"A tribute to The E Street Band, rock 'n' roll, and the way music has shaped Bruce Springsteen's life, this Thom Zimny documentary captures Bruce reflecting on love and loss while recording with his full band for the first time since Born in the U.S.A."
This new MacBook Air and the free Apple TV subscription that came with it is paying for itself!
I still haven't seen the Apple TV movie, but I assume the below clip is from it. Holy crap, I've watched it four times in a row and have been wiping away tears each time.
I watched this finally tonight, and have to say I've enjoyed it more than SOB, although I'm not sure both are even comparable.
Ranmaker and Janey Needs a Shooter was recorded before or after the sessions in the film. I haven't read it, but Zimny say's some stuff about this in an interview. He is a rather poor person to spread lies for Bruce Inc. They have a desire to control the narrative at times. I think they should just be honest.
Where was Rainmaker? :(
That's an emotional watch.....in an odd way, it's been an emotional week.
It's been a few years since a new Bruce album "got" me like this.
After watching this I'm hearing Patti's contributions to "Priest" and "Orphans" greatly, even above Bruce's singing.
I've been critical of her modern day vocals in the past, but she's awesome on this album.
Caught a snippet from the film during the Graham Norton Show interview: Ghosts, cutting between then and now images of the band. Had me in tears. Going to have to watch the whole thing on my own - Mrs D just doesn’t get it to the same extent.
I had a look at what else was on offer to see on my free week. It's only Bruce I am enthused about. There is a Bill Murray film and I might give that a go.
I got the free trial. Will watch Bruce and the band tonight. Does anyone have any recommendations for AppleTV that I should watch over the next seven days?
I could never get enough of watching Bruce and the band work. I could do without all the other stuff, though. Specially the on the nose winter imagery and more Bruce narration.
It's a great watch for sure. I think Bruce gets it wrong though with his comment (21 mins) about Naples and the crowd singing internal riffs for Rosalita.
I was at that show and I think he means the following song, the River which featured for the first time the extended play out after the crowd resumed singing and Bruce went along with it. It was then reprised at the San Siro a couple of weeks later.
Not the best quality but..
Beautiful movie, beautiful album. I couldn’t be happier, honestly.
Personal highlights after my first watch:
JL tearing up - summed up my emotions exactly. The man has put so much into that band and is such a big and under appreciated part of it
Stevie‘s outro on If I Were the Priest - the face of a man who finally got what he wants
What does the booklet say about the rock of ages/flock of angels?
Jon Landau was truly moved by I'll See You In My Dreams and I am truly moved by that.
Patti in a fuzzy sweater using her hand like she's got an invisible wand when she sings could be an entire movie and I would watch it.
I want to stealth camp in Bruce's back woods.
I didn't think I was missing Jersey. Maybe I am.
When Steve is happy, his smile and eyes are beautiful.
There wasn't one fucking motorcycle in the whole movie.
I've been umming and arrhing on whether to go for the free 7 day trial, but some of the comments and descriptions on this thread are suggesting I need to see this.
I may give it a week or so. Then again, if I press play on the album for a third time and crack another bourbon shortly chances are good I won't last the evening.
Although I share the frustrations of @Kay. Luckily I already had Netflix when SOB dropped, but this signing up to all and sundry to see content that used to be sold to us on a physical disc for a once off payment is getting frustrating. Even if the disc is becoming passe, I'd rather pay Bruce Inc a once off $20 and download this directly like I do with Archive shows than go through this other crap.
That is so funny Pete, your line about Bruce's farm taking up 'bout half of Central Jersey. I bet.
Just watched it. There is some wonderful insight into recording an album. A few observations- Steve is definitely Bruce's consigliari ; Bruce's farm takes up about half of Central Jersey; Bruce despite his 0.5 billion dollar wealth wears a t-shirt split at the seams under his armpit and Nils prefers a cup of coffee to a shot. Now to remember to cancel Apple+ before they take my five quid in a week's time.
Patti's the Goddamn best in this
Here's an extended review 😀:
This movie was really, really great. The insight into their process was really interesting, plus the chemistry between the band is priceless. Loved seeing Steve and Bruce working on a song in 1978 and cutting to them doing exactly the same 41 years later. What a great idea it was to film this documentary, brought me great joy. Hope it does the same for all of you!
Now, only minutes away from listening to the album for the first time. Exciting times!
Maybe someone could invite me over?
I still have no idea how to watch this.
Great to see how well all the band looked, Nils has definitely aged, (he’d probably say the same about me), and Steve could do with losing a few pounds, but they looked like they could go on for ever.
Loved the view out of the studio window to where the bands vehicles were all parked, it could have been any office/workplace car park.
Stunning piece of film making by Thom Zimney.
I am going to get the free trial (if it exists here) but want to make sure I am ready and available to watch it a few times.
Thanks Ann, won't bother trying however, can't take the frustration with this shit and I cannot believe the docu isn't included in the disc. I thought it was the same as the Devils thingy and Seeger included. Why in the hell would they make that only for Apple customers?
Make that disc, I ain't talking about Bruce's back. No editing for spelling on here yet? Not that I care that mucho.
Jesus Fucking Christ I can't stand these streaming services at times. I called the record store to get the disk tomorrow and they said the film isn't included with the CD. Is this an Apple thing only or what the fuck is going on?
It is everything I hoped it would be. I cried twice, always a good sign. It's beautifully made, gorgeous snowy scenes, presumably of the farm. Scenes of them recording this album cut with old footage, which is a joy. Really interesting to see how they worked, from Bruce just playing the song on a guitar and singing through to the finished product.
Stunning and, once again, thank you Bruce. I feel honoured to be one of your fans.
Oh and next tour, I am going to the San Siro, whatever it takes!
Me too. I got a AppleTV app on my Samsung QLED. Free trial. Yes!!!!!!
I'm watching😊
Yes! Seems like they wanted to surprise us! 😄
Now up on apple tv. Runtime is 1h 25 .
Nice review from TIME.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bruce-springsteens-letter-lot-invested-211825368.html
Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You Has a Lot Invested in the Springsteen Legend—But It's Still Awesome
Hagiography is a dirty word in the documentary-filmmaking world. But it’s hard to know how anyone could make a documentary featuring Bruce Springsteen that doesn’t present him in burnished, reverent tones. His legend as a man who sings Songs of the People has already been fully shellacked—there’s not much we can do about that. It doesn’t hurt that, at 71, he might be more handsome—or at least more distinguished-looking—than he was 40 years ago. With the right lighting he looks like a 1930s magazine illustration of a cowboy, highly idealized yet—in his rough denim jacket, its fleecy collar turned up as a hedge against the cold—just scruffy enough.
Thom Zimny’s Letter to You documents the making of Springsteen’s album of the same name, with the full E Street Band, in dreamy, matinee-idol black-and-white. Now and then Zimny’s camera travels overhead, giving us a view of snowy New Jersey woods, before bringing us back to Springsteen’s home studio, the recording barn or shack or whatever it is where he and his band are laying down a series of 10 tracks over five days. Early on, there’s a shot of Patti Scialfa, longtime E Street member and also Springsteen’s wife, beaming beatifically. We see Springsteen himself, lean and groomed just carefully enough, bathed in muted, salt-of-the-earth lighting, and we hear his voice floating over the movie’s images, musing about his yearning to connect with people through music, and about his 45-year conversation with the E Street Band in particular. Even if you love Springsteen—even if you full-on adore him, as so many do—it’s all a bit much. And yet, the more you watch Letter to You, the more you may find yourself creeping closer to this little figurative campfire, hugging your spackleware mugful of coffee close, adjusting your bandana if you’ve tied it too tightly. You’ve fully bought into the lore of the cowboy poet from Freehold. To resist is futile.
Rock ‘n’ roll is still a young art form, which means we’re only now reckoning with what it means to grow old within the genre. Springsteen has already lost two members of his most cherished and legendary band—saxophonist Clarence Clemons and keyboard player Danny Federici—and much of Letter to You focuses on the notion of loss. Springsteen reflects on his introduction to rock, playing in a local band called the Castiles from 1965 to 1968. He’s the last surviving member of that band, and he takes his status as a keeper of memories seriously. He reflects with mournful electric energy on the magic of the 45-RPM, and how a great 180 seconds’ worth of music can be a way of praying. As a person old enough to remember, and love, 45s, I rolled my eyes when I heard him say that, but only because I know how right he is. And if anyone should be allowed to wax poetic on the power of a pop single, it’s Springsteen.
And when you think about it, the concept of the 45—a discrete burst of inspiration confined to one rocket-blast of a song—might have more meaning in the age of Spotify than it did in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, when albums, even those with multiple hit singles, reigned supreme. And it’s in the individual songs, as performed here by Springsteen and his band—including all the surviving regulars, among them Steven Van Zandt, Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg—that the real meaning of Letter to You emerges, as a document of both a mood and a creation. The single that gives the album its title is itself a shimmering mystery, a song more about the urge to connect than the actual connection. In other words, it’s really the envelope containing the letter, and as Bruce reaches out to hand it to us, we instinctively reach back. Many of the songs are somber and ruminative: “Last Man Standing” (“Snakeskin vest and a sharkskin suit/Cuban heels on your boots”) is a long sigh folded into a compact group of stanzas, a reflection on what it means to have been born as a performer a long time ago, even if it seems like yesterday. In “Ghosts,” Springsteen assures us that those who have left us behind can still communicate through sound. Springsteen’s voice may be easy to mimic, but its fingerprint, a mark made in honey-and-sawdust, belongs only to him. It’s as captivating as ever.
Zimny, who has also collaborated with Springsteen on the documentaries Western Stars and Springsteen on Broadway, clearly knows how much Springsteen has invested in his own iconography. But part of what Letter to You is marketing is the most unpalatable product imaginable: the act of growing old, stubbornly or gracefully or both. With seamless grace, Zimny matches vintage footage of Springsteen and the band with their current-day versions; we see how the young faces have blended into the old. Aging, because it means surviving, is the best. It’s also, because it entails a gradual transformation into a physically creakier, weaker self, the worst. We don’t want to be reminded of what we looked like then, but we also don’t want to forget. Letter to You blurs the distance between then and now. Its alternate title could be The Song of the Last Castile. Springsteen is telling us about all he’s seen in the years since he first picked up a guitar, and how fast it has all gone by. It’s at least 180 seconds’ worth of material, a prayer spread over a lifetime.
Sorry, the above was posted on Facebook.
I always love a good documentary. I think I might listen to the album and watch this back-to-back. That ought to be a good experience! 😁
It’s also possible to connect your device to your TV with an HDMI cable.
In preparation for next Friday, I’ve taken the one year free offer on the back of purchasing a new device. Very impressed so far. Apple TV+ seems very different from Netflix, it‘s certainly going for quality over quantity.
I'd figure there'll be a DVD along at some point, but there seems to be a free trial on the go for Apple so I reckoned I'd give that a bash.
So how does this Apple TV work then? You sign up and you can watch the stuff on it at any time or is there like a schedule when you can watch?
I'm sure the BTX poster won't mind me copying his post and putting it on here since many don't view BTX. This apple doc sounds great as does the album.
I have seen LETTERS TO YOU documentary, here's my take by One_Step_Up on Oct 12, 2020 11:30 pm 10 of the 12 songs are performed in the doc. I’m currently rewatching it and will add more notes accordingly. edit: First things first, this is a BAND RECORD. No doubt about it. Even Bruce mentions at some point “what a group sound we got going on these songs.” Max’s drums BOOM like in no other E-Street album since BITUSA. This is also the most piano-driven record since probably THE RIVER. There is also a reason why Bruce chose IF I WAS A PRIEST and SONG FOR THE ORPHANS, this is an ingenious way for him to go back to his folk-rock roots and the Dylan comparisons that used to irk him in the early ’70s and pay tribute to those roots. These two songs are the most Dylan-esque he’s ever sounded on record. Of note: Janey Need a Shooter and Rainmaker are not featured at all. -It starts off with Bruce telling the band “Gentlemen get your notepads” as he shows the band LETTER TO YOU on acoustic guitar. Steve actually jokes around that the 5-day schedule for recording the album is basically playing by the Beatles rule of “recording one song every three hours.” -Uncle Frank, who was the first person to teach Bruce the guitar is there for all five days and he’s a rather quiet but amusing presence throughout. -There are shot glasses toasts after every recording session ends. There’s a particularly touching toast to Danny and Clarence on day four of the recording sessions. -Also, a great scene where the band members reminisce about Italian crowds and toast “to four nights at San Siro” when they take this new record on the road. - Nice little moment, Bruce to Roy “Roy, in the spirit of Danny Federici, play that glockenspiel” I’ll try to give a song-by-song assessment based on my notes: LAST MAN STANDING I would be shocked if this isn’t the third single released. This is all about Bruce being the last living member of the Castiles “I’m the last man standing now” Starts off with Nils feverishly strumming an acoustic guitar There’s a great Sax Solo and booming Max drumming A great riff which mixes Roy’s Piano with Steve’s 12 string guitar THE POWER OF PRAYER Beautiful piano intro and, really, this is a piano-driven song (one of many on this new album). Charlie’s organ work here is stunning One of those romantic rock ballads ala NONE BUT THE BRAVE. The sax solo is done in combination with Steve’s guitar ala Radio Nowhere Nils-Clarence. There’s also a sax outro. The best way to describe this song would be MELANCHOLIC rock. Very much a FULL BAND arrangement. Particular lyric: “The Bouncer shuts down the door, magic fills the floor, As Ben E. King’s voice fills the air, baby that’s the power of prayer” HOUSE OF 1000 GUITARS A major highlight of the album. Another piano-driven song. Piano Intro with lyrics is almost Jungleland-esque. Blatant Trump lyric: “The criminal clown has stolen the throne, he steals what he could never own” Patti adds background vocals to the chorus sung by Bruce “yeah it’s alright, yeah it’s alright, meet me darling come Saturday night” Lyric: “From the stadiums to the small-town bars, we’ll light up the house of 1000 guitars” The riff to this one is catchy. Ends with Bruce singing “a thousand guitars” six times IF I WAS A PRIEST FULL BAND and way better than the acoustic version. Guitar-driven. This is totally in the style of BOB DYLAN AND THE BAND’s late 60s sound Al Kooper-esque Organ and piano drive the song. Barroom piano playing. Harmonica solo An Awesome, Mike Bloomfield-esque outro guitar solo courtesy of Little Steven GHOSTS we all know the song, but what we additionally learn is how much Steve assisted Bruce and the band in molding the whole tune together. We see Steve arranging the verses and choruses as well as the musical cues. No surprise, this song sounds like it belong on Disc 2 of Tracks. SONGS FOR THE ORPHANS Dylan-esque Harmonica intro and outro Again, MASSIVE Bob Dylan and the Band influence. Even Bruce’s singing is Dylan-esque. This sounds like it could have easily belonged on Blonde on Blonde FULL BAND and done in Pure folk-rock fashion Nils on slide guitar Of note; Bruce has to put on his reading glasses when singing this and Priest, no doubt due to the litany of words he has to read in the lyrics. ONE MINUTE YOU’RE HERE Echo, slapback vocals, ala Roy Orbinson. Dreamy, surreal meditation on death. soft percussion, organ, and piano. the chorus goes: “one minute you’re here, next minute you’re gone” I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS I cried during this one. Also, there’s a closeup of Landau closing his eyes, hearing the song for the first time and just bawling like a baby afterwards. “I’ll meet you in my dreams, for death is not the end, we’ll meet and live and laugh again” This is quite clearly a song about Danny, Clarence and Terry. Starts off slow but the whole band kicks in for some rock and roll “We’ll meet live and laugh again, I’ll see you by the river bed, for death is not the end, i’ll see you in my dreams” BURNING TRAIN Candy’s Room-esque drumming. A driving beat. It also sounds like an above-average outtake from Tracks disc 4, even Bruce’s vocals sound like his ’90s stuff. Blazing guitar solo to the tempo of Max’s drums CONCLUSION It all ends with the final shot and a toast at the end of the final day of recording. Bruce “We’re taking this thing until were all in the box” Bruce on electric guitar alone plays BABY I during the credits. Last edited by One_Step_Up on Oct 13, 2020 1:27 am, edited 28 times in total. http://www.awardsdaily.com/author/jordan-ruimy/
It's a letter. This had to be handwritten. Nice. Although I could barely read it... 🤯
https://twitter.com/springsteen/status/1313917221077360640/photo/1
Will be interesting to see if im clever enough to get the free trial on my lap top, everdently it should be possible even though i dont speak
Classic.
"Anyone wondering where the stop is, watch me."
Do I have to have an Apple device to sign up for free?
I'll sign up for free for seven days. Apple + is probably the only platform I haven't got a freebie from.
Bloody streaming subscriptions I cannot afford. Oh well, ain't like I won't see it.