Why Only Bruce Springsteen Fans Will Love ‘Road Diary’

You don’t have to be a Bruce Springsteen fan to enjoy “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” but it would certainly help.

I mean, why would anyone who wasn’t a Springsteen fan watch a documentary about his 2023-24 world tour in the first place? Idle curiosity perhaps? But director Thom Zimny’s film — Springsteen is credited as the writer — rewards the fanatic much more than the casual fan. If you’re looking for a warts-and-all behind-the-scenes experience, well, you’re only getting half of it.

The less interesting half, frankly.

I say this as a Springsteen fan, not a fanatic. I’ve seen it six times, which sounds like a lot, but in this universe it’s practically just dipping your toe in the water. He’s certainly a fantastic live performer and, by his own admission, something of a control freak – you don’t get this good or popular by accident.

The E Street Band hadn’t played together in 6 years

So the idea of ​​seeing him working on fine-tuning the E Street Band after six years of not playing live together was exciting. Especially since the show with which he opened the second leg of his tour in Phoenix was one of the best he had seen. How rigorous must the rehearsals have been? How meticulous is the staging?

Promise kept: I told my son I was going to take her to see Bruce Springsteen. It took 12 years

An hour and 39 minutes later, I don’t know much more than I knew going in.

There are certainly images of the band reuniting to prepare for the tour, hugs everywhere, talking about how much they missed each other, how much they missed playing together, a separation exacerbated by the COVID pandemic -19.

They all talk about how rusty they were in the beginning, how slow they played the songs. However, the footage we see of the rehearsal sounds ready for the concert. Is this just the ignorance of the untrained ear? Or a decision by Zimny ​​and Springsteen to explain but not show how they solved the problems?

What is clear is one thing that David Remnick pointed out in his already famous 2012 New Yorker story about Springsteen, “We Are Alive”: “The members of the E Street Band are not Springsteen’s equals.” They serve at Springsteen’s taste, and are unanimous in their praise. So they could be. He has given all of them prosperous lives. Guitarist and musical director Steve Van Zandt comes closest to talking about Springsteen as the friend he knew so long ago and not as a near-mythical rock ‘n’ roll icon.

Springsteen’s “Letter to You” features prominently in the film

It’s also clear that Springsteen came to the tour with the idea of ​​telling a story, one of experience and loss. Now he’s 75 (he still plays three-hour shows). He arrived with a pretty good idea of ​​the show’s setlist featuring songs from his 2020 album “Letter to You,” which explores the same ideas and which the band had never played live. Thus, the set list for the tour (which continues until July 2025) is more rigid than on previous tours.

There is a lot of concert footage, both from the current tour and archives from the old days. It’s a wonder to see Springsteen and the band in the 1970s, manic in their pursuit of stardom and what Springsteen still genuinely believes is the music of spiritual salvation, and perform it.

Zimny ​​has worked with Springsteen for years, directing music videos and making album documentaries. (He also directed the Netflix film version of “Springsteen on Broadway.”) It’s clear that he had access to other filmmakers who wouldn’t. It’s also clear that he had the access that Springsteen allowed, nothing more.

fair enough This is the Springsteen show, top to bottom. Perhaps the images of fan after fan in Barcelona — one of Springteen’s favorite places to play, we learn — will turn some naysayers or doubters. It’s more likely to just confirm to Springsteen fans what they already believe, and that seems more likely to be what “Road Diary” is going for. In this sense, it succeeds.

‘Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’ 3 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Thom Zimny.

Distribution: Bruce Springsteen, the E Street Band.

Rating: not scored

How to watch: Airing on Hulu and Disney+ on Friday, October 25.

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This article originally appeared in the Arizona Republic: Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Road Diary’ Is a Movie Only Fans Can Love