E Street Shuffle
The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

How do I put this? I am aware that Bruce Springsteen is a human being. He has flaws, moments of being an asshole, all that stuff. I know this, but I don't want to read about them. As someone who has written about rock music and been around the business, I am about as jaded and cynical as you can get......more

Disappointing. I've read & enjoyed other books by Heylin, but this one was rough. Far too much time is spent on BS's contractual wrangling in the 70s and documenting the evolution of various songs. Heylin's writing only sings when he's given an opportunity to critique the writing of other critics as......more

A mixed bag. One-half of this book is truly insightful, cutting, and blessedly non-conformist; even a longtime Bruce fan like me can appreciate a little balloon-puncturing when it comes to Our Hero. Heylin persuasively argues that as good as Bruce's classic run (1972-1984) was, it was in many ways a l......more

This book is a weird mix of drooling fanboy and serious critic, and lots of it is incomprehensible babble in the worst emulation of pretentious rock criticism. But it's also full of deep details and interesting insights. I wish someone would rewrite it to be clear and simple and declarative. I'd giv......more

Friday afternoon in Cleveland, WMMS on the radio, 5:00 comes around as the opening cords of Born to Run sound. It's the weekend. I knew that the weekend started all through the late 1970s and early 80s because The Boss was playing, Cleveland's patron saint of rock and roll. Even today, the 80s are l......more