Tonight our bed is cold
 / Lost in the darkness of our love
 / God have mercy on the man
 / Who doubts what he's sure of
 / But baby I’m sure this is the best release of the year (Patti is the worst singer just pretend she’s not on stage doing some Aaron Neville breathy warbling freakout)

Springsteen is such a natural performer his voice & presence alone captivate the audience beyond even the substance of his actual stories & songs. What shines on the film is his ability to project intimacy in a direct way that for most artists would seem like a cumbersome detraction from their art. For Bruce & his fans (I do consider myself one) this is what his performance is all about. As a reserved introvert I also find this obscuration of artistic seams as intimidating as it is impressive.

The spoken word is the guiding principle this time. The acoustic versions work as recitation - you hear every syllable, understand every verse as part of his ongoing conversation with himself and the audience. And in his beautifully crafted tales of growing up and manhood, he gets to another thing, something that only age and experience could come up with, and it's that your life matters. It matters in all its branches and connections; and it is timeless.

Love Springsteen but this is a bundle of too rehearsed feelings that I would have been happier without.

I guess we're far away enough from the 90s for VH1 Storytellers to seem fresh and inventive. But even when he uses it to get maudlin in that way Tom Waits shook off in 1974, Springsteen's a hell of a storyteller who makes you believe every word that he just told you is a lie, and he easily manages to put some old warhorses in a new light.