Bruce Springsteen is a funny case. His early work is pretty universally considered brilliant by critics and by the fans who’ve heard it. His output after “Nebraska” divides people, though some of it very strong:
Springsteen almost always brings energy, but the invention hasn’t always been there. And he got so popular – and so ubiquitous on the radio, especially around the time of “Born to Run,” full of songs no one alive during the ’80s ever needs to hear again – that he’s been easy to take for granted. To call Springsteen a major American rock musician is a bit like saying that the sun rises in the morning.
But a new song from the session that became “The River” serves as a reminder of at least two things: First, there is great Springsteen stuff still sitting in the vaults in a way there probably isn’t for too many musicians of his generation. Second, if there’s even a few more songs at this level, the box set that expands on “The River” – “The Ties That Bind,” due December 4 — could be really, really good. It could establish that 1980 LP as perhaps the greatest of all Springsteen albums.
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/2...depths_of_his_power/