I heard about Clarence Clemons' passing on Saturday, and thought, instead of posting on Sunday, I'd take a day and think about what I really wanted to say about him.
It was pretty amazing to check my newsfeed on Facebook and see the various friends and mvyradio listeners who felt the need to post the sad news. There were friends who I know are big Springsteen fans, but there were also lots of folks who's love of the E Street Band was previously unknown to me. It was impressive to see the musical lives that The Big Man had touched.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I got around to watching "The Promise," a documentary about the making of Springsteen's 1978 record "Darkness On The Edge Of Town." Springsteen kept talking about how he wanted to make the record more "stripped down" and "leaner and meaner." And that meant fewer instruments, fewer solos. Less Clarence.
But here's the funny thing, and Springsteen is the one to point this out.
With "Badlands" as (lyrically) the clearest statement of purpose in that record, the saxophone solo that Clemons nailed is so strong, is so present, is so important to the album, that when you've listened to "Darkness" from beginning to end, it feels like Clemons is all over the record, even though he's not.
It reminds me of the movie "A Few Good Men." You think of that as a movie starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, but in reality, Nicholson is only in the movie for 4 scenes. Yet his performance is so powerful, and so integral to the film, that he won an Academy Award.
Clemons didn't play on every Springsteen song. He didn't need to. You hear his instrument, his voice, in your head when you think of "Bruce Springsteen."
They called him The Big Man, and this is why.
A live version
See the video on Youtube.
The album version
See the video on Youtube.
Showing posts with label clarence clemons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clarence clemons. Show all posts
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, February 8, 2010
Bruce Springsteen “Jungleland”
Top 5 Songs found in mvyradio’s online auction . . .
With age comes perspective. You can see a moment of your past in a wide context, fit it in to a broader vision of yourself, and make some peace with it.
But with age and perspective, also comes a certain amount of forgetting.
I got the Bruce Springsteen “Born To Run” anniversary edition when it came out, and dove right into the accompanying DVD that provided some great behind the scenes, making of footage.
In one of the many remarkable sequences, the band members talked about the making of the epic, “Jungleland.” Much to the various musicians dismay, Bruce could not be satisified with an exact version of the song. Lyrics and solos and bridges were written, arranged, excised, rewritten, rearranged, built up and stripped down. At one point, a labored over musical intro was fully scrapped by Bruce, over protestations of the band.
Now in their 50s, the band members talk on the DVD about the making of the song. And Bruce himself hears the alternate, scrapped intro. And he kind of smiles and says that for the life of him, even HE doesn’t know what he thought was wrong with it.
The 30th Anniversary Package, which includes “Born To Run,” the making of DVD and a concert DVD from 1975, plus an autographed copy of Clarence Clemons new book are up for grabs in the Friends of mvyradio auction. Make a bid and support free streaming.
With age comes perspective. You can see a moment of your past in a wide context, fit it in to a broader vision of yourself, and make some peace with it.
But with age and perspective, also comes a certain amount of forgetting.
I got the Bruce Springsteen “Born To Run” anniversary edition when it came out, and dove right into the accompanying DVD that provided some great behind the scenes, making of footage.
In one of the many remarkable sequences, the band members talked about the making of the epic, “Jungleland.” Much to the various musicians dismay, Bruce could not be satisified with an exact version of the song. Lyrics and solos and bridges were written, arranged, excised, rewritten, rearranged, built up and stripped down. At one point, a labored over musical intro was fully scrapped by Bruce, over protestations of the band.
Now in their 50s, the band members talk on the DVD about the making of the song. And Bruce himself hears the alternate, scrapped intro. And he kind of smiles and says that for the life of him, even HE doesn’t know what he thought was wrong with it.
The 30th Anniversary Package, which includes “Born To Run,” the making of DVD and a concert DVD from 1975, plus an autographed copy of Clarence Clemons new book are up for grabs in the Friends of mvyradio auction. Make a bid and support free streaming.
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