retroblog.net

I didn’t expect last night’s super bowl game to be so close. With the Pittsburgh Steelers dominating the first half, I thought the second half was going to be a snooze-fest. Fortunately, I was wrong and the 4th quarter ended up being very exciting to watch. highlights included Santonio Holmes’ last minute catch in the endzone, Kurt Warner’s passes to mega-talented Larry Fitzgerald and of course the 100 yard interception by James Harrison that ended the first half. Now that’s what a super bowl should be! loved it!

as for the musical performances. Journey (with Arnel Pineda) performing Don’t Stop Believin’ during the pre-game show – was a bit underwhelming. Not sure if it was the setting, the crowd or the band, it just felt a bit off. Don’t get me wrong, I saw Pineda with Journey over the summer and they rocked but this performance was just “meh”.

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As for Bruce Springsteen – it’s too bad they only allotted 12 minutes for the Boss. Springsteen knows how to engage the crowd and I just love watching him perform. the band’s performance ranks right up there along with U2 and Prince for the best half-time shows ever.

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It’s a great week to be a Bruce Springsteen fan. Besides the release of his brand new album, Working on a Dream, fans will get a chance to see him play live during halftime at the Super Bowl on sunday. Springsteen is then set to begin his tour in April which will stretch through the summer. It’s too bad the album that he’ll be supporting on tour isn’t one of his stronger efforts. I suppose we all expect a lot out of Springsteen which may make the new album seem like a letdown. But come on Bruce, did you have to *borrow* the melody line from KISS’ “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” for the song “Outlaw Pete”? Bruce, you’re better than that! But indeed, the main melody line in “Outlaw Pete” was lifted straight out of KISS’ songbook. blech. Not a great way to kick off the album. Things get better on the next song “My Lucky Day” which is a straight ahead E Street rocker and the title track “Working On a Dream”. But things come to a screeching halt with “Queen of the Supermarket”. First of all, can you picture Bruce Springsteen pushing a cart at the local grocery store??? And the lyrics. oh, the lyrics. just plain awful:
I’m in love with the queen of the supermarket
As the evening sky turns blue
A dream awaits in aisle number two..
yikes. He can’t be serious???? Things improve with songs like “This Life” and “Kingdom of Days” but sadly none of these tracks will become a staple on future Springsteen setlists. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad. the melodies are easy to digest and the words/stories are straighforward but we expect more than that from this legendary songwriter. we need something more to chew on than simple lines like “And when the sun comes out tomorrow it’ll be the start of a brand new day.” I guess we can think of this as “Springsteen-lite”. Thankfully as an added bonus, they’ve included “The Wrestler” from the movie of the same name. The acoustic track is very moving and outshines a lot of the fluff on the rest of the record.

RetroGrade : C+

personal favorites include: The Wrestler, My Lucky Day, Working on a Dream, Kingdom of Days

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