Bruce Springsteen WeShall Overcome (TheSeeger Sessions)

Mon 12th Jun, 2006 in Music Reviews

New Jersey singer/songwriter Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen is undoubtedly a prolific recording artist, and has made a whole range of classic musical anthems for decades now. After being signed as a fresh faced 23 year old back in 1972, by Columbia Records head honcho, John Hammond, ‘The Boss’ has gone on to record over 20 long players (inclusive of DVDs). His extensive work with The E Street Band, with players such as Max Weinberg on the drums and The Soprano’s ‘infamous strip club owner/hitman’, Silvio Dante aka Steve Van Zandt on the guitars, making up just some of the incredibly talented and virtuosic performances over the period of 1972 – 1989. Springsteen would go on to work sporadically with the band over the next 16 years, concentrating on solo albums and soundtrack work for films as varied as 1993’s Philadelphia (Streets of Philadelphia) to the Sean Penn directed The Indian Runner and Crossing Guard, to the Academy award nominated score for Dead Man Walking in 1995.

Following on from Springsteen’s last few politically/socially motivated albums, recorded post September 11, (The Rising in 2002 and Devils And Dust in 2005) we now find him embracing the seasoned politically infused folk anthems inspired by the legendary Pete Seeger, who along with fellow activists Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, really set themselves up in terms of sticking it to the man, and pioneering the protest music theme of the 1940s, 50s and 60s America.

Springsteen himself had stated that the ‘protest folk’ genre was indeed an area that he wasn’t all that familiar with, instead concentrating on the world of rock ‘n’ roll and pop to deliver his messages – but over time he has acknowledged that this was music worth exploring. Beginning in 1997 with some initial recordings and experimenting with traditional arrangements which were brought into the social consciousness by Pete Seeger, Springsteen would call on the services of a bunch of New York musicians who were prolific on their chosen instruments, the accordion, the fiddle, the banjo, upright bass and washboards, to create a sound which truly represented the essence of folk, and the legacy left behind by the protest song.

We Shall Overcome The Seeger Sessions is one sweet ride for pure listening experience, as the sounds move from bluegrass to country to folk, with all the relative ease of a Bob Dylan or Tom Petty styled delivery. This album plays heavily with brass and strings to forge some really heartbreaking, yet uplifting musical moments one minute, (‘Shenandoah’, ‘We Shall Overcome’) to some absolute raucous activity (‘Old Dan Tucker’, ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, ‘Eyes On the Prize’) the next. Apparently recorded live to tape, over three one-day sessions in 1997, 2005 and 2006 and with no rehearsals, this album is an unbelievable feat and truly does showcase the ridiculous talents of “The Boss”, to bring together a range of players and set about conducting and producing some totally inspired music.

With such expression and precision given to each and every musical arrangement, Springsteen’s vocals have never sounded more impressive, with The Seeger Sessions bringing to the surface a true folk beast! We hear Springsteen count in the fours on opener :”Old Dan Tucker” (a traditional lyrical delight made famous in 1843 by minstrel singer Dan Emmett).

Springsteen hollers, “Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man/Washed his face with a fryin’ pan/Combed his hair with a wagon wheel/And died with a toothache in his heel,” and sets the precedent for the remaining 12 songs on the record with his unique representations of some of the strongest collection of social and political songs of decades gone by.

Springsteen heads for an Irish feel on ‘Mrs. McGrath’ (the anti-war ballad of the Irish Republic in 1916) and delivers well, as he accents his vocal around the native tongue, hence giving the tune a definitive sense of place and historical importance. In addition to the brilliance of the album there is also a 33 minute DVD extra, which is a boots-and-all insight into the recording process, out on Springsteen’s farm house in the countryside of New Jersey, and shows the viewer the lengths that a determined man will go to, in order to perfect and ‘recontextualise’ an existing, but almost sadly forgotten genre.

Magic moments all throughout, with Springsteen setting up the horn section in the hallway of his farmhouse, and dictating terms to his fellow musos by yelling through the dividing wall as he counts them in one by one. The brass section was most probably isolated so that the resounding effect of the instruments didn’t impact or overpower the acoustic nature of the set up inside the living room. With cameos by Springsteen’s wife Patti Scialfa, lending support on backing vocals, and with the added commentary provided by her husband – We Shall Overcome The Seeger Sessions delivers a whole lot of love and energy in this one totally insightful package.