It's been a long December...

I'm really surprised there has been no leak yet on Working On A Dream. I thought there would be one during the Christmas period. But hey, hearing four songs so far ain't such a bad deal, considering the album release is a month away from now. After hearing the 30secs snippets on Amazon, I was kinda disappointed. This sounds like an album full of Magic outtakes--I hope it isn't so. But I tend not to judge a book by its cover, so this one may be a surprise. I'll leave you now with my favorite picture of 2008. Till next year...

Top 10 Records Of 2008

At the end of every year, I like to compile a list of my Top 10 favorite records. I'm a sucker for lists, so you'll be seeing a lot of them in my blog. In a nutshell, 2008 was another great year for music. We saw many interesting records being released, but I won't go into further detail. One notable mention is Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs, his eighth installment in the Bootleg Series. This is a really great collection of alternate takes and B-sides to his previous releases from Modern Times, Love & Theft and Time Outta Mind. The live tracks here are also killers. I didn't include this in my Top 10, due to obvious reasons. Here's the brilliant Rolling Stone review: http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bobdylan/albums/album/23226242/review/23306214/tell_tale_signs_the_bootleg_series_vol_8


Here's my Top 10 records of 2008:

1. Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch

2. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology

3. Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun

4. R.E.M. - Accelerate

5. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

6. Lucinda Williams - Little Honey

7. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

8. Metallica - Death Magnetic

9. The Black Crowes - Warpaint

10. AC/DC - Black Ice

Danny Federici (1950 - 2008)

It was also a sad year in music. The E Street Band lost Danny Federici in April. He had been suffering from Melanoma and underwent surgery during the band's Spring tour in the States. When he made a surprise appearance in Indianapolis in March, many thought that he was recovering. But a month later, he passed away.

If there's any good that came out of this, Bruce and the band has performed their best live shows in their 30 plus year career. Their first performance after Danny's death in Tampa will probably remain one of their most significant and emotional shows ever. They opened that show with Backstreets---minus the organ. I've never heard Bruce so devastated when he sang that song. It was like his voice could break any time and was trying hard to fight back tears.

Now every time I listen to 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), I can't help but single out the accordion. Danny Federici really was a pivotal member on E Street. His organ playing gave voice to Bruce's music and without him, there wouldn't be what we know today as the classic E Street sound, or what I like to refer to as the 'Asbury Boardwalk' sound.

But it's comforting to know that Danny did play on Working On A Dream. And Bruce paid tribute to him on the album's last track, titled The Last Carnival.

Greetings From E Street!!

Welcome to the blog on all matters Bruce Springsteen, and many other great artists across the vast Rock & Roll spectrum, from AC/DC to Yardbirds, from Abbey Road to Zuma.

I started this blog to coincide with Bruce Springsteen's upcoming LP release, Working On A Dream (Jan 27), and his first ever, Superbowl Halftime performance on Feb 1; featuring the house rockin', pants droppin', earth shockin', hard rockin', booty shakin', love makin', viagra takin', heart breakin', soul cryin', death defyin' and legendary E Street Band!!! As soon as I get my hands on that record, I'll provide a long detailed review...

I've never been this excited waiting for a new record since 2007, when Springsteen's Magic was released in Oct. There's so much to look forward to in 2009. The new U2 record, No Line On The Horizon, is released in early March. This one's gonna be great; you can't go wrong with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois producing. I'm also pretty excited for Pearl Jam's re-release of Ten, their classic debut album. It's not my favorite PJ record, but I'm psyched that the band finally decided to include their MTV Unplugged performance in the box set, so just that DVD alone definitely makes it worth getting. And not to mention another new PJ and Wilco record in Spring. And while I enjoyed Mudcrutch this year, I'd love to see Tom Petty get back with his Heartbreakers and make some new music. No word on that yet, but I think a new TP record is long overdue...

There's not much music news this time of the year, during the holiday season. But I'll definitely be posting more come January.