Danny took the spotlight and Bruce earned his fastest-guitar-in-the east reputation when Steel Mill broke out Bruce’s original song, “Jeannie, I Want to Thank You.” Even if you’re not a Steel Mill fan, this one’s a must-listen.
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Steel Mill (87)
This early Springsteen original features fine vocals from Bruce and Robbin and a typically great Steel Mill guitar jam–but ouch, those lyrics.
At the dawn of the 1970s, even Bruce couldn’t help but be a little cynical about the likelihood of real change. Take a listen to his sarcastic Steel Mill song, “Change It.”
Short on lyrics, long on guitar jams, “I Gotta Be Free” is an early Springsteen original from his Steel Mill period with a mid-song cover of The Grateful Dead’s “Turn on Your Love Light.”
Bruce grappled with his religion through as far back as his teen years, but with a lot less subtlety. Listen to him challenge the church in his 1969 Steel Mill crowd-pleaser.
It’s sonically rough and lyrically trite, but a 20-year-old Springsteen turns in a ferocious guitar performance in his early composition, “Good Lovin’ Woman.”
In the early Steel Mill era, Bruce and the band closed their shows with a sexy band showcase called “Goin’ Down Slow.” Take a listen inside.
It may not feature Bruce’s best lyrics, but “The War Is Over” is still a creatively constructed protest song that resonates fifty years down the road in unexpected ways.
When Bruce walked into a recording studio for only the second time, he recorded one of his earliest crowd-pleasers with his band, Steel Mill. Listen to that studio recording along with a great live performance inside.
“We’ve Got to Do It Now” is a Steel Mill-era anti-war song with co-lead vocals by Bruce and Robbin Thompson.