Post on 14-Apr-2015
Bruce Springsteen and
the most important gig review in history
22 May 1974: Number 29 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of rock music
o The Observer, Sunday 12 June 2011
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert. Photograph: Andre Csillag / Rex Features
Jon Landau was a music writer who'd failed as a producer, and who was wondering about
his place in the world. Bruce Springsteen was on his second album for CBS, but far from a
star. The coming together of the two was their making. "Last Thursday, at the Harvard
Square theater, I saw rock'n'roll past flash before my eyes," Landau wrote in a confessional
review for the Boston alternative free sheet the Real Paper. "And I saw something else: I
saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed
to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time." Landau's
endorsement was critical for Springsteen's standing with CBS – the "rock and roll future"
line became a key part of the Springsteen mythology. More importantly, it led Springsteen
to seek out Landau as a sounding board for his ideas as he prepared his next album. Born
to Run made Springsteen a star, and Landau's contribution was so great Springsteen
decided he would be the man to guide him through his career as manager, producer, consigliere – not just his right-hand man, but his right hand.
Available At: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/12/bruce-springsteen-gig-review
Retrieved, February, 3, 2013.