Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts, the Story
by Dave Marsh

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Book Reviews of Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts, the Story

Book Review: For fans, soon-to-be-fans and rock music aficionados.
Summary: 5 Stars

The first tome covered Bruce's career up to "The River", the second his explosion into the public awareness caused by "Born In The USA".
Now, with some judicious paring and streamlining, Marsh has crafted an account of an impossibly passionate and driven man, who knew as a teenager what he wanted to do, and proceeded against all odds to do exactly that.

The book is inspirational much in the same way Springsteen's music is inspirational. Bruce can somehow evoke universal feelings, or make broad statements, by using precise lyrics with cinematic musical accompaniment. The Springsteen saga from small town New Jersey to international fame (and not insignificantly, back to New Jersey) is not exactly "rags to riches" or "the little engine that could", but it's sure close.

Springsteen the man (as opposed to the musician) is depicted not as a saint, perhaps, but certainly virtuous and often quietly heroic. Allowing for a modicum of journalistic variability, the accounts surrounding his initial entry into the "music business", the career-stalling lawsuit of the mid-seventies, and the relatively "brave" idea to release a demo tape of haunting tunes essentially "as is", all create an image of an artist "sticking to his guns".
Springsteen feels authentic, fresh...real. His efforts towards the needy, the Veterans, the homeless, the hungry were not promotional gimmicks, but clearly based on the belief that "nobody wins unless everybody wins", an idea found throughout the book. Too many people talk about doing something. Here we have somebody who simply went out and did it. It's presented not in any glorifying manner, more as a personal mission. There but for the grace of God go I. I can help so I shall. It's heartening to know that someone who's such a mythic figure to many, actually may really be a decent guy.

Each of his albums, from "Greetings..." to the massive "Live 1975/85" gets a fairly detailed history...what was happening not only with Bruce, but with America and with the music business at the time...providing sufficient context for the music. The peek into their genesis is fascinating...how albums are constructed, what "works" and what doesn't...even the difficulties of the actual record cutting process or creating an album cover...I ate it up with a spoon. "Integrity" is another word that keeps coming to mind while reading this. Bruce always seems to maintain his, and no more so than during his concerts. Live shows, both here and abroad, illustrate the uncommon bond between Bruce and his audience, and here Marsh nearly places you in the arena. He does an amazing job of making the performance come alive on the page. If you have ANY familiarity at all with Springsteen, it'll play like film in your head.

The E Street band gets a lot of print, but I could have used more. They come across as characters drawn vividly with few brushstrokes, but I would have loved to know more about the Big Man, the Professor, Phantom Dan, the Mighty One and Miami Steve. The names alone conjure up images of a rock n' roll group of superheroes.

An enormous part of Bruce's history took place from circa "Tunnel of Love" to "The Rising", much of it I personally would love to hear more about. It's all crammed into a paltry 24 pages at the end of a dense 677 page book. It should be another whole book. I feel "The Rising" album and tour are not given enough credit. They're short-changed, underplayed. I think time will prove to be more generous, and future editions of the book will more than likely amplify what's written here.

So I guess my complaint is that I wish the book was longer, which if you think about it, may be the highest possible compliment I can pay.

Summary of Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts, the Story

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