Bruce Springsteen on Tour: 1968-2005

by Dave Marsh

Authorized by Bruce Springsteen, written by his longtime biographer Dave Marsh, and packed with photos from Bruce's personal collection, Bruce Springsteen on Tour is a glorious full-color tribute to one of America's best-loved musicians. This gorgeously designed retrospective incorporates 350 color and black-and-white photos―many never before published―plus tour artifacts and memorabilia, and features an intimate portrait by bestselling rock writer Marsh following Bruce's career from his first days on stage right through his 2005 Devils and Dust tour. Bruce Springsteen on Tour chronicles a great American musician thrilling audiences for more than thirty years, and is a must-have volume for all his fans.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Rock N Roll

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2006

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the best compilation of tales from the road with Bruce by a guy who lived it. Very interesting to get a sense of the changes from the early days to superstardom and then later years full of retrospection and politics. While the first half felt like Marsh was a lovestruck witness to a whirlwind of energy, the latter half felt like a historical chronicle of Bruce's many addresses to the crowds, much of which doesn't capture the same vibe of actually hearing it all live. It was amusing to read about Bruce's first public political commentary (about Reagan). I also appreciated Marsh defending "the other band" and this point was where the tour tales became more interesting in their variety and personal revelations. I wasn't a fan of the timeline at the bottom as it wasn't always in sync with the main text so you had to keep your focus split at times. Also some timeline pictures were cropped too much to fit. While there were a number of amazing photos, every now and then they picked one as a background behind text and made it hard to read. I loved how the book is paced so the almost exact middle was the iconic picture from Wembley Arena in 1985. Overall, the book had some really inspiring moments and added new layers to a lot of his music. Like others have said, I'd love to see Marsh write a sequel about the last twenty years of Bruce's tours.

[Jim Nirmaier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave Marsh is probably the best known of the Springsteen scholars out there and is my personal favorite. Very insightful book covering Bruce's live performing from his beginnings with his New Jersey garage band the Castilles in 1968 thru the Devils & Dust tour in 2005. Great pics and very interesting perspective on the deep catalogue and legendary live performance legacy that Mr. Springsteen is still vigorously providing for us!

[Dave Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been to many (most) of the Springsteen tours over the years. Each one has been different and I'm always surprised how he can take songs from his catalog and re-contextualize them to present a different theme/message.

Dave Marsh's book does a nice job of addressing some of that and putting the shows and songs in context of current events and where Bruce as an artist was at that time.

There needs to be a Volume 2 of this book to bring it up to date with all that has happened in the last 17 years.

[Henni · Rating 1 out of 5]

jeg forstår det ikke helt. Jeg kan rigtigt godt lide Bruce Springsteen og har stort set alt hans musik og flere DVD'er - men denne bog er bare kedelig, det er nok mest fordi det er en bog om hans karriere (meget remsende og neutralt fortalt) og ikke om ham og hans musik..

[Roland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful trip through the Boss's touring career. I loved reading this and took my time to really enjoy it.

[Craig Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave Marsh adds to his thorough documenting of the Boss's career with this gorgeous picture book. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me get out "MTV Plugged" and "Tom Joad" so it must be good. At first I was annoyed that Marsh was telling all these stories from the shows HE went to. This isn't a personal memoir. Then I relaxed - fewer people are more qualified to write about Him than Marsh. I did welcome the defense of the Other Band, but I can't say I agree. A preview of a 3rd biography installment??????

[Ealopez826 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great coffe table book

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great photo heavy book.

[Ant Man · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great light read for Springsteen fans told from the tour perspective. Some nice photos