Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's "Letter to You" looks at life, death and the future

The road is long and seeming without end The days go on, I remember you, my friend And though you're gone and my heart's been empty it seems I'll see you in my dream

Becoming a rock and roll legend is not an overnight thing. It begins with getting your first guitar. Maybe you take lessons or maybe just teach yourself how to play. There are hours of practice in your bedroom, basement and garage. You endure the looks of disdain from your parents and siblings. What you think is the most beautiful music you've ever heard, they think is noise. And yet you keep going.

You join your first band. When you practice together, you think you sound great, but in reality, you suck.

You get good enough to play some gigs. Birthday parties, school dances, the local VFW. You might even get a paycheck. It seems like you've hit the big time, but when you split up the money it barely pays for the gas that took you to the gig.

Most people give up after a while of doing this. What started as fun has become a struggle. College or a real job beckons. Your teenage band years become a memory. Probably one that you'll look back on fondly.

But a select few keep going. For them, music is their way of communicating. It gets deep on their soul. It becomes their life.

Bruce Springsteen is one of those few. Before he became "The Boss", he had to go through the early struggles of learning to become a musician. The band that helped him to accomplish that was The Castiles. They were together in various forms from 1965 through 1968. Typical for a high school group, but it was a good start before trying to move on to better things.

One of the founding members of The Castiles was George Theiss. In 2019, Theiss died of lung cancer. He and Springsteen remained in touch, especially during the three years Theiss battled cancer.

With the death of George Theiss, Springsteen realized that he was the last of The Castiles to still be living. An event like that surely makes you introspective about your life and your mortality. When you're a songwriter, you have an obvious forum in which to express your thoughts. That led to his latest album, "Letter To You."

The album isn't only about death and mortality. Springsteen also looks back on his life, his work with the musicians who have played a major part in his musical journey and also what is ahead for him. To do this right, he needed a group of musicians who knew him best and could give him what he needed to make the project work. So for the first time in more than half a decade, it was time to make an album with the E Street Band.

After the songs for the album were written, Springsteen brought them to Roy Bittan, the pianist for Springsteen since 1974. Bittan loved them and said to leave them alone until they could get into the studio to work on them....and that's what happened.

For the first time. Springsteen and the E Street band recorded an album as if they were playing a live performance. Everyone was playing their instruments and singing at the same time. The only overdubs on the album were filling in some extra guitar parts. It took only four days of work to record the twelve songs on the album. To accomplish that, you need to have a group of musicians that knows and trusts each other. That comes with a band that has been playing together for more than four decades.

The plan was to take the new music on the road. Because of Covid-19, that didn't happen. No one knows when it will be safe enough to tour. Until it is, you'll have to enjoy the brilliant music of this album through however you get your music in 2020. In a sad year, where the world is strggling to survive, some of the greatest artists of the baby boomer generation have released some outstanding work. With respect to Neil Young's 'Homegrown' and Bob Dylan's 'Rough and Rowdy Ways', 'Letter to You' looks to be the best of 2020.

There's talk that this may be the final album for this group. Let's hope not because Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band still has a lot more to say. They still have a lot more music left to play.

I'll see you in my dreams when all our summers have come to an end I'll see you in my dreams, we'll meet and live and laugh again I'll see you in my dreams, yeah around the river bend For death is not the end And I'll see you in my dreams

*Song lyrics from I'll See You In My Dreams from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Related Post: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's documentary "Letter to You" is a master class in the record-making process.

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