There's nothing like the sheer entertainment of a Springsteen concert. The best live act.
I must say I prefer Young's songwriting though.:)

Bruce is a great live performer, but I do not like his records that much. But e really knows how to affect people and I give him props for that.
But Neil is so much better as a songwriter. Also I have been lately thinking that he has to have one of the most beautiful singing voice ever. It is whiny and shaky but it is also extremely touching and beautiful. I know some of you nay disagree with me on that, but still.
The biggest problem with Neil are his lyrics that suck ass all over the place usually.

Neil's latest tour was pretty rad, he puts on a great show, I know Bruce is a legend in his way as well so I won't debate the point, but if you like Neil slightly you'll probably love his show.

Taxman I mainly disagree that his lyrics suck all over the place. I will grant you that his later day lyrics don't quite touch the consistency and impact of older material, but pretty much all of his albums up until the 80s have some fantastic lyrics.

Well... Maybe I was a little bit too nasty, but still,I think his main weakness is his lyrics. I don't find them to be that much meaningful or even very interesting.
'I have a friend I've ever seen/lives in his head, behind a dream'.

As a Finn bad lyrics do not annoy me that much but still, considering that Neil has been doing a lot of folksy stuff one could expect better lyrics from him.

Anyway, his lyrics are definitely a lot of better than those awful street stories Bruce use to write. I'd rather take Neil's meaningless cliched stories about making rearrangements with yourself than Bruce's embarrassing crowd-pleasers about how were were born to run or how we all have hungry hearts.
I mean, he has got a point, but it is not what I want from rock music.

I think Young goes for a more abstract/impressionistic style, the kind you see in Elliott Smith or Radiohead (who take it to an even further extreme), maybe it's just not your style, or maybe you do find it cliched. Even though his style is folksy, I think he likes to bring more of a psychedelic edge to most of his songs, maybe barring his straight up protests. It may not entirely mesh with the folk background but i think it makes for an interesting union.

I agree a lot of Young's lyrics are a bit awkward, though that never bothered me since I always considered lyrics to be secondary to the music.

My favorite Young song, for instance: Tell Me Why. Do these lyrics really make much sense?

Sailing heart-ships
thru broken harbors
Out on the waves in the night
Still the searcher
must ride the dark horse
Racing alone in his fright.
Tell me why, tell me why

Is it hard to make
arrangements with yourself,
When you're old enough to repay
but young enough to sell? ...

The verse, by itself, seems to kinda-sorta make sense. Maybe. And the refrain, by itself, kinda-sorta seems to make sense, but I really have a hard time connecting the two together into a coherent message.

Perhaps if I sat there and pondered it for a good half hour I could figure it out. :)

Not all Young songs are like that, but a fair amount of them seem to be.

I often wonder, in threads like these, how much everyone's heard from both catalogs. This discussion has become all Neil Young - it makes me think you only know his stuff.

True. It's how I debate the negatives. It's also why I'm not casting a vote.

I'm very familiar with both artist's 70's stuff, and some of their early 80's stuff. But I've tended to like Young better so that's why I'm focusing on his music.

But there's also a good deal of Springsteen stuff I think is spectacular.

It was more to point out that we have a Neil Young thread.

Anyway, I used to hate Springsteen. He sounded boring (I thought then) and wrote songs about boring things. Not but 5 years ago I'd have said he sucked. But the truth is, Springsteen seems to do two things, I've learned from my experiences:

1. Speak to Americans
2. Speak to American's who've been kicked in the mouth by life a few times.

I don't know why my Global brothers don't get him. But it seems to me that by and large, the Euro's I speak to don't seem to get why he's popular. Its like Radiohead with me, and I try to keep in mind that he doesn't sound the same to everyone. Having said that, when I was a young, angry person, I didn't get the appeal either.

Glory Days? Hungry Heart? What is this ****? It sounded like a combo of Zappa and Christmas music.

As cliche it is, Springsteen seems to me to be beyond music. His live act is brutal - probably the best live show I've ever seen. But he's an author. He can make standard lyrics - through affectation alone - devastating. But because he's a musician, he doesn't do it as an author would. He just has an ability beyond description (for me, in this moment anyway). I still believe the lyrics below are nothing until he sings them:

"You know that tilt-a-whirl down on the east side, I got on it last night and my shirt got caught, but Joey kept me spinning, didn't think I'd ever get off."

You need to get the live version.

I don't think Neil Young is bad by any stretch. But he's a different beast. Young, to me, deals better in the ethereal, the vague atmosphere that appeals to more people because there is so much room for interpretation. If you've never raced cars in the street that you built from scratch then maybe Springsteen's "Racing in the Street" doesn't immediately appeal to you (though I haven't, and it does to me). But After the Gold Rush and I'm the Ocean have a scope that's beyond a person. It can talk to everyone at once in an immediately apparent fashion.

I think Springsteen does the same thing, but ostensibly he's for townies and rednecks. I once thought that, but then it soaked in. I can't say enough good things.

I think you have some fair points there, though I'm not familiar with Springsteen, he seems according to his praise and little music I've heard, to have keen observation skills for the exterior, especially pertaining to social life and happenings. Neil usually tends to draw on introspection, at least in his most famous/acclaimed songs; mainly, his more socially charged songs are the actual protests. I guess maybe I'm geared more towards abstraction and poetic internalization though.

That exists with Bruce, its just beneath the story line. Its the same with, for example, Great Gatsby. Ostensibly its about a rich guy who didn't get to bang his dream girl.

But it isn't.

Are you saying this as a negative? Thats badass. Not even close. Neil all the way.

Springsteen has Nebraska which is one of my favorite songs. Other than that I don't think I can name 20 other songs by Springsteen that I like. On the other hand, pretty much every song I've heard by Neil Young I've loved. I also really enjoy his guitar and harmonica playing, so I'm going with him.

This forum attracts a certain type...

I own Born To Run, Born In The USA, Greatest Hits, and Nebraska. I've also checked out The Seeger Sessions, The Rising, and Darkness On The Edge of Town from my local library. I liked some songs off each of these albums, but a lot of the songs I couldn't stand mainly because of the music. Springsteen and Young are just about equals when it comes to lyrics, but I prefer Youngs music.

.......... and what a great cure they are for insomnia.

recycled joke, ****-talking newbs, thanks for being an all-star member of these forums.

I have a 59 song playlist for Bruce Springsteen. My playlist for Neil young is not even half that. There's no doubt in my mind, Bruce is my favorite. Got all his albums, including tracks and the full set of promise.

Born in the USA (the born in the usa album/E street version) is one of my favorite songs to listen to in my car, next to Back in Black and Sweet Home Alabama.

Oh no, I thought it was rad too. Jans did get me on the Suicide for Springsteen though, that's pretty righteous too.

ur jus mad cuz wur styyln on u

I don't know what that means, but if I were mad, it would be because I've blown 9.5 years on a forum with **** for taste.

I was never a big Springsteen fan until I heard this...


Thunder Road...live, unplugged

You forget the critical point about Neil Young...the lyrics make sense, but only if you listen while stoned! :wave:

This is the reason I love Bruce Springsteen: the totally impromptu guitar solo Bruce does! Just the fact that he can whip up a guitar solo like that puts him so far above Neil Young in my mind. He's so phenomenal live.

Bruce never had Rick James as a roommate, so it's Neil Young all the way.

Ok Macklemore
Have you ever even heard neil young on guitar?

I do like them both and they have both accomplished a lot in the music biz, but I think I would say Neil Young is more of a legend in my mind than Bruce.

What?

You heard me

You could be right!

I just started going through a Springsteen kick because of that video. I've been revisiting some of his stuff that I heard before but didn't really like a few years ago. I gotta say I'm really enjoying a lot of it now.

Both of these guys are two the biggest dorks that ever graced an open stage.

You've seen their penises?

Robert Plant was pretty much a killjoy on that one.

The Boss is so godawful. The E Street band is so average also, they can't make up for his shortcomings. The forum vote is a resounding yes for Young, so I'm gonna say the Forums taste has exceeded **** for taste.

Most of the people that have voted for Springsteen on here, I don't think are very aware of the diversity that Young offers and probably lack real knowledge of his music, hence their need to listen to a lot more of his music and his 40 plus album discography, instead of basing their opinion around a few songs here and there.

Most of the people that have voted for Young (are what I call those with real music knowledge on the forum) whereas those that have gone with Springsteen far less so (there are exceptions of course, as some of the people that have voiced opinions for Springsteen know their stuff, well 1 or 2 so I guess it's not so many)

I don't much like Bob Dylan but I recognize that members are going to like him more than Young, as the man is a legend and a great songwriter (another thread similar to this) but when it comes to Springsteen though, I'd sooner listen to John Cougar and believe me that's not saying much.

Ah c'mon American Fool was an outstanding album. ;) I'm not taking shots at people who voted Springsteen, I think there must be some merit to the Springsteen fans, I just personally don't find his music very riveting. Hes certainly molded a very oustanding career out of writing feel good rock n roll based songs. My mom loves Springsteen so i've had to endure through the years out of a deep love for my moms cooking. Some peoples Harvest is others peoples Nebraska I get it, but my ears clearly are more taken by Youngs ability to convey so much emotion in his lyrical ability.

Sure theres an argument for Springsteen also connecting with his audience and conveying alot through his music but it never touched me the same way as Young did.

Ok I admit I do quite like that album and actually have it one vinyl, I got it when it came out.;)

Most of the ones I've met here in the UK, tend to be hardcore U2 fans as well and I usually tell them what **** taste they have x2 and that's normally the end of the conversation.

No disrespect to your mum, but Springsteen is just the short of artist I imagine mums would like (macho honest vocals and all)

Few artists touch emotions like Young can, but then again that's a very personal taste for a very delicate subject. But when speaking over the years to Young fans, that tends to be one of the focal points of his music.

Let me clarify my last post. I was more emphasizing that I think Bruce is a superior live performer. I thought it was neat that he just segued into that guitar solo, that's why I was talking about it.

But since you brought up guitar playing, yeah let's talk about that. Yes, I have heard Neil Young on guitar, but I do not believe Young's guitar playing is superior to Springsteen's. Part Man, Part Monkey I think is one of Springsteen's best examples of his skill with the guitar. Thundercrack, Worlds Apart, Atlantic City, and the acoustic version of Born In The U.S.A. I think put him over the top.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse might not be as technically gifted as a lot of musicians out there, but they're a damn sight more exciting to watch than half of these so-called technical wizards. Ever seen Year of the Horse film?