When it comes to Bruce, well, this is gonna be hard to explain.
He surely have a great voice. Good sound, mighty roar and all. He surely knows how to reach people's hearts (hell, that is what he is all about).
He surely have a knack to write a catchy melody every now and then. His band surely is great and professional and I like saxophones.
He surely knows how to rock and most of all, he surely is one of the greatest live acts nowadays.
But, in spite of all those compliments, I don't like him.
And now one may ask why and I'm gonna try to explain.
First, it seems like Bruce is a way too American. He writes lyrics that tell stories. Stories of working class heroes, tales of ordinary men. Sagas of American people with American dream. And that annoys me. This is my personal problem, I know. But personally I don't wanna hear stories like that when I listen to rock music.
Now someone is gonna point out that it is not what you say, it is how you say it. And that's the biggest problem.
Bob Dylan used to also write about ordinary things. But he wasn't so straightforward. You know, when I listen to the words of Dylan's song, it took some time to get into, but once I get it, the refund is pretty big.
On the other hand, Bruce wants that everybody knows what he's talking about. He makes a statement and it is right there on your face. You get all you can get from it when you listen to it once. A bit cheap trick, ain't it?
Basically Mr Tambourine Man and Born To Run have the same message. We were born to run. Where Dylan uses allegories and give us hope, Bruce just makes one realistic stupid statement that tells nothing new. Of course we were born to run, you don't have to mention it.
Okay, what if we do not care about lyrics and think about his music?
But the problem is, Bruce wants that his lyrics are understood, he wants them to be well-known, he makes them sound important. That is Because the way he performs them.
Many people have a delusion that Born In The USA is a patriotic anthem that celebrates USA. Of course it is not. Say what you say, Bruce is clever enough to not to do song like that. Actually those words criticize America and Vietnam War, but no one notices it without thinking about it. Why? Because it is an arena rocker, that is why. It includes overblown eighties production, a refrain that was designed for arena concerts. Bruce perform it with a high energy, he wants people to shout along "I was born in the USA".
So even when his lyrics are unpretentious, he spoils them with pretentious and overblown music. He wants to be loved, he wants to affect people and so he uses many cheap tricks and that is why I don't like him.
He is a heartland rocker. No irony, no humor, no sarcasm, oh no, no. That is not merely a bad thing, but it is not my personal cup of tea.
But the world needs someone like him, so if he was not born, someone should invent him. Bruce loves his fans and his fans love Bruce, so who am I to complain? Everyone is free to like, even love, him, I won't accuse anyone for that.
But hopefully I made clear why Bruce is not my personal favorite.
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