Tune Tag #135 with Alex O'Brien: Bruce Springsteen, Al Green, Prince, John Cowsill & Vicki Peterson, Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, Trade Winds, Death Cab for Cutie
Big names aplenty abound, as we also plumb the glorious depths of classic rock! Duets known and not-so also pop up, as do Death Cabs, Trade Winds, and Stones on the move!
Bruce celebrated his 76th last September. I’ll be 5 years behind him in 8 days, and I’m happy to celebrate both occasions with one of Bruce’s biggest fans…Alex, who just marked his 100th Vinyl Hour episode! Another reason to celebrate!🎉
Vinyl Hour is for people who care about albums—people who enjoy thoughtful listening, a bit of story, and a sense of perspective on the music that shaped us. If that sounds familiar, you’ll feel right at home!
Why Subscribe? ‘Vinyl Hour’ is a journey through my record collection! I put an album on, listen all the way through, and write about what it brings back—the music itself, the memories around it, the stories that first made me love rock and roll, and how it all fits into my life now.
I also look at the albums in the broader history of rock and roll: what they meant then, what they mean now, and how they’ve held up. It’s a way to rediscover great records and see how they move me today, alongside the person I was when I first heard them.
Alex: In 2000, I stepped away from hospital HR to give writing a full-time try—something I’d always planned to do. That “try” quickly became my new career. Since then I’ve written novels, plays, kids’ books, stories, poems, lyrics, and a long run of songs and albums. The Comeback and The Playmaker (the ones I’m holding in the photo, above) were published by James Lorimer & Company, and in recent years I’ve focused on songwriting—releasing sixteen independent albums and, back in 2000, winning First Prize in the USA Songwriting Competition.
I’ve also written for the stage, including the book for Saturday Night on Bourbon Street, which has had public readings and workshops in two Ontario theatres. I live on a small lake near Parry Sound with my wife. Our kids are grown now, but still find their way into my middle-grade sports stories. I’m currently working on new lyrics and songs, along with another book!
Alex at home on his Maple Lake Beach with his collection of lyrics and his album with Paul Whitfield, Incredible Flights.
Alex’s song #1 sent to Brad: Bruce Springsteen, “Thundercrack,” Live at the Ahmanson Theater, L.A., 1973
Alex’s rationale: For my first song—the one that introduces me to your wide audience—I wanted to share that I’m a Springsteen fanatic! The author of my university graduation yearbook bio wrote that I was Carleton’s biggest Bruce fan. I don’t know about that, but for me, he’s the total package: The raw and anthemic musical power of The Who, the deep and intelligent lyrics of Dylan; the energy and charisma of Elvis Presley; and the live performance skills of James Brown.
Brad: Alex, I saw Bruce in 1978 (I was 23) at Houston’s Summit. I’d heard all about his legendary and lengthy concerts. Really only wanting to hear the Born to Run songs he might play, I went with a kind of “show-me” attitude. He more than delivered the goods! Awfully impressive!
I also wanted to share a not-too-obvious track, one from his earlier days that showcases his unique songwriting skills and raw live energy. “Thundercrack” (1973) was one of his show-stoppers before “Rosalita” became the standard. But, I want everyone to know, my musical tastes are broad and diverse. There are dozens of bands I’ve immersed myself in since I started listening to rock’n’roll way back in the mid-‘70s. On Vinyl Hour, I like to discuss and share my joy with them all!
Brad’s response: Allmusic’s Mark Deming reflects on “Thundercrack”: “While the song certainly fit the milieu of [late ‘73’s] The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle, it didn’t appear until after that album came out, and didn’t fit the mold for Born To Run, and for years it was only available as a bootleg, first appearing on the superb pirate EP, Fire On The Fingertips, which brought together five classic tunes from the 1973-74 period:
“The Fire On The Fingertips recording was from a clean-sounding live tape (probably a radio broadcast) which showed just how tight and flexible that edition of the E-Street Band could be. However, in late 1998, a studio cut of the tune finally surfaced on the box set, Tracks”:
Alex (and readers)….I played a tiny part in breaking Bruce in Houston (Austin was also an early hotspot for him), during my year at Houston’s commercial FM-rocker, KLOL (I was 20 in 1975); about a year before (and into ‘75), Springsteen manager, Mike Appel, had given cassette tapes of 2 live Springsteen performances to the station: “The Fever” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
Bruce, reportedly, hated that he’d done that! For playback on our air, music director, Bob Wright, transferred the songs onto separate 4-track cartridges (carts, as we called them). Read more about this, and more about my time at KLOL, here:
