Springsteen -- A Golden Oldie?

So I'm driving on the Turnpike playing radio roulette last Friday night-- and along comes Elvis Presley crooning "Burning Love." That's cool -- that will keep me occupied on an otherwise nondescript drive through New Jersey.

But then after that came a Bruce Springsteen tune. What kind of station plays Presley and then Springsteen? An oldies station. Go figure. And I remember when Bruce was on the cover of Time and Newsweek -- the same week back in 1975 as the next best thing.

Fast forward to Saturday and I'm flipping through my local TV listing and I see something called the "Springsteen Sessions" on a public TV channel at nine o'clock on a Saturday night in the summer -- who's going to be sticking around for that?

Then it dawned on me -- Springsteen is a nostalgia act.

I remember living out in California in the early 1990's and Springsteen released two albums separately -- a trick performed by Guns 'n' Roses for the Lose Your Illusion I and II recordings. GNR sold a boatload of albums. (But who knew it would be their last effort?)

Springsteen, alas, with Lucky Town and Human Touch, didn't fare nearly as well. I don't recall if he released any other new material for the rest of the decade. I bought his single disk Greatest Hits package in '95.

Sure, The Rising sold like proverbial hotcakes and the tour was a big time success. But how much of that could be associated with re-uniting the E Street Band, the need for some "healing" from 9/11, and the monumental hype machine that went into overdrive to hype this record?

But let me ask you this, when was the last time you heard a track from The Rising on the radio? 2003 perhaps? I know I haven't heard any of it since the tour ended.

This post isn't intended to be a hit on Springsteen. I like his music somewhat (his politics somewhat less) but it's all part of the career arc of any commercially successful artist.

If Springsteen ever needs money for the mortgage, he can dust off some old recordings for a remastered box set or just play a few concerts in the Garden State and he'll be set for a few few more years. He's got a legion of faithful fans between New York and Philadelphia.

And if I'm in the mood for a tune from the Boss, I'll make sure to stop by the oldies station.