So you think this is bad? You’re frustrated that there’s no news about the Darkness box, a 2009 tour DVD, a new album? Nothing. The last album was more than a year ago, the tour ended six months ago. Wow, big deal! But let me tell you something: back in the old days when this fan had just gotten into Bruce big time, we would have happily accepted “only” a year of waiting. That’s when things were really bad. How about 4½ years? That’s how long it was between Tunnel of Love and Human Touch/Lucky Town. During that time “big news” was when Bruce sang backup on a new Nils Lofgren single (the actually very excellent “Valentine”), or when he was seen at some charity party with Sting. Sometimes there were rumors of an album being finalized or a tour being prepared, but the rumors were never true. And most of the time there weren’t even rumors. Bruce was simply gone from the radar.
The situation today is very different. Back then Bruce was in a transitional stage of his career and personal life. He had just become a father. He had come to a dead-end street with the E Street Band. He had moved to California. He was even seeing a counselor. Music was relatively far from his mind.
Today his kids are grown up. He knows who he is as an artist and his own place in music history. He’s done it all and proved it all, and he’s no longer afraid of making a mistake or two. And perhaps most importantly, as he has said in interviews, he has a new sense of time not being unlimited. From early in his career he always expressed interest in releasing more. Now, for the first time Bruce knows it cannot necessarily wait till next year or two years from now, or five. If he has more to say, and if he wants complete control of how to say it, now is the time. That’s why we will see that Darkness box before too long, and if not, we’ll see something else. Most likely, we’ll see more than one release over the next 6-12 months.
But goddammit, just get on with it already! Can’t you see we are dying here?!
