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Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen

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Okay, this might not be a "definitive" history of Spingsteen's music - for that, look for Marsh's TWO HEARTS or more recently Kirkpatrick's WORDS AND MUSIC OF BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - but Guterman's might be the most entertaining read in the Springsteen book "canon." Entertaining, quirky, and (usually) right on target.

Bruce Springsteen is a Rust Belt rocker who made a splash by writing Manfred Mann's psychedelic No. 1 hit "Blinded by the Light." Springsteen's career as a solo artist, however, has been marked by play-it-safe arrangements and heavy reliance on do-re-mi melodies (better for mumbling, I suppose). As Guterman notes, his music hasn't progressed all that much over the decades.

Springsteen does shine as a live performer and lyricist, which Guterman documents with his unmatched blend of insight, anecdotes and self-deprecation. Springsteen's strengths play into the built-in biases of mainstream art criticism. That's because it's easier to accessibly discuss lyrics and shows than to write about melody and music theory, even though lyrics are to a song what paint is to a house - important, but easily changed and unindicative of its potential beauty. But frankly, Guterman, who's the greatest rock journalist in the business despite being a part-timer, could make any subject interesting and entertaining, and his essays on Springsteen are no exception.