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Post by keithk1055 on Apr 25, 2006 22:39:22 GMT -5
who am i thinking of? i could have sworn that springsteen had a religious awakening on 9/11 and put out a super religous album and was preaching everywhere. maybe i am nuts. i must be thinking of someone else. i will have to check out his new one
Last Edit: Apr 25, 2006 22:40:06 GMT -5 by keithk1055 - Back to Top
Well I moved this to the music forum, because it seemed to be more appropriate. Apparently Ka-Mai and I have differing opinions on this and he moved it back. Anyway, back on topic...
Here's a great (if a tad lengthy) review from AllMusic.com:
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions is an unusual Bruce Springsteen album in a number of ways. First, it's the first covers album Springsteen has recorded in his three-decade career, which is a noteworthy event in itself, but that's not the only thing different about We Shall Overcome. Springsteen, a notorious perfectionist who has been known to tweak and rework albums numerous times before releasing them (or scrapping them, as the case may be), pulled together the album quickly, putting aside a planned second volume of the rarities collection Tracks after discovering a set of recordings he made in 1997 for a Pete Seeger tribute album called Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger. Enthralled by this handful of tracks — one of which, "We Shall Overcome," appeared on the tribute — Springsteen decided to cut a whole album of folk tunes popularized by Pete Seeger. He rounded up 13 musicians, including some who played on those 1997 sessions, and did two one-day sessions in late 2005 and early 2006, swiftly releasing the resulting album that April. As Bruce stresses in his introductory liner notes, these were live recordings, done with no rehearsals, and We Shall Overcome does indeed have an unmistakably loose feel, and not just because you can hear the Boss call out chord changes in a handful of songs. This music is rowdy and rambling, as the group barrels head-first into songs that they're playing together as a band for the first time, and it's hard not to get swept up along in their excitement. Springsteen has made plenty of great records, but We Shall Overcome is unique in its sheer kinetic energy; he has never made a record that feels as alive as this.
Not only does We Shall Overcome feel different than Bruce's work; it also feels different than Seeger's music. Most of Seeger's recordings were spare and simple, featuring just him and his banjo; his most elaborately produced records were with the Weavers, whose recordings of the '50s did feature orchestration, yet that's a far cry from the big folk band that Springsteen uses here. Bruce's combo for the Seeger sessions has a careening, ramshackle feel that's equal parts early-'60s hootenanny and Bob Dylan and the Band's Americana; at times, its ragged human qualities also recall latter-day Tom Waits, although the music here is nowhere near as self-consciously arty as that. Springsteen has truly used Seeger's music as inspiration, using it as the starting point to take him someplace that is uniquely his own in sheer musical terms. Given that, it should be no great surprise that Bruce also picks through Seeger's songbook in a similar fashion, leaving many (if not most) of Pete's well-known songs behind in favor of a selection of folk standards Springsteen learned through Seeger's recordings. (Author/critic Dave Marsh researched the origins of each song here; there are brief introductions within the album's liner notes and thorough histories presented on the official Springsteen site.) While the songs featured here adhere to no one specific theme — there are work songs, spirituals, narratives, and protest songs — it is possible to see this collection of tunes as Springsteen's subtle commentary on the political state of America, especially given Seeger's reputation as an outspoken political activist, but this record should hardly be judged as merely an old-fashioned folk record. We Shall Overcome is many things, but a creaky relic is not one of them. Springsteen has drawn from Seeger's songbook — which he assembled in the '40s, '50s, and '60s from traditional folk songs — and turned it into something fresh and contemporary. And even if you have no patience for (or interest in) the history of the songs, or their possible meanings, it's easy to enjoy We Shall Overcome on pure musical terms: it's a rambunctious, freewheeling, positively joyous record unlike any other in Springsteen's admittedly rich catalog.
[We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions was released in the U.S. as a DualDisc, containing a CD on one side and a DVD on the other. The CD side merely contains the album. The DVD contains the album in PCM stereo (there's no 5.1 mix, although given the big-band nature of this session, this album would have sounded great in Surround Sound), along with two bonus tracks, the rollicking "Buffalo Gals" and the moody, soulful "How Can I Keep from Singing." Both bonus cuts are excellent and should have been on the album proper. There is also a 30-minute video program that chronicles some of the recording of the album, but it's not a documentary: it's more of a performance film with commentary, and while it could have been longer or had more commentary, it's still quite enjoyable. Finally, We Shall Overcome also was released separately as a vinyl LP.]
I really assumed this album would blow, but boy was I wrong.
Holy sh*t -- there's some magic on here. "Jacob's Ladder" just gave me goosebumps. If I didn't have to work tomorrow I'd triple my beer intake and hop around.
man this thread has been bounced all around the planet and back.
i just listened to it and i have to agree. this is a killer album. i like the concept, the way it was recorded, and the great music. definetly not what i would expect. i had and old skool poster of the boss that i won at a county fair in like 85 on my wall in my bedroom. i might have to bust that back out
oh and it was him that i was thinking of. hes been doing alot of gospel.
Post by suspendedzen on Apr 26, 2006 10:29:37 GMT -5
The Rising had a few spiritual lyrics (nothing too different than anything Springsteens done before), Devils & Dust were neo-folk songs, and this new cd is Pete Seeger covers...where do you get this 'alot of gospel' stuff? Do you know what gospel music is?
Post by poopzilla33 on Apr 26, 2006 12:48:36 GMT -5
sprinsgteen is amazing. i have loved him since i can remember and this album is amazing. its finally the all out folk album i've been clamering for! devil's and dust was great!, but this is just so folk. i love it
Post by keithk1055 on Apr 26, 2006 17:14:02 GMT -5
i saw him on 60 minutes after 9/11 and he sadi he had a religous awwakening. if i remember correctly the album was nearly all religous and 9-11 based. he was even preaching for part of his act if i remember correctly. and when i looked him up his own description of his act they used the word gospel. here is a quote from his site advertising the tour
"Each night, an all new evening of gospel, folk, and blues will be presented by Springsteen with the 17-member Seeger Sessions Band."
not trying to talk bad about him. i just got kinda turned off by all of that so i ws surprised to hear the raving over his new album. its a great album and i hope to be able to see. a 17 person band bustin this album out would be sweet to see. unfortunatly he is in my area on june 16th and 17th. im not sure but it seems like i had something planned for those dates. im sure it will come to me.
and again deinetly not hating on the boss. just kinda stopped paying attention after i saw that special. this album is a great unexpected treat!
nope i havent heard it. i am just refering to an interview on a tv show not an album. i know that is the album that the show was dealing with but i havent heard it other then the couple of songs he did on the show. which i am not even sure if they were on the rising.
Post by poopzilla33 on Apr 27, 2006 10:39:48 GMT -5
he himself did find a new spiratual wakening, but (at leats to me) that isn't what he was writtign about on the albums. bruce writes about what he knows. i would deffinatly not call his new albums christian or gospel or spiratual but i can see how someone who doesn't know as much about the boss as me can get confused. so i guess what i'm trying to say is you should listen to devil's and dust and the rising because they're awesome. haha. hope everyone has an amazing day
Post by keithk1055 on Apr 27, 2006 23:43:36 GMT -5
well i will check em out. i am very impressed by the new onw so i will definteyly check those out. i never would have thought 3 days ago that i would be listening to bruce springsteen
there is an hour long special about the making of the new album on country music television. it is on at 9 pm tonight and the re airs throughout the week. thought yall might be interested. i know i am. i think the way it was made is really interesting from what ive read and i cant wait to see the special
Anyway, back on topic...