Sparks Fly On E Street: Bruce Springsteen, “Two Faces” (1987)

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It’s well known that Miami Steve wasn’t so hot on the direction Bruce took with Tunnel Of Love, but I’ve always wondered what he thought of the music itself. Sure, he wasn’t happy with his man offering forth a first-person perspective on things, but what about the sounds? I’d love to ask him.

Because by the time I got to “Two Faces,” I’d heard enough freaking clave clicks and lightly-strummed guitar (or is that lightly-strummed guitar with clave accents?) to last me a lifetime. Sadly, there are more songs left in this album’s playlist and thus more opportunities for the clave to appear. But honestly, I shouldn’t blame this all on the clave when the blame can be spread among the other offenders — the effects-laden guitar solo (those dual harmonized lines just do not work here) and the cheese-o-matic keyboard accents. All of these things made me cringe.

…but maybe they didn’t make me cringe as much as that “Two faces have I” thing. And I bet that Mr. Van Zandt had some choice things to say about that particular line.

Up next: Brilliant Disguise

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Mark Saleski