Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’ Review

As the E Street Band prepare to embark on their first tour in six years, they reflect on the “responsibility” it takes to deliver the energetic, virtuoso shows on which they’ve built their reputation.

Drummer Max Weinberg laments the slow pace of early rehearsal: “People would expect musicians in their 70s to play this singalong song, which is unfortunate.” “We had to remember some of the crazy, out-of-control style we played 50 years ago. Let’s get back to where we really were.”

However Disney+ / Hulu‘s Road Log: Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band it is not a misleading attempt to deny the passage of time. It is directed by Thom Zimny, who has worked on countless films over the past quarter-century. music Videos for The Boss, including the 2018 Netflix special Springsteen on Broadway – the documentary is a celebration of the things that have changed in the band as well as the things that have remained constant in the group’s nearly half-century of existence.

The narrative backbone of the 99-minute feature is Springsteen and the E Street Band’s world tour, which kicks off in Tampa in 2023 and is scheduled to continue through 2025. After plans to hit the road in 2020 were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Springsteen explains, “I made a promise to myself, my fans, and my band that if we could get through this, I would throw the biggest party I could.”

So the first parts of the documentary focus on them getting ready, rehearsing, meeting their new collaborators, creating a set list. It has been repeatedly stated that the existence of a definitive set list is a sign of how different things are now, from an outfit known for injecting improvised “band stump” pieces into their shows.

However Road Diary itself feels more like the free-flowing spirit of earlier concerts, jumping between time or topics without settling in any one place for too long. There’s reflecting on the good old days or interviewing enthusiastic fans; there he reflects on the poignancy of Springsteen’s lyrics or marvels at his command of an arena. What it never pretends to do is describe things candidly, because (aside from Patti Scialfa announcing her cancer diagnosis) what it shows is ultimately not very revealing.

It doesn’t feel like looking behind the curtain. Endearingly, Zimny ​​seems to find no logistical detail too small. Even the most dedicated devotees are unlikely to wonder what the sleeping arrangements were like in the caravan the band used to tour in the 1970s. But even casual viewers may find it touching to note the stark contrast between the gang’s early days and their jet-setting days. At the same time, any bumps in the crew’s fifty-year journey are laced with enthusiastic but seemingly earnest nostalgia; This is not an in-depth excavation or comprehensive accounting.

The master songwriter and singer himself speaks only in trite-heavy voiceovers, presented as if he were reading them from a page. (That may actually be the case; he’s credited as the writer in the film.) This choice leaves him feeling like a distant, unknown god, even though the set list touts it as a deeply personal piece of communication about “life, death.” and everything in between.

Talking-head interviews were instead left to the E Street Band, which included Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent, pianist Roy Bittan, guitarist Nils Lofgren, and Steven Van Zandt, who was promoted by Springsteen to this tour’s official musical director (“40 years late, but good ,” Van Zandt laughs). The late Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici also weigh in through clips from old interviews and fond memories of their former colleagues.

Most interestingly, Road Diary looks more like a traditional celebrity profile than a traditional celebrity profile 20 Meters From StardomA similar exploration of music’s lesser-sung heroes. But even then, the doc proves more adept at capturing the sincerity of their admiration for each other or their frontman than at explaining what makes up their alchemy — so demonstrably solid that one 39-year-old member half-jokes about being “the best.” new man” – unique.

But if Zimny ​​has a hard time doing it sometimes to say Thankfully, it shows us better what makes this band so special. “Since I was 16, playing live has been a deep and enduring part of who I am and how I justify my existence here on earth,” Springsteen says in the opening minutes. And throughout, we watch this band justify their existence again and again—in old clips of old Bruce crowdsurfing or dancing wildly on stage, in new footage of current Bruce commanding massive crowds with the confidence a rock god deserves. , in gloriously extended clips of the E Street Band launching into dazzling improvised riffs.

Maybe Road Diary it feels less up close and personal than the title suggests or some greedy fans might hope. But while it joyfully celebrates the spirit of the band, it still captures something of what makes them different. them.