The Boss: Seeger Sessions...AWESOME!

chiliD · #1 05-17-2006, 02:21 AM

Ok, I'm only a marginal Springsteen fan...sure I was there when he was both Time & Newsweek magazines' cover boy in the same week, got Born To Run when it was released...but I never really bought into the "second coming" hype.

Well, 30+ years later and the release of The Seeger Sessions...OMIGOD! This is FAR & AWAY the best thing Bruce has done...sure it isn't his own material, but the way he interprets Pete Seeger's music is just pure Bruce...times 1,000. Just incredible!!

Jyqm · #2 05-17-2006, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiliD

Ok, I'm only a marginal Springsteen fan...sure I was there when he was both Time & Newsweek magazines' cover boy in the same week, got Born To Run when it was released...but I never really bought into the "second coming" hype.

Well, 30+ years later and the release of The Seeger Sessions...OMIGOD! This is FAR & AWAY the best thing Bruce has done...sure it isn't his own material, but the way he interprets Pete Seeger's music is just pure Bruce...times 1,000. Just incredible!!

A lot of Springsteen fans were pissing and moaning when they first heard about this album, but a lot of people had the same reaction as you when they finally heard it. Of course, there's people who are still pissing and moaning, and also claiming that the album is going to be a total bomb. But I'm betting there's a lot of folks like you who are "marginal Springsteen fans" at best are really going to dig this album; it's damned infectious and ought to have some pretty broad appeal.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off to Frankfurt for the hootenanny...

BklynBlue · #3 05-17-2006, 08:40 AM

As a dedicated fan since 1978 (with the release of Darkness On the Edge of Town) I will admit I was fully prepared to listen to the new disc once, file it, and patiently wait for the next release - (the folk music of Pete Seeger and those who play in that style bores me to tears)
what a fantastic surprise! This is the most amazingly "alive", joyous music that he has released on record in a long, long time.
It is impossible to listen to this album and not feel good. The music just flows so naturally. Compare numbers such as "O Mary Don't You Weep" or "Jacob's Ladder" with "Mary's Place" on "The Rising" - the latter feels forced, the type of concert set-piece that he can seemingly knock out in a few hours. The new numbers truly capture the joy of their creation.
"Pay Me My Money Down" is another highlight.
I have long felt that Springsteen was way too cautious in what he releases - I found myself wanting him to stop over thinking everything - with this release, recorded in a few days with little rehearsal, I believe he did just that and the strange alchemy that occurs when people get together to make music, just for the sake of making music, shines through in a way I have not heard since "The Basement Tapes"

hayley · #4 05-17-2006, 09:19 AM

I did a little hootenanny dance to "Pay Me My Money Down" on repeat for about an hour the day we got the album. It's incredible.

heyjupiter678 · #5 05-17-2006, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayley

I did a little hootenanny dance to "Pay Me My Money Down" on repeat for about an hour the day we got the album.

You too?

I was excited about this one from the moment I heard about it, because I love Bruce Springsteen and I love folk music. So I figured the combination would be pretty ****ing amazing. I was right. It's such a great album. Right now, my favorite track is "O Mary Don't You Weep" followed closely by "Pay Me My Money Down" and "Erie Canal."

golddustwoman77 · #6 05-17-2006, 01:57 PM

Well, I am a Springsteen fan, and I agree that it is a terrific album. I purchased it the day it came out. It is very well done, and it should be praised critical even if it isn't a commerical success. Having said that, I think that it is going to be a commerical success. Based on these reasons, for several weeks on iTunes, it has been one of the top downloaded albums. The day I purchased it, there were several other people, besides me, who were purchasing the album. There has been much discussion of it in music magazines, newspapers, etc. All having great things to say about it. I think that it will also pull in the "protest crowd," because it has the song, Mrs. McGrath, on it, and many albums with protest songs seem to be doing well right now--Neil Young's Living with War, Pink's I'm Not Dead, and the much anticipated album by the Dixie Chicks (which comes out on Tuesday). Finally, Bruce is touring to back the album, which often times helps.

Jyqm · #7 05-18-2006, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golddustwoman77

Finally, Bruce is touring to back the album, which often times helps.

Although, amazingly, the American shows aren't selling as fast as one would expect. But all of you who love the album, run out and buy your concert ticket ASAP. This show is not to be missed. Especially if you like dancing around to "Pay Me My Money Down"... Or if you like your Springsteen classics completely reinvented as scat-funk-hoedowns...

Last night's setlist (I'll make it small for those who don't want to be spoiled):

Old Dan Tucker/O Mary Don't You Weep/Johnny 99/John Henry/Eyes On The Prize/Jesse James/Cadillac Ranch/Long Black Veil/Erie Canal/My Oklahoma Home/Mrs. McGrath/How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?/Jacob's Ladder/We Shall Overcome/Open All Night/Pay Me My Money Down//My City Of Ruins/Ramrod/You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)/When The Saints Go Marching In/Buffalo Gals

strandinthewind · #8 05-18-2006, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayley

I did a little hootenanny dance . . . .

We nned a video please!!!!!!

I liked Nebraska

BklynBlue · #9 05-18-2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Or if you like your Springsteen classics completely reinvented as scat-funk-hoedowns...

Did you see or have been able to hear any of the shows from the "Devils and Dust" tour last year?
Each night, he would do one or two songs with only a stomp box (an amplified board that he would stomp his foot on) for accompaniment, while singing into a bullet mic - bullet mics are usually reserved for harmonicas and his voice would at various times throughout the song, distort to the point of incomprehensibility - so you could only make out snatches of of a verse or line -
The night my wife and I saw him, he did this with "Born In the U.S.A." alone on a darkened stage, lit from below, bellowing the words like a wounded animal.
Talk about putting a number into a different context and making your audience rethink their comfortable preconceptions of your work!

I know that kind of thing is not for everyone, but it nice to see an artist test the limits sometimes

hayley · #10 05-18-2006, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

We nned a video please!!!!!!

I liked Nebraska

Done. Skip to the end!

Jyqm · #11 05-18-2006, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BklynBlue

Did you see or have been able to hear any of the shows from the "Devils and Dust" tour last year?

Oh my yes. Chicago in May, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee in August. At that point, the only bullet-mic song was "Reason to Believe," but it was pretty intense.

And not to denigrate the wonderful surprises on that tour last year, but it's easy enough to rework a song as a stripped-down acoustic number. But to take a group of classic songs and rearrange them for a 17-piece hootenanny band - the man is clearly feeling very inspired on this current trek.

strandinthewind · #12 05-18-2006, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayley

Done. Skip to the end!

I couldn't get it to work &&*&%^%^*$

trackaghost · #13 05-18-2006, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Although, amazingly, the American shows aren't selling as fast as one would expect. But all of you who love the album, run out and buy your concert ticket ASAP. This show is not to be missed. Especially if you like dancing around to "Pay Me My Money Down"... Or if you like your Springsteen classics completely reinvented as scat-funk-hoedowns...

Last night's setlist (I'll make it small for those who don't want to be spoiled):

Old Dan Tucker/O Mary Don't You Weep/Johnny 99/John Henry/Eyes On The Prize/Jesse James/Cadillac Ranch/Long Black Veil/Erie Canal/My Oklahoma Home/Mrs. McGrath/How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?/Jacob's Ladder/We Shall Overcome/Open All Night/Pay Me My Money Down//My City Of Ruins/Ramrod/You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)/When The Saints Go Marching In/Buffalo Gals

That's the same setlist as the London show (I'm pretty sure anyway).
Wasn't Pay Your Money Down an absolute joy?

Jyqm · #14 05-18-2006, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trackaghost

That's the same setlist as the London show (I'm pretty sure anyway).

Your show had "How Can I Keep From Singing?" and no "Ramrod," plus a slightly different running order. In general, though, there's not going to be very much variation on this tour. It's a seventeen-piece band that has been playing together extensively for less than a month. Arranging a song for such a big group and then rehearsing it enough to play in concert is likely a huge ordeal.

No matter, I'd go see this exact same show again in a heartbeat.

Quote:

Wasn't Pay Your Money Down an absolute joy?

The crowd did not stop singing it until Bruce and the band came back on stage to start the encore.