Customer Reviews

Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen is a very detailed look into Bruce's body of work.
Rather than focusing on Bruce as an pop icon, the book looks at his songs, his albums, how they were written, what they mean and how each song fits into the theme of the album.
It also suggests that each album is a building block for the next album,
that all Bruce's albums are connected.

The Words and Music Of Bruce Springsteen may not be for the casual fan looking for another fan's view of the boss.
It is an exhaustive look at the creative process of writing songs as individual pieces yet all connected to a larger theme.
Each song within the album is an individual scene from a movie. Each arranged to take you further on a ride toward the climax.

For the true Springsteen fan (or for those interested in the creative process of developing concept albums)this book is an absolute must.

It is one of the best books I've read about Springsteen.

Rob Kirkpatrick has done a wonderful job with this revision and updating of his book about Springsteen and his music. He presents the context and development of each and every album (except "Working on a Dream") in a detailed, thorough, and engaging manner. He also presents a quite complete and detailed biography of Springsteen here. So we emerge with a very clear idea of where these works came from, how they fit into Springsteen's overall development, and how they fit into the history of our nation and society. Kirkpatrick is admiring of Bruce, and obviously takes great joy in his music; but the work is free of hagiography, and Kirkpatrick never comes across as just another gushing fan. His abilities and discernment as a knowledgeable commentator always shine through. Kirkpatrick is clear about what of Springsteen's music he likes, and what he doesn't; while we may from time to time disagree with his judgments (as any good Springsteen fan would), we never doubt the depth and plausibility of his perspective. Finally, Kirkpatrick is obviously an excellent writer, and his tone throughout, while intelligent and knowledgeable, is always engaging and lucid-- neither overly informal, nor overly detached and scholarly. In sum, "Magic in the Night" would be an excellent (and necessary) addition to any Springsteen collection.

just finished reading this. excellent,in-depth,well-researched, meaningful and entertaining Bruce book going through the albums and tours chronologically. the author is definitely a fan but does an excellent job discussing the controversies in Bruce's history. I'm a big fan and i am glad to know so much more about BRUCE. The author does a great job of categorizing and cross-referencing the songs and themes and he extensivelly researched Bruce's personal, literary and musical influences.the book is great. i definitely want to read more about Bruce. the only other Bruce book i have read is It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive and that was great too.

I was given this as a Christmas present. I had to force myself to finish it because it is so poorly written. Kirkpatrick's book is really not an analysis, it's a recitation. He fails to connect the dots in Bruce's songs over time - the religious themes, the notion of grace, the meanings of all those willows, dusty beach roads and dresses. Although he does get to the highways, he doesn't do much more with the place of roads and highways in Bruce's lyrics than enumerate them. There's just not a lot of real insight.
There are also infuriating errors which may be due to bad editing rather than Kirkpatrick's ignorance. One, when "Mary's dress waives" (sic), what is she waiving - her rights? Then, he repeatedly refers to the Clash's "Sandanista" (sic) - come on, the guy's name was SANDINO, it's a political party, not just an album title - get it correct.
The interpretations of songs are sometimes just wrong - for example, in "Tougher Than the Rest", Kirkpatrick states that all the guy wants in the world is for the girl to dance with him. NNNOOOOOO - all the guy wants is a second chance in life, a shot at redemption!
This book just really disappointed me. I've listened to all these lyrics for years, and have probably seen Bruce about 10 times in concert. I am a huge fan, but not a fanatic. And I could have come up with deeper thoughts on his lyrics than this. Kirkpatrick is playing in the shallow end.

The book seems to be better suited for me as a companion to the songs off the albums covered in this book. I tried to sit down and just flat out read the book, but grew bored quick!

Being a huge Springsteen fan relating to the songs isnt the issue, I wanted something that gave me some history behind the lyrics. The book does a fair job at that....

I did however have the book laying in my office one day while I was listening to "Darkness on the edge of town" and picked the book up and lightly read certain things that pertained to the song playing. Seemed to be a better fit for this book.

Rob Kirkpatrick follows the evolution of Bruce Springsteen's music through the decades with an in-depth look of the events of the Boss's life and the influences they had on his music. This book has perspectives and information not found in other Springsteen books. All true Springsteen fans will want to have a copy of this musical retrospective in their collection!

Other books have covered the life and works of popular musician Bruce Springsteen, but few offer the depth of analysis and critical assessment of The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen, which opens with a brief biography before it turns to the heart of the matter: all of his significant albums, in chronological order, which provide a musical analysis of themes, motifs, and underlying ideas. College-level students of popular music will appreciate the attention to detail and the insights which lend to a far greater appreciation for Bruce Springsteen's works.

item rec'd in good readable condition, just as promised. very happy with this transaction. thanks!

The author does not introduce a whole lot of new information but it is still a read worth having. It was my impression that the book was going to go in depth with Springsteen's songwriting but it is merely a biography.

The author makes no bones about his zealous fandom for Bruce, so if you seek a critically dispassionate look at the Boss, this book is not for you. Inside, you get a fan's analysis of each album. I found the related info about the records more useful than the song by song analysis, which bored me. Enough already. Springsteen had some good tunes in the 80s - mainly on Tunnel of Love where he didn't scream - but Max Weinberg's heavy handed drumming isn't my cup of tea and Bruce's vocals are always a dicey prospect. If you lost track of Bruce soon after Born in the USA, as many did, then this book will catch you up on what he did since then. For real fans only.