Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters

Journalist Burger sticks to the primary source in this engaging collection of interviews and speeches, and an interesting new kind of biography of singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen emerges. Materials from every stage of the Boss's career, from his early successes of the '70s to his much more recent status as an elder statesman of pop music, allow the book to show the reader something that a more traditional biography could not typically accomplish: capturing Springsteen's hopes, worries, artistic processes, and state of mind at the precise moments of certain life changes%E2%80%94 including the sudden, unimaginable success of Born to Run and the death of his friend and bandmate Clarence Clemons%E2%80%94in a way that cannot be colored by our 40 years of hindsight. Fortunately, Burger, having picked such an articulate subject, offers just the right amount of context to open each piece, and for the most part lets the multiple past versions of Springsteen do the talking. This book functions as a fun and light read, but is still a boon to any serious Springsteen scholar. It is especially recommended to any aspiring and casual fans too young to remember the impact the Boss had on the 1970s. (Apr.)