The Best of the Bruce
922296
This CD is better than the last two  Albumns Bruce Dickinson did with Iron Maiden. It is MUTCH better than anything Maiden has done without him. And this is by far Bruce Dickinsons Best solo effort. Bruce has taken "opera" Metal to new level with this one. Every song is worth listening to. These are some of the best lyrics Bruce has ever written. I have said it before and I will say it again...Producer Roy Z. is the best producer in Heavy Metal today,and he ads his song writing and playing ability to this one as well. Im not gonna go track by track and break down every song to you ,but I will say this is a Brutal Concept albumn that is Pure Metal....YOu will love it......I do
1972908
It's awesome to see Bruce spill his emotions and thoughts onto these letters. Truly shows you how much of a genuine human being he was. This is a must read, over and over again.
3510938
I got a Bruce calendar a few years ago, which I thought was great but this one is even better. If you like The Boss, get it.
4638867
Trower is my favorite and I like Bruce and Cream enough.  I like it enough to have played it a dozen times in the first 2 weeks I have owned it, but it will likely only appeal to hard core fans.  BLT remains my favorite Trower/Bruce joint effort - the riff in BLT cut "Into Money" is hard to beat!  Loyal fans will enjoy it, especially the first 3 cuts and the 6th cut - which in my opinion, is the best cut on CD.  However, it sounds to me like a "2nd draft" and needs the assitance of another writing influence to polish the compositions into something more musically pleasing.  The riffs repeat too often during the songs for my taste.  I still a loyal Trower fan - having seen him over 30 times live with tickets in hand for 2 shows in March 2008.  If you haven't seen Trower, check out his tour schedule on [...](without Bruce).
2550681
Great concert by the only man that can give one!  Almost three hours of great music by Bruce and the band.  Great footage you never get to see in a live concert.  Wish there were more of these on the market.
3057488
Surpassed only by Harmony Row, and equalled only by Jack's albums with Kip Hanrahan, SFAT is plain brilliant--dark, moving, and utterly unique. In my book, Clapton is good but Bruce (at his best) is God.
383995
I love Bruce Springsteen and always have done. This album covers his best and most famous songs and is a must-have CD. From the anthemic 'Born in the USA' and 'Hungry Heart' to the hauntingly beautiful 'Streets of Philadelphia' and 'Secret Garden', every track is one of those songs that you could listen to forever and never get bored. This is high quality rock at its best and as a result of its eclecticism can be played appropriately on various occassions (anti-depressant, date music, chilling out, having a party, whatever you want.) I think this album would be a good place for Bruce's newer fans to start since it spans his whole career and gives you a taste of the diversity of his music before moving on to albums such as 'Born in the USA' and 'The River'. My favorite song on this CD constantly changes as they are all so good but I would have to say that 'Streets of Philadelphia' is incredible and never fails to make me cry (and sing!).
1706061
This 6 CD set is a mixture of Lenny Bruce's material. It includes both Bruce at his peak, as well as some not so interesting material. What it does is to allow you to see the complexity of Bruce's presentations. Bruce liked to push the edge, cross over the line and continue on.  Despite these routines being over 50 years old, they can stlll pack a punch.  And his use of ethnic epithets are as disconent now as they were then.  This potpourri of tracks allow us to see Bruce for the path maker that he was in the stand-up comedy world of the turbulent 60s.

In addition to the audio tracks on the CDs, the hard cover book includes several essays about Bruce's life and comedic impact, photographs, newspaper clippings, a get-well note from his daughter and more. They are a great compliment to the CDs, and let you explore more about Lenny Bruce.
276007
Great recording a must for any bruce fan contains some classics and the conversations give insight into songs
1823288
Jack Bruce, reunited with lyricist Pete Brown, recorded "Somethin' Els" over a span of nearly six years. He does not explore anything particularly new here---but considering that Mr. Bruce does cover rock, blues, jazz-rock, and ballads---that's not a knock. Well, there is a piano solo, FM, which closes this session and foreshadows Mr. Bruce's subsequent keyboards-only album Monkjack.

This CD starts off with three superb tracks, Waiting on a Word, Willpower, and Ships in the Night, notable also because Eric Clapton adds some very fine, even restrained guitar which really shimmers on the latter track. (It's really good to hear EC playing with focus and energy on these songs.) This track is also notable for Mr. Bruce's vocal duet with the esteemed Maggie Reilly.  The other musicians are all superb, somewhat eclectic folks, many of whom have crossed paths with Mr. Bruce previously.

The next four tunes, Peaces of East, Close Enough for Love, G.B. Dawn Blues, and Criminality are likely to put off casual listeners, for Mr. Bruce indulges his somewhat avant-garde tendencies, with varying degrees of success, and wasting a rare guest appearance from sax legend Dick Heckstall-Smith plus one of Clem Clempson's appearances on the worst track here, G.B. Dawn Blues.

Childsong, the wonderfully haunting penultimate track, help anchors the CD and likely will inspire repeated listens.

Listening to this recording is like riding a seesaw: you cannot have the ups without the downs. Four stars may be a tad much, but three would imply "average" to me, and I don't mind tilting the scale for creativity.

The lyrics are worth reading as a standalone exercise if, for no other reason, to marvel at the muses that cajole lyricist and poet Pete Brown. Mr. Bruce's own liner notes are the sort of cryptic, scattershot that minds like his foment even as he must be thinking of his next project.
1427620
Darkness on the Edge of Town says it all about this album. Really dark but soulful I found myself listening to it over and over- highly recommended even if you're just a casual Bruce fan (as I am).
2777488
Bob Dylan and simon and garfunkel are my favorite artists, but honestly, Bruce springsteen is the best singer in the world at putting together  albums.  THis is probably the best of a whole collection of breathtakingly  perfect albums.  If you let the music control you in this album, it will  steal you from your reality into Bruce's world.  With huge hits like born  to run, and jungleland, the mysterious accross the river, and the  prefection and romance of thunderroad, this album is just perfect.  Through  his lyrics, his beautiful voice, his incredible use of piano, guitar, rock  organs, and of course the harmonica, Bruce will force you to forget  everything you are doing, learn every word to the album, and sing along  every time you hear the album.
2144908
I come to this release as a Jack Bruce fan.  The previous collaborations of Trower/Bruce never did appeal to me all that much.  They seemed drained of energy and Jack's bass seems to be buried too much in the mix.  By contrast, when you look at, say, West, Bruce and Laing, the bass was recorded front and center and the album, although very uneven, had an incredible intensity and energy.  The other obvious example was the song, Life on Earth.  Done with Trower, it was a mid-tempo, undistinguished effort.  When Bruce later recorded it for a solo album. it nearly exploded with vitality.

So, I was keeping my expectations low.  And - wow!  Was I pleasantly surprised to hear Seven Moons.  First of all, unlike the other two efforts, this seems like a real collaboration, not like a Trower album with a little assist from Bruce.  The bass is still too deep in the mix, and a bit mushy, but at least you can hear it - and it provides some memorable riffs.  The best revelation of all is Bruce's vocal - which is a great mixture of power and warmth.  Too often, in recent years, he has had a tendency to sound shrill and strained.  Not so here.  Just straight forward, warm, expressive.

Just Another Day and I'm Home seem to be about the emotional dislocation of (barely) surviving a deadly illness.  And on these songs, especially, Bruce's vocals are simply stunning in his evocation of yearning and dread.

And, hey, Trower's playing is really wonderful, thorughout.  Great tone.  Still highly inventive and in its own way, a great, emotive voice.  I'm not sure who else is really playing guitar this well, these days.  It's a short list, that's for sure.

Gary Husband brings it all together on drums.  He has been playing with Bruce for years now and it shows.  His drumming is crisp and emphatic and inventive.  Simply topnotch.

If I have any qualms at all, it's that simply wish there would have been one or two extended jams where these three could have kicked it up a bit.  I do miss Jack cranking it up.  But, hey, I'll take this for what it is - a collection of surprisingly catchy tunes, backed with great playing, and singing.

And for those who may disparage this effort, let me put it to others this way:  if, in the 1980s, you were to pick up a new Muddy Waters album and complained that is was nothing more than a bunch of blues songs - people might wonder what planet you came down from.  It's the same deal here.  At this point in time, Trower has been playing Hendrix-like guitar now for far longer than Hendrix himself ever did.  It's fair to say that Trower, finally gets to own the sound and be judged on his overall competence, which is very high.  And, yeah, the album might sound like it came out of the late 60s/early 70s.  But so what?  It does what it does very well.  If you don't particularly like Cream or Hendrix, this album will not appeal much to you.  But if you're someone who accepts that era and that music as a legitimate genre (like the blues, or bebop) that is worth revisiting, then there's a lot to enjoy here.

And repeated listening brings ever greater rewards,  It grows on you by leaps and bounds.
3726659
If you are a hardcore Maiden fan like me,Get The Books,you fans won't  regret it. The best of Steve,Dave,Adrian,Bruce,and ofcourse Nico. Trust me  this toy is not one you would get tired of.
1557565
Add me to the list of long-time Springsteen fans who is disappointed with Working on a Dream.  There are a few tunes here that are enjoyable and up to Bruce's usual standards, "My Lucky Day" and "The Wrestler" being the best in my opinion. "Last Carnival" is an emotional tribute to Danny Federici and I enjoyed it for that reason.  Others are not bad but simply not that good considering the incredible music Bruce has given us over such a long and spirited career.  "Surprise, Surprise" is one of the worst songs Bruce has recorded in a long time and sounds like a cover of a cheesy 1970s tune from top-40 radio. (Ouch! Can't believe I wrote that about Bruce but it's true.)

I still love Bruce and the band and would see them live any chance I had but this CD is not up to his usual standards.
1824387
This is definitely one of the best albums Bruce has released, it brought back Born to Run into a new generation. 5/5
61222
When Bruce put out The Seger Sessions I was disappointed.  I said, "Alright.  He's had his little experiments, and they were good.  But, PLEASE let him get back with E Street for the next one!"  Not only is the rock back but sometimes the feel of the music is so epic that the volume seems to turn itself up.  I would list the best tracks, but I don't think I could, there are about 8 songs on the album I would classify as "excellent".  To hear those thousand guitars and pounding drums once again is nothing but fun.  This is the Bruce album we've all been craving since The Rising.