Vaccines claim another. RIP.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

Any relation to Jack?

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Did the theme song to the Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, a signal that you had stayed up way past your bedtime and were getting into the weird part of TV.

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Solos on "Young Americans" and "All American Alien Boy."

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Don't take it personally.

He used to be a guest player in Letterman's band quite often. I want to say he was even the guest band leader when Paul Schaefer was on vacation.

Remember my dad listening to his "Jazz Show" on the Loop in the later 80s on Sunday mornings before WNUA started playing that music full time

Played on one of my favorite LPs, Born to Run with Clarence.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

My wife (who was a BIGFAN) said they said on XRT today that if your LP collection is 12" thick then chances are good you have albums on which Sanborn plays.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

One of my friends is a HUGE Springsteen fan. She got really offended when I pointed out that the mediocrity/inferiority of the Big Man's playing was a prominent feature of the E Street Band. It was part of the vibe. A barroom player who was somehow in the biggest band in the world. The band wouldn't have been the same if you had replaced him with a really accomplished player like Sanborn or Michael Brecker. Clarence was an important part of the band's working class style as well as the Boss's on stage foil/straight man. Springsteen could have replaced him with a virtuoso but the band just wouldn't have been as great.

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Don't take it personally.

Absolutely agree.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

I am sure she is right.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

I agree with your take on Clemons and his contributions to Springsteen's sound.

One of my acquaintances, Tim McAllister, is widely considered to be the greatest modern classical saxophonist in the world--the legendary composer John Adams often refers to him as "the Yo Yo Ma of the saxophone" and has remarked that McCallister is one of the top two or three living musicians on any instrument. McAllister is the leader of the groundbreaking PRISM Quartet, which is known in part for its remarkable ability to play many different kinds of "modern" classical (and other) styles at a level few others can even begin to approach.

Despite his reputation and many musical accomplishments, though, I'm certain that McAllister would say he couldn't play Clarence's solos any better than the Big Man did. More technically proficient? Sure. But better? Absolutely not.

McAllister is simply too good of a musician to improve on Clemons' solos.

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I think that is true of a lot of rock musicians. Another example of this is Jethro Tull in a way. Until much later years Ian Anderson lets everyone know he was some sort of self taught caveman beast of a flute player. It worked though because the audience wasn't in search of Yo Yo Ma.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

No, you're absolutely right. The humanity was the magic of it all. Slickly produced Springsteen is always garbage.

Having Sanborn (and the Breckers) do the backing horns for "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" was great, but having him solo on "Jungleland" wouldn't have been the same.

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I don't know about "always garbage," but the slickly produced albums do tend to suffer as a result. Born in the U.S.A. is definitely the worse off for the shiny 80's veneer that was plastered over it, but the personal lyrics of Tunnel of Love still manage to hit their mark despite the 80's production.

More like David SanDEAD

Amirite?

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Yeah, maybe I was too harsh. My default is that anything after Nebraska is pretty bad, but The Ghost of Tom Joad is pretty shimmery and synth-padded and still has its moments. But no, the lyrics can't save that the-Lite-FM-ass "Tougher Than the Rest," gotta stand my ground on that one.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

I was thinking more about "One Step Up" and "Brilliant Disguise." In terms of everything after Nebraska, I thought you're on record as being a fan of Magic?

Flashes of brilliance. I thought it was all-things-considered good for a Springsteen album in 2007 but seemed to leave something on the table. "Your Own Worst Enemy" in particular felt flatter than it should have.

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Who's playing WILL linebacker now?

I'm not going to claim that it has more artistic merit than Nebraska, but I certainly find myself listening to it more often. I will claim it has more lyrical depth than Greetings From Asbury Park N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.

Any album that has Springsteen doing a Magnetic Fields impression has got to be pretty strong.

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Sanborn's resume is pretty well decorated.

Years ago I recall overhearing one of the College of Music professors scoffing at the Sanborn's of the world as legitimate "great" musicians. I remember thinking...."envy much?"

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I had forgotten he played sax on Ween's "Your Party"...surprised tricolored pasta wasn't here to remind us first.

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An unjust law is no law at all--St. Augustine of Hippo

Cause tried and true
I see the light in you
Oh, can you dig in my soul?
Could you smell my whole...
life?--Gener and Deaner