Song of the Week - Spirit In The Night by Bruce Springsteen

It was 40 years ago this week that I first (and unfortunately last) saw Bruce Springsteen in concert. He appeared with the E-Street Bad at Uncle Al's Earlton Lounge in Cherry Hill, NJ.

I was an immediate Bruce fan on the release of his first album "Greetings From Asbury Park" earlier in 1973. Here's a video of Bruce and the band playing "Spirit In The Night" in Los Angeles in the summer of 1973. This is either the 1st or 2nd song I ever heard by Springsteen (the other would be "Blinded By The Light"). Surely I heard this that long-ago August night in South Jersey.

Random Cards From My Collection #39

Card #20194
1990 Reading Phillies ProCards #1220 Mark Sims

Comments on the card: Enormous minor league set put out by ProCards. Nice design. Pretty much all of the cards featured the players posed rather than action shots.
When acquired: Don't know but I have the entire Phillies set.
How acquired: Don't know.
Player's season: The Phillies minor league system was abysmal then. This guy was their 32nd round pick in 1982. Never made it to the majors.

Card #26751
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #118 Mike Pelfry

Comments on the card: The first year (of 2) for Gypsy Queen. I like this set better than 2012. The 2013 set is due out on April 1.
When acquired: 2011
How acquired: Paid $0.44/card for 4 rack packs. I eventually bought a hobby box.
Player's season: Mike was 15-9 for the Mets in 2010 but only 7-13 in 2011.

Card # 22464
2003 Topps 205 #9 Edgardo Alfonzo

Comments on the card: One of my favorite sets from the first decade of the 21st century.
When acquired: 2010
How acquired: Paid $0.33/card for a hobby box on eBay
Player's season: Edgardo signed an $18 million, 3-year contract with the Giants prior to the 2003 season. His first season with the Giants seems to have been a disappointment as he batted only .258, almost 50 points off his 2002 season.

Card #32954
1993 Topps #350 Joe Carter

Comments on the card: The second year that Topps went with white card stock like all the other companies were doing. A radical change in design of the back, with a color player photo and a vertical layout. I always liked this set.
When acquired: Don't know but probably in 1993.
How acquired: Don't know.
Player's season:1993 was another All-Star year for Joe as he led the Blue Jays to their second consecutive World Series. He hit a dramatic 3-run homer Game 6 off the Phillies Mitch Williams, clenching the Series for the Jays. I'll always remember where I was when that happened.

Card #20769
1993 Triple Play # 125 Mitch Williams

Comments on the card: One of many failed attempts by baseball card companies (this time Donruss) in the 1990s to get kid to buy cards.
When acquired: Don't know but probably in 1993.
How acquired: Don't know.
Player's season: Being the nerd I am, I actually use a random number generator in Excel to pick cards and I swear that this is the next card it picked. The Wild Thing had 43 saves for the Phillies in 1993, but just couldn't lock down Game 6. The Phillies traded him to the Astros in December and he was never really an effective reliever again.

Card #35973
1988 Fleer #642 Damon Berryhill/Jeff Montgomery

Comments on the card: I never much cared for this set and didn't buy much of it. It is well represented in repacks these days.
When acquired: 2012
How acquired: Speaking of repacks, that's where I got this. Paid $0.07/card for a Fairfield Extreme Value Pack which had 12 assorted packs, with 160 cards.
Player's season: Berryhill got in 95 games in his rookie year with the Cubs, batting .259, good enough to place 6th in ROY voting. Montgomery spent 1988 with the Royals where he was 7-2 with 1 save. He will go on to get another 303 saves in his career.

Card #20739
1993 Ultra #93 Ben Rivera

Comments on the card: One of the so-called 'super premium' sets of the early 1990s before pretty much all cards featured glossy finishes and gold foil. 
When acquired: Don't know
How acquired: Don't know
Player's season: Randomness pulls up another 1993 Phillies card. Ben had the best season of his career (as did many Phillies that year), going 13-9.

Card #37152
2013 Topps #168 Kyle Farnsworth

Comments on the card: In my opinion, one of the best Topps designs in years.
When acquired: 2013
How acquired: Paid $0.15/card for a 72-card rack-box at Target.
Player's season: Farnsworth only pitched 27 innings for the Rays in 2012, which works out to about $120,000 per inning. He's signed again with the Rays but at less than half in 2012 salary.

Card #3517
1997 Ultra Fame Game #18 Eddie Murray

Comments on the card: This 18-card insert set was seed 1:8 in 1997 Series 2 Ultra. The holographic foil on FAME is pretty cool
When acquired: Don't know
How acquired: Don't know, but it's the only one from the set I have
Player's season: Eddie appeared in 46 games for the Angels before being released in April 1997. He played 9 more games for the Dodgers and retired after the season. Not a great finish to a Hall Of Fame career.

Card #16275
2007 Upper Deck #696 Logan Kensing

Comments on the card: The side borders on this set really make the cards look awkward. The backs are dull. I think if you're going to put a photo on the back it should be different than the front.
When acquired: Don't know but probably in 2007.
How acquired: Don't know
Player's season: Logan was 3-0 for the Marlins in 2007 in relief. Can't say I remember him.

My top 4 solo musical artists

I've been reading Neil Young's autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace, but more about that later. I've been a fan of Young's for almost as long as he's been performing and own nearly everything he's released. It made me think about other artists who I like a lot. And an idea for a post was born.  You have to take inspiration where you find it.

I've put Neil Young at the top of this list but the next 4 are in arbitrary order.

Neil Young

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that this album cover makes up part of the heading for the blog. The first Neil Young song that I ever heard was probably "Mr. Soul" on Buffalo Springfield's 1967 album Buffalo Springfield Again, but it's this album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere that really turned me onto Neil. Released May 14, 1969, this is actually Neil's second solo album. The first, simply called Neil Young was badly produced and didn't sell well. It's also a great album but I didn't know about it until later. On Everybody Knows... Songs like "Cinnamon Girl", "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Down By The River" just blew me away. I've only seen Young perform twice, once during his "Live Rust" tour back in 1980 or so, and more recently on his "Le Noise" tour.

Leonard Cohen

Undoubtedly, the first Leonard Cohen song I heard was "Suzanne" from Cohen's first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen released in December 1967. My parents bought me a record player for Christmas in 1967, and I think this album was one of the first I bought for myself. Songs like "Master Song" and "The Stranger Song" were like nothing I had ever heard before, certainly like nothing being played on the radio. I own just about everything that he has released. I've only seen him in concert once, in a small theater, appearing solo.




Kate Bush

Released in September 1985, Hounds of Love is actually her 5th album but I had never heard of her until a friend gave me a mix tape with "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" on it probably in 1988. By then the album was hard to find and I had to settle for a cassette tape version. I love this entire album. I eventually acquired her earlier albums and nearly everything she released since.  She took a long break from recording (1993-2005) but her return album Aerial was worth the wait. I have not seen her in person as she doesn't like to travel and has never performed in the US.  There are a lot of other female artists I like (Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Tory Amos to name a few) but only Kate Bush has held for me for such a long period of time.

Bruce Springsteen

The first Bruce Springsteen song I ever heard was "Spirit In The Night" from the January 1973 Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. As far as sales went, the single was not a success but I loved it the first time I heard it and still love it today. I bought the album as soon as I could find it. I lived in Philadelphia then, and Bruce was heavily played and promoted by the city's one "progressive" station, WMMR. Bruce's best work, in my opinion, are his songs that tell stories and every song here, from "Lost In The Flood" to "For You" tells a great story. In fact, "For You" is all tied up in my memory with a girl I was dating at the time.  I've only seen him perform live once, in a Jersey bar called Uncle Al's Earlton Lounge. He was with the full E-Street band and the performance was just stunning. I will confess that I fell out of love with Springsteen after Born In The USA but I've come back and even acquired the albums I missed.

I had fully intended this to include 5 artists, but as I was putting it together I realized there wasn't a fifth artist who, for me, made such an impact as these 4. People like Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and the aforementioned Tory Amos come close. And of course there are bands (The Beatles, Steely Dan, Yes) who do rise to that level, but that's another post.

And as I finish this up, Neil Young's "Words (Between The Lines of Age)" comes up on iTunes.

Someone and someone were down by the pond
Looking for something to plant in the lawn
Out in the fields they were turning the soil
I'm sitting here hoping this water will boil

When I look through the window and out on the road
They're bringing me presents and saying hello
Singing words, words between the lines of age
Words, words between the lines of age

If I was a junkman selling you cars
Washing your windows and shining your stars
Thinking your mind was my own in a dream
What would you wonder and how would it seem?

Living in castles a bit at a time
The king started laughing and talking in rhyme
Singing words, words between the lines of age
Words, words between the lines of age

This song came out in 1972, over 40 years ago and I never tire of hearing it.

Song of the Week - Santa Claus is Coming To Town by Bruce Springsteen

I know I just featured a Bruce song last Sunday but it's Christmas and this is a great piece.

Merry Christmas to my readers.

Song of the Week - Growin' Up by Bruce Springsteen

I have 8,310 songs on iTunes. This is one of them.

Last week, Stan, an old friend of mine, whom I hadn't seen or even heard of since Christmas 1975 (that's almost 34 years ago for those of you keeping score), make contact with me over FaceBook. In his note, he reminded me of the Bruce Springsteen concert we had seen in August 1973 at Al's Earlton Lounge, a bar in Earlton NJ. Apparently I called him up and said $1 cover and $1 beers, want to go? Stan claims I introduced him to Bruce (musically, not personally), and the rest was history.

It's maybe hard to imagine but in August 1973, hardly anyone had heard of Bruce. His Greetings From Asbury Park LP had come out in January 1973. It got airplay on the local (at the time) alternative rock station WMMR, which is where I heard it. His second LP, The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle came out in September 1973. It would be two more years until his break-out record, Born To Run, was released.

It was a great show we saw that night, Bruce and the yet to be named E-Street Band. I was looking for a video of a song from that 1st album and found this. According to the notes on YouTube, this was recorded at Max's Kansas City in New York, in August of 1972. The recording quality isn't good, but marvel at a young Bruce Springsteen. In 1972, even I was young.



Well I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair till it looked just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooooh, growin' up

Well the flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she couldn't sail but she sure could sing
I pushed B-52 and bombed 'em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, I never once gave thought to landing
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd, but when they said "come down" I threw up
Ooooh, growin' up

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere, and you know it's really hard to hold your breath
Swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
But my feet they finally took root in the earth though I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
Whoa I hid in the mother breast of the crowd, but when they said "pull down" I pulled up
Ooooh, growin' up
Ooooh, growin' up
Alright, growin' up

Song of the Week - Girls in Their Summer Clothes by Bruce Springsteen

From Bruce's 2007 album, Magic. And also the 2009 Grammy winner for Best Rock Song of the Year.



Well, the streetlights shine down on Blessing Avenue
Lovers they walk by, holding hands two by two
A breeze crosses the porch, bicycle spokes spin 'round
My jackets on, I'm out the door
And tonight I'm gonna burn this town down

The girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes, pass me by

A kids rubber ball smacks
Off the gutter 'neath the lamp light
Big bank clock chimes
Off go the sleepy front porch lights
Downtown the stores alight as the evening's underway
Things been a little tight
But I know their gonna turn my way

And the girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes, pass me by

Frankie's diner, an old friend on the edge of town
The neon sign spinning round
Like a cross over the lost and found
The fluorescent lights flick over Pop's Grill
Shaniqua brings the coffee and asks "Fill?" and says "Penny for your thoughts now my boy, Bill"

She went away, she cut me like a knife
Hello beautiful thing, maybe you could save my life
In just a glance, down here on magic street
Loves a fool's dance
And I ain't got much sense, but I still got my feet

The girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes, pass me by

The girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes, pass me by


Copyright © 2007 Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)

Song of the Week - This Land is Your Land

If you saw any inaugural coverage this past week you may have seen Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen singing this old Woodie Guthrie favorite. This is Bruce singing this solo in 2006.

Song of the Week - All Along The Watchtower

I was looking for something else and stumbled on this. Two of my favorite performers doing one of my favorite songs. Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen teaming up for the Bob Dylan (by way of Jimi Hendrix) song All Along the Watchtower. This past Friday the final season of Battlestar Gallactica started. If you're a fan of that show, you know the connection to this song. "There's gotta be some way outta here..."



There must be some kind of way out of here
Said the joker to the thief
Theres too much confusion
I cant get no relief
Businessman they drink my wine
Plow men dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody of it is worth
Hey hey

No reason to get excited
The thief he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke but uh
But you and I weve been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now
The hours getting late
Hey

Hey

All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Bare-foot servants to, but huh
Outside in the cold distance
A wild cat did growl
Two riders were approachin
And the wind began to howl
Hey