Bruce Springsteen's Land Of Hope And Dreams

As we come to the end of the 20th century, it’s increasingly difficult to believe in the power of rock and roll to change lives. But with the current reunion tour of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the tradition rediscovers a glorious, life-affirming eloquence.

In the final concert of a three-day late October stand at the Oakland Arena, Springsteen and his reunited eight piece band rallied a capacity crowd to a thunderous sound of drums and guitars in a passionate three-hour performance preaching a message of liberty, community, and fun for all. Though some may have come for a charge of nostalgia, what they got in song after song, was the challenge to bring a better world alive.

When Bruce Springsteen’s debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, appeared in 1973, rock and roll had already been around long enough to betray its promise. Elvis, of course, had become a pathetic figure reduced to parody and show business. But in his wake, rock icons of the 1960s had also gradually caved in to the corruptions of wealth and celebrity. As notions of rock rebellion diluted in mass marketing schemes demanding product, the entire genre of rock and roll seemed to be surrendering integrity. By the mid-1970s, cynicism in the rock audience had grown to the point of spawning punk and "alternative" movements that viewed mainstream performers of rock as sell-outs.

With the arrival of Bruce Springsteen, however, rock and roll of the old school seemed to have one last true believer. Immersed in the sounds that fueled two generations of music, Spring- steen created an amazing and singular weave of early rock and roll, blues, gospel, R&B, folk, and country. Casting his vision in accessible references to his heroes, from Elvis and Roy Orbison to the Beatles and Stones to Stax-Volt and Motown, Springsteen clearly aspired to link his music with the glory and idealism of the tradition’s past.

Yet in his songwriting, Springsteen managed to describe his life and times in a voice that was personal and contemporary. Early on his songs overflowed with wordplay and dense poetic imagery expressing an obvious and heavy debt to Bob Dylan. But in time, his language would be stripped to a lean and colloquial lyricism. From the beginning to the present, and like no other rocker before him, Springsteen anchored his world view in the hopes and dreams of working class Americans.

Remarkably, Springsteen’s grand ambitions succeeded artistically and commercially. His second and third albums, The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle (1973) and Born To Run (1975), are masterpieces delivering sweeping cinematic dramas of adolescent turmoil and the struggle to escape "the death trap, the suicide rap" of blue collar life. Performing live with a gang of kindred spirits (known as the E Street Band) and energy and conviction that was absolutely mesmerizing, he left no doubt that this music aimed for nothing less than worldly salvation.

But as his audience gradually expanded to near pop star dimensions, the youthful optimism that spurred his breakthrough gave way to darker, more haunted themes. By Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978) and The River (1980), Springsteen’s characters had become adults struggling through anger, regret, and despair as they confront the stifling realities of wage labor, failed marriages, and dying hometowns. No longer can problems be solved through a sheer act of will or racing off down an open highway. Ironically, as his songs turned toward a stark realism, Bruce Springsteen became a household name.

While some found his new work depressing, working class fans found their wounds and injuries acknowledged and given context. Routines and rituals of ordinary life gained meaning and significance. Despite all the darkness in the songs, this was music that celebrated hope and endurance. Discussing Darkness On The Edge Of Town with writer Tony Parsons of New Musical Express, Springsteen explained: "The characters ain’t kids, they’re older— you been beat, you been hurt. But there’s still hope, there’s always hope. They throw dirt on you all your life, and some people get buried so deep in the dirt that they’ll never get out. The album’s about people who will never admit that they’re buried that deep."