Outlaw Pete book by Bruce Springsteen (Author), Frank Caruso (Illustrator)

When Bruce Springsteen was a little boy, he learned the story of Brave Cowboy Bill, about a pure-hearted little cowboy. It was the first of Bruce’s Western loves, which now range from John Ford movies to Mexican music to Native American art. Each of these inspirations, plus what he’s learned as a man and a rock ’n’ roller about how to combine whimsy and wisdom, were stations on the way to Outlaw Pete, a modern legend of a criminal who starts out in diapers and confronts the roughest edges of adulthood. It’s one of the most ambitious and original story songs Springsteen has written rhapsodic and harsh, a meditation on destiny, filled with absurdities but not for one second of its eight minutes exactly a joke. It’s an elaborate musical drama, weaving into a single tapestry several styles of rock and an orchestration reminiscent of a Morricone soundtrack.

Outlaw Pete is an adult book, illustrated by Frank Caruso, who drew and painted its pages. Caruso does more than illustrate the song. His approach, immaculately detailed, simple when it needs to be, parallels Springsteen’s blend of absurdity and meditation. The questions about destiny remain unanswered, as they must be, but they’re also brought into a different kind of focus. Details that pass by almost unnoticed in the lyrics become central.

Reading and listening have rarely so superbly complemented each other. The result becomes the most intense kind of artistic collaboration, a vision shared.

But I’m not trying to start anything, so buy it, don’t steal it, OK? – Dave Marsh

Click here for more info + pre-order (Amazon)

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New Book alert: Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs

It’s always fun to read what other people think about Bruce Springsteen songs. This book has been out for a while, but it surely looks interesting.

“For 40 years, Bruce Springsteen has held center stage as the quintessential American rock and roll artist, expressing the hopes and dreams of the American everyman and every woman through his vast array of insightful and inspirational songs. In Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs, rock writer Jim Beviglia dares to rank his finest songs in descending order from the 100th to his no. 1 greatest song.

In this unique book, Beviglia reflects not only on why each song has earned its place on list but lays out the story behind each of the 100, supplying fresh insights on the musical and lyrical content of Springsteen’s remarkable body of work. Counting Down Bruce Springsteen brings together critical historical and biographical information to explain the making and importance of each song to its listeners, painting a fascinating portrait of Springsteen as a major American songwriter and consummate recording artist.

Counting Down Bruce Springsteen is the perfect playlist builder, whether it is for the diehard fan or the newbie just getting acquainted with the work of the Boss!”

Buy the Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs from Amazon

New Bruce Springsteen book alert! Springsteen: Album by Album

I went to Amazon to see if there are any new upcoming Bruce Springsteen books, and this caught my attention.

“With in-depth explorations of 17 studio albums spanning over 40 years of music history, Springsteen is the definitive book on “The Boss.” Bruce Springsteen stands astride the rock ‘n’ roll stage like a colossus. Renowned for his passionate songwriting, galvanizing live shows, and political activism, the iconic rocker shows no signs of slowing down. Richly photographed, and featuring brilliant writing by one of America’s top music critics as well as a foreword by Peter Ames Carlin (author of the bestselling biography Bruce), this is a must-have for Springsteen’s millions of fans.”

About the Author:

“Ryan White is a music critic who has twice been voted one of America’s best writers by the Society for Features Journalism. After a decade covering sports for the Oregonian, he became the paper’s music writer in 2009, penning his first article on Springsteen’s Devils & Dust tour. Highly regarded as one of the most important and influential writers working out of Portland—one of the hottest music cities in the United States—his column has given many successful Pacific Northwest bands their first press exposure. He appears regularly on radio shows including Live Wire! and Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud program discussing the week’s cultural events. He has written extensively on Bruce Springsteen, most recently covering his 2012 tour. White lives in Portland, OR.”

“Foreword author Peter Ames Carlin is a journalist, critic, and author. He speaks regularly on music, art, and popular culture and has been the senior writer at People magazine and a TV critic for the Oregonian newspaper. An author of several books including Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson (Rodale) and Paul McCartney: A Life (Touchstone), his latest, Bruce (Touchstone), is the bestselling biography of Bruce Springsteen published in 2012. He lives in Portland, OR.”

More info: Springsteen: Album by Album @ Amazon.com

Bruce Springsteen book review – Springsteen: Saint in the City 1949 – 1974 by Craig Statham

I have always been really interested about the whole early Springsteen era, and I have read all the early stories that are on Brucebase website many times. I really looked forward to read this book, as finally there is a book that covers all the early Springsteen’s bands; including Castiles, Child, Steel Mill, Dr Zoom & The Sonic Boom, and Bruce Springsteen Band.

Craig Statham has done a wonderful job sharing all the info there is. There are many stories I have not heard before. For me these little unheard stories are true gold nuggets. Book has about 180 pages and the chapters are just in perfect length. For those who are unfamiliar with all the early songs, this book helps to open up the lyrics more and how Springsteen’s songwriting has evolved.

Springsteen: Saint in the City 1949-1974 book could be better thought. Some of the pictures are from low quality sources. I hoped to see some unreleased photos, but there was only few that I haven’t seen previously. Also the quality of the paper used in this book and layout could have been better. I hoped to read more about the Boom Carter era, but maybe there’s not much new to share. End of the book felt bit rushed to me. Although, that’s something I have felt with other Springsteen books too.

For fans who are looking more info about the Bruce Springsteen’s before the fame era, this book covers pretty much everything you can hope for.

After reading this book, same question rises once again. Why is Bruce Springsteen so shamed about his early career? Every book lacks Bruce Springsteen point of view about the early days. Why we haven’t heard any of the early material officially? There are more than Tracks box-set of worth material (from 1966-1973) waited to be heard, even for us die-hard fans. There’s nothing to a shamed about the quality of these recordings. Why not just take the same route as Bob Dylan did with his “Bootleg Series”, or what Neil Young has done with his Archive releases? We can only hope that the Tracks 2 box will cover the pre-E Street band songs and bands..with notes from Mr. Springsteen himself. Now the best we can do, is to head to the Youtube and Brucebase site and search more info about those early gems.

Where to buy this book?
Check out Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Other:

As someone of you might know, Brucetapes website started as a database aimed for the Springsteen traders, to help them find info about bootlegs from 1969-1979. This database is still beneath this blog (you can access it here)

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