Bruce Springsteen Road Trip, 40 Years Of The Boss

This 2009 DVD set from the British company Pride contains two discs; the first is a biography concentrating on Springsteen's early days and the second an overview of his early recordings. The disclaimer at the beginning of the first disc states that the documentary was not done with the cooperation of the Bruce Springsteen conglomerate and that it contains no original music by him.

The first DVD is a compelling documentary of Springsteen's beginning years as a musician in Freehold, New Jersey through his first great successes in the early 1980s. Skillfully weaving commentary and interviews with numerous formative musical associates like Richard Blackwell, Frank Marziotti, Vini Lopez, Robbin Thompson, and Albee Tellone, this documentary examines many of Springsteen's first musical influences while giving very little information about his family or private life. None of his family was interviewed, nor were some other early band mates such as George Thiess or Danny Federici. The only words spoken by the artist himself come from an interview done apparently in the early 1980s.

Aside from those mentioned above, the best of the interviewees are Village Voice reviewer Robert Christgau, Carl "Tinker" West (manager of Springsteen's early group Steel Mill), and former drummer Lopez. Each of these give interesting commentary from some very different perspectives. No interviews with managers Mike Appel, Jon Landau, or perennial E Street Band members such as Clarence Clemmons, Max Weinberg, or Steve Van Zandt are included, suggesting perhaps that current Springsteen employees were off limits during making of this film (Appel and Springsteen had a rancorous parting in the early 1980s).

The strength of this film is in its explication of the music scene that surrounded Springsteen during his apprenticeship years and how it introduced him to styles as varied as folk, heavy metal, art rock and an array of classic performers such as Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, and the Beatles. John Hammond's stewardship of his career at CBS is glossed over to some degree, but the focus here is clearly on the evolution of the artist, not the businessman. The weakness of the product is in its distance from its subject—not only are there no direct words from Springsteen, there is no music at all other than some occasional background sounds which have nothing to do with the music being discussed.

The second DVD is a survey of Springsteen's major recordings from Born to Run (1975) through Nebraska (1982). Springsteen's growth as an artist is explored through the examination of the increasing conceptual integration (musical, lyrical, and photographic) of each album. Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) is presented as a jumping off point in this move towards concept—a technique pioneered by Frank Sinatra in the 1950s on his Reprise album series. The close attention to lyrics and lyrical progression throughout Darkness demonstrates Springsteen's commitment to the art of storytelling. The River (1980) is seen as the next step—a double album exploring several different directions, while offering conflicting opinions on its ultimate success. Nebraska (1982) represents a step back—not to his roots, but to the perceptions of what his roots might have been: a Bob Dylan disciple. This album put the whole focus on Springsteen as a singer/ songwriter accompanied by nothing but his own guitar and displays the results of his voluntary withdrawal from the business of popular music, driven to some degree by his depression over the state of society during the early Reagan years.

The weakness of the first DVD is somewhat corrected in the second by the inclusion of at least a small dose of music, although never more than about fifteen seconds at a time, presumably because of copyright issues. Some spoken interludes from various performances (a 2005 VH1 concert for example) are included, providing some welcome insight into Springsteen's compositional motivation. The 1980s interview with Springsteen is again used, with large parts recycled from the first disc. In fact, much of the information in the second DVD is just an amplification of what is in the first, with some more detail presented as well as music and some short segments of concert videos (including some apparent bootlegs). The concert material seems to span several decades of Springsteen's career and is used to illustrate the points the documentary is attempting to make regarding his artistic development, but they are unfortunately not dated or located.