The Boss Is Back

By Eric Alterman/Berlin

Rock 'n' roll, in its first half-century, has produced any number of middle-aged superstars--even a smattering of grandfathers--but precious few genuine adults. Mick Jagger still can't get no satisfaction, even when charging over $300 a ticket. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are still endlessly riding their stairway to heaven. And while Pete Townshend may no longer hope to die before he gets old, no Who reunion feels complete without a rendition of My Generation.

Almost uniquely among genuine rockers, Bruce Springsteen has created a body of work that has matured with its audience. Characters once "born to run" now search for a place to call home and a community with which to share it. In Springsteen's concerts, joyful abandon is now tempered with rueful regret. And like the songs' subjects, fans who once dreamed of escaping their parents, phys-ed teachers and "towns full of losers" worry about the kind of world they will be leaving their children.

The frenzied reaction to his first tour with the E Street Band in more than a decade proves that the powerful bond Springsteen has forged with his fans during the past quarter-century has only intensified. He has no record in the Top 30, and his biggest hit, Born in the U.S.A., is approaching its 15th birthday. Yet when tickets went on sale for the 15 shows that begin next week at New Jersey's Continental Arena, fans snapped up the 300,000 seats in just 13 hours.

Before hitting the U.S., Springsteen kicked off the reunion with a triumphant sweep through 20 cities in Europe that began in April. All eight members of the band--including his wife, guitarist and backup singer Patti Scialfa--are back, older, wiser and, in virtually every case, better. Max Weinberg's chops have improved considerably during his stint as band leader for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Clarence Clemons' sax work displays nuances and noodlings that were absent from his bombastic style in the '70s and '80s. And the return of Bruce's original sidekick from his Asbury Park bar-band days, guitarist Steve Van Zandt--now a co-star on the acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos--adds a powerful but intangible measure of heart and soul.

Reforming the old posse seems to have lit a spark under its leader as well. Onstage recently, before three generations of Bruce fans at the Wuhlheide, a luminous outdoor amphitheater in the middle of a forest in eastern Berlin, Springsteen performed two shows that put a lie to the notion that 49-going-on-50 is too old to rock 'n' roll. The setting was soaked with history. Back in 1988, barely 18 months before the Wall came down, Springsteen and the band played one of the largest and most dramatic rock concerts ever. When Springsteen introduced Bob Dylan's Chimes of Freedom in what was then the communist German Democratic Republic, he told the audience, "I want to tell you, I'm not here for or against any government. I came to play rock 'n' roll for you East Berliners in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down." Though the concert was broadcast on both state television and radio, this statement was censored.

Now back in a unified Berlin, the Boss marched across the stage like a peacemaking Patton surveying the troops after the liberation of Europe. Judging by their ability to sing along (in English) with every song, the Germans appeared only slightly less familiar with the geography of the Jersey shore than the average Asbury Park gas-station attendant. On the second night, when the band finished up Badlands, the audience kept the song going. Springsteen gave the signal, and the musicians crashed back into the song, with band members smiling and laughing as they played.

The tour's 2-hr.-40-min. intermission-free set focuses on the early and middle portions of his career, 1975-85. But this is no oldies review. Each European concert featured a few choice tidbits from Tracks, the four-CD retrospective of previously unreleased material that Springsteen finally decided to give his fans in honor of his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year. The band sent the Berlin crowd home with a new gospel-tinged song called Land of Hopes and Dreams: "Well I will provide for you and I will stand by your side/You'll need a good companion darlin' for this part of the ride." Just before leaving for Europe, the band premiered the song in Asbury Park. "Tell all your friends that this summer there's going to be a big train coming down the track," Springsteen promised. For millions of U.S. fans, it's time again to get on board.