Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs - Hardcover

Beviglia, Jim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1442230657 ISBN 13: 9781442230651

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014

Synopsis

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!

About this title

About the Author

Jim Beviglia is a featured writer for American Songwriter magazine, reviewing new albums and looking back at classic songwriters and songs for both the print and online editions. This is his second book in the Counting Down series, following his Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs (Scarecrow Press 2013). Jim continues to maintain his blog at Countdownkid.wordpess.com, where he delves deep into the musical libraries of rock’s finest artists.

Reviews

Best-of lists most often say more about the author than the topic, but that’s why they’re so entertaining and infuriating. Beviglia admits straightaway that he is a big Springsteen fan. He admires both the singer’s legendary live performances and his recorded output. Beviglia’s self-imposed task—impossible but fun—is to choose Springsteen’s best 100 songs, which are described in short essays in order of merit, which are followed by an additional list of 100 more. Many of Springsteen’s most popular songs are here, and rightly so, but so are just as many of his obscure ones. It is heartening to see, for example, such less well-known compositions as A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh), Straight Time, and the great eulogy, Terry’s Song. Like all song-list books, the experience allows readers and listeners to revisit, reconsider, and rediscover an artist’s canon. Of course, Springsteen fans will shake their collective heads in disagreement at times, but that’s part of the fun. --June Sawyers

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1442230657
• ISBN 13: 9781442230651
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 220