A professor gives the Boss high marks

A professor gives the Boss high marks

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USA TODAY Review

A professor gives the Boss high marks

Marc Dolan begins Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll, his exhaustive biography of one of our most enduring pop heroes, with a disclaimer.

"No matter what some English professors might tell you," Dolan writes in the preface, "that slantwise story" — Springsteen's, and that of great rock music generally, it is suggested —"does not begin with words…It begins with three chords and a beat."

The author is a professor, in fact, of English, American studies and film. He's also an unabashed fan; and in the nearly 500 pages he devotes to his subject – not including an extensive list of notes and sources — his approach is at once academic and unapologetically enthusiastic.

Classic songs and albums are deconstructed at length, along with their back stories and reception. Springsteen's personal evolution is measured in similar depth, from his tense relationship with his working-class father to the politica l consciousness reflected in his work, and how it's been variously interpreted (and misconstrued).

At points, Dolan — who, despite his meticulous research, apparently didn't interview Springsteen for the book — projects a sense of undue intimacy. Recalling late E Street Band member Danny Federici, "whose equipment Bruce had actually assaulted," Dolan observes, "Danny could be a pill sometimes…But he was Danny."

Or he'll just fawn. Noting parallels between Springsteen and our current president, whom the rocker supported during his 2008 campaign, Dolan writes, "Neither Obama nor Springsteen could give up on those fellow Americans from whom they seemed separated."

Granted, if any artist can accommodate this mix of creative and social analysis, empathy and idol worship, it's the Boss. Devotees will delight in Dolan's account of the superstar's salad days playing Jersey clubs. But there are less-than-flattering assessments of some of Springst een's first stabs at songwriting.

Dolan makes a good case for Springsteen's staying power — not as good as the music itself, but that goes without saying.