Fans of Bruce Springsteen have three books to put on their Christmas lists this season. This is my take on one of those books, Greetings From E St. by Robert Santelli.
Santelli contributes to the Springsteen fanzine, Backstreets, and has written several books over the years. With Greetings From E St., Santelli has assembled a boatload of artifacts from Springsteen's early bands up to the Reunion tour with the E St. Band.
Plenty has been written about Springsteen's career, and Santelli wisely avoids re-telling the story in great length. Instead, his text hits the high points with just enough detail for the fan who may be new to Springsteen and his music. Santelli takes the story through the Vote For Change tour from 2004, wrapping up the story in under 100 pages.
The brevity is not a criticism, by the way. The detail of Springsteen's story is only part of the reason this book needs to be a part of your collection.
Santelli augments his text with pictures from a variety of sources, including the collection of E Streeter Danny Federici. His pictures provide a nice lead-in to the years before hooking up with Springsteen. Frank Stefanko's photos are also well-represented in Santelli's book. Stefanko shot the covers for Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River, and has had his work featured in Dave Marsh's first book on Springsteen, Born to Run.
There are two pages of pictures showing the E St. Band in action . . . . playing softball! There are plenty of shots of the band before, during, and after the many shows they've played throughout the years too. Chapter 5, covering The River tour, includes a centerfold made up of all the various backstage passes printed for the tour.
Several pages include a packet with reproductions of news clippings (dating back to Steel Mill), business cards, and backstage passes. Chapter 4 holds a copy of the Spring 1979 issue of Thunder Road, a Springsteen fan magazine. Also found in this chapter are the famous (infamous?) Time and Newsweek covers. If all of this wasn't cool enough, reproductions of handwritten setlists from three Reunion shows at the Meadowlands can be found in the book's final chapter.
The book rests inside a hardcover box, appropriately adorned with pictures and a few of the above mentioned reproductions.
This book will make a great gift for the Springsteen fan on your list. Borders had this on special when I was out, so get one for yourself too!
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