From: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org (LuckyTown Digest) To: luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Subject: LuckyTown Digest V9 #28 Reply-To: luckytown@luckytown.org Sender: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Errors-To: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Precedence: bulk LuckyTown Digest Wednesday, July 3 2002 Volume 09 : Number 028 NOTE: Sale/trade posts should be emailed to luckytown-ads, *NOT* to luckytown. That includes tix wanted/tix grovels, post them to luckytown-ads, please. Contents: Boston listening session [dsulliva@caregroup.harvard.edu] Fan review of The Rising from Cleveland listening party [Cackowski, David] Listening Party [Dave Riggs ] Cleveland Listening Party ["Kusinski, John" ] News Update - Wednesday July 3 - Little Steven's Website ["Holly Cara Pri] new songs [mike brewer ] Benefit concert partially organized by Garry Tallent ["Bill King II" ] cello-goodbye [mendez@comcast.net] A patient man ["Douglas W. Corkhill"] Rising tension [William.Blaik@Zarlink.Com] (no subject) [SarahWeisman@cs.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 08:35:28 -0400 From: dsulliva@caregroup.harvard.edu Subject: Boston listening session I was at last night's listening session for "The Rising" sponsored by Columbia. There were about 50 people there. I got tickets by responding to the solicitation on the official website. We heard 8 tracks from the album. The lyrics were projected, which was helpful. I'll leave it to others to offer reactions to individual tracks, and confine my comments to generalities. First, I think this may end up being an important and enduring work. There is a strong sense of 9/11 running through the all of what we heard, although it's often oblique. Yet there a theme of hopefulness as well. Musically, I think it's very strong. The sound was terrrific, and it's quite interesting and varied in terms of instumentation. Background vocals are very prominent (a good thing, IMHO). I personally find it hard to form opinions after hearing things once (the Columbia rep declined to let us hear it again :) ), but I was very impressed. I have personally found Bruce's post-Tunnel of Love output to be inconsistent and somewhat disappointing, and I am hopeful this album will stand with his stongest work. The Columbia rep said the tour plans are not yet set and change day by day. She did say Bruce would be "all over" TV the week the album is realeased. She mentioned specifically the Today show and Letterman. Dan ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 22:14:32 -0500 From: Cackowski, David[mailto:David.Cackowski@tri-c.cc.oh.us] Subject: Fan review of The Rising from Cleveland listening party The Rising - Bruce Springsteen A fan review by Dave Cackowski, Cleveland,Ohio July 3,2002 My first impression on hearing "The Rising" single on the radio was that it was about the feeling Bruce had when Sept.11th happened. As I listened to 8 songs tonight at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, I got the impression that the overall theme of the songs were Bruce's and the world's feelings about Sept.11th. Some of the songs deal more directly with the events of the tragedy like "Into the Fire". This one is written from the perspective of a fireman going into the towers and saving lives, knowing that he may lose his own. From a lyrical standpoint these are some of the most poignant and deeply intense and real feelings Bruce has put down on paper. It harkens back to one album in particular and that is "Nebraska". Just like that record, "The Rising" album evokes a feeling of despair, of thought and confusion and ultimately of redemption. The spirit and feel of this album is stark like "Nebraska" was when it was released. Bruce is taking some risks musically with gospel, world and Christian influences permeating the new compositions. On tunes like "World's Apart", he uses choir voices and some classical instrumentation like violins and cellos that have not been very prevalent on a Springsteen record in the past. It will be interesting to see the public reaction to the new music, and if they "get it". There will be those who joined the boss bandwagon in 84' when "Born in the USA" became the monster record it was who probably will think the album a downer and not "commercial enough" for their tastes. But these are different times we live in here in 2002 and I believe it will not be a sales juggernaut. It will sell initially on the strength of the great lead single, "The Rising" and on Bruce's name and history in music. And I will bet the upcoming tour will boost sales also, for the length of the tour - probably 2 years, but it will not be a "Thriller" or mega-seller and that's okay. The world climate is just different right now and I believe ultimately it will be one of Bruce's most important records in a diverse catalog of music that will stand the test of time. This is a record that does not knock you over the head with "poppy tunes", but is one that needs to be listened to, intently and fiercely, for I believe there are more layers and meanings to this batch of tunes than the simple theme of "Oh yeah, they're about the tragedy of Sept.11th". There are ideas of contemplation, reflection, anger, passion, hope and just living life here and now that wind their way through the 8 songs I experienced last night. It is almost like Bruce is writing each song in the third person; where he becomes: a fireman, a policeman, a soldier, a working man and woman, a child from Afghanistan and a girl from another country. I noticed a lack of Clarence Clemon's trademark saxophone that often highlighted Bruce's music. I think he decided to use it sparingly like on "Mary's Place". This new material of his just doesn't lend itself to a wailing sax break. The remaining 7 songs we didn't hear, 1 of which appeared on the cd, "America-A Tribute to Heroes" I'm guessing do not employ the jubilant tones of the big man's horn. This was the tune, "My City of Ruins". A record like "The River" needed it to feel right, a record like "The Rising" does not! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 07:40:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Dave Riggs Subject: Listening Party I was lucky enough to get passes to the Cleveland Listening party at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I want to thank John from the HOF for straightening out a problem with my passes. Whoever mailed my passes from Columbia sent me access to the Boston listening party instead. But John was able to leave me passes at will-call after making a few phone calls. Thanks, John. This morning, I re-read Bruce's statement when the release annoucement was made. It is a very different sound. I'm not going to use this forum to give my opinion on each song played, or whether the new sound is good or bad, because I want others to make up their own minds. 8 of the 15 tracks were played. Two of the songs sent chills throughout my body. One of those songs made me fight back tears. Very powerful and a sure-fire Springsteen classic. Overall, I liked the songs played. I believe that the particular songs chosen were selected because of how different musically they are from what we're used to from Bruce. It's just a hunch, but the rest of album probably echoes a (somewhat) familiar sound that we are accustomed. But trying new things is what makes an artist develop and I'm glad Bruce has done that. His creative juices are still flowing, which as a fan, is what I always hope. I think the fact that he used a new producer influenced his thinking on creating a new sound. But based on what I heard yesterday, I will be interested to hear how Bruce presents the material on the tour. Anyway, just my thoughts. I'm looking forward to July 30th, the Today show appearance, and the tour. Dave Cleveland, OH - --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? New! SBC Yahoo! Dial - 1st Month Free & unlimited access [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 08:18:19 -0400 From: "Kusinski, John" Subject: Cleveland Listening Party The temperature so hot that at 6PM sweat rolled down your back even while standing still. One hundred and sixty (mostly) middle aged people standing in line with an excitement in the air that compared to youthful days gone by. Lake Erie in the background. City skyline behind. The glass doors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame securely locked while we waited. Like a mini memory of concerts last tour - what brought "us" together was the music (and the man). But in thinking back I can't help but reflect on the entire experience. Sights, sounds, scents. Conversations with strangers who at that moment seemed like long lost friends with a common bond. Again, the music (and the man). Ok, enough of that - to what this post is really about, and what brought that group of 160 or so people together on a hot muggy Cleveland evening. I know there will be the typical debate over the CD and the songs (I heard one lady saying as we walked out "I didn't't like some of the songs - but others I loved!") Her words no doubt will sum it up for so many. I for one am very accepting and respecting of Bruce's music. Not that there aren't't songs I like more or less than others. But I am always struck with feeling privileged that he shared his music, his words, his art with me/us. Bottom line - I loved what I heard (and saw). I liked the "presentation." In the small theater on the fourth floor of the rock hall, with a large screen on stage projecting the words to the songs as they played so you could read along. "The "set list" of eight songs was: Lonesome Day Into the Fire Nothing Man Worlds Apart The Fuse Mary's Place You're Missing The Rising The songs certainly have a "new feel" in the production, and yet some also had a certain older quality woven through. (I wish I had taken notes!) As we walked out a couple people said that "Mary's Place" reminded them of Rosalita. I thought I even heard faint echo's of "Kitty's back" in it (forgive me if you don't hear that - it was after 1 listening!). The "post 9/11" element is clear. Themes of loss, sorrow, healing, hope love and faith create a fabric with feeling. "Into the Fire" with references to climbing stairs "into the fire." "Nothing Man" - to me a story of a "survivor." A "hometown hero" struggling perhaps with survivor guilt, and the numbness that comes in the aftermath of a life threatening/changing experience - making one feel like a "Nothing Man." (I just thought of PTSD - I believe first discussed in terms of Viet Nam veterans, but which certainly applies to many survivors). The "Nothing Man" who wants nothing more than his lovers touch and kiss to ground him. "You're Missing" - a sad song. Paints a picture so vivid to me it hurts. The home and family of one whom is missing (and gone). Shoes and shirts that serve as painful reminders. Children asking if "you'll be there" to put your arms around us tonight. I thought of my sister-in-law, who lost her husband nearly two years ago in a tragic accident at work. I thought about how Nancy might react hearing that song even now. I recalled the shock that ripped through us, and how I thought about how John went to work one day - and his family never saw him again. Right after that day, before I left the house as I kissed my wife goodbye I would linger, hoping it wasn't our last kiss. Making it more than the quick kiss without thought before I left. I guess that faded a bit with time. But this morning as I kissed Mary Jo goodbye, I lingered again. "World's Apart" - seemed to have a "middle east" sound to it. I believe there was even a reference to Allah in that one. Certainly we are like worlds apart from those responsible for 9/11. I think (remember - this was ONE listening!) that a message here is that love can bridge those worlds. Perhaps a "love is the answer" element (John Lennon? Eric Fromm?? "Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence." - Eric Fromm). This morning I thought of some irony. At the top of the escalator on the fourth floor is part of the Rock Hall's John Lennon exhibit - a big bed - I suppose one used by Jon & Yoko for a "bed-in," as captured in a famous picture from that era. Love is the answer... "The Fuse" - a steamy song! The fuse seems to be attached to a love bomb (or lust bomb?). But I think that love/lust may be what the storyteller is using to heal the pain. Again, some elements I believe of loss (lines of black cars, church references - I suppose a wedding or a funeral). There's a part in the song - the music stops (I'm sure in that instant we all thought the sound system quit). All you hear is Bruce's voice with some interesting production work singing a line about a "bitter sweet taste on my tongue." I swear I saw women all around me shudder and squeal! When the song ended a guy behind me said "calm down ladies - it's just a song!" A woman to my left cleared her throat and asked "can you play that one again?" A moment... A couple other random thoughts before my ramble ends. If "The Rising" doesn't open the shows - I can imagine "Lonesome Day" or even "Worlds Apart" as show openers. I think this tour will be VERY different from the last. As I drove home I thought about how the last tour, in many ways was about fun - about celebrating "life right now!" This album is serious stuff - about life right now - yes. Perhaps about life left behind, and life everlasting as well (now remember, this is after having heard eight songs only once). But then again, I could be way wrong as I sit feeling philosophical this morning! I do know one thing for certain - I CAN'T WAIT for 7/30/02! And for the late summer & fall shows that will follow. Sorry for the lengthy post. Enjoy the music folks! John K. Cleveland, Ohio ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 17:11:31 -0400 From: "Holly Cara Price" Subject: News Update - Wednesday July 3 - Little Steven's Website View the updated affiliate list for LITTLE STEVEN'S UNDERGROUND GARAGE (now at 56 stations in the U.S. and Canada) and NEW NEWS including Toronto live broadcast July 14 at: http://www.littlesteven.com/news.html [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 10:36:31 -0400 From: mike brewer Subject: new songs Hi everyone, I was lucky enough to hear 8 of the new songs from "The Rising" last night at the listening event at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last night. Overall, I was very impressed and now i'm stuck waiting in anticipation for the rest of the album! As I sat and listened to the songs, I kept in mind what Little Steven had said regarding the album as a whole and the theme it takes up. Before they played any songs, the guy that was introducing the album noted that "The Rising" was the third album in a trilogy - Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A. being the other two. With pen in hand, I was ready to take notes and see what I could figure out! Rather than rambling on and on about each song, what I think it means, blah blah blah, I just thought I'd hit the major things... There are some cool use of the Cello on this album! It stands out as especially striking on "You're Missing" which also has a wonderful organ/keyboard closing...The album definitely has 9/11 references on it and I don't know how I feel about that quite yet... Noticed the reoccurring theme of being in the arms of another throughout the album. There were also a number of spiritual/religious references that I don't recall being as significant on other albums so that was interesting.... "Mary's Place" is the type of song that I could see or sharing the "Light of Day" slot on the tour. From the sax on it to the repeated calling to the audience, I think it has a kickass live version in it just waiting to come out. For all the people that have complained how Bruce needs to work with others, how he needs to challenge himself, etc. then this is the album for you! It ventures into new directions while still building upon and continuing the journey that Bruce set out on with his music 30 years ago. I know there are going to be critics complaining that it's not "Darkness" or how this tour won't compare to when someone saw Bruce with the band at the Agora in '78 (how is it, by the way, that the place MAYBE holds 1500 people and 15,000 people claim to have been at that show?? It reminds me of nickel beer night at the old Municipal Stadium!) but it is a wonderful album by a tremendous artist that will hold a distinct place in his library of work. As someone that was only 7 when "The River" came out, I have grown up with Bruce as a cornerstone in my music world and consider myself lucky just to have seen him with the E Street Band like I did on the last tour. I honestly thought that I would never experience that joy so I'm more grateful that ever before that Bruce is back working with the people he loves most and making music for all of us to share in! I think it's going to be a fun year watching this album unfold, hearing the different thoughts and takes on it, watching Bruce and the band do a media blitz for the first time in nearly 20 years (no hankies tied around arms this time!) and seeing the tour as many times as my teacher's salary will allow! I hope everyone hear enjoys this as much as I plan to! Mike ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 06:49:39 -0500 From: "Bill King II" Subject: Benefit concert partially organized by Garry Tallent From the July 3 edition of the Asbury Park Press. Enjoy, King (from) Neptune Concert a thank-you to rescue workers Published in the Asbury Park Press 7/03/02 FILE PHOTO Lisa Luckett, Fair Haven, who lost her husband, Teddy (pictured), in the attacks on the World Trade Center, is helping to organize a concert for rescue and recovery workers. By JAMES W. PRADO ROBERTS STAFF WRITER A widow of a man killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 is helping to organize a concert in New York City for some 600 rescue and recovery workers who labored for months at the disaster site looking for the remains of victims. Lisa Luckett of Fair Haven, whose husband, Edward, died in the terrorist attacks, said she thought of the idea for a thank-you concert after witnessing the efforts of rescue workers during their final ground zero shift May 29. Luckett said she realized it was her husband the workers had been searching for. Edward Luckett's remains have not been found. "For me, it was the revelation that these were the guys who were looking for Ted," Luckett said. "These guys literally went after this as a mission." The "Voices of Inspiration -- A Universal Hug" concert is scheduled for July 17 at the Beacon Theater in New York. Garry Tallent, the bass player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, is also helping to organize the event. Other artists expected to perform include Phoebe Snow, Beth Nielson Chapman, Bar Scott and Dolores Holmes. Luckett said because there are not enough seats available, the first rescue workers to be invited are those who worked for the full nine months following the terrorist attacks. Such workers will include rescue and recovery personnel from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York City police and fire departments, emergency medical workers and construction and steel workers, Luckett said. "The reason we are doing so well is that no one has forgotten about us," Luckett said of relatives of victims of the World Trade Center attacks. "I was very concerned that they were doing this gruesome and unbelievable thing every day. I walked away in total awe . . . We couldn't let people forget about them, we had to do something for them." For rescue workers interested in attending the concert, contact Rick Korn by e-mail at Rickko143@aol.com. Tickets for members of the public will be available through Ticket Master. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 18:59:16 -0400 From: "Gene Lazo" Subject: Rising / falling Aside from the detailed imagery that Bruce paints in 'The Rising', the thing that leaps out at me is the contradistinction of the title itself. The image that is ingrained in most people's heads from 9/11 is the Towers falling. We mourn the falling of the firefighters. Yet Bruce choose to call this 'The Rising'. Why? The theme that runs through Bruce's later work is hope. No matter how evil or sad or despondent any situation, human hope and faith cause us to rise up. Human bravery and courage cause us to rise up. Selflessness and community cause us to rise up. What more powerful statement can any artist make? Gene Lazo ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 22:16:10 -0400 From: mendez@comcast.net Subject: cello-goodbye Well, I've heard two tracks now...The Rising and Lonesome Day. My main thought is that it seems like Roy and Clarence have been replaced by a cello ensemble. I hope this cello thing doesn't run through the entire disc. I don't want Yo-Yo Ma, I want E Street. Jon Mendez Secaucus, NJ [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 09:34:55 -0400 From: "Douglas W. Corkhill" Subject: A patient man I'm a little weird, I know, I mean, it took me three years to play all four discs from Tracks. Well, what was the rush? It was like getting four albums in three years, better than the usual Bruce output. (That's not a complaint, just the truth.) I like to think of an entire album as a piece of work; art. Which is one reason I have not tuned in to AOL to hear The Rising, and won't listen to any of the other songs before July 30. When I hear the song for the first time I want to hear it in the context of the entire album. My friend Diana will come over that night, we'll open a beer, sit on the deck, and listen. We won't talk much, but let Bruce sing, the band play. It's not the first time we've done this. Diana and I drove to DC on the STFU tour with a sealed copy of TJ in the car. We rode north talking, excited about the opportunity to see Bruce, live and in person at Constitution Hall, introducing the new songs to us. On the way home the following day we unwrapped Joad and played it, and again, hearing the differences, the nuances from the previous nights performance. It was a fabulous experience, one I treasure. So I'm in no rush now to hear the new songs, one at a time, coming out of my computer. I'm enjoying the discussions, the analyzations of the song here, but me, I'll wait for the entire album. I'm a patient man. Doug ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 08:25:39 +0100 From: William.Blaik@Zarlink.Com Subject: Rising tension While I have deliberately not sought out any of the new songs circulating I was looking forward to hearing a single release before the album. I see it is being billed as a 2 track item, The Rising (mounting anticipation) and Land of Hope and Dreams. Pity we do not get anything else new. I remember when Human touch came out, with Souls of The Departed as the "b" side, it was a well rounded package. I guess Sony are putting this out for the casual listener, on the other hand 50% of those who buy the rising cd single will already own LOHAD, (maybe even twice, if you bought the dvd/ video). Four pound for a cd single with one new track, maybe I should download off the web, or wait to hear the whole album 2 weeks later...... Am I in for a flame. Whatever the case....still excited.... Will ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 12:37:13 EDT From: SarahWeisman@cs.com Subject: (no subject) I really enjoyed the insights in Jon Greer's post. To his analysis, I'd like to add a thought I had several days ago: with the events of 9/11 Bruce finally found a way to meld his socio-political lyrical side to his personal life/love lyric side. Instead of a song like Souls of the Departed mixed in with songs about a happy marriage or Dry Lightning mixed in with songs about hard luck immigrants, I think we will get a cohesive album emphasizing both the tragedy of 9/11 and the need to pull together and love our families all the more. That's one of the reasons why I can't wait to hear the album. Sarah Weisman [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ End of LuckyTown Digest V9 #28 ****************************** ********************************************************************* ** LuckyTown WWW URL ** The LuckyTown FAQ, back issues, web-based subscription/unsubscription, and many other things can be found on the LuckyTown WWW Page: http://www.luckytown.org ** LuckyTown mailing list addresses ** You can send email to go into the next LuckyTown Digest to: luckytown@luckytown.org You can send email to go into the next LuckyTown-Ads Digest to: luckytown-ads@luckytown.org Any questions for the list admin should be emailed to: owner-luckytown@luckytown.org To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@luckytown.org with message body: unsubscribe luckytown-digest To get further information on how to subscribe/unsubscribe/change your subscription address, as well as the other available commands, send email to majordomo@luckytown.org with message body: help ********************************************************************* The contents of this digest are not necessarily approved by the list admin.