...my favorite music intersects

I make no apologies...I'm a Springsteen fan, first and foremost. I have been for as long as I can remember and will remain such until I no longer remember anything else. But that is not where my musical tastes end...as I've mentioned in a previous post. Ever since I saw The Verve Pipe open for Toad the Wet Sprocket at the MSU Auditorium, I have been a fan of them as well. The love for their music has grown as they put out independant albums throughout the early-90s, signed with RCA in the mid-90s and were eventually dropped in the early 2000s. Even now that The Verve Pipe is all but broken up (no new albums since 2001), I have been following lead singer Brian Vander Ark's solo career through 2 albums and a handful of live shows. Never did I think that these two acts would ever intersect. Until recently, I just assumed these two loves would remain separate....

That is, until about a year ago when I caught a Brain Vander Ark setlist on his website which listed a song called "Badlands." Was this a new BVA song? Was it the Boss' song? I had to know. So, through the power of the internet, I did some digging. A few well-placed emails later, I found out that indeed, it WAS a Bruce Springsteen song....however, it was not "Badlands." No, instead, it was "Nebraska" which contains a line, 'through to the Badlands of Wyoming...' which, I'm sure, caused the confusion. Alas, two of my favorite artists have finally crossed paths musically! I couldn't believe it and I HAD to hear this song. Thankfully....again, because of the power of the internet....I was able to download a copy of of show where Vander Ark played "Nebraska." AWESOME! Later in the tour I got to see BVA in Ferndale, MI and this time it was not "Nebraska," instead he played "Used Cars."

Now this year Brian is out on a new tour promoting his new album 'Angel, Put Your Face On' and low and behold....the ultimate. Brian has now begun performing maybe the greatest song ever written (hyperbole meter reaching record levels). Could it be true? Has Brian really attempted to sing "Thunder Road"???? More so than "Nebraska" or "Used Cars"....I HAD to hear this. And thanks to Brian now producing some "official bootlegs" on his site, I was able to!

I was excited and a tad nervous about hearing Brian's rendition of "Thunder Road." After all, I think it's the best song ever written, I've heard it hundreds of times in dozens of different versions and I've heard some pretty bad cover versions. Hell, even the Boss has taken to "phoning it in" from time to time. I had no idea what to expect.

Well, the disk finally arrived last weekend. Of course when I popped it in the CD player, I HAD to jump straight to track 7. Cool, it starts with piano....my favorite version of the song is the 1975 solo-piano version. Man, there it is....BVA's voice singing, "The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways...." I had to give it a few listens to really get the full effect. But bottom line....it DID NOT disappoint! Sure, there might have been a few stumbles lyrically....but then, even the Boss does that. The important aspect of this song is the emotion. And that, Brian really nailed! He got the longing, the desperation. The song built up just the right intensity until it hit the climax, "...and when you get to the front porch they're gone on the wind....so Mary climb in...it's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win!" Just awesome....

So, there it is....possibly my two favorite artists intersecting musically. Seems kind of silly as I re-read this post...getting excited over something like that. Yeah, probably...but I just never thought it would happen. I hope Vander Ark continues to sing Springsteen songs....I hope he continues to dive into the vast cataloge of work. But I'm not sure anything could quite measure up to "Thunder Road."

This can be heard at Brian Vander Ark's myspace....