Springsteen: Point Blank

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Description

At a time when other ageing rock stars have yielded to burn-out or self-parody, Bruce Springsteen is regarded by many as having held his place as a cultural icon. His albums like "Born in the USA" (which spent 136 weeks in the British chart) all still enjoy airplay. Meanwhile, Springsteen has carved out a second career as a balladeer and purveyor of soundtracks and his work, which has been covered by artists from Frank Sinatra to Sonic Youth, sells a total of 15 million albums annually. This biography explores his life and musical career.

Reviews

'Sandford provides a convincingly complex portrait.' MOJO 'Not just rigorously researched and readable, the narrative is as powered and polished as one of The Boss' 40-take songs, the author's passion for detail equally intense, no stone left unturned as we witness the exhausting climb of a driven perfectionist.' UNCUT 'In an industry known for ephemeral enthusiasms, Bruce Springsteen has remained interesting by successfully reinventing himself half a dozen times. At his peak Springsteen redefined rock music, rescuing it from pretentious concept albums and the apparent contempt arrogant stars held for their audience. But what really makes Springsteen's one of the most intriguing and rewarding careers in rock history is that having revitalised rock'n'roll, he was still capable of wrong-footing fans with such idiosyncratic and heartfelt albums as Nebraska, Tunnel Of Love and The Ghost Of Tom Joad. This is a long-overdue biography of one of rock's most fascinating figures and Christopher Sandford has a deft turn of phrase--Springsteen's bodyguards "made Elvis's look like the Algonquin set"--but it is not up to the mark of Sandford's earlier works on Mick Jagger and Sting. As a serious biographer Sandford quite rightly refuses to worship his subject mindlessly; unfortunately he is so busy being objective that somewhere along the line he has lost sight of the inspiring passion of the man and his music. Bruce is one of rock's good guys. In concert he is electrifying; in conversation, illuminating; on record, exhilarating. There is an integrity to his craft. He is one of the few stars of this stature to have remained true to his roots and his social conscience. And although on occasion Sandford does nail the music, he misses the exultation and enthusiasm of Springsteen on record and, particularly, in concert.' - Patrick Humphries, AMAZON.CO.UK

Author Bio

Christopher Sandford is a critically acclaimed rock journalist and biographer of Mick Jagger, Kurt Cobain, David Bowie and Sting.