Today we have met Måns Ivarsson, journalist at Expressen. His colleague Mats Bråstedt was prevented from coming, but we’ll interview him in April.
Måns saw his first Springsteen concert in Copenhagen in 1981. He thinks that the heart of Springsteen’s production is centered around the albums Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River, and he ranks the tour in 1981 as the best he has seen.
Måns thinks that the reason Springsteen is so popular in Sweden is that he is so genuine, a “bluecollar rocker, a nice working class guy”. That appeals to the swedish audience, because Springsteen personify pretty much the same ideals as were developed in the socialdemocratic People’s home.
In 1992 Måns was invited to Hollywood to attend the rehearsals before the Human Touch/Lucky Town-tour. Ivarsson spent four days together with Springsteen and the members of the new band Bruce had put together after the break with the E Street Band.
“That was very exciting, the new band sounded very promising, but later on the tour Bruce didn’t manage to use their capacity. They ended up sounding like a bad version of the E Street Band because Bruce didn’t have the nerve to let go of the E Street-sound and try something completely different”, Måns told us.
Micke, preparing to shoot.
In 1992 Måns got a personal interview with Bruce in Hollywood. That also happened in Stockholm, just before the world premiere of the HT/LT-tour. “I was at the Globe arena, watching the soundcheck, when the manager came up to me and said ‘There’s somebody who wants to talk to you’. I went to check who it was and there to my surprise, Bruce sat, waiting for me. It was great to interview him. There are few artists who can really express their musical achievements in words, but Bruce and Keith Richards are two of them. Bruce is very intelligent and has a great verbal ability.”
Since 1981 Måns have seen most of the shows Bruce have played in Sweden. “Unfortunately I think he have become boring over the years. He doesn’t tell these fabulous monologues as he used to do, and he doesn’t change the setlists as much. During the eighties you never knew what would happen during a show, today there is less variation in the performances. But you have to remember, even when Bruce is boring he still is better than most artists today.”
Måns also thinks that The Gost of Tom Joad and The Rising are bad albums. “They just don’t touch me. They are writingtable products. The first is based on newpaper articles about illegal immigrants. I’ve read somewhere that Bruce tried to write happy songs about a comfortable familylife, but the audience didn’t like them. If you want to be cynical you could say that he needed an event like 9/11 to give him something more painful to write about, because he doesn’t find that in his own life anymore.”
But Måns still has high hopes for the future. He says it would be great with a new album and another tour. “But I do hope it will be more of a garage rock album, with a rougher sound”, he said.
We thank Måns Ivarsson for an inspiring conversation. Next interview will be on Tuesday, when we will meet celloplayer Daniel who saw Springsteens first show in Sweden, at Konserthuset in 1975.