Bruce Springsteen: Songs - Softcover

***** -- Uncut, April 1999

A handsome volume. -- Loaded, April 1999

A must have for Boss-aholics and anyone seriously considering a future in songwriting -- Uncut, Books of the Year, Dec 1999

Songs...brings together the complete lyrics plus early drafts, pictures, and Bruce-penned words tracing his career from beach bum to stadium showman to pensive, plaintive elder statesman. The principle achievement of Songs is to remind you that at no point was Bruce's story as simple as it was made out to be. For every crystal-clear career moment like 'Born to Run', there's a complex, murky flipside. -- Arena, April 1999

Spiffing...300 beautifully illustrated pages, and including the lyrics to every recorded Bruce song. -- Time Out, April 1999

Springsteen's track record in making music is well-established; here he proves adept at writing about it. The tone is frank and confessional, and besides tracing his own development as a writer, Springsteen follows his characters....Songs is far more than far more than just a picture book with lyrics. Indeed there are rare photos, and essays about writing and recording each album, making it the nearest thing yet to his autobiography. The Bruce that emerges is, of course, engaging and likeable, but what makes Songs really intriguing are the small details. Songs intriguingly and eloquently retraces that journey from the broadwalk, to the edge of town, and beyond. -- Mojo, April 1999

This is the complete collection of Bruce Springsteen's recorded album lyrics over a quarter of a century, illustrated with rare images from some of rock's most prominent photographers as well as personal photographs that reveal a side of Springsteen rarely seen by the public. Your guide on this journey is the songwriter himself, reflecting on the music, the performances, his own creative process, and, most important, his relationship to his audience.