The Mythical Image of Rock ‘n’ Roll
The Wall of Sound that could be heard on almost every song on Born to Run held a sort of mythical image of the rock ‘n’ roll era. Springsteen said once that he wanted that album to sound like “Roy Orbison singing Bob Dylan, produced by Spector.” Bruce’s friend and the guitarist, Steve Van Zandt, now laughs at the thought of it.
Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen, Garry Talent, and Steve van Zandt. Photo By Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
“Anytime you spend six months on a song, there’s something not exactly going right. A song should take about three hours.” The man’s got a point. But when it comes to perfectionism, there’s always room for improvement. In the 2005 documentary ‘Wings for Wheels,’ Springsteen called Van Zandt’s input on the track “arguably Steve’s greatest contribution to my music.”