One of rock and roll’s iconic figures, Bruce Springsteen produced his most influential, and many would argue his greatest body of work from 1973 to 1987. During that time, he released eight studio albums, along with the mammoth live album Live/1975-1985. Among these records are five that are included on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born to Run, Nebraska, and Born in the U.S.A., all of which came out during the period covered by this book. American critic and musician David Starkey takes a deep dive into Springsteen’s early catalogue, highlighting the brilliance of Springsteen’s writing and composing, his flair for the dramatic, along with his profound commitment to the gruelling lives of working-class people—and occasionally pointing out moments when ‘the Boss’ isn’t quite up to his own high standards. Starkey shares stories from Springsteen and those around him about the songs’ creation, and looks closely at the musicians and musicianship that brought Springsteen’s vision to life. Finally, Starkey’s writing—concise yet wide-ranging, analytic yet witty—brings it all together, telling the familiar story of Bruce Springsteen in an entirely new way.
