Bruce - All Along The Watchtower

[pondcaster]

Originally Posted by thefees

You may be saying that is no big deal, but when you consider who was in those contests including the first one; Ricky Veto the lead guitar player in Fleetwood Mac for three years. He was on tour with Bonny Rait for more than a year, toured with Jackson Browne... the list goes on.

BTW, it's Rick Vito and Bonnie Raitt.

Credibility out the window.

[thefees]

Originally Posted by pondcaster

BTW, it's Rick Vito and Bonnie Raitt.

Credibility out the window.

I grew up with Ricky Vito and his brother Mark, used to rent a condo from his Mom.

[Coop47]

Originally Posted by thefees

Sorry if I have offended any Bruce Springsteen fans out there. When I was in high school my band tried out for a county wide rock and roll contest. We were in two of them. Out of the 50 bands that tried out only 10 made the contest. We tied for first place on the second one and had the only standing ovation of the evening. Our singer took the best vocalist award in both contests and I received votes as the best guitarist I saw their voting sheets. I used to do 45 minutes a day of finger exercises and then spent another hour and a half working on material for the band.

You may be saying that is no big deal, but when you consider who was in those contests including the first one; Ricky Veto the lead guitar player in Fleetwood Mac for three years. He was on tour with Bonny Rait for more than a year, toured with Jackson Browne... the list goes on. Also in that contest was Hughey MacDonald who is currently the bass player in Bon Jovi. Also Billy "Obie" Obrien who is Bon Jovi's recording engineer. Many other notables in those contests back in 66 and 68 including Mike Nicosia who played with The Guess Who. I was 16 and 18 back then. When I was in college I formed a band called "Dirty Time Incorporated" we had the best talent of WCU school of music, our lead trumpet player left in his last semester getting ready to graduate because he went on tour with Maynard Ferguson. I have seen a lot of talent. We spent 6 months screening the music school to get the best for that band.

Look you can go into any music store and hear guys in there with tons of talent. You can ignore the playing ability of Bruce Springsteen all you want because you may be a "Bruce can do no wrong" kind of fan as in you are that enamored with him, but any arbitrary person with an unbiased opinion could listen to him play and realize that for some reason his hands are frozen.

OK he plays a Tele and he had quite an old looking one for a long time, maybe he still does but that in of itself doesn't make for good playing.

Look I know that no one is coming to my rescue because they are smart enough to know that you don't stand in the way of a Bruce Springsteen fan. Bruces fans are not alone there are millions of them out there. I admit I have enjoyed his singing, performances, and songs for a long time. I am only commenting about his lead guitar playing. Hey some guys are great singer, songwriters, rhythm guitar players, and performers, and others play lead guitar. Then again you have Eric Claptons and Jimmy Hendrix who do it all well. Oops, there I go again

So the only point I am making is that Bruce is great, he just isn't a great lead guitar player.

I betcha my Daddy can beat up your Daddy.

I don't really have a problem with you not liking Bruce's lead playing - to each his own. It was the way you insulted the OP and anyone else who does like his playing that I had an issue with. My guess is that's the reason no one is coming to your defense. I don't care who you played with or what school you went to, there's a right and a wrong way to express your opinion. Part of that is remembering that it's just that - an opinion.

[pondcaster]

Credibility (if true) back in the window.

Spelling and grammar (and etiquette) still highly suspect...

[thefees]

Look I think I have learned some valuable lessons here. One is that I should not have stomped on this thread and I apologize for doing so. Second is that there are different types of musicians out there and it is totally unprofessional to criticize them. It's not like I am a judge on American Idol or something. I have been having fun in this thread, but obviously my fun is seriously offending others and for that I am sincerely sorry.
I don't think my opinions are wrong, they are just misplaced. Sorry about that.

[Coop47]

Fair enough.

[greggorypeccary]

Originally Posted by thefees

Look I think I have learned some valuable lessons here. One is that I should not have stomped on this thread and I apologize for doing so. Second is that there are different types of musicians out there and it is totally unprofessional to criticize them. It's not like I am a judge on American Idol or something. I have been having fun in this thread, but obviously my fun is seriously offending others and for that I am sincerely sorry.
I don't think my opinions are wrong, they are just misplaced. Sorry about that.

That's the thing about opinions, none of them are wrong. But that doesn't make yours more right than someone else's either.

I like a lot of other players more than Bruce, but his playing is pretty integral to his songs.

And the rant about your high school talent contest reminds me of a song some guy wrote called Glory Days - you might have heard it.

[ggiles]

The Boss has a nice raw sound ... saying he is no better then a kid in his second month of learning is like saying Arnold Palmer was a hack golfer because his golf swing was unorthodox.
It was ... it's horrible ... but he split the fairways with it.

[Jack S]

Music is an art form of expression and the talent of the musicians varies greatly, no doubt, and for many artists their work has less to do with technical proficiency than it does with overall expression. There were hundreds of thousands of better guitar players than Woody Guthrie, but who would have accompanied him and played his songs better than he did himself? Yes, someone may have played cleaner or whatever, but his artistry had little to do with a technical proficiency and to my ears a better player would have detracted from his delivery. Springsteen is in many ways a modern Woody in his raw delivery and storytelling and his guitar suits him just fine. The absolute best concert I ever saw was Springsteen back in 1975. Beat it if you can, I have waited a long time to find another concert that compared to it.

[FirstBassman]

Originally Posted by JeradP

I think it's really cool when Bruce's band plays covers.

I've seen Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert twice within the last three years.

As probably most of you know, people now bring placards with songs titles written on them to the shows.

Some are Springsteen songs and some are covers.

Bruce collects many of the signs/banners and decides on the spot which ones to play.

It is a highlight of the shows. Great, great stuff.

[rsclosson]

There is a subtlety to Springsteen that is hard for some to get. On guitar, he will never be a pyrotechical virtuoso playing a million notes a second, but he can put a song across like nobody else, regardless of whether it is one of his or a cover. This subtlety is usually lost on those who favor the pyrotechnics. To each their own.

[TxTeleMan]

Originally Posted by Jack S

Music is an art form of expression and the talent of the musicians varies greatly, no doubt, and for many artists their work has less to do with technical proficiency than it does with overall expression. There were hundreds of thousands of better guitar players than Woody Guthrie, but who would have accompanied him and played his songs better than he did himself? Yes, someone may have played cleaner or whatever, but his artistry had little to do with a technical proficiency and to my ears a better player would have detracted from his delivery. Springsteen is in many ways a modern Woody in his raw delivery and storytelling and his guitar suits him just fine. The absolute best concert I ever saw was Springsteen back in 1975. Beat it if you can, I have waited a long time to find another concert that compared to it.

Pretty much.

I've never been a big Springsteen fan either. I was a little disappointed with this "Watchtower" version, for a couple of reasons. It was a remake of the Hendrix version, and has little to do with the spirit of the original, I didn't really like the rhythm, that so dominates the intro and the quieter sections. The other singer didn't sound very good.

Bruce Springsteen's popularity comes from his songs, his singing, and his performances, and for that he has remained for over 35 years. I appreciated the fact that a singer/songwriter/performer can play his own leads, even if he's not that great a lead player.

It's possible to play with both skill and feeling. One without the other will leave me cold or annoyed. Neil Young plays leads with "feeling" but his solos don't do anything for me; he's not a "lead player". Playing loud with a lot of "feel" is not really different than playing loud with a lot of notes using "skill" (shredding), because neither one captures the balance of skill and emotion.

This performance of "All Along the Watchtower" obviously went over well in the concert, as it should. But it would not hold up as a quality studio version would.

JMO, YMMV.

[allen st. john]

Thanks for sharing that, Rain.
FWIW, that's not the E-street band Bruce is playing with and it seems to be at some kind of small benefit show.

[bingy]

I just a/b'd this and the Hendrix version.

Hendrix 10
Springsteen 4

IMO

[newtwanger]

Originally Posted by bingy

I just a/b'd this and the Hendrix version.

Hendrix 10
Springsteen 4

IMO

And with music, like hockey, there's a winner and a loser.... because someone is always keeping score.

I like the Romeo Rose version.

[fezz parka]

From Before The Flood 100.

[dan1952]

Jeez, Louise...I would be willin to bet that Mr. Springsteen doesn't give a %>& about this stuff. Y'all (on both sides) should get a life. He's just a guitar player who writes some songs. That's it,boys and girls...

[thefees]

Originally Posted by greggorypeccary

That's the thing about opinions, none of them are wrong. But that doesn't make yours more right than someone else's either.

I like a lot of other players more than Bruce, but his playing is pretty integral to his songs.

And the rant about your high school talent contest reminds me of a song some guy wrote called Glory Days - you might have heard it.

GGPC I was looking for the "Like" button like on Facebook but I couldn't find it so this is my official "Like" of your post. Thank you for your understanding.

[Gilby]

Over this side of the pond Bruce is pretty much ignored. Ask the average Brit and the only thing they might relate to him is "born to run" and "born in the USA". Many of us were really surprised to be a headliner on the Glastonbury line up a few years ago.
So, after the festival, those who didn't go but watched the highlights, pretty much had the same reaction. Jes' , that Springsteen bloke knows how to put on a show. Ok no-one I spoke to said what great guitarist he is but he is definatley one the best performers around, nows how to work an audience and puts passion into what he does. A big eye opener for many here.
Rather than criticise him for what he doesn't attempt to be, I'll praise him for what he is, a superb frontman, singer song writer.
( believe Prince is one of the headliners this year. Again an odd choice for this English "old hippy festival". Think he's going to blow some people away. Another artist that is largely ignored here and only remembered for purple rain).

[bossaholic]

I'm responding on my phone so can someone post Bruce's guitar intro to "Prove it All Night" from 78?