By Karsten S. Andersen
The wait
Published 2007-02-11
Does it seem like a long time since there's been some real juicy Bruce news? I guess there hasn't really been any since the Seeger Sessions Tour ended in November. That's almost three months ago. And in these days of instant gratification three months seems like an eternity. Well, then try three years! That's how long it was after the Human Rights Now Tour ended in 1988 until we got some real solid news again about a new album and tour. In between we got the announcement that the E Street Band had been dumped, and we got two Christic Institute benefit shows with a strangely insecure, vulnerable and unrecognizable Bruce. But other than that those three years were a nightmare of endless waiting.
Of course, there were rumors all the time. The new album would be announced very soon. Arenas had been booked for a major tour. But none of it ever materialized. Instead we were drooling over just about anything else that had the slightest Bruce involvement. When Nils Lofgren released the "Valentine" single with Bruce on background vocals, it was received like a major release. When Bruce contributed the very forgettable "Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips" to a children's benefit album, it was bought on release day. and played on repeat. Not to mention "Viva Las Vegas", which was the first real indication of what the new album would sound like, there were pages and pages of analysis in Backstreets.
Altogether I dare say things are better these days. If Bruce doesn't have a new studio album ready, we are swamped with compilations, live albums, live DVDs., not to mention if we need a little Bruce fix we can just download a bootleg DVD in professional quality and kill a few hours watching that. We hardly even notice when he sings backup on the new Jerry Lee Lewis album or makes a guest performance somewhere in New Jersey.
Still, that doesn't change the fact that what we really, really want is a brand new studio album with brand new songs in brand new artwork. Songs that reflect where Bruce and we all are today. Hopefully Bruce won't leave us starving for too long, but if another six months or a year pass before we hear anything, we can always pull out "Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips" and tell our younger fellow fans about the old days when being a Bruce follower was indeed a true trial.
Of course, there were rumors all the time. The new album would be announced very soon. Arenas had been booked for a major tour. But none of it ever materialized. Instead we were drooling over just about anything else that had the slightest Bruce involvement. When Nils Lofgren released the "Valentine" single with Bruce on background vocals, it was received like a major release. When Bruce contributed the very forgettable "Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips" to a children's benefit album, it was bought on release day. and played on repeat. Not to mention "Viva Las Vegas", which was the first real indication of what the new album would sound like, there were pages and pages of analysis in Backstreets.
Altogether I dare say things are better these days. If Bruce doesn't have a new studio album ready, we are swamped with compilations, live albums, live DVDs., not to mention if we need a little Bruce fix we can just download a bootleg DVD in professional quality and kill a few hours watching that. We hardly even notice when he sings backup on the new Jerry Lee Lewis album or makes a guest performance somewhere in New Jersey.
Still, that doesn't change the fact that what we really, really want is a brand new studio album with brand new songs in brand new artwork. Songs that reflect where Bruce and we all are today. Hopefully Bruce won't leave us starving for too long, but if another six months or a year pass before we hear anything, we can always pull out "Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips" and tell our younger fellow fans about the old days when being a Bruce follower was indeed a true trial.