Western Stars
I’ve been a Bruce Springsteen fan most of my life- I received a cassette of “Born in the U.S.A.” as a kid- and have followed his career for a good portion of that time. I’ve bought the albums, been to a concert, and met The Boss in person at an appearance he made with his autobiography. Unfortunately, I missed “Western Stars” in theatres, but I’m glad I’ve caught up with it now.
This is, essentially, a concert documentary directed by Springsteen and Thom Zimny as a way of promoting his latest album. In addition to the live performance by Springsteen, his wife Patti Scialfa, and a small orchestra and backing band in a barn he owns for a crowd, each song is preceded by commentary from Springsteen about what inspired it, the story behind it. There’s always a story from Springsteen- it’s why he’s my favorite artist of all-time.
Earlier this year, the wonderful “Blinded by the Light” came out, and it had the main character’s life being transformed by Springsteen’s music. It was the lightning rod moment everyone has when an artist connects with us on a personal level. In a way, “Western Stars” is a more fitting companion film for that more than it is for the album Springsteen is playing. I don’t suspect this documentary will hold much use for people who are not already fans of The Boss. The album is a fun listen, another interesting musical experiment from an artist whose 2010s output has been anything but “same old, same old,” but with the exception of maybe “Tucson Train” or the titular song, there’s nothing on this album to bring about that transformative moment like I had in the ‘90s, or Javed has in “Blinded by the Light.” Springsteen’s storytelling at this point in his life is not from the perspective of a rebellious youth, but an old man bringing aged perspective to those same stories to give them meaning.
As a concert documentary, “Western Stars” benefits from being more than just a straight concert. It kind of reminded me of watching another Springsteen documentary, “Blood Brothers,” which chronicled his reunion after a decade with the E-Street Band. The unique structure of having Springsteen basically guide us through the process of creating this album, just as it was in “Blood Brothers,” allows us a window into the artist a straight concert can only do so much with. The fun and energy of his performance is icing on the cake.
