'On a day like this, I remember -- I'm the President, but he's The Boss.' President Obama, 2009.
Before Bruce Springsteen became The Boss, he was just a kid musician from New Jersey, playing at the city's local stomping grounds and hawking tickets to his shows at $5.50 a pop. Photographer Eric Meola witnessed a glimmer of his potential 1973 show at Max's Kansas City and later in 1975, after spending a day snapping the young songwriter as they drove up and down Jersey's legendary Highway 9. One of his shots -- the image of Springsteen leaning on Clarence Clemons' shoulder -- would become the cover of the Born to Run album.
Meola's shoot in 1977 was different. By that time, Springsteen was coming into his own, having won critical acclaim and a legion of fans. Springsteen arrived at the studio carrying a small paper bag with a change of clothes. His beard was gone; this was clearly a new stage in his life, a departure from Born to Run. Meola found he was shooting his a new persona -- Springsteen, the rock star-that emerged from the darkness.STREETS OF FIRE is a collection from that shoot -- some of which have never been published before. They span an afternoon spent in Holmdel at Telegraph Hill Road, drives on Highway 9 and days goofing around playing softball with the 'E Street Kings' -- intimate portraits that reflect the early days of one of the world's most legendary performers. With an introduction from Meola, an insightful essay that puts the shoot into historical context, and lyrics to several of Springsteen's songs, this collectible volume shows Springsteen as he was -- an artist at the crossroads of his fledgling career, writing about dark themes and finding redemption through his own words and image.
Deluxe in size, this book is more than a must-have item for Springsteen fans; it is a work of art just as memorable and moving as the album Darkness on the Edge of Town. This limited edition will feature a cloth binding with silver foil stamping and removable prints of some of Meola's beautiful photographs of Springsteen. It can also be customised with the author's signature.
