Bruce at The Super Bowl....

it was a pretty good show, Bruce could not hit the notes but did enunciate (sp) the words well and Clarence Clemens was fun and spot on.

The songs are so good that they carried the show without the E Street band needing to be perfect, bottom line is that Bruce is so likable and fun loving that the whole thing is hard to resist.

I'm not a big Bruce fan (saw "Darkness" tour in '78), but enjoyed the halftime show a lot. It's supposed to have broad appeal, not meet the high standards of the BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN LUNATIC FRINGE. I think it met its goals.

Cleaneduphippy,
I could not disagree with you more. It wasn't Bruce Springsteen selling Coke in the commercials, it was Dylan. Let's make a list, Coke-Dylan, Cadillac-Dylan, Victoria's Secret-Dylan, Apple iPod-Dylan. Springsteen, a big fat zero. Who's the sell-out? I would easily put Springsteen's last 3 albums up against Dylan's last 3 anytime. Bruce is the next Woody Guthrie never mind the next Dylan. Bob hasn't made a valid statement in 30 years. After repeated listenings I can honestly say their is not a bad song on all of the new Springsteen album.
You guys who complain about the strain in his voice, are you serious? Did you see his performance? Go listen to Mel Torme if you want perfection.
Jaybo, well put.

Let's see: two songs from 1974, one song from 1984, and one song from today. Probably should have called him in 1985, when he was a) vital b) relevant to the music of the day c) at his height.

Yesterday seemed like a bad Las Vegas Review and he was just dialing it in. Same old banter from the 1999 Come Back Tour.

IMO, I thought Prince did a better job at setting the bar, throwing in some unexpected covers (Foo Fighters) with the expected Purple Rain hits.

I agree with the comments on the last two albums. I think both albums seem bloated, weighted down by too many layers, dynamically compressed, and a mere shadow of his incredible 1970 talent. The new song did not stand up well against his legacy hits yesterday--very flat and brought the tempo down a notch.

I actually like the quiet albums by Bruce the best. The last great sounding album, IMHO, was Tom Joad from 1996.

I hope it was his last. I was there.