#482/1115
November 1985
Clarence Clemons
Hero
Genre: Rock
3 out of 5
Highlights:
You’re a Friend of Mine
I didn’t start listening to Bruce Springsteen until I was already in college. For a New Jersey kid this was…odd. It was summertime and my friend, George, lent me two albums: Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ and Don Mclean’s American Pie.
I listened to both of them that entire summer in Maine.
And then I got a bunch of Springsteen mix-tapes from friends. And I was hooked in.
But by the time I did all that New Wave was already basically over and with it, for me at least, went the familiar retro trope of that sound: the saxophone. So, obviously I’m thinking more about Romeo Void than, say, Huey Lewis, (and boy, does “Cross the Line” sound like “Heart & Soul” here) but, the point is, that by the mid-80s it was already passe to hear that instrument featured on a rock record. For me, at least.
So, there would be little reason for me to be interested in Clarence. It wasn’t until years later when I finally saw Bruce in concert (2003…geez, what was wrong with me?) that I keyed back in to the singular greatness and import of Clarence’s contributions.
It’s notable (and, dare I say, bold) that Bruce has nothing to do with this record. Not that Clemons couldn’t have used a hit song from the guy who gave him this opportunity when they made that change uptown and the big man joined the band.
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