CLARENCE DOESN'T LEAVE THE E STREET BAND WHEN HE DIES. HE LEAVES WHEN WE DIE: That's just part of Bruce Springsteen's eulogy for Clarence Clemons, and if you haven't seen that or the lengthy tributes on Backstreets.com, you should.
But Bruce's words do occasion the question which has been on my mind: what does this mean for the E Street Band? Should they just retire any song with a prominent saxophone part? Play them, but without Clarence's part? Replace him, if not immediately but eventually? None of the answers are good ones; they were all supposed to retire together, and instead we've lost Clemons and Danny Federici in the past few years. Too damn soon.
It's such a tough call, and this is obviously not the same thing (since Clarence was (is) a legend and the E Street Band is, well, the E Street Band), but when Leroi Moore, the sax player and a founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died in 2008 the band brought Jeff Coffin from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones into the band permanently. (Leroi was injured in an ATV accident mid-tour so Coffin had already joined the tour to fill in for him temporarily, which probably helped eased the transition.)
ReplyDeleteRight after Leroi died someone asked me what I as a fan thought the band should do, should they replace him or break up, and my answer was that I'd be OK either way -- I was just grateful I'd heard him play live as many times as I did. Now when I go to shows I'm glad Coffin is there to fill in and he is very talented, but it isn't quite the same. It does seems like someone is missing on stage. I think it would be a really nice tribute to Clarence if, during some shows, they played at least one song in which he normally had a prominent part without sax.
Incidentally, at one of their shows in Atlantic City this past weekend (it may have been Saturday night -- it's a bit of a blur for me now), Dave Matthews spoke briefly about Springsteen and the E Street Band and what they're dealing with right now. It was definitely a moment in memory of Clarence.
I've been wrestling with this question pretty much since news broke of Clarence's stroke. We've had unfortunate experience in our family with what a serious stroke can do, and despite the early promise of good news relating to Clarence's condition, I was all too aware that given his age, the odds were very seriously against him playing again (much less touring again), even if he were to recover.
ReplyDeleteA few days after Clarence's death, I felt this way: I've been lucky enough to have seen C play with the ESB quite a lot (much as erin expressed re: Leroi Moore and DMB), and most of those times were since the reunion -- what Bruce often called the rededication -- of the E Street Band. I'll always have those memories, and in many cases I have the bootlegs, and thankfully Bruce has been releasing a pretty decent amount of live DVDs of both older and more recent performances, so I can enjoy those too. But Clarence is too big to replace on stage. He's too much of the show, he's too much of the heart of the performance, he's too much of a foil for Bruce. I've heard those songs enough - if Bruce and the band decided to stop playing them, I'd be OK with that.
But then I spent the past couple weeks shuffling through a lot of ESB cuts on my iPod. You can't retire the "Clarence" songs -- not very much would be left. Newer fans would never hear them play those songs live? Unfair. So, I think Bruce's eulogy contains the answer: Clarence will still be a part of this band's music for however many years they have left together. Someone will play his parts, whether on sax or on something else. Someone will make his presence felt. Bruce and the ESB need it. The fans need it. Hell, YOU need it, whether you know it or not.
Damn, that was a hell of a eulogy.
ReplyDeleteI feel like they at least have to retire 10th Avenue Freeze Out. I can't imagine that without Clarence.
ReplyDeleteCan Gary Cherone play sax?
ReplyDeleteStill not as bad as Terence Trent D'Arby fronting INXS.
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Thanks so much for linking to this. I probably would have missed it, and god, it was lovely.
ReplyDeleteBruce and the E Street Band on the Born to Run tour was my first concert. I was 14. I don't think I need to tell this crowd what that means, or how it stays with you. I can close my eyes and be there now.
If the E Street Band plays again, they need to play the sax parts. They must. We'll close our eyes, and it will be Clarence.
I'm not a fan of Bruce Springsteen -- that is, there's some stuff I like, but I don't get the fuss -- but no one, not even Clarence Clemmons, is irreplaceable. You find a great sax player who has his own style and rework the songs a bit so it works. I never saw it live, but the Grateful Dead had Bruce Horsnby play a grand piano in lieu of Brent Midland on keyboards and that worked great. Bon Scott was probably deemed irreplacable, but Brian Johnson has worked out pretty well too.
ReplyDeleteFind someone that works with the band and move on. No need to put that part of the band's sound in amber just because someone died.
Well, I agree that there's no sense telling that particular story with someone else on sax. But I'm not sure it's a song that shouldn't be sung at all.
ReplyDeleteSome guy apparently agreed with this (more or less) in 2009 - see the last three paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with Bruce as the soundtrack to my family. My folks were in Philly in the early 70s - the once cultural brag they love to cite is "We knew Bruce before he had muscles." My father studied for the CPA exam listening to "Born to Run" on vinyl - a record I inherited which is one of my most treasured possessions.
ReplyDeleteI think Adam C hit the nail on the head:if you retire iconic Clarence songs, the catalog is probably cut too far. Unless you want to listen to "57 Channels" on repeat <shudder>. And the PA's analogy is spot about Bon Scott - another similarity would be Keith Moon and The Who. It may take some time to make the right choice, and they shouldn't rush this - if it becomes a revolving door, it almost becomes disrespectful to the memory of Clarence - like you're just searching for a duplicate of him. Which you won't ever find. At the same time, you don't want someone who will completely ignore the legacy - Kenny Jones, I'm looking at you, here.
They'll find someone. The first show will be weird. But to not replace Clarence diminishes his work, and the work of the band as a whole. Clarence loved the music, and the best way to honor him is to keep playing it.
Also - 10th Avenue Freeze Out rules.</shudder>
We should all be so lucky as to have someone eulogize us like that - lovingly and honestly.
ReplyDeleteI think Neato Torpedo's point about there being no rush is true, to a point. Looking at the core of the band -- Bruce, Steve, Max, Roy, Garry, Nils, Patti -- they're all fabulously wealthy from past tours (full members of the ESB split concert revenues equally) and other endeavors (Max's TV work and his various side projects, Steve's acting and radio work, Garry's producing work, etc.). There's no financial imperative for them to get back out on the road before it feels right.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, each of those members will be pushing or past 60 the next time they tour together. Bruce, Garry, and Roy will all turn 62 this year, and Patti, the youngest core member, turns 58. The window of opportunity is necessarily limited. There were reports earlier in June that a new album has been in production since Spring 2011, but it appears to be a solo, or at least a non-ESB, project.
That was lovely- honest, heartfelt and true.
ReplyDeleteThat eulogy is so beautifully written, and such a great tribute to Clarence as both a legend and a man.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of what happens now, I agree that you can't retire the parts of the catalog that are sax heavy. Part of me would like to see a variety of sax players filling in -- doing different legs of whatever future ESB tours come in the future so that it's clear that the songs can be played and that people can fill in, there is no one person who actually replaces Clarence.
What a lovely eulogy. As I am not a big follower of Bruce and the ESB (although I've listened to it more and more, in part due to this blog), I would have probably missed the eulogy if y'all hadn't posted it. So thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteI think that they can find someone to play the sax in CC's place. People will miss CC, the "new" sax guy will never get the love, but the sax is a part of the band's sound and they ought to keep it in there. Also, and this might not go over well in here, while CC's sound is his own, it isn't like it is technically inimitable or something, as if he could do circular breathing for an hour or play two saxes at once (which I saw the guy from Bela Fleck's band do). I would bet there are a lot of players up to the job. I think what is more likely to be lost is the stage presence and attitude.
ReplyDeleteI can give you a real world example: On the Human Touch/Lucky town tour (aka the "Other Band tour"), Bruce's first without the ESB, he had long-time Mellencamp accompanist Crystal Taliefero playing Clarence's sax part on Born to Run. Musically, she was fine. But people most definitely minded.
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