!!!
This song and the whole album was written by Bruce on the piano. This seems to be somewhat unique for the time. It was 1975. But that may account for some of what you've said. Check out his performance of this as a duet with Melissa Ethridge for a different sound but the same song.
Couldn't ask for a better start to 2024 Never tire of hearing this song - just a great tune from a great LP This is sort of the baseline classic version - Bruce has re arranged this so many ways live' Up tempo down tempo Full band Stripped down Duet unplugged with Melissa Etheridge And every version sounds good to great Also the first "star" score Honestly didn't mind the old - always been more interested in your analysis and whether you enjoyed a song or not But have to have some scale to be a reaction i guess I expect we'll be seeing 1/2 stars in the future Happy New Year🎉
This was the first song on the born to run. I think Bruce said it was kind of an invitation. Love this song, reminds me of walking home from Bars in college teaching my friend all the lyrics
I always thought it was interesting that Max Weinberg (drummer) holds his sticks with a traditional grip when he did the swing stuff on Conan O'Brian, but he holds them in a regular grip with Bruce.
Bruce has slowed it down with just piano (as you suggest), and 12-string guitar… its one of his most well known songs… Pretty cool structure as you mention… it builds and builds… it also has a bridge, but no chorus… and ends with half-time drums…. Very unusual confetti of a song structure that somehow works.
Great review. This has been played as a ballad on solo piano. Yes it's a glockenspiel on there. This song is almost always in the top 5 of long time Springsteen fans. It's the opening song on the Born to Run album That was Nils on guitar. Nils was always a HUGE Keith fan. And yes, this is the greatest songs ever written. haha
This wasn‘t the end of the show, just the end of the first set. One other set and an encore were still to come. For the sound quality: This clip is from a 1986 TV documentary. The whole show was professionally recorded but not yet released (at least not the whole show, some songs off this concert are on the Live 1975-85 album with much better audio quality).
JFK didn't want to curse this beautiful song out of the gates with the ballad tag. He chose the fastest pace, highest energy version in existence. Well played! 🙂
Not as fast as the versions from 78-79. Still a great version though. Plenty of passion from Bruce here. But the No Nukes performances just cannot be beaten. Absolutely definitive IMO. If only Bruce Inc would put them on RUclips.
There’s a fun fan controversy over this song. A big argument over whether Bruce sings “Mary’s dress SWAYS” or “Mary’s dress WAVES”. I guess there was a misprint on early lyrics saying “waves”, and it can sound like waves, and waves is easier to sing. They literally declare themselves as “Team Sways” and “Team Waves”. Bruce has recently addressed it and said it is absolutely “sways” and always has been, but the good natured controversy rages on. It’s funny that some fans that worship him will not take HIS WORD that it’s “sways” not “waves” 😂
Barcelona 2003 is the best version of this song in my opinion. This is my favorite Springsteen song and it’s honestly not even close, the lyrics are powerful, the buildup to the sax solo at the end sounds beautiful, and then when that sax solo hits, chills go down my spine every single time! So glad you checked this song out!
Gotta say, for an Eighties live cut this actually sounds pretty good. Great performance by most of the band, although at times Nils Lofgren seemed a little bored. The boss surely made up for that, jumping all over the stage, and the Bruce/Clarence bit at the end is pure gold!
The song is just as good as the movie.... Thunder Road (1958) I know one has nothing to do with the orher. Still both are great..... Now take the song.... Ghost of Tom Joad That song is tied in with... The Grapes of Wrath (1940) ....and both are amazing !
Not the best version of this song. Actually there are many better versions. The opener to the Born To Run album (I happened to drive by the “Born To Run house” in Long Branch yesterday - where Bruce essentially wrote the BTR album on an old piano his aunt gave him), performed as a full band, rock song. In concert in ‘75 & ‘76 he performed it as a ballad with just Roy Bittan on piano and Danny Federici on glockenspiel (how many rock bands have a glockenspiel on multiple songs and in concert?). There’s a famous bootleg from The Bottom Line in NYC that was broadcast on WNEW radio in August ‘75, where they did it that way. Sometimes Bruce has performed it as a ballad with just himself playing piano. He also performed it during his run of solo Broadway shows.
The song has been a ballad many times with the piano or with a single acoustic guitar. The sound is not good but the lyrics are fantastic. Bruce himself said that on that tour the band members dressed terribly 🤷🏼♀️
Really sad about the sound quality on this performance. - One vote for the old ranking system, don't let us end with blopp or blubb - I mean, come on, wtf is complicated with the old system? People that don't get that, shouldn't be allowed to drive a car or vote .... - All the best for the new one, David!
My concern with a Stars scoring system is that 5 stars would seem to be limited to the equivalent of (I Guess) and 8.5 or more in the old scoring approach. I think 5 stars are going to be very rare. But that you are going to wind up up with a whole lot you rate as 4 stars rather than 3 or 5 stars. 3 Stars sounds mediocre/average/run-of-the-mill. I think you are going to get a lot of negative feedback if you rate someone's favorite band as only average. I know I would get pissy if you gave Springsteen 3 stars. My concern is that you wind up giving some a bump to a 4 just to avoid the criticism, but you would keep someone at the high end of 4 stars rather than bumping to 5 stars because you want to make the 5 stars only for something extraordinary. I think you wind up with most songs landing on 4 stars and I worry that it makes your great reviews somewhat predictable. Would make sense to have an elite 6th star for something that just blew you away? Or maybe use a Letter grading system B,B+, A-,A, A+?
or he just can stay with the good old near perfect system ...or get rid of scoring at all, but this 5 star thing is even worse imo and give people more things for critic because everything under 4 is garbage.... and biasd people will complain
Good reaction. My favorite Bruce song and probably in my top 10 songs from any artist. Fantastic lyrics.
I am genuinely surprised you had not heard it before. It's considered one of the top 5 songs he's recorded and is the first song on the landmark "Born to Run" album. It's his second most played song in concert behind "Born to Run."
I've seen it as a rock song, as a solo piano song, and on acoustic guitar. I don't know if you read the lyrics at some point in your analysis, but it's a beautiful, poetic song and the imagery is amazing. And if you want to see Springsteen fans argue, ask them if Mary's dress sways or if it waves. 🙂
FWIW, I would have recommended the 1975 Hammersmith Odeon because it is pro shot and an official release where the sound quality is spectacular. That's the solo piano ballad version. 78 Houston is a full band version that is official quality release. Some of us hardcore seem to geek out over specific bootleg performances and forget that official releases are probably better for your reviews.
Great analysis! In 1975, Springsteen would open his shows with just him and Roy Bittan on piano and sing the song as a ballad. You nailed the flexibility of this song and how it can be slowed down and performed as a ballad. Agreed regarding sound quality. It’s not the best. For both top video quality, sound quality, and performance, you cannot beat the No Nukes performance of Thunder Road. Top notch. Anyway, enjoyed your reaction, review, and rant! I like your new star system, by the way! Hope you have a great 2024!
I saw them open the show like that in 2012?? at Fenway Park. Group in front of me was talking. LOL
That started before Roy with David Sancious who left the band to pursue a solo career.
He did slow it down in 2012 in hyde park, with just him and Roy on the piano, video is on here somewhere. Personally this is the best song hes written, really can't wait to see him again in June and know that you will see him in April, cant wait for your concert review! Happy New Year!
Agree that this is lyrically the best song Bruce has written. First song on the Born to Run album, he called it his invitation to join him on a journey to somewhere....where, he didn't know.
Bruce kissed Clarence on stage beginning in the 70s as an expression of their brotherhood and unity, and as an F You to racists. The early version of The E Street Band had 3 white guys and 3 black guys (until the recording of BTR in ‘75) and apparently some people had a problem with that. Not a huge issue but it did exist. Bruce witnessed Clarence dealing with racial issues on several occasions off stage and saw how it hurt him.
Greatest song ever written,thanx for the reaction...I saw him do accoustic version live....Really incredible...Loved that you really found "the soul"of the song.One of the most important songs in his career... Greetings from Germany
The guitarist is Nils Lofgren. He took over from Steven van Zandt in the mid 80s. Little Steve tried a solo thing at the time. In later years (mid 90s and onwards) Van Zandt and Lofgren have both been on stage with Bruce as guitarists. Nils Lofgren is also good at the Accordion and Steel guitar and have fulfilled those roles on stage at times. Van Zandt sometimes plays the mandolin but he usually sticks to guitar.
Nils is a Keith fan from way back
ruclips.net/video/lJ5-_qNNibI/видео.htmlsi=nbKN_AS3qWS0TzIN
I'll say this until I die: Since he came out against a certain "politician" you hear a lot of folks giving him crap and saying he's overrated. I say if he had only ever released Thunder Road and Born to Run he STILL would have earned his legendary status. Yeah, some other cheesy songs afterwards, but he still wrote those two.
Happy New Year David and Mrs. David!!!! If there were a Springsteen "Mount Rushmore", Thunder Road" would be there, along with Born to Run and Jungleland. The fourth song would come down to everyone's personal perspective, I lean towards The Rising!! Great review, everyone has said all that I would have said, so, I'll say no more!!!!!!!
Tenth Avenue Freezeout because the Big Man joined the band!
This song and the whole album was written by Bruce on the piano. This seems to be somewhat unique for the time. It was 1975. But that may account for some of what you've said. Check out his performance of this as a duet with Melissa Ethridge for a different sound but the same song.
That's Nils Lofgren not Steven Van Zandt. It has to be much later than 1975, doesn't it?
Another brilliant Bruce reaction! I can't wait for Jungleland next month!
Couldn't ask for a better start to 2024
Never tire of hearing this song - just a great tune from a great LP
This is sort of the baseline classic version - Bruce has re arranged this so many ways live'
Up tempo down tempo
Full band
Stripped down
Duet unplugged with Melissa Etheridge
And every version sounds good to great
Also the first "star" score
Honestly didn't mind the old - always been more interested in your analysis and whether you enjoyed a song or not
But have to have some scale to be a reaction i guess
I expect we'll be seeing 1/2 stars in the future
Happy New Year🎉
It has been used to open the show. It may not have been used in quite some time as an opener but it has opened.
This was the first song on the born to run. I think Bruce said it was kind of an invitation. Love this song, reminds me of walking home from Bars in college teaching my friend all the lyrics
I always thought it was interesting that Max Weinberg (drummer) holds his sticks with a traditional grip when he did the swing stuff on Conan O'Brian, but he holds them in a regular grip with Bruce.
Bruce has slowed it down with just piano (as you suggest), and 12-string guitar… its one of his most well known songs…
Pretty cool structure as you mention… it builds and builds… it also has a bridge, but no chorus… and ends with half-time drums…. Very unusual confetti of a song structure that somehow works.
Great review. This has been played as a ballad on solo piano. Yes it's a glockenspiel on there. This song is almost always in the top 5 of long time Springsteen fans. It's the opening song on the Born to Run album
That was Nils on guitar. Nils was always a HUGE Keith fan.
And yes, this is the greatest songs ever written. haha
This wasn‘t the end of the show, just the end of the first set. One other set and an encore were still to come.
For the sound quality: This clip is from a 1986 TV documentary. The whole show was professionally recorded but not yet released (at least not the whole show, some songs off this concert are on the Live 1975-85 album with much better audio quality).
Great job,Dave! 🤘🏻 🤘🏻 🤘🏻
Today they play it more like a band ballad, which I actually like more. Some songs when played slower make more sense to me
Billy Joel Scenes From an Italian Restaurant (live from Long Island). Somewhere around 1980 he's young, and playing with a broken thumb. Trust me.
It’s one of the best rock tracks ever written - fact
You pretty much nailed the ballad interpretation. His 1975 live in Hammersmith version is my personal favorite and it's exactly what you described
JFK didn't want to curse this beautiful song out of the gates with the ballad tag. He chose the fastest pace, highest energy version in existence. Well played! 🙂
Not as fast as the versions from 78-79. Still a great version though. Plenty of passion from Bruce here. But the No Nukes performances just cannot be beaten. Absolutely definitive IMO. If only Bruce Inc would put them on RUclips.
There’s a fun fan controversy over this song. A big argument over whether Bruce sings “Mary’s dress SWAYS” or “Mary’s dress WAVES”. I guess there was a misprint on early lyrics saying “waves”, and it can sound like waves, and waves is easier to sing. They literally declare themselves as “Team Sways” and “Team Waves”. Bruce has recently addressed it and said it is absolutely “sways” and always has been, but the good natured controversy rages on. It’s funny that some fans that worship him will not take HIS WORD that it’s “sways” not “waves” 😂
Barcelona 2003 is the best version of this song in my opinion. This is my favorite Springsteen song and it’s honestly not even close, the lyrics are powerful, the buildup to the sax solo at the end sounds beautiful, and then when that sax solo hits, chills go down my spine every single time! So glad you checked this song out!
Guitar player is Nils Lofgren
This is becoming the Springsteen channel!!
Gotta say, for an Eighties live cut this actually sounds pretty good. Great performance by most of the band, although at times Nils Lofgren seemed a little bored. The boss surely made up for that, jumping all over the stage, and the Bruce/Clarence bit at the end is pure gold!
Thunder road Passaic 1978….much better sound quality…check it out if you want to see a much better version
The song is just as good as the movie....
Thunder Road (1958)
I know one has nothing to do with the orher.
Still both are great.....
Now take the song....
Ghost of Tom Joad
That song is tied in with...
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
....and both are amazing !
Nice live version but the no nukes is certainly the best live version of thunder road, it slowed down with just the piano is also beautiful
Spot on analysis, David !
Not the best version of this song. Actually there are many better versions. The opener to the Born To Run album (I happened to drive by the “Born To Run house” in Long Branch yesterday - where Bruce essentially wrote the BTR album on an old piano his aunt gave him), performed as a full band, rock song. In concert in ‘75 & ‘76 he performed it as a ballad with just Roy Bittan on piano and Danny Federici on glockenspiel (how many rock bands have a glockenspiel on multiple songs and in concert?). There’s a famous bootleg from The Bottom Line in NYC that was broadcast on WNEW radio in August ‘75, where they did it that way. Sometimes Bruce has performed it as a ballad with just himself playing piano. He also performed it during his run of solo Broadway shows.
Good
The song has been a ballad many times with the piano or with a single acoustic guitar. The sound is not good but the lyrics are fantastic. Bruce himself said that on that tour the band members dressed terribly 🤷🏼♀️
Really sad about the sound quality on this performance. - One vote for the old ranking system, don't let us end with blopp or blubb - I mean, come on, wtf is complicated with the old system? People that don't get that, shouldn't be allowed to drive a car or vote ....
-
All the best for the new one, David!
If you do go back to the old rating system, are you then going to retroactively rate the starred songs by it? My OCD demands consistency! 😅
I don't see the need for that. Seems tedious and not so necessary.
Steven wasn't on this tour
My concern with a Stars scoring system is that 5 stars would seem to be limited to the equivalent of (I Guess) and 8.5 or more in the old scoring approach. I think 5 stars are going to be very rare. But that you are going to wind up up with a whole lot you rate as 4 stars rather than 3 or 5 stars. 3 Stars sounds mediocre/average/run-of-the-mill. I think you are going to get a lot of negative feedback if you rate someone's favorite band as only average. I know I would get pissy if you gave Springsteen 3 stars. My concern is that you wind up giving some a bump to a 4 just to avoid the criticism, but you would keep someone at the high end of 4 stars rather than bumping to 5 stars because you want to make the 5 stars only for something extraordinary. I think you wind up with most songs landing on 4 stars and I worry that it makes your great reviews somewhat predictable.
Would make sense to have an elite 6th star for something that just blew you away? Or maybe use a Letter grading system B,B+, A-,A, A+?
or he just can stay with the good old near perfect system ...or get rid of scoring at all, but this 5 star thing is even worse imo and give people more things for critic because everything under 4 is garbage.... and biasd people will complain
This is my favorite Bruce Springsteen song with the worst lyric. "You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright." Otherwise it is perfect.