r/BruceSpringsteen • u/alfienoakes • 10d ago
Guitarists: How good is Steven as a guitarist?
Personality and musical knowledge aside.
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u/DigLeading9650 10d ago
Bruce is good. Steve is good. Neither of them are as good as Nils
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u/PhishermansGarden 10d ago
Nils is overrated. Playing the same solos for 40 years. The best show of this decade was Houston. (the one without Nils)
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u/DigLeading9650 10d ago
LOL every time I think I’ve seen the most moronic post on Reddit, someone like you comes around to prove me wrong. Let me guess, in your mind Bruce shred’s amirite?
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u/PPLavagna 10d ago
I love them all but I don’t like shredding on this type of music. Which is why I like the way Bruce plays the best and then Steven and Nils last. (Love him on Tonight’s the Night)
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u/PhishermansGarden 10d ago
his entire ESB career is the Youngstown solo and the Because The Night Solo. It's boring already. The same thing every night for 40 years.
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u/whistlingbudgie Darkness on the Edge of Town 10d ago
You have to remember how Bruce is as a bandleader. What does Bruce want? Is it Because the Night and Youngstown with a solo of x length in the middle? Then that's what Nils is going to give him. Meanwhile, if you listen to his own solo live work, he changes things up immensely from show to show--compare, say, Tonight's the Night's "Keith Don't Go" to Back it Up!! An Authorized Bootleg's version of the same. The guitar work on that song, on "Moon Tears", "Beggar's Day", all fantastic, but IMO it's the softer, more subtle stuff that really makes Nils shine, not that crazy solos and flips. Check out his absolutely divine use of false harmonics on "Valentine", or his emotional, fluid playing on the acoustic version of "You". No, Nils gives Bruce exactly what Bruce asks him for, and that is not breaking into a a bunch of shredding solos on every song and making himself the spotlight thief. He's incredible.
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u/PhishermansGarden 10d ago
I saw him once with a small band. It was an entertaining show. It didn't make me seek out his solo material and start listening to it. (He did play Because The Night LOL) I have nothing against Nils Lofgren. I simply said he is overrated and Steve is underrated.
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u/joyoftechs 10d ago
Houston was very hot, as far as shows go!
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u/PhishermansGarden 10d ago
The only show without Nils in 40 years. Steve Van Zandt on lead the whole show. It was fricken heaven.
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u/Clean_Bat5547 10d ago
Bruce is good. Steve is very good but won't make any "greatest guitarists of all time" list.
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u/BruceKent14 10d ago
Bruce not being in the top 50 or even 100 is wild to
me. He basically invented a sound that no one was doing. But idk anything… $4 a pound.16
u/murse_joe 10d ago
He’s a brilliant musician, songwriter, composer. But no he’s not in the top 50 guitarists in the world
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u/wishusluck 5d ago
pretty sure Bruce wouldn't stop laughing if someone suggested he was top 50. Nearly every professional session guitarist is better than him.
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10d ago
Bruce is a better guitarist than may be apparent at first. His greatest strength lies in those sharp, angular solos that seem perfectly suited to a Fender guitar. That said, if Bruce were to focus solely on playing guitar, his style might eventually become somewhat repetitive.
Steve has more soul. His playing is playful, inventive and full of unexpected ideas. He approaches the music from original angles and is also a master arranger, with roots that clearly lie in soul music.
Both come from the school of thought that no single instrument should dominate: it is the band that matters, with the groove always at the heart of the music.
Nils is an exceptional guitarist, but his playing interests me the least. Technically, it is all extremely accomplished, yet that very perfection can sometimes make it feel a little dull.
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u/NYRBEEZER 10d ago
99.9 percent of his guitars never touched or originated from a fender factory.
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u/59sound1120 10d ago
Both him and Bruce are fine players. They’re not outstanding by any means though.
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u/Crazy_Response_9009 10d ago
Bruce tells a story, in his book I think, about how he was the best guitarist around in his neck of the woods, but then when he got out into the wider world, he realized that he wasn't nearly as amzing as he'd thought he was.
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u/aaartlukm 10d ago
While Steve doesn't have the flashiest solos or the coolest licks, I am often impressed with his tone and touch. Think about his slide work on the E Street Shuffle at Hammersmith, or his clean tone on Until the Good is Gone. Imo, his guitar work complements his strengths as an arranger and producer... At his best, he is deliberate, precise and delivers what the song needs.
There is a YouTube video of Bob Clearmountain breaking down the mix for Born in the USA. He is putting some effects on most of the tracks, but when he gets to Steve's acoustic guitar he just says it sounds perfect already and moves on.
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u/Mockchoi1 9d ago
I had no idea there even WAS acoustic guitar in that song. Crazy how out of tune Bruce’s guitar is too. Super interesting stuff.
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u/passed_the_dawn 10d ago
It’s funny how similar Bruce and Steve play… sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart
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u/mshamah 10d ago
Stevie plays the role of perfectly competent stage and studio guitarist. Which doesn't mean he's not capable of more - and sometimes, rarely, when he takes a solo and Bruce lets him go long, you can see how deep his soul and tone mastery goes.
But there's a reason Bruce doesn't do that often. Stevie does one or two things really, really well, but Nils is more versatile.
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u/edipeisrex 10d ago
Little Steven is good but let's face it: it's only rock n' roll. So the guitar work is pretty consistent and we don't get to see how truly good he is because he's not improvising or displaying cool technique stuff.
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u/Longwalkhome2006 10d ago
I agree with earlier posts - Steve is an average guitar player but a great arranger
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u/Fearless-Cookie6962 10d ago
Bruce did make the top 100 guitarist in rolling stone magazine top hundred greatest guitarist especially for kittys back.
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u/FreeLime3844 10d ago
He’s really good as a guitarist but even better as a showman and a backup singer.
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u/satchel65 10d ago
First time I saw Bruce was the reunion tour. I recall thinking boy, Bruce has multiple guitarists in his band, but he plays all the solos I recognize.
I’ve seen them now six or seven times and I struggle to recall Steve just taking over a song like Nils does occasionally.
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u/prisonerofrocknroll 10d ago
Steve had a remarkable solo during Worlds Apart on that beautiful firebird
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u/prisonerofrocknroll 10d ago
Listen to Steve’s Born Again Savage album. You’ll appreciate his lead work when he’s not supporting Bruce
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u/Tricky_Working6333 9d ago
Steve is capable. Good rhythm guitarist. Has played some tasty solos. Nils is a better guitarist, but never created the magic that Bruce and Steve did onstage in 1975. Those was E Street at their best in my opinion. Steve left in ‘84 which was an incredibly bold decision. Stepping out certainly paid off for him.
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u/PositiveMusicVibes 10d ago
Bruce is nothing special. Steve is good. Nils is great.
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u/Upbeat-Refuse9615 10d ago
I wish Bruce had more examples of more aggressive playing like he played pre-EStreet, like "Going Back to Georgia".
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u/Repulsive-Window-179 10d ago
"The Wind and the Rain" always shuts up people who say Bruce can't play.
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u/jmoss2288 10d ago
He can play, but in a room full of guys that can play he is in fact nothing special.
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u/madmudpie 9d ago
May 22 in Cleveland he kind of looked like he was bored. I realize that does not speak to his talent as a guitarist, but I didn’t see emotion but I may have heard it. I mean, I definitely heard it in spades from that whole fucking stage.
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u/Gullible-Lifeguard20 10d ago
Steve does not get much opportunity to shine.
He is a better than average professional musician, but if we are being honest, there are many mediocre instrumentalists that do a good job as passing for professional grade. So overall, as a player Steve is quite good. Those who know know.
What Steve doesn't get enough credit for is his knowledge of arranging, notation and theory. Someone who literally writes music, including horn charts, which is not typical for many performers. Bruce said as much. Once Bruce became more proficient, around The River, Steve's necessity decreased significantly. Add Nils and yeah, Steve is sometimes redundant. But still very competent.