SPRINGSTEEN ALBUMS: (Springsteen): Born to Run (1975); Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978); The River (1980); Nebraska (1982); Born in the USA (1984);Tunnel of Love (1987); Live 1975-1985 (box set).
SPRINGSTEEN MVC RATING : Born to Run 5.0/$$$$$; Darkness 4.5/$$$$; The River 4.5/$$$$$; Nebraska 4.0/$$$$$; Born in USA 5.0/$$$$$/Tunnel 4.0/$$$$; Live Box 4.5/$$$$$
STEWART ALBUMS Every Picture Tells a Story (1971); A Night on the Town (1976); Footloose and Fancy Free (1977); Blondes Have More Fun (1978); The Best of Rod Stewart Vol. 2 (1976). Small Faces FIrst Steps (1970).
STEWART MVC Rating: Every Picture 4.5/$$$$$; A Night on the Town 4.0/$$$$; Footloose 4.0/$$$; Blondes 3.5/$$$; Best 4.0/$$$$; Small Faces First Steps. 4.0/$$$$$
Bruce Springsteen rules. When I got this idea to put Rockin’ Rod Stewart and BROOOSE in the same post, I figured Bruce would kill. He’s the Boss.
So what am I doing here? Other than creating a sneaky way to lower my Countdown list by about a dozen. (Folks just now tuning in hit the About Me button on the homepage if you are wondering what this Countdown thing is all about.)
So making a dent in the Countdown was a motivator. But I actually got the idea from a website called Answerbag.com, which posed to readers this question: What is the Difference Between Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart? That brought out some provocative reaction like ‘Talent,’ ‘Are you kidding … Bruce is the boss.’ And, ‘Their hair,’ and ‘their singing.’
Well I grabbed my stacks of albums from both artists. The list above, like always, lists only those vinyl records I own. So for fun, I made up a little report card to see who scores highest.
Best Song: Maggie May (Stewart). I know this is controversial, but Stewart uses a few words to evoke a time and a place — that precipitous place where you are wrestling with the question: What do I want to be when I grow up? Here, the older woman rejects Stewart, and it’s decision time: You could go get some more education or steal your daddy’s cue and make a living out of playing billiards.
Bruce’s best? My favorite is ‘Thunder Road’ in which Bruce is making no promises to Mary, who enjoys Roy Orbison music. The door is ajar and the windows are open but the ride is not without hidden surcharges.
Best Album: (Springsteen) ‘Born to Run’ edges out ‘Born in the USA.’ Both albums are loaded up with great songs but the breakthrough album was like something we hadn’t heard before. This category is closer than you think because Stewart’s Every Picture Tells a Story is one top-to-bottom classic. Maggie, Mandolin Wind, (I Know) I’m Losing You and Reason to Believe — and that’s just one side,
Best Live: (Springsteen) The Boss made his legend with his high energy, marathon concerts, looking like a natural born blue-jeaned every-guy. After seeing him for the first time in Birmingham on the ‘Born in the USA tour, ‘I drove to South Carolina to see him again. I never saw Rod in concert but I’ve seen him in some videos and he looks like he’s having fun.
Most Diverse Body of Work (Stewart) Stewart started in a blues outfit led by legendary guitarist Jeff Beck. He came to Small Faces which turned into Faces and their raggedy, blues folk rock. He continued with albums and singles hitting h Top 40 singles (Tonight’s the Night, Hot Legs), dabbled in Disco (Do Ya’ Think I’m Sexy,) and wound up tuxedoed, doing the American Songbook. If you made this category ‘best’ body of work, Bruce winds hands down. But Rod has definitely done a wider variety — not necessarily all good.
Best Lyrics (Springsteen) ‘The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves, She dances across the porch as the radio plays.’ Springsteen wrote some lines that made great stories — consistently. Rod Stewart could write as I pointed out above with Maggie but he often chose to interpret others to good effect for the most part.
Best Voice (Stewart) Now this, probably more than the other categories is a matter of personal choice. Do you like Stewart’s raspy delivery or Springsteen’s guttural voice that teeters on hoarseness. I had a friend, someone who knew way more than me about music tell me that Stewart did a fantastic job with the American Classics project as his voice was pitch perfect and his timing and interpretative abilities brought the songs to life. As for Bruce, let’s just say he can sing in a stadium well. That’s a compliment because few are able to do it — with the possible exceptions of Bono, Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Who (in their prime). And then of course, Queen.
But I digress.
So let’s see who won?
Best Song — Rod Stewart
Best Album — Bruce Springsteen
Best Live –Bruce Springsteen
Most diverse body of work — Rod Stewart
Best Voice — Rod Stewart
Best Lyrics — Bruce Springsteen.
So it is all knotted up at 3-3. The final tiebreaker will be who has sold the most records? I’m going to take some time to research this but it should be a multimillion-dollar battle. Look for answer in upcoming post.