Biography of Bruce Springsteen

It could be argued that Bruce Springsteen has never made a wrong artistic move. His spirit is embedded in rock traditions that are as varied as singles on a jukebox: Woody Guthrie, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones -- the bedrock of rock history. From his first album in 1973 up to 1987's Tunnel of Love, Springsteen has continually improved, tightening his strengths, growing with his vision, and proudly proclaiming a sense of purpose that's nearly unrivaled in rock. He established a set of characters on his first two albums who grappled with the pain of adolescence, the reluctance to embrace adulthood, and the conflicting emotions of heartache and romance. But instead of succumbing to eternal adolescence, he let those characters grow and become adults who faced the grime and ecstasy of their lives in admirably uncompromising terms, all of which are realistic and fascinating, all of them outgrowths of the complexities of his own personality, and all of them unique in the pantheon of rock drama. He treats his women with compassion and charity; his men try to maintain honor in a society bereft of that concept; and the settings in which they are placed reflect Springsteen's awareness of and contempt for an America that chews up and spits out its working class without care or concern. That he's managed to do this consistently without any lapse in quality or sureness of vision is remarkable. That he's done it without becoming a chest-thumping agit-pop irritant, but rather a performer whose concerts and albums are cathartic celebrations of ecstasy and release, is reason enough to call him the greatest American rocker of the last two decades. ~ John Floyd