I'm a sucker for well-crafted music about music, and this song is 100% that. And if putting such a fresh spin on themes so true to the essence of his work isn't an instantly great Springsteen song, then I don't know what is. There is not a wasted note, a wasted lyric, nothing. The addition of the letter should still form a word, and the title should be humorous as a result. “House of a Thousand Guitars” No, “House of a Thousand Guitars” is not a Willie Nile cover. In the face of mounting political pressure and diseases in society both literal and metaphorical, where "Radio Nowhere" responds by collapsing inward, "House of a Thousand Guitars" finds the hope and strength "Radio Nowhere" could not, and emphasizes reaching outward to those around you to help comfort, support, and uniquely uplift each other. House of a Thousand Guitars Bruce extols the healing power of live music in maybe the most piano-heavy song ever written with the word “guitars” in the title. [..] With the pain and the hurt love sometime brings in the house of a thousand guitars. This one shreds. There was a story he told in one about the real reason he wrote "Last Man Standing", the No. Kind of clunky, kind of generic. There was even an topic some years ago about '6-star songs'. They are all fantastic. Those three songs kind of form their own little mini-album in the middle of the album, kind of like the Irishy songs on Wrecking Ball. I'm sure Bruce could have found a more mellifluous way of expressing the same idea.  Unfortunately "guitar" itself is a clunky word. Clear editor. To this end, he wants to feel some rhythm—and, should you feel the same, he wants to give you rhythm. The give-and-take between human beings whereby 1 and 1 makes 3. We find ourselves in similar times today, for obvious reasons. You can post now and register later. Bruce's focus is now more internal, more interpersonal, and more focused directly on art in itself, and so, too, is Letter to You. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2009 CD release of "House Of A Thousand Guitars" on Discogs. But while many of those songs are psychological and individual, "House of a Thousand Guitars" is explicitly community-driven and social. House of a Thousand Guitars Jimmy Hendrix plays all night long in the house of a thousand guitars. Through a purple haze you can hear the song in the house of a thousand guitars. And "House of a Thousand Guitars" is, in its entirety, an allusion. Bruce Springsteen - House Of A Thousand Guitars (Official Audio) I mean, again, that's just LOHAD for you. At about 2:15 into the third song on the album, a pure Darkness on the Edge of Town era-sounding guitar solo steals this song and takes it to another level. Because of course they are. Go back and listen to the title track of "Magic", and if you agreed with it then, you'll agree with it today. ‘House of a Thousand Guitars’ marks the transition to the part of the album in which the center of the songs is the community to which the main character belongs. They're the three songs longer than six minutes. It’s an OK song for me. On April 23, 2013, at a ceremony in Leeds, UK, Nile was named Legacy Ambassador for the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation. It's absolutely incredible that a 71-year-old man is creating the bone-chillingly perfect vocals that Springsteen does at the end of the song. ), the buckskin jacket, boots, and spurs make it undeniable that at least SOME of these allusions are intentional. The songwriter who, even when "waist-deep in that black river of doubt", aspires to "rise and WALK"? Change one letter out of a song title to change it's meaning. × And one of the things that unites, well, everyone, is the inevitability and mysteriousness of death. I also find that Last Man Standing, Power Of Prayer, and this song all rather merge into one. House of a thousand guitars, as a musician especially, takes on a hugely symbolic meaning - we all want to be in the house of a thousand guitars, especially right now I'd be just as happy to be in the House Of A Thousand Songs. Bruce Springsteen. Count the band in then kick into overdrive, By the end of the set we leave no one alive, Evan Macy You can see the band hearing their creation for the first time in the recording studio, with longtime producer Jon Landau breaking down into tears and saying the song had "something magnificent" to it. I mean, he's already done The Rising and Magic; past that, what more is there to say? That recording Letter To You took just four days is not a knock against its quality. My wife thought it was done with some editing in the studio, but if you watch the Letter to You documentary on Apple TV+, you'll actually see him sing it and it's all him. You have a very awkward sounding phrase that is not only the title, but is repeated over and over again.  and "Ghosts", the very next track on the album: "Old buckskin jacket you always wore But clearly, that's not what Bruce is interested in writing anymore. Billed as “The Largest Guitar Store in the World,” House of Guitars, Inc. is the located in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of the city of Rochester. That would be an exercise this board could undertake someday. 1968Hoya46. "—a song that espouses the value of art and human connection in the face of love, loss, God, and tyrants—makes for an effective mission statement for Bruce's entire body of work.   You cannot paste images directly. I don't think it's a stretch to say many people were hoping for and/or expecting another "political Bruce album" at some point - hearing something that was to Trump what Magic was to Bush. One of the lesser songs on the album for me. And the House of a Thousand Guitars became the studio in my mind. House of A Thousand Guitars (Springsteen) 0 Kudos 728 Views 0. I'm not saying that he doesn't sing it with feeling or anything (he definitely does), but it just sounds rather uninspired musically speaking to me, and not to mention how clunky the title phrase for the most part sounds when sung (...And it's sung quite a lot). For me it's a song that needed more refining, and the main problem is the phrase "house of a thousand guitars".  Ironically it's not musical.  It doesn't flow.  Which is nice if you choose not too many; quite some people chose 10-15 songs, or even more, which to me is a little bit ridiculous. Best vocal performance: The end of "House of 1,000 Guitars" "House of 1,000 Guitars" is kind of a weird song. ) songs with the same amount of passion... then yup, they would each deserve 5 stars! I dare you to listen to "Ghosts" and not sing along with the ear-wormy chorus: Alive, I can feel the blood shiver in my bones. WILLIE NILE > House of a Thousand Guitars by Brian T. Atkinson April 30, 2009, 1:58 pm 2 Comments At his best, Willie Nile cuts lines as … So who am I to be making these claims about music, as a sportswriter and not a music critic? I still have pages upon pages of LETTER TO YOU discussion to catch up on. Refashioning a classic hype line from shows as a metaphorical, social, and really even rhetorical question, our desperately isolated narrator asks, "Is there anybody alive out there? There aren’t 40 times to clock or pitch speeds to measure. CrushOnOutlawPete, Share. Here Nile demonstrates the diversity of his song writing and performing abilities with an equal mix of classic guitar rock and an equal part of his deep and sensitive piano ballads. And he wants it to be a rhythm loud enough, booming enough, to crush and stomp the drone utterly into the dust. Boots and the spurs you used to ride I still have pages upon pages of, Maybe that's not the case anymore, but at any rate, I think this song's purpose. And with its distinctly community-driven approach and explicit references to the fanbase listening to the song itself, on a level really only matched by "Land of Hope and Dreams"; with its utterly grand, absolutely beautiful, "Jungleland"-esque imagery of people spilling out across the world into music performances to find and form connections with people who feel the same way they do; and with its meta status as a direct sequel to an incredibly bleak song that suggested the exact opposite, I'd argue that "House of a Thousand Guitars" is one of the best and most beautiful songs in the "one plus one makes three" tradition to date. Get all the lyrics to songs on House of a Thousand Guitars and join the Genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics. × It was my favourite song on the album when I first heard it, and it still is. Report. The store Why "HOUSE OF A THOUSAND GUITARS" is one of the most beautiful Letter to You tracks, It's been too long since I've posted on here. The result is Magic, an album that I (hot take impending) consider an absolute modern classic and even a top 5 Springsteen album of all time. A wonderful mixture of different types of songs....all pretty fabulous in my view. In the 18 years since then, I've seen The Boss in concert around 30 times, including seven on one tour (in 2012) and twice on Broadway. "If I Was The Priest" is a ballad that more or less describes the hypocrisy of growing up Catholic (or really any religious denomination)— but in true Bruce fashion it takes place in a saloon in the old west. Earlier: Is the coming storm … It's not just an over-the-top image; it is, in a song that opens with counting your scars even as a blood moon rises, and doing it with everyone from the churches to the jails (I know I don't need to provide a link for that one), a direct homage to one of the most acclaimed Springsteen songs of the new millennium to date. Really, there are hooks in almost every song that get your head nodding — but we'll give the throwback song written in 1972 the "award" for the best riff. Anyway, "Letter to You" is a masterpiece, and here are some of the reasons why: We'll get into this song more a bit later, but the guitar riff after the chorus is kind of a throwback-sounding melody carried by the low-echoing guitar sounds that makes for quintessential Springsteen. Song information for House of a Thousand Guitars - Willie Nile on AllMusic It's a song that cannot be analyzed in a vacuum... so let's set the clock back about thirteen years. (And more, when the need arises.). A simple, sad statement of a man who feels lost, confused, and betrayed—not only by his fellow man, but by his community. [or, in other words, songs that rate 11 on a scale of 10].   Your link has been automatically embedded. This song is the true product of almost half a century of Springsteen honing his craft for writing songs and for performing them with the E Street Band. For the record, my favorite album is The River and my favorite song is "Drive All Night." From all-out rockers with meat on the bone like the title track and Doomsday Dance, to the chilling portrait of wars aftermath in Now That … Eventually in 2002, I got my first live taste of Bruce, and hearing him and the Band jam to "Kitty's Back" for about 15 minutes during a live performance was enough to get me hooked. Song Meanings and Facts. But, from what I have seen, it seems some of the initial response to "House of a Thousand Guitars" was... not negative, certainly, but maybe lukewarm, compared to the rest of the album. And I'm somewhere in between these two comments.Â. Instead of musing on with a cliche review of the album, we've decided to — like we do in the sports section of PhillyVoice all the time — hand out a few superlatives. I saw a few outlets complain about it, with one even calling the song the worst on the album. The blood moon shines across the veil Bells ring out through churches and jails I tally my wounds and count the scars Here in the house of a thousand guitars The criminal clown has stolen the throne He steals what he can never own May the truth ring out from every small town bar We'll light up the house of a thousand guitars Well it's alright yeah, it's alright Meet me darlin' … The lyrics are dense, but the melody is on point and catchy. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. What a great wife I have. In this way, while The Rising is a hope that we can, through the love of our community, improve it, and Magic laments and protests our failure to do so... Letter to You posits that we need not end at lamentation, we need not "keep from singing", but rather can still connect with each other to, on a micro level, recapture that love and beauty from the most optimistic tracks off The Rising, use it to improve our own lives and thus the lives of those around us, and, in so doing, still form and enhance a social, interpersonal community of love and empathy, even if the political community and state of the world has us down. When that didn't happen, Magic was an album about that failure, an album about what it looks like, how it affects people, and how that makes them feel. The Rising is the hope; Magic is its deferment. [..] With the pain and the hurt love sometime brings in the house of a thousand guitars. But then, it is only entertainment; just like one man's 5-star (or 6-star) song is another one's 2-star song; one man's 'Holy Grail' at sign request another one's 'it was an outtake because it is not a good song'. House of a Thousand Guitars Jimmy Hendrix plays all night long in the house of a thousand guitars. The blood moon shines across the vale Bells ring out through churches and jails I tally my wounds and count the scars Here in the house of a thousand guitars The criminal clown has stolen the throne He steals what he can never own May the truth ring out from every small town bar We'll light up the house of a thousand guitars Well it's alright yeah it's alright Meet me darling … Lyrics aside, the song kind of takes on a new essence of beauty at the very end, when Springsteen sings A Capella (with Roy Bittan's delicate piano). Hey, if you truly love 25 (or more ! By Report. But it's actually fantastic, if you can get through the fact that it has a very unusual and more or less nonsensical chorus. Reply. By now, it's clear that Letter to You is a very meta, self-referential album, reflecting on Bruce's work, his band, his fans, and the connection between the three—both in general and, at times, specifically. There is something for everyone in it. 2 runner up for my "best chorus" designation. © 2021 WWB Holdings, LLC. ...Well, if he were, he probably wouldn't have made an entire album about how much he loves working with his bandmates and connecting with his fans, now would he? Wonderful song. On a 5 star scale, I’d give it a 3. The new song “House of a Thousand Guitars” has no relation to the Willie Nile song of the same name. This is another one I am eager to hear the band nail in a live performance. Rating all the songs on a 5 star scale, like some recruiting services do with high school football and basketball prospects. Of the three, I really like Last Man Standing and could take or leave the other two. Is the man who firmly believes that in love, in life, and at the rock 'n' roll show, one plus one equals THREE—who places such a value upon the unique worth of human beings and even more infinitely unique worth of their ability to influence each other, to form some type of intangible connection and impact on each other that goes beyond what either one could be individually—one to let the intense, hopeless individualism of "Radio Nowhere" go unchecked? Bruce explained that he has recently become the last living member of his original band The Castiles. HOUSE OF A THOUSAND GUITARS Directed by Robert Noonan. The look on Bruce's face himself as he sits down and hears the song is very moving. We damn sure didn't "ask questions before [we shot]." It sees Bruce Springsteen looking forward and back. For me it's a song that needed more refining, and the main problem is the phrase "house of a thousand guitars".  Ironically it's not musical.  It doesn't flow.  Reply. The final song on the album is an absolute masterpiece, where Springsteen looks death between the eyes and tries to make enough sense of pain and loss and does the enviable — he turns it into a battle cry. That is much more inclusive (doesn't the drummer count? Springsteen reached back, way back to record three never-released pieces of music that he penned in the early 70s, before he was even a signed musician. His 20th album features all the members of the E Street Band and was produced by Springsteen and Ron Aniello. I'm sure Bruce could have found a more mellifluous way of expressing the same idea.  Unfortunately "guitar" itself is a clunky word. Or, maybe, is that meant to be ambiguous? PhillyVoice Staff, Doug Pederson's South Jersey home is up for sale at $2.7 million, Thousands of Philly residents inoculated at 24-hour COVID-19 vaccine clinic, Second COVID vaccine dose delayed? Again, let me reiterate: "House of a Thousand Guitars" is literally a direct sequel to "Radio Nowhere", wherein the writer has, at long last, FOUND the thousand guitars, the pounding drums, and the million different voices speaking in tongues. House of a thousand guitars, house of a thousand guitars Brother and sister, wherever you are We'll rise together till we fire the spark That'll light up the house of a thousand guitars Well, it's all right, yeah, it's all right Meet me, darlin', come Saturday night … It's been too long since I've posted on here. “House of a Thousand Guitars” “Rainmaker” “If I Was the Priest” “Ghosts” “Song for Orphans” “I’ll See You in My Dreams” “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest” and “Song for Orphans” are new recordings of older songs not included on previous studio albums. on the album, and in the broader context of Bruce's work—has gone unappreciated, at least by some... and it's one of my immediate favorites off the new album... so, let me take a second here to highlight it. From the opening drums to Springsteen telling his fans "I hear the sound of your guitar," the song starts with a slowly building tenseness that will eventually manifest in the aforementioned chorus that you'll memorize within one listen. I am also a fan of the "Letter To You" riff, and the "Ghosts" riff. And humming it throughout your day. "House of 1,000 Guitars" is kind of a weird song. While it wasn't even written by Bruce, I've thought for a couple years now that "How Can I Keep From Singing? And once you listen to it once, you'll find yourself listening to it again. As a typical Springsteen fan boy, I watched a handful of interviews with the artist himself during my intense dive into all things Bruce on the day the album dropped. I can't say for sure, but this sounds like a Nils Lofgren special. Springsteen himself likes it so much he fires it up a second time. Band in studio: Andy York, Brad Albetta and Rich Pagano. Though that might have been the more captivating move considering this … He revisits a trio… House Of A Thousand Guitars by Willie Nile, released 12 July 2017 April 14, 2009 House Of A Thousand Guitars, is the realization and fulfillment of all the promise that had been predicted by many since his debut album years ago. It's the sad proclamation of someone so jarred, shocked, and sickened by what he sees that he feels alone, adrift, and isolated.   Pasted as rich text. If there's one theme Springsteen has been singing about since album 1, track 1, when "some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feelin' of romance", and has especially started emphasizing in the past decade, it's the redemptive, healing power of love and interpersonal connections. The Rising was an album that posited that maybe, through the power of community, optimism, love, and positive human connection, we as a society could effect a positive change in the world, "pull strength out of that black hole on the horizon", and create something positive out of the negative. November 29, 2020 in The Circuit - Bruce Springsteen. 12. “House of a Thousand Guitars” No, “House of a Thousand Guitars” is not a Willie Nile cover. As a kid, my dad brought me up the right way, with everything from Greetings from Asbury Park to Tunnel of Love echoing through the car as he shuttled me around in my youth. Click down the hall but never arrive". Upload or insert images from URL. While some of the lyrics I immediately took as references may just be coincidences (is the "mystery ride" in "Last Man Standing" a callback to the "mystery prize" of "Walk Like A Man"—or is it a coincidental overlap by a guy who's written hundreds of songs? That's a burden that comes with age, health, and prosperity. But "House of a Thousand Guitars" stands as at once an exception to, yet also an affirmation of, this change in focus from the days of Magic. House Of A Thousand Guitars (2009) is the sixth studio album by singer/songwriter Willie Nile. And maybe it's just that I love Magic more than a lot of people, maybe it's just that I love this type of self-referential thing, but that, to me, is magical. It's classic Springsteen at its core, romanticizing music itself on a scale arguably not seen since LOHAD and "Jungleland" before that, yet with a melodic sensibility and musical delivery clearly and exclusively of these last two albums. Today, Bruce Springsteen announced his latest project, a new album called Letter to You due on October 23. When Bruce sings "The criminal clown has stolen the throne, he steals what he can never own", whatever anyone here may believe, for, I don't think it's a stretch to say many people were hoping for and/or expecting another "political Bruce album" at some point - hearing something that was to Trump whatÂ, Bruce's focus is now more internal, more interpersonal, and more focused directly on art in itself, and so, too, isÂ, The hopeless isolation of "Radio Nowhere" may feel, at times, very real, for very good reasons...Â, It's not just an over-the-top image; it is, in a song that opens withÂ, It's an image not just of music and the love thereof, but a metaphorÂ, If there's one theme Springsteen has been singing about since album 1, track 1, when "some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to, And with its distinctly community-driven approach and explicit references to the fanbase, Somewhere in the swamps of Northern New Jersey. Sure. A man who doesn't want a drone. He doesn't want the lying, the emptiness, the overload, the loneliness. HOUSE OF A THOUSAND GUITARS Directed by Robert Noonan. What moved you to shoot in black and white? The year is 2007... and as it happens, as much as "America needed Bruce", the country and its government did not quite follow the lessons, advice, and philosophies of The Rising. We didn't "get things started"... nothing like the positive community of "Mary's Place", at any rate. The hopeless isolation of "Radio Nowhere" may feel, at times, very real, for very good reasons... but if you think Bruce Springsteen's philosophy is one of hopelessness and isolation, you haven't been paying very close attention over the years. From the sheer grief of "Devil's Arcade" and "Gypsy Biker", crushing commentary of the latter track, foreboding threats of "You'll Be Comin' Down", "Magic", and "Livin' in the Future", and sheer, fiery, cyclical nihilism and tragedy of "Last to Die", the album basically runs the gamut of what you could want a protest album to say or do. Band in studio: Andy York, Brad Albetta and Rich Pagano. While some of the lyrics I immediately took as referencesÂ, While it wasn't even written by Bruce, I've thought for a couple years now that "How Can I Keep From Singing? You have a very awkward sounding phrase that is not only the title, but is repeated over and over again.  The blood moon has rose once more. My favourite - from the opening piano to the end. Come to think of it the melody would probably work quite well for a house track actually, haha. Is the man who offers to walk you "All the Way Home", even when "the bar's comin' on closin' time", one for giving up? 'Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You' documentary featurse behind-the-scenes footage of Springsteen and The E Street Band performing together over the years, including as they recorded the band's first album since 2014. When Bruce sings "The criminal clown has stolen the throne, he steals what he can never own", whatever anyone here may believe, for Bruce, we all know who he means. The album is dedicated to the memory of Nile’s brother John. Guitar and pen Who. ", "A lost number in a file, searching for a world with some soul...". And then you'll picture a packed Meadowlands full of baby boomers (plus, of course, myself) all yelling "I'm Alive" in unison with fists pumping. MAY THE TRUTH RING OUT FROM EVERY SMALL TOWN BAR. In case I'm being too abstract, let me make it clear: And it's one wherein our narrator has found his rhythm. Maybe that's not the case anymore, but at any rate, I think this song's purpose—on the album, and in the broader context of Bruce's work—has gone unappreciated, at least by some... and it's one of my immediate favorites off the new album... so, let me take a second here to highlight it. On November 22, 2009, Nile joined the E Street Band for the cover of Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher". As Letter to You centers around his metaphorical letter to us, as written and released over the past half a century, it's full of tie-ins to his previous work; look no further than not only the three 1970s songs dusted off for a 2020s Bruce and a 2020s audience ("Janey Needs A Shooter", "If I Was the Priest", "Song for Orphans"), but, indeed, the direct connection between "If I Was The Priest": "In a buckskin jacket, boots and spurs so fine". This is a man searching for an identity, and for a community. If you aren't sure which ones are the oldies (and can't tell from the titles), it's easy. My wedding band is inscribed with "you've got my love." (...No pun intended.). Restore formatting, × So it may very well be a setting like a dancehall or party venue. Tagged: Letter to You . This track is vaguely reminiscent of a another song a legendary senior artist dropped in 2020, that being Bob Dylan’s “I Contain Multitudes“. Those three songs are the high point of the album for me...and that's the sort of thing which in my opinion makes this album so special. That’s Ok. It’s just music. It's an image not just of music and the love thereof, but a metaphor specifically for the harmony between people that can be provided through any type of human connection but, for our purposes here, especially through the arts, especially music. Because it's a true rock album, and one of the best works of art to come from Springsteen in his illustrious 45-year career. In the face of mounting political pressure and diseases in society both literal and metaphorical, where "Radio Nowhere" responds by collapsing inward, "House of a Thousand Guitars" finds the hope and strength "Radio Nowhere" could not, and emphasizes reaching outward to those around you to help comfort, support, and uniquely uplift each other. The release has been met with widespread critical acclaim by critics, particularly with the album's ability to face mortality and aging in a profound manner and was a commercial success, topping several … That's shades of even a more purely light-hearted song like "Where the Bands Are" or "Out in the Street", or even an offhand reference to James Young and the Immortal Ones in "County Fair". CDC says late shots can still be effective, The 2021 Golden Globes air next week: Here's how to watch, Serial bank robber sentenced to prison for 'drug-fueled crime spree' in Northeast Philly, State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta joins growing field of candidates vying for Sen. Toomey's U.S. Senate seat.   Your previous content has been restored. All rights reserved. For example: ... "House On A Thousand Guitars," Willie Nile originally "House Of A Thousand Guitars" Yvette Bristle House of a thousand guitars, house of a thousand guitars Brother and sister wherever you are We’ll rise together till we fire the spark That’ll light up the house of a thousand guitars. "I'll See You In My Dreams" is, in this writer's opinion, the most beautiful opus about death ever put to music (a close second is Say Anything's Cemetery). Hangs on the back of my bedroom door Bruce Springsteen unleashed a force of nature into the ethos a few days ago, as Letter to You, a new studio album recorded with the E Street Band is now available everywhere, and is worth listening to (if you are reading this, though, we assume you have). Or stated otherwise, the “house of a thousand guitars” is where the singer, addressee and “all the souls from near and far” congregate to ‘shake off their troubles’.

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