What do you think?
Rate this book
E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Bruce Springsteen is one of the most important and controversial rock stars of our times: this is the story of the man - a complex, poetic loner whose albums went on to sell 18 million copies - and the band that gave his inner vision a punch and a swagger. Clinton Heylin has written the most factually accurate, informative book on Springsteen to date. As in Heylin's definitive Bob Dylan title Revolution in the Air, E Street Shuffle will focus on Bruce Springsteen and his work: the songs he's written, the way they were recorded, how they sounded live. Heylin also has unparalleled access to the people around Springsteen: current and former members of the E Street Band; CBS A&R personnel; Springsteen's 'New Dylan' contemporaries, as well as fellow Asbury Park musicians and scenesters, and rock critics. This is the essential book for any fan of the Boss.Praise for Clinton Heylin:"Arguably the world's greatest rock biographer." - The Irish Independent."The only Dylanologist worth reading." - The New York Times.
570 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2012
18 people are currently reading
318 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
February 6, 2023
I've always enjoyed Heylin's take on Bob Dylan, which he's parlayed into a mini-industry of written work, so I was curious to see what he thought of Bruce Springsteen. Predictably, the reaction seems to have been evenly split between those who think Heylin's brand of criticism is a breath of fresh air and those who think he's a biased curmudgeon with an axe to grind.
Who's to say he can't be both, and that the result can't be illuminating and worthwhile?
While there's a certain attractiveness about the Springsteen myth, there's only so much of that I can stand to read, and Heylin deflates the myth by focusing on Springsteen's creative process and framing his career as a series of botched attempts, second-guesses, failures, near-misses, and the flashes of brilliance that make his work so frustrating. By sticking to Springsteen's recording sessions, live performances (especially in the early years of the E Street Band), and his records, official and otherwise, Heylin winds up giving us the most extensive look yet at his art. Interspersed throughout are snippets of Springsteen's own words, from dozens of interviews over the years. These passages are chosen with care, and provide a window into the artist's psyche as well as his process.
As tends to be a problem with Heylin's work, this book is riddled with typos and small errors that a decent fact-checker should be catching. "War," for instance, was most certainly not written by "Edwin Collins" (sic).
There's such a tall mountain of Springsteen literature out there, and so much of it seems to proceed from the premise that Springsteen is above reproach, that it's refreshing to see an intelligent, critical discussion of the man and his work.
Who's to say he can't be both, and that the result can't be illuminating and worthwhile?
While there's a certain attractiveness about the Springsteen myth, there's only so much of that I can stand to read, and Heylin deflates the myth by focusing on Springsteen's creative process and framing his career as a series of botched attempts, second-guesses, failures, near-misses, and the flashes of brilliance that make his work so frustrating. By sticking to Springsteen's recording sessions, live performances (especially in the early years of the E Street Band), and his records, official and otherwise, Heylin winds up giving us the most extensive look yet at his art. Interspersed throughout are snippets of Springsteen's own words, from dozens of interviews over the years. These passages are chosen with care, and provide a window into the artist's psyche as well as his process.
As tends to be a problem with Heylin's work, this book is riddled with typos and small errors that a decent fact-checker should be catching. "War," for instance, was most certainly not written by "Edwin Collins" (sic).
There's such a tall mountain of Springsteen literature out there, and so much of it seems to proceed from the premise that Springsteen is above reproach, that it's refreshing to see an intelligent, critical discussion of the man and his work.
July 20, 2013
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, but when it comes to the Boss, I need the myth. Plus, the criticisms that Heylin makes come off as shallow, like he couldn't come up with enough dirt. Yes, he takes a while to make records. And he writes too many songs, and he could be moody. Wow.
The one thing I did like is that he didn't paint Mike Appell as a villain. He was an inexperienced manager, who did the best for his client and Bruce had no tact when he fired him.
Anyway, this not an Albert Goldman style hitjob, but if you need the myth of Springsteen in your life, I wouldn't recommend it.
The one thing I did like is that he didn't paint Mike Appell as a villain. He was an inexperienced manager, who did the best for his client and Bruce had no tact when he fired him.
Anyway, this not an Albert Goldman style hitjob, but if you need the myth of Springsteen in your life, I wouldn't recommend it.
July 26, 2016
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 they write about Springsteen. There you can see the fun snarky book that might have been.
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 they write about Springsteen. There you can see the fun snarky book that might have been.
May 23, 2014
This was awful. A litany of unreleased songs, lyric changes, and endless studio time. And then we have the author's opinion of these unreleased songs and lyric changes, and he's not happy with Bruce's choices. I can't believe I finished this. If someone owns every Boss bootleg and wants the origin story for every minute of music this is for them. This is the second crappy Heylin book I've picked up by Heylin, the first being "From The Velvets To The Voidoids." No more!
November 30, 2024
Un ouvrage qui, par le truchement d'une manipulation souvent discutable des sources, parle moins de l'oeuvre officielle de Bruce que de ce qu'elle aurait dû être aux yeux du journaliste vieille école qui tient la plume. Pour admirateurs fanatiques seulement.
June 16, 2020
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 lost opportunity. Bruce's ability to self-edit, usually seen as his greatest strength, resulting in seven nearly-unimpeachable albums of concision and purpose, is here given a counter-argument that his message got muddled through the constant rewriting and months-long delays.
Heylin has his preferences, some of which strike me as self-consciously harsh -- he clearly prefers the first, jazzier incarnation of the E Street Band and the fantastical street epics Bruce was writing to the leaner, more "realistic" stuff of the Bittan/Weinberg era, and he doesn't care for The River at all -- but I agree that Bruce became his own worst enemy and needed someone to stand up to him, especially once he fired Mike Appel. Landau was too cerebral for the task, feeding him literature instead of deadlines.
Something also got lost once Bruce made the jump from clubs to arenas, and then again to stadiums. That might sound like reflexive nostalgia for the old days, but I don't think he's altogether wrong.
But Heylin reserves the other half of his book to a tedious deep-dive of the archives, which kills the momentum of his narrative. Troves of unreleased material are given pages of discussion, and his general feeling is that they're all better than what Bruce actually released. We get sidetracked with which songs were recorded on which dates, making you feel like you're reading Mark Lewisohn's comprehensive book on Beatles recording sessions instead of a story about the E Street Band, who are curiously absent for long stretches.
Heylin actually ends up sabotaging his own book, because as you read on, you start distrusting his nonconformism. (He quotes a former Springsteen employee who says nothing on The River is the match of Darkness, which is such obvious hyperbole. Start with the title track!)
Some good stuff here but it needed another pass through the quality-control machine.
2.5 stars.
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 lost opportunity. Bruce's ability to self-edit, usually seen as his greatest strength, resulting in seven nearly-unimpeachable albums of concision and purpose, is here given a counter-argument that his message got muddled through the constant rewriting and months-long delays.
Heylin has his preferences, some of which strike me as self-consciously harsh -- he clearly prefers the first, jazzier incarnation of the E Street Band and the fantastical street epics Bruce was writing to the leaner, more "realistic" stuff of the Bittan/Weinberg era, and he doesn't care for The River at all -- but I agree that Bruce became his own worst enemy and needed someone to stand up to him, especially once he fired Mike Appel. Landau was too cerebral for the task, feeding him literature instead of deadlines.
Something also got lost once Bruce made the jump from clubs to arenas, and then again to stadiums. That might sound like reflexive nostalgia for the old days, but I don't think he's altogether wrong.
But Heylin reserves the other half of his book to a tedious deep-dive of the archives, which kills the momentum of his narrative. Troves of unreleased material are given pages of discussion, and his general feeling is that they're all better than what Bruce actually released. We get sidetracked with which songs were recorded on which dates, making you feel like you're reading Mark Lewisohn's comprehensive book on Beatles recording sessions instead of a story about the E Street Band, who are curiously absent for long stretches.
Heylin actually ends up sabotaging his own book, because as you read on, you start distrusting his nonconformism. (He quotes a former Springsteen employee who says nothing on The River is the match of Darkness, which is such obvious hyperbole. Start with the title track!)
Some good stuff here but it needed another pass through the quality-control machine.
2.5 stars.
March 24, 2024
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 give it five stars if I felt I understood all of it.
I love that the author captures the energy and excitement that Springsteen generates. There's a grandeur, a pomposity, a feeling of potential deliverance that Springsteen sings about and makes you feel, and it is in this book. That's the good side of the fanboy part.
I'm a Springsteen fan from the heart of the era that the book covers, so I know the songs intimately. And when author Clinton Heylin writes about kids being encouraged to tape live concerts off the radio, I was that kid. I also bought several of the Springsteen bootlegs referenced in this book and felt the surprise as the Springsteen I liked best (his first four albums, culminating in "Darkness on the Edge of Town") morphed into the pop "The River," dull "Nebraska" and mainstream "Born in the USA." I was done with The Boss somewhere in the midst of that trio, and the author says he personally was done with Bruce #1 by then or by the time the 5-CD album came out after those records.
This is to say that I picked up the book to get insights on one of my favorite musicians of my teenage and young adult years. And I got an earful of new information. I had no idea Springsteen liked punk music like The Clash and Suicide, and I didn't realize how much he was lifting from Hank Williams and Jimmy Rodgers, though I knew he liked old-time folk like Woody Guthrie. I didn't make the Flannery O'Connor connections, though as a college English major, I was reading her works. I guess I could have picked up on that at the time if I read rock magazines, but their writing is so awful that I could never finish two articles. Unfortunately, as noted above, Heylin writes in that vein.
A few more cool observations that, perhaps, I should have known.
1. Heylin also calls Springsteen's stories that introduced songs or sometimes cut into the middle of them "raps," which I think is a really insightful word. When you think about how Springsteen talked, he was speaking in rhythm and even sometimes in internal rhyme. Just like rap. And it was intense and personal, sometimes violent, and in-your-face, just like rap.
2. How many songs Bruce "gave away" (whatever that means, because I assume he got songwriter royalties) to how many people. We all know about Manfred Mann and "Blinded by the Light" and Patti Smith and "Fire," but I didn't know about the Gary US Bonds stuff, Greg Kihn stuff, and more. To be so prolific is amazing.
3. I loved the revisionist history of blasting Jon Landau, his second manager, and resurrecting the reputation of Mike Appel, his first. Appel was on the right track musically and emotionally, and he supported Bruce when he needed it most and gave him discipline in the studio. Landau was all for the money, for taking it big. And while that big approach certainly created a new and more popular product, it wasn't what I liked. Then again, maybe 6 or 10 more albums like "Born to Run" or "Darkness" weren't needed anyway. (Though I sure would have liked 2 more!)
Springsteen is a really weird case of the dual mind that you can take to experience excellent rock. On the one hand, it's just fun and partying and making noise. As this book explains, that's Springsteen's roots in girl groups of the '50s and '60s, The Beatles and Stones, and "frat rock" hits that he heard on AM radio as a kid. He built his skills and his loyal following on the Jersey Shore doing that type of music, and for him it was the louder the better. Heylin even claims that Springsteen was doing proto-heavy metal occasionally, though I'm sure there are were hundreds of bands doing equally loud and fast music at the time.
Anyway, that's one side, and it's that beat and the possibility of meeting girls (or guys, if you are a girl) that draws most of us to rock initially. Then there's the other side, the one that was endlessly written about and debated and decoded in ponderous rock magazines in the 1970s: the meaning of the music. Whether this was angsty personal stuff or politically charged stuff or feminist statements or laments about lost lives due to drugs, you would find songwriters declaiming that their lyrics were important because they cared about those issues. The best lyricists could back up those claims: Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Springsteen, etc. This book does a deep dive into what Springsteen was trying to say and how that evolved from the early '70s to the early '90s. It goes through the wordiness of the early albums, quoting him that sometimes he just sat with a rhyming dictionary and pulled out whatever fit, and the author points out a "trick" that Springsteen took from Bob Dylan of using nouns as adjectives to give more weight and a memorable link to words. This might be: "Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone
Rolling stone preacher from the East ..." or whatever. I really liked the insights. The book goes on to explain how this evolved to a darker and more personal view over the next decade as Springsteen worked out his personal demons. The songs of "Darkness," especially, are about loss and, well, darkness. The author uses scores of quotes from Springsteen from interviews, Springsteen's books, and concert talks to give examples of what the singer was trying to say. I have to admit most of this was jumbled junk for me, just vague statements about the uncertainties of life and the hardships we face, and it wasn't very convincing. But that's Springsteen's fault for being unable or unwilling to explain himself, not the fault of the author.
I agree with Heylin that after "Nebraska," Springsteen lost a lot of his inventiveness and edge by going to more conventional sounds and playing for hits and in big arenas. I understand that most people liked this stuff more than the earlier albums, but I don't. I especially dislike "Nebraska" because, despite the energy Springsteen brings to songs, he doesn't have a good voice (never did), and so having songs where you concentrate almost solely on his voice is not a good thing. Heylin makes a really interesting point that by the time Springsteen did a tour for "Born in the USA" about 2 years after "Nebraska," he had basically evolved into shouting all his songs, rather than singing them, because he was in huge arenas and he had to do that to capture the attention of big crowds that didn't care about his more intimate material. For a decade or sometimes more, he dropped his more careful songs and just did one shouting anthem after another.
I'll end this review now because I could go on and on about Springsteen and my reaction to this book. Let's leave it that if you're a knowledgeable fan, this is a good read. If you're not, this is definitely not the place to start.
I love that the author captures the energy and excitement that Springsteen generates. There's a grandeur, a pomposity, a feeling of potential deliverance that Springsteen sings about and makes you feel, and it is in this book. That's the good side of the fanboy part.
I'm a Springsteen fan from the heart of the era that the book covers, so I know the songs intimately. And when author Clinton Heylin writes about kids being encouraged to tape live concerts off the radio, I was that kid. I also bought several of the Springsteen bootlegs referenced in this book and felt the surprise as the Springsteen I liked best (his first four albums, culminating in "Darkness on the Edge of Town") morphed into the pop "The River," dull "Nebraska" and mainstream "Born in the USA." I was done with The Boss somewhere in the midst of that trio, and the author says he personally was done with Bruce #1 by then or by the time the 5-CD album came out after those records.
This is to say that I picked up the book to get insights on one of my favorite musicians of my teenage and young adult years. And I got an earful of new information. I had no idea Springsteen liked punk music like The Clash and Suicide, and I didn't realize how much he was lifting from Hank Williams and Jimmy Rodgers, though I knew he liked old-time folk like Woody Guthrie. I didn't make the Flannery O'Connor connections, though as a college English major, I was reading her works. I guess I could have picked up on that at the time if I read rock magazines, but their writing is so awful that I could never finish two articles. Unfortunately, as noted above, Heylin writes in that vein.
A few more cool observations that, perhaps, I should have known.
1. Heylin also calls Springsteen's stories that introduced songs or sometimes cut into the middle of them "raps," which I think is a really insightful word. When you think about how Springsteen talked, he was speaking in rhythm and even sometimes in internal rhyme. Just like rap. And it was intense and personal, sometimes violent, and in-your-face, just like rap.
2. How many songs Bruce "gave away" (whatever that means, because I assume he got songwriter royalties) to how many people. We all know about Manfred Mann and "Blinded by the Light" and Patti Smith and "Fire," but I didn't know about the Gary US Bonds stuff, Greg Kihn stuff, and more. To be so prolific is amazing.
3. I loved the revisionist history of blasting Jon Landau, his second manager, and resurrecting the reputation of Mike Appel, his first. Appel was on the right track musically and emotionally, and he supported Bruce when he needed it most and gave him discipline in the studio. Landau was all for the money, for taking it big. And while that big approach certainly created a new and more popular product, it wasn't what I liked. Then again, maybe 6 or 10 more albums like "Born to Run" or "Darkness" weren't needed anyway. (Though I sure would have liked 2 more!)
Springsteen is a really weird case of the dual mind that you can take to experience excellent rock. On the one hand, it's just fun and partying and making noise. As this book explains, that's Springsteen's roots in girl groups of the '50s and '60s, The Beatles and Stones, and "frat rock" hits that he heard on AM radio as a kid. He built his skills and his loyal following on the Jersey Shore doing that type of music, and for him it was the louder the better. Heylin even claims that Springsteen was doing proto-heavy metal occasionally, though I'm sure there are were hundreds of bands doing equally loud and fast music at the time.
Anyway, that's one side, and it's that beat and the possibility of meeting girls (or guys, if you are a girl) that draws most of us to rock initially. Then there's the other side, the one that was endlessly written about and debated and decoded in ponderous rock magazines in the 1970s: the meaning of the music. Whether this was angsty personal stuff or politically charged stuff or feminist statements or laments about lost lives due to drugs, you would find songwriters declaiming that their lyrics were important because they cared about those issues. The best lyricists could back up those claims: Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Springsteen, etc. This book does a deep dive into what Springsteen was trying to say and how that evolved from the early '70s to the early '90s. It goes through the wordiness of the early albums, quoting him that sometimes he just sat with a rhyming dictionary and pulled out whatever fit, and the author points out a "trick" that Springsteen took from Bob Dylan of using nouns as adjectives to give more weight and a memorable link to words. This might be: "Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone
Rolling stone preacher from the East ..." or whatever. I really liked the insights. The book goes on to explain how this evolved to a darker and more personal view over the next decade as Springsteen worked out his personal demons. The songs of "Darkness," especially, are about loss and, well, darkness. The author uses scores of quotes from Springsteen from interviews, Springsteen's books, and concert talks to give examples of what the singer was trying to say. I have to admit most of this was jumbled junk for me, just vague statements about the uncertainties of life and the hardships we face, and it wasn't very convincing. But that's Springsteen's fault for being unable or unwilling to explain himself, not the fault of the author.
I agree with Heylin that after "Nebraska," Springsteen lost a lot of his inventiveness and edge by going to more conventional sounds and playing for hits and in big arenas. I understand that most people liked this stuff more than the earlier albums, but I don't. I especially dislike "Nebraska" because, despite the energy Springsteen brings to songs, he doesn't have a good voice (never did), and so having songs where you concentrate almost solely on his voice is not a good thing. Heylin makes a really interesting point that by the time Springsteen did a tour for "Born in the USA" about 2 years after "Nebraska," he had basically evolved into shouting all his songs, rather than singing them, because he was in huge arenas and he had to do that to capture the attention of big crowds that didn't care about his more intimate material. For a decade or sometimes more, he dropped his more careful songs and just did one shouting anthem after another.
I'll end this review now because I could go on and on about Springsteen and my reaction to this book. Let's leave it that if you're a knowledgeable fan, this is a good read. If you're not, this is definitely not the place to start.
October 8, 2020
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 long gone, WMMS died and was reborn, Cleveland is long gone for me, but still as I ride into my weekend every week with Born to Run as the first song on my playlist.
E Street Shuffle is a history of Bruce Springsteen and not so much the ever changing East Street Band. Heylin covers Springsteen's up bringing in a less than perfect blue collar environment which many long time fans will appreciate. For others, this book is a good history of Springsteen and younger readers may be surprised to know that Springsteen's professional music career predates Born in the USA by more than a decade.
Followers of Springsteen familiar with The Promise will recognize the detailed history of the events between Springsteen and Appel. Heylin also covers the giving music to Patti Smith, Natalie Cole, and Gary US Bonds. Great detail is given to the making of Darkness on the Edge of Town, and the struggles to make Nebraska and Born in the USA. The painful process of song writing and making an album for Springsteen differs greatly Keith Richards protrays it in Life.
There is something to learn for just about everyone. As a fan of both, I was surprised to learn that Patti Smith snubbed Springsteen on several occasions in New York. Darkness of the Edge of Town is portrayed much differently than I remember the album, one of my favorites It is surprising the tremendous amount of music that Springsteen had for his albums and all the new music created while trying to cut a new album. The book is a very detailed account of the rise of Springsteen through Born in the USA.
The writing style is clear and concise. Although not individual cited in the text, there is a detailed bibliography. There are also quoted sections inserted into the text that provide support and first hand description of the events. Heylin also mentions the the other rockers in the era that were Springsteen's peers: Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, The New York Dolls. Important players in pulling American rock music up from the disco era. Minor complaints come from sneaking song lyrics as part of the text, it may seem clever to some to use song lyrics as your own text, I found it a bit too much. The chapter titles, however are great “Songs About Cars and Girls” and “Something in the Night”. Also an index would be a nice addition to the book (which may be included in the final edition). All an all an excellent, in depth book.
E Street Shuffle is a history of Bruce Springsteen and not so much the ever changing East Street Band. Heylin covers Springsteen's up bringing in a less than perfect blue collar environment which many long time fans will appreciate. For others, this book is a good history of Springsteen and younger readers may be surprised to know that Springsteen's professional music career predates Born in the USA by more than a decade.
Followers of Springsteen familiar with The Promise will recognize the detailed history of the events between Springsteen and Appel. Heylin also covers the giving music to Patti Smith, Natalie Cole, and Gary US Bonds. Great detail is given to the making of Darkness on the Edge of Town, and the struggles to make Nebraska and Born in the USA. The painful process of song writing and making an album for Springsteen differs greatly Keith Richards protrays it in Life.
There is something to learn for just about everyone. As a fan of both, I was surprised to learn that Patti Smith snubbed Springsteen on several occasions in New York. Darkness of the Edge of Town is portrayed much differently than I remember the album, one of my favorites It is surprising the tremendous amount of music that Springsteen had for his albums and all the new music created while trying to cut a new album. The book is a very detailed account of the rise of Springsteen through Born in the USA.
The writing style is clear and concise. Although not individual cited in the text, there is a detailed bibliography. There are also quoted sections inserted into the text that provide support and first hand description of the events. Heylin also mentions the the other rockers in the era that were Springsteen's peers: Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, The New York Dolls. Important players in pulling American rock music up from the disco era. Minor complaints come from sneaking song lyrics as part of the text, it may seem clever to some to use song lyrics as your own text, I found it a bit too much. The chapter titles, however are great “Songs About Cars and Girls” and “Something in the Night”. Also an index would be a nice addition to the book (which may be included in the final edition). All an all an excellent, in depth book.
June 25, 2023
Skewering Bruce
Clinton Heylin is an English rock critic who writes comprehensive, opinionated accounts of stars and movements. He has turned his gaze to another American Icon (not Bob Dylan, one of his obsessions) Bruce Springsteen. Heylin gets down in the weeds, scouring through every session and failure like he is mining for gold. My response to the book is spilt; on the positive side, he identifies a few essential truths about the Boss, which I will list below. On the negative side, he dwells too much on failure, the songs written but unreleased, the stunted personality of the Boss, the failure to make a well produced album (really?). You get the feeling he admires Bruce but does not like him (I'm a bit like that myself, especially as he has been playing the role of a 'rich man in a poor man's shirt for 40 years). He compares Bruce unfavourably to the Clash (for some reason, Bruce liked this public school version of punk) which is laugh out loud stupid. He thinks the River is Springsteen's worst album. I could go on about his likes and dislikes.
But he is right about Bruce - Bruce was an emotionally stunted young man from a terrible home, with a history of alcoholism and manic depression. It is no wonder that he was a talented f**k up. But he had a certain genius, a relentless energy and an autodidact's brilliance and weakness. His drive made him successful but a bad judge of people and situations. His handling of Mike Appel, the E Street Band, his first wife, and his own success (self denying at first but always ego maniacal) were all appalling. His own bi-polar illness was discovered when he was in his 30's but it took many decades (and Patty Scialfa) to turn Bruce into a functioning human. Of course, even Heylin acknowledges Bruce's talent, and like me, prefers the original Boss of Wild, Innocent to what he became.
Heylin's account has insight, but lacks perspective. Given his talent, this is disappointing. But I gobbled it all up, despite giving up on the Boss 15 years ago for his poor output post The Rising.
Clinton Heylin is an English rock critic who writes comprehensive, opinionated accounts of stars and movements. He has turned his gaze to another American Icon (not Bob Dylan, one of his obsessions) Bruce Springsteen. Heylin gets down in the weeds, scouring through every session and failure like he is mining for gold. My response to the book is spilt; on the positive side, he identifies a few essential truths about the Boss, which I will list below. On the negative side, he dwells too much on failure, the songs written but unreleased, the stunted personality of the Boss, the failure to make a well produced album (really?). You get the feeling he admires Bruce but does not like him (I'm a bit like that myself, especially as he has been playing the role of a 'rich man in a poor man's shirt for 40 years). He compares Bruce unfavourably to the Clash (for some reason, Bruce liked this public school version of punk) which is laugh out loud stupid. He thinks the River is Springsteen's worst album. I could go on about his likes and dislikes.
But he is right about Bruce - Bruce was an emotionally stunted young man from a terrible home, with a history of alcoholism and manic depression. It is no wonder that he was a talented f**k up. But he had a certain genius, a relentless energy and an autodidact's brilliance and weakness. His drive made him successful but a bad judge of people and situations. His handling of Mike Appel, the E Street Band, his first wife, and his own success (self denying at first but always ego maniacal) were all appalling. His own bi-polar illness was discovered when he was in his 30's but it took many decades (and Patty Scialfa) to turn Bruce into a functioning human. Of course, even Heylin acknowledges Bruce's talent, and like me, prefers the original Boss of Wild, Innocent to what he became.
Heylin's account has insight, but lacks perspective. Given his talent, this is disappointing. But I gobbled it all up, despite giving up on the Boss 15 years ago for his poor output post The Rising.
September 27, 2017
On the plus side, the author has access to a huge number of recording sessions and is able to trace the evolution of Springsteen's songs and albums. He shows the evolution of each Springsteen album and how much Springsteen struggled to find the "perfect" album, the perfect songs, even the perfect order for the songs. Heylin also has access to numerous interviews of Springsteen and many others, and is able to illustrate some of the thought processes that went into the decisions.
However, there were lots of downsides. For a book that claimed to be about Bruce Springsteen AND the E Street Band, the E Street Band was barely present. The band is barely present in the book, and the band member who gets the second most attention is David Sancious, who was only in the band through the first two albums.
Second, the book discusses the acrimonious split between Springsteen and his then manager Mike Appel. The book includes many quotes from an obviously recent interview with Appel, but no contemporary quotes from either Springsteen or Jon Landau. It comes off as the Mike Appel redemption tour, rather than an honest examination of the events.
My final complaint is colored by my unabashed love of Springsteen, but after "The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle", the author consistently second guesses and criticizes every decision that Springsteen made. According to the author, every cut on every album should have been replaced by a better one or a different version (often from an incomplete recording), that every decision Springsteen made was the wrong one, and that, no matter which direction Springsteen took in his career, the author felt he had headed the wrong way. I'm sure someone who is not as much of a fan may have felt that this was a more even-handed portrayal, but I was just frustrated by the unending criticism, and ended up just not enjoying the book because of it.
However, there were lots of downsides. For a book that claimed to be about Bruce Springsteen AND the E Street Band, the E Street Band was barely present. The band is barely present in the book, and the band member who gets the second most attention is David Sancious, who was only in the band through the first two albums.
Second, the book discusses the acrimonious split between Springsteen and his then manager Mike Appel. The book includes many quotes from an obviously recent interview with Appel, but no contemporary quotes from either Springsteen or Jon Landau. It comes off as the Mike Appel redemption tour, rather than an honest examination of the events.
My final complaint is colored by my unabashed love of Springsteen, but after "The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle", the author consistently second guesses and criticizes every decision that Springsteen made. According to the author, every cut on every album should have been replaced by a better one or a different version (often from an incomplete recording), that every decision Springsteen made was the wrong one, and that, no matter which direction Springsteen took in his career, the author felt he had headed the wrong way. I'm sure someone who is not as much of a fan may have felt that this was a more even-handed portrayal, but I was just frustrated by the unending criticism, and ended up just not enjoying the book because of it.
October 22, 2025
Sparks fly on E street
I picked this up in Fopp's last year, being an occasional - but by no means committed - Springsteen fan. It's a idiosyncratic, subjective look at the initial period of Springsteen's career with the E Street band: from his 1973 debut recording, through his breakthrough in 1975 with "Born To Run", up until the release of the "Live/1975-85" set in 1986, and his dismissal of the band during (or maybe just before) the recording of 1987's "Tunnel Of Love". (Little attention is paid to Springsteen's revival of the band in 2000 and its subsequent touring success, which has been even more extensive.)
During this period, Springsteen switched managers (which resulted in a year's delay in his recording work); there's a lot of detail in this book about how that change came about and whether it represented an improvement. Heylin's opinion on this seems to run counter to that of other authors - possibly because he was only able to interview one of the protagonists - but he presents his case compellingly.
There's also extensive discussion about the recording sessions which produced the albums, and the writing, arranging, editing and selection process that was involved. In spite of the high standard of the product (at least as far as fans are concerned), the author suggests that, more often than not, Springsteen made the wrong decision about which songs (or which versions of songs) to release. He knows about this because he has access to bootlegs of the recording sessions and live shows (there's an extensive discography of these at the back of the book), much of which has since been officially released by Springsteen in retrospective box sets. I found some of these discussions over the merits of one song over another to be rather abstruse (I said I was only an occasional fan), but could see that an impressive amount of work had been put into this study.
Originally reviewed 23 January 2019
I picked this up in Fopp's last year, being an occasional - but by no means committed - Springsteen fan. It's a idiosyncratic, subjective look at the initial period of Springsteen's career with the E Street band: from his 1973 debut recording, through his breakthrough in 1975 with "Born To Run", up until the release of the "Live/1975-85" set in 1986, and his dismissal of the band during (or maybe just before) the recording of 1987's "Tunnel Of Love". (Little attention is paid to Springsteen's revival of the band in 2000 and its subsequent touring success, which has been even more extensive.)
During this period, Springsteen switched managers (which resulted in a year's delay in his recording work); there's a lot of detail in this book about how that change came about and whether it represented an improvement. Heylin's opinion on this seems to run counter to that of other authors - possibly because he was only able to interview one of the protagonists - but he presents his case compellingly.
There's also extensive discussion about the recording sessions which produced the albums, and the writing, arranging, editing and selection process that was involved. In spite of the high standard of the product (at least as far as fans are concerned), the author suggests that, more often than not, Springsteen made the wrong decision about which songs (or which versions of songs) to release. He knows about this because he has access to bootlegs of the recording sessions and live shows (there's an extensive discography of these at the back of the book), much of which has since been officially released by Springsteen in retrospective box sets. I found some of these discussions over the merits of one song over another to be rather abstruse (I said I was only an occasional fan), but could see that an impressive amount of work had been put into this study.
Originally reviewed 23 January 2019
January 6, 2024
The book covers Bruce and the E Street Band's careers through 1987 in great detail and spends only a few short minutes covering the reunions since then. The first third of the book, the author spends praising and dissecting the process of becoming the force of nature into which Bruce and the E Street Band developed. However, by the second third, the author also seems to lose his appreciation for and material about which to write and begins to seemingly dissect every single take of every single recording Bruce ever made, both with and without the band. It's clear by the end of the book, that he has an extreme distaste for Bruce, which had at first began as a few well placed jibes and now turned into full on criticism about every aspect of his life, music and professional decisions. In fact, by the time the author gets to Born in the USA, he will only mention the song by its title, and derisively refers to the album only by the abbreviated term, BIT USA. Not flattering, it begins to feel like quite a bit of whining by a disillusioned fan. If you can get past the authors seemingly petulant derision through the last chapters and listen to the history about it instead, it does have a decent amount to offer, but if you're a fan of Bruce for anything other than his early albums, this will not likely please you.
February 17, 2018
The E Street Shuffle is an interesting and detailed account of the working and thinkings of Bruce Springsteen , his management issues , his song writing , his OCD and his relationships with people.
I revisited his early albums as I read the book and enjoyed relistening to his anthems.
The detail of his songs , the bootlegs the time - the long long time in the studios , his relationships with management and his treatment of members of his long standing team show that Bruce like is all - has his issues - but you probably knew w that.
I enjoyed reading this book and it helped me return to music I really enjoyed in my twenties and thirties.
Is Bruce relevant today - maybe not - but in his pomp of course.
I revisited his early albums as I read the book and enjoyed relistening to his anthems.
The detail of his songs , the bootlegs the time - the long long time in the studios , his relationships with management and his treatment of members of his long standing team show that Bruce like is all - has his issues - but you probably knew w that.
I enjoyed reading this book and it helped me return to music I really enjoyed in my twenties and thirties.
Is Bruce relevant today - maybe not - but in his pomp of course.
February 14, 2021
Heylin’s book is a nice book to supplement Springsteen’s autobiography’Born to Run’. Heylin does a good job of chronicling the people and events that built the albums and songs in the Bruce E Street Band and solo cannon but it lack the heart and passion that only Bruce could give that comes through in ‘Born to Run’. Still a great read for any Bruce or Rock and Roll fan for sure.
December 27, 2017
The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (Clinton Heylin) – Critical but incisive and insightful biog. It could have done with a bit less about Bruce’s psychosis and a bit more about the E street band.
May 15, 2020
I bought this book ages ago and finally sat down to read it. I thought it was going to be more about the band members and the early days but that's not exactly what it was about and I honestly got bored half way thru
September 1, 2020
Not the book I thought it would be. Actually very little about the E Street Band members, and their relationships amongst each other, and with Bruce. Very little about life on the road, and only vague generalities about receding sessions. Mostly about the evolution of songs and albums from Bruce’s perspective, and the business drama with Appel and CBS.
December 8, 2020
While this author held a definite bias towards Bruce, his humanized portrayal of a typically mythical figure is absolutely fascinating.
December 20, 2020
A good look at the behind the scenes happenings of Springsteen’s early career. Written by a man that did not seem to like his subject very much.
June 23, 2022
A deep, well researched and insightful book about the E Street Era.
March 20, 2025
His opinions may upset you, but there are extremely informed insights here that you will certainly not get anywhere else.
November 15, 2025
I won’t hear “Cadillac Ranch” slander ✋
Read
December 14, 2023This book was more oral history than anything else: a behind the scenes look at Springsteen's career pieced together through scraps of interviews, documentaries, and court depositions. There's an addictive quality to it - every time the band entered the studio again, I found myself revisiting the album to see what was left standing after the creative process. That said, I wanted more than arguments over songs/editing - how The Boss writes, how ideas evolve. Heylin seems far more interested in documenting infighting and offering his opinion on everything (spoiler alert: he always prefers the tracks that did not make the album, and he always thinks other critics were wrong). With access to Springsteen, a book like this could have been transcendent. Without it, it probably should have been 100 pages shorter. Also, it would probably help if the author actually liked the albums he was so thoroughly documenting - his overarching narrative seems to be missed opportunities at recording greatness, and that is just not my take on the E Street Band's story. Still, I have been listening to old Springsteeen tracks for days, and I have zero complaints about the journey.
August 6, 2013
I picked up this book purely on the strength of Heylin's book on Dylan's recording sessions. I'm relatively new to Springsteens music, and was looking for a book to help me find my way in. Purely as a biography, I do not think this is a very satisfying read; there might be something better on the market, painting a more diverse and complete picture of Bruce. Do not pick up this book if you are looking for a general biography about 'any famous person will do'.
Clinton Heylin is all about the music, and that's what you get, in DETAIL! For a first read, it might sometimes go way too far and way too deep (at least for a rookie as me.) But I know, this book will pay back it's investment in the future. After all, it ain't Heylin's fault, Bruce liked to record way more songs than he ever could fit on an average LP.
Clinton Heylin is all about the music, and that's what you get, in DETAIL! For a first read, it might sometimes go way too far and way too deep (at least for a rookie as me.) But I know, this book will pay back it's investment in the future. After all, it ain't Heylin's fault, Bruce liked to record way more songs than he ever could fit on an average LP.
December 17, 2016
Lots of varied comments about this book so it's maybe worth saying that if you want a biography of Bruce then this is not the book for you. What it is though is a look at Springsteen the creative artist and his work with the E-Street Band who were always more than just a backing band for the Boss.
As such, there's a heavy focus on the creative process and other things going on in Bruce's life are usually just mentioned as they impact on this.
Heylin's books are always prone to generate debate and this is no different. Whether you agree with him or not is perhaps less important than the act of engaging your brain with the issues. For what it's worth, I'm with him on the question of Appel and Landau, think he's probably right about The River, but I LOVE Cadilac Ranch.
As such, there's a heavy focus on the creative process and other things going on in Bruce's life are usually just mentioned as they impact on this.
Heylin's books are always prone to generate debate and this is no different. Whether you agree with him or not is perhaps less important than the act of engaging your brain with the issues. For what it's worth, I'm with him on the question of Appel and Landau, think he's probably right about The River, but I LOVE Cadilac Ranch.
January 21, 2013
I've always been a big fan but this book had lots of info that I didn't know. Didn't know it took him seven years of bumming around from one band to another, different band members, different promoters and a really hard time of making it. He came up dirt poor and didn't get along with his dad, often sleeping outside in a sleeping bag. He was a big Van Morrison, Bob Dylan fan but had his own style and stayed with it. The book gets a little bogged down in the middle talking about promoters and contracts and such but he's a true legend today that has survived all the bad times and came up on top in the end.
June 20, 2014
A fascinating read, but at times it seemed like I'd read it before. It suffers from the same problems as his definitive Dylan book, "Behind the Shades". As in it tends to get too far into the weeds of outtakes of albums and tends to argue that take 74, would have been better than take 73.
That aside, he's learned since the Dylan book to give up when he gets bored. Where in the Dylan book you could tell he was struggling to wrote anything good about post 60's Dylan, here he just stops after 1984.
Anyway, it's a good balanced read and covers the bases through about the release of Nebraska where he starts to loose steam.
That aside, he's learned since the Dylan book to give up when he gets bored. Where in the Dylan book you could tell he was struggling to wrote anything good about post 60's Dylan, here he just stops after 1984.
Anyway, it's a good balanced read and covers the bases through about the release of Nebraska where he starts to loose steam.
January 31, 2015
This isn't an intimate look at the man as much as a really detailed look at his songs 1969-1984. And it is really boring. I am a BIG fan but I found this book so dull. I read every word, just in case there was something interesting in it that I didn't know about him, but, all I discovered was long lost songs and lyrics that I'm never gonna hear unless I can obtain bootlegs of bootlegs. It was ridiculous. Heylin is opinionated beyond belief about things that don't matter and have never had an impact of the artist's life. So what if he left off Independence Day from Darkness? Jeez, we got it on The River! Badly written. Disappointed. :(
December 8, 2013
Highly opinionated and essential reading for fans of early Springsteen in which Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez and David Sancious finally get their due. Springsteen as thin-skinned self-absorbed studio perfectionist is at odds with how we know him today as the peoples' mega rock star. The book is especially good when examining Springsteen's song writing and creative process. It is all the more remarkable that he has made such powerful & fresh sounding music through such self-conscious and belabored means.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews