performance that night. So much so that
when Bruce and the band returned to
Cambridge for a follow-up date a month
later, opening for Bonnie Raitt at the
Harvard Square Theatre, Landau made
sure he had a front row seat.
Once again, he was stunned by what
he saw. Raitt had allowed the young
Springsteen to perform his full two-
hour show and Landau left that night
even more convinced of this newcomer’s
unbelievable talent. It also happened
to be the night of the critic’s twenty-
seventh birthday and when he settled
down a few night’s later to pen his
review, Landau concluded, ‘I saw my
rock ’n’ roll past flash before my eyes.
And I saw something else. I saw rock
’n’ roll’s future and its name is Bruce
Springsteen.’ Going on to enthuse that,
‘Springsteen does it all. He’s a rock ’n’
roll punk, a Latin street poet, a ballet
dancer, an actor, a poet joker, a bar band
leader, hot-shit rhythm guitar player,
extraordinary singer and a truly great
rock ’n’ roll composer... he parades in
front of his all star rhythm band like
a cross between Chuck Berry, early
Bob Dylan and Marlon Brando. Every
gesture, every syllable adds something to
his ultimate goal – to liberate our spirit
while he liberates his by baring his soul
through his music.’
Yet it was that one telling phrase, ‘I
saw rock ’n’ roll’s future and its name is
Bruce Springsteen’ – that was destined
to become the most oft-repeated quote of
Springsteen’s career. Columbia Records
were quick to see the possibilities and
immediately began running ads in allthe music press for the new album,
purloining Landau’s memorable idiom.
A judgement guaranteed to be seen
as the throwing of a hat into the ring
by other critics, by the time the UK
music press had picked up on it, the
line had turned into the less accurate
but even more memorable, ‘I have seen
the future of rock ’n’ roll and its name
is Bruce Springsteen’. Or simply, ‘Bruce
Springsteen is the future of rock ’n’ roll’.
Naturally, there were those who found
such sentiments ill conceived at best,
or downright scabrous at worst, and
immediately set about proving Landau’s
theory wrong. With only the admirably
written and played, but woefully under
produced second album to go on, most
British critics pooh-poohed the whole idea
and Springsteen was suddenly in danger of
being written off as just record company
‘hype’, about the worst crime any young
singer-songwriter wishing to be taken
seriously could be accused of in those
days. Right or wrong, above all Landau’s
proclamation had the effect of raising the
bar of critical expectation for whatever
Springsteen did next. From here on in,
whatever he did, be it a concert tour, new
album, or even just an interview, it would
no longer be enough for him merely to be
good. As the official ‘future of rock ’n’ roll’
whatever he did next would always have to
be great. As such, Landau’s heartfelt but
unbridled enthusiasm became a cross the
young singer would have to bear for the
rest of his career. The question was: after
an introduction like that, how would he
ever be able to live up to it? The answer
would come with his next album; the one
he was telling friends he’d already decided
Springsteen on stage in October 1985. to call Born to Run.DO YOU WANT SOME MORE...?
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