I've shared my enormous admiration and devotion to Bruce Springsteen on many occasions. Having seen him in Manchester and Australia(!) I know what a phenomenal performer he is and I'm insanely jealous of everyone who'll see him tonight in Pittsburgh or elsewhere in the U.S from now until March on The River Tour 2016, which will see The River played in its entirety on each night.
Last December saw the release of The Ties That Bind: The River Collection. This super duper boxed set reissue was ostensibly for the record's 35th anniversary, although the fact the reissue campaign was initially to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Bruce's albums should indicate how long these releases have been in gestation (the Darkness On The Edge Of Town set was just two years late beforehand). I haven't bought a copy, but over Christmas I did get to enjoy the documentary and concert footage part of the set thanks to BBC Four, so this combined with Bruce starting his tour made it feel like a good time to discuss the record.
The River was clearly important for Bruce. "Hungry Heart", so brilliant in its simplicity that "you write it in the time it took to sing it, practically" in Bruce's words, provided him with his biggest hit single to date. In addition, you could start to hear a "take me out to the ball game" swing to Roy Bittan's keys that would later inform colossal hit Born In The U.S.A. As would the extensive European tour the band took promoting the album, which opened Bruce's eyes more to people's perception of America.
Despite this, I initially felt a bit disappointed by The River. For me it didn't live up to predecessor Darkness, which I still consider the definitive Springsteen record. It seemed like there were too many similar sounding songs that all served a similar purpose. The production sounded a bit tinny. "Stolen Car" sounded like a shadow of the version from rarities compilation Tracks. "Drive All Night" should have stayed as mid-"Backstreets" improv.
Of course as time went by ("and out love grew deep") my opinion of the record became much fonder. The dizzying high points became more and more prominent, to the point where I now consider them some of my favourite Springsteen songs. "Out In The Street" was always my jam, but "Sherry Darling" is an equally joyous singalong and "Two Hearts" is a delight (Bruce did a solo version of the latter on The Ties That Bind documentary that was just phenomenal).
"The Price You Pay"s closing cry of "I'm gonna tear it down and throw it away" has been proving to be a magnetic moment for me, while the beautifully restrained "Fade Away"is now one of my favourite Springsteen ballads. By paring the lyrics down to the bare essentials of the story the power of the feelings behind it comes through massively.
As with Darkness, Bruce wrote tonnes of songs for the record that wouldn't figure in the end result. Talking to Dave Di Martino in October 1980, Bruce remarked "We wrote about 48 songs [for The River] and at one time I thought they were all gonna be on [laughs]." Unbelievable he may have been a bit modest there. According to the documentary, Bruce made a staggering 95 demos for songs by himself and 104 with the band in the studio over the course of the sessions!
It's easy to wonder what would have been if song X replaced song Y and so on. Indeed there are many songs from the outtakes I prefer to certain songs on the final record, especially "Be True", "Loose End" and "Take 'Em As They Come". Bruce himself mentions "Roulette" in particular as the big oversight and kind of shat on "Crush On You" on the doc. He liked a lot of the outtakes but just felt they sounded like they belonged on a different record.
Oh, while on the subject of the doc, there's some decent insight but it does seem to lose steam after about 40 minutes. This is probably because Bruce is the sole "talking head" in the film, so hilariously an anecdote from Bruce outside his garage will wind down, then for some fresh insight it'll cut to... Bruce in his writing room. Seriously, it's just two interviews with Bruce that form the basis of the doc. Where's Little Steven? Where's Max? Where's Jon Landau?
"I come from down the valley... you're taking possession of that character"
"The stakes of the record are... all the mundane things that turn life into life"
Anyway, Bruce made the point that, at the time, most of his audience only knew him for Born To Run and Darkness, so he sought to make a record with a strong sense of identity. A lot of the artists he was listening to back then - Johnny Cash, George Jones, Tammy Wynett - made small town music with "adult concerns", and this, coupled with a sense that the band felt like "The Lost Boys" at that point, informed his approach. As he told Mark Hagen in the January 1999 edition of Mojo, "adulthood was imminent, if it hadn't arrived already, so I knew I was gonna be following my characters over a long period of time. I thought it would be interesting and fun for my audience to have a certain... loose continuity from record to record."
In late 1979 the band handed in a single album to the record company from their sessions, The Ties That Bind (hence the title of the set). However, Bruce took the album back and returned to the well to add more material. He felt he needed more time to let the "colours" in and felt it lacked the looseness and noise of the band's live show ("these records should sound like a house party"). Talking to Patrick Humphries of Record Collector in February 1999, Bruce notes "the first thing I said was, I want to include... things that happen spontaneously, things that we use to fuel the show."
Naturally this single album version is included in the boxed set, having previously been one of the most in demand bootlegs around and commonly cited in lists of "Greatest unreleased albums". It's slightly strange to hear, a bit more lethargic than the final product in places. Often the instrumentation comes across clearer than what was released and it contains the superior version of "Stolen Car", so it's still an intriguing listen. "Cindy" is the only song that didn't get released elsewhere, and the only song which sounded markedly different from its eventual release was "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)". It seemed like the right call to release The River instead.
As a result, with Bruce struggling to contain both the "house party" atmosphere of the joyful material and the high stakes of the more grounded material, the project swelled to the double album we all know today. Bruce would recount in subsequent interviews about how he sought "relief" from the "rigidity" of songs being a certain way.
"I'd have a song like this and a song like that because I didn't know how to combine it... I knew it was all part of the same picture, which is why The River was a double album." (Roger Scott, Patrick Humphries, Hot Press, November 2nd 1984)
"When I did this album I tried to accept the fact that, you know, the world is a paradox, and that's the way it is... I wanted to live with particularly conflicting emotions" (Dave Di Martino, October 1980)
With the cheerier songs in particular, Bruce would note how many of the characters featured were in essence anachronisms. In an excellent interview with Dave Marsh from Musician in February 1981, he mentions how the protagonist of "Out In The Street" is firmly rooted in the past, while with "Ramrod", "it's impossible, what he wants to do... this guy, he's there, but he's really not there no more." Again expressing relief at The River's structure, he noted "I gained a certain freedom, in making that two record set, because I could let all those people out, that usually I'd put away." It is his conversation with Di Martino, though, that draws my favourite quote of Bruce's on this record...
"There's a lot of idealistic stuff on there... a lot of the songs we do now, they're just dreams, but they're based on an emotion that's very real... It's a romantic record and to me, romantic is when you see realities and when you understand the realities, but you also see the possibilities. And sometimes you write about things as they are, and sometimes you write about them as they should be, as they could be, maybe, you know?"
That last quote for me pretty much sums up the spirit of The River. I supremely envy everyone across the Atlantic who'll get to relive that spirit live and in person with the band.
Before I close I must heartily recommend the book Talk About A Dream: The Essential Interviews of Bruce Springsteen, edited by Christopher Phillips and Louis P. Masur, which has been the source of the quotes I've used in this post. It is a tremendous collection that sheds some light on the way Bruce thinks and helps chart his evolution as an artist. Go check it out, and hopefully see you really soon.
* Oh yeah, this is the first Pay Per View for the awesome "We promised you a great main event tonight..." brand ident.
The opening video is all about power and control, highlighting Steph, Vince and Eric on the war path and outlining what people could vote for - including Flair begging to be put in a cage ("A CAGE!!!"). Weirdly the opening pyro goes off before the "And now..." intro. Hey look! Joey Styles is on commentary with King because Coach is in a match (haha).
*Edge, Lita and "The Masterpiece" Chris Master come out for their tag match. This was part of the Raw vs Smackdown feud at the time so people voted for two Smackdown guys to face them. Computer-side Todd Grisham outlines the options - Christian, Matt Hardy, Hardcore Holly, JBL or Rey Mysterio. Naturally Matt Hardy (31%) and Rey Mysterio (29%) win. Rey's got his pre P.O.D Booyaka song that sounds like Daddy Yankee.
*Hang on... Edge isn't wrestling tonight. He says beating either man does nothing for him. (In reality he had a torn pec) He doesn't care about them, Raw, or what the fans voted for. Edge: "I care about MEEE!" Joey: "Shocking!" His replacement is Snitsky.
Match 1: Snitsky & Chris Masters (r/ Raw) vs Matt Hardy & Rey Mysterio (r/ Smackdown)
Masters Pearl Harbours the faces as Snitsky enters. King: "I thought it was still Halloween when I saw Snitsky's face come out." Beautiful one armed stalling suplex by Masters on Rey. Hey, there's both a Smackdown and Raw referee in the ring! They argue over who counts the fall. Sign in the crowd: "Austin Flakes Again". Snitsky tags in and tries copying Masters' suplex but Rey small packages him and again the refs get in each other's way. They coordinate eventully. Masters tags in with a great series of backbreakers. Another sign: "Mom did U vote?" Rey tries the wheelbarrow bulldog but Chris just plants him face first for 2. RESTHOLD.
Headscissors by Rey sees both fresh tags both sides! Matt hits the world's lowest baseball slide to get Masters off the apron. King: "That was like one of Coach's dropkicks." After a struggle the Side Effect gets on Snitsky gets 2. Twist of Fate is countered only for Matt to hit a weird, botched super DDT thingy that was more like a superplex.
Masters breaks the count, almost eating a Twist of Fate, but after Matt ducks a Snitsky clothesline Chris shoves him into a Snitsky boot - nice. Masters tags in, hits a gorgeous butterfly suplex and a surfboard, working the back. Matt slugs out but gets clotheslined, allowing Masters to tag. Huge jumping suplex by Snitsky gets 2. RESTHOLD. It's on the arm rather than the back they've worked on so fans chant "Snitsky sucks!" King: "Can you understand these fans here in San Diego?" Joey: "I think they're saying Snitsky creates a partial vacuum with his mouth."
Massive spinebuster and a guillotine by Snitsky. Matt hits a second rope clothesline on a newly tagged Masters, but Chris hooks his leg as he crawls for the tag and Snitsky tags in to wipe Rey off the apron. BOO! Snitsky catches a Matt crossbody but his front powerslam is countered into a reverse DDT! TAGS BOTH SIDES! FLYING DICK TO THE FACE by Rey! Springboard crossbody gets 2. An interfering Snitsky winds up posting himself and Rey tries to Tornado DDT him... but gets thrown off into the UNBREAKABLE MASTERLOCK! Rey tries kicking off the buckles but Masters keeps the hold on his back. The Smackdown ref counts Chris' shoulders down but the Raw ref stops him and they argue. Matt legdrops Chris to break the hold and shit cans both heels.
Stereo top rope crossbodies to the heels on the outside by Rey and Hardy! Back in, Rey tries a springboard sunset flip and Masters holds his ground... but Matt clotheslines him! 1... 2... no! Fans were into that. Snitsky sneakily tripped Rey up as the refs got Matt out, allowing Masters to hit an AWESOME torture rack into an airplane spin neckbreaker! 1... 2... Matt breaks the count. Snitsky tries to backdrop him but eats a HUUGE swinging DDT! Hardy drop toe holds Masters to the ropes... 619! Twist of Fate! Torpedo Splash by Rey! 1, 2, 3!!!
Winners: Matt Hardy & Rey Mysterio
Verdict: 8/10. Wheeew! What a long match. It had a really interesting story with the two refs. Some of Matt and Snitsky's exchanges were awkward but Masters was hugely impressive here, especially his exchanges with Rey (I'd have love to have seen more between the two, even a singles match) and the final minutes from Rey's hot tag onwards were GOLD.
* Mick Foley gets a cheap pop backstage and wonders if his luggage got mixed up with someone off camera. Oh, it's Maria, who agrees since she's wearing the Mankind mask. She takes it off ("Interesting smell!") and gives it back, but because she's stupid she thinks her entire outfit is Mick's, so she removes her top and panties (off camera) too. Maria: "Have a nice day!" Mick: "...I think I just did." King on Maria: "Not much upstairs but what a staircase!"
* Aw yeah, one of the best lame theme tunes ever heralds the arrival of Rob Conway. *Randy Newman voice* Juuust look at me! He's been on an "anti-legend" campaign so to speak while feuding with Eugene, so fans vote for a legend to team with Eugene. Bischoff gave Conway Tyson Tomko as a partner because he's still mad at Eugene for shaving his head last year. Choices are: "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan ("I wanna beat somebody up!"), "The Uganda Giant" Kamala and "Superfly Murderer" Jimmy Snuka (who looks ancient). Snuka (43%) wins. If only they knew...
Juuust look at me!
Match 2: Rob Conway & Tyson Tomko vs Eugene & Jimmy Snuka
Tyson obviously overpowers Eugene to start. Eugene winds him up over starting a knucklelock, chops his throat and slams him. He teases tagging Snuka but Conway (still in his shades!) cheapshots him. He tags officially and gets a Scott Steiner tribute elbow for 2. Nice dropkick, then a tag to Tomko who hits a neat powerslam for 2. A freshly tagged Conway withstands Eugene's JYD headbutts out of his RESTHOLD and cheapshots Snuka. Eugene escapes a double team and clotheslines Rob. Tag to murderer. Chops and headbutts galore. Tyson nails him but gets shit canned by Eugene, who counters Conway's one man Magic Killer with a jawbreaker. Him and Snuka take turns headbutting Rob before a Eugene Rock Bottom and Snuka Superfly Splash gets the 3.
Winners: Eugene & Jimmy Snuka.
Tomko blindsides the faces as they celebrate, but the other legends come out. Three point stance clothesline by Duggan and Ugandan Splash by Kamala takes Tomko down and the faces celebrate.
Verdict: 3.5/10. Mostly harmless, with Snuka wisely kept out of most of it. Outside of a couple of moves from the heels there wasn't anything all that inspired here. It suffers for being next to that awesome opening tag.
* Carlito is out with his ace red apple sky blue shirt. He's challenged Foley but the fans vote for which "Face of Foley" he faces: Dude Love, Cactus Jack or Mankind. The landslide winner was Maaaaankind (52%). A video recap of the "feud" shows Foley on Carlito's Cabana at Raw Homecoming calling him a horse's ass. He then cut a fun promo as each of his personalities, the best being Mankind's riff on Mick's old "O' Candido" promo from Smoky Mountain Wrestling ("If you're into cotton tacos, say hello to Mr. Socko!"), promising Carlito will leave "skid marks in his speedos".
Mankind is in a shirt and tie but has his New Generation era music. Carlito does well with jabs and a dropkick but Mankind doesn't go down, and scores with an elbow and rakes the back, then the eyes over the rope. He hooks Carlito in the Tree of Woe to hit the running elbow, then catapults him to the middle rope (same as the opening match, Fuck you Finlay). Baseball slide (Joey: "and heeee's out!") and a neckbreaker on the floor by Mankind, who rocks sat upright. He chases Carlito with a chair(!) but eats a drop toe hold to the steps! Carlito follows up with a dropkick sending the back of Mick's head to the steps again!
Side Russian Leg Sweep and a strange spot where Carlito sneaks underneath Mankind for an electric chair both get 2. Carlito hooks a sleeper but Joey points out the leather mask is stopping it being fully effective. Mick grabs Carlito's hair to mare him over his shoulder. Stereo clotheslines put both men down. Makind sits up, rocks some more and pulls his hair out before running through his comeback: running knee to the corner, Cactus clothesline, elbow from the apron, double arm DDT, then Socko's arrival (in a Carlito wig to boot haha) brings the Mandible Claw, and Carlito's out. The relaxing Mankind New Gen music plays after his victory.
Winner: Mankind
Verdict: 6/10. I remember Mick saying he was disappointed in this match and I can see why. The flow was so basic with Mick dominating early, Carlito controlling the middle then Mick steamrollering him at the end. What keeps this just about above average is the story of the Mankind mask protecting Mick's head and Mick returning to some of the older Mankind character beats (the raking, the rocking the hair pulling).
* Eric Bischoff is on the phone and furious. Mr McMahon arrives, supposedly to late to the show (kayfabe!), missing the Raw vs Smackdown tag he was looking forward to. He expresses disbelief at hearing Raw lost and tires of Eric's excuses before asking where his "kill or be killed" instinct went and wishing him luck with the other inter-promotional match, Coach vs Batista haha!
* Todd is about to reveal the result for the main event vote, as the two losers challenge for the tag titles next. WWE Champion John Cena will defend the title against Kurt Angle and one more man - Big Show (who's REALLY big at this stage), Kane or Shawn Michaels. HBK (46%) wins and tries to shake hands with the losers but only Show obliges.
Match 4: World Tag Team Championship Match - Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch (C) vs Big Show & Kane
The challengers' pyro scares Joey. King: "Aren't you loving these guys' entrances?" Joey: "You put me on this side as a rib didn't you?"
The champs try to stall outside so the challengers do the old pincer move to trap them for a double noggin knocker by Show. Kane & Murdoch start. Trevor tried to leave but Show stopped him. He throws a fit and pushes Kane, so he eats an uppercut. King: "I think I saw a molar fly out." Trev finally gets a boot up from Kane's corner clotheslines and tags Cade, who doesn't have much luck either. Show tags in for the "Shhh" chops and mudhole stomping. A rake in the eyes allows Cade to tag out. Naturally Murdoch can't whip Show and gets chopped too. Ouch, Show steps over Trev to tag Kane. Another thumb to the eye sees Lance tag. Him and Kane horribly mistime a big boot spot.
Kane climbs up top but Trev's distraction eventually sees him fall to the outside and eat a Sweet and Sour on the floor by the champs! Back inside an inverted atomic drop by Murdoch is followed nicely by a Cade swinging neckbreaker. Kane sits up! Cade kicks him and tells him to stay down only to get goozled. Cade escapes and the champs try to double backdrop Kane but Trev eats a punt and Lance a clothesline. Tag to Show. He cleans house with clotheslines and headbutts, stacking the champs in the corner. Only Cade eats the splash and Murdoch's back rake is no sold by Show. Top rope clothesline by Kane! He shit cans Trev and directs traffic for a DOUBLE chokeslam to Cade. 1, 2, 3.
Winners: Big Show & Kane (new champs, 1st reign)
Grisham tries a post match interview but Murdoch is begging for a chokeslam too, so the new champs oblige.
Verdict: 6/10. Nothing spectacular here, but the fans reacted well for the win, Cade & Murdoch were very good at isolating Kane and I've always been a fan of Murdoch's expressive performances.
* Oh boy, it's Vader and ooooooooh... Goldust time *Nomn*! They're backstage with Coach, who predicts big things after he slapped Batista's lips off Monday night. Coach: "No announcer in the history of the business has done more than the Coach." If he beats Dave tonight, it's only a matter of time before he's WWE Champion ahahahahaha!!!
* Todd invites the Divas out for the result of the vote for their outfits in tonight's battle royal. Options were lingerie, leather & lace and cheerleader outfits. Todd: "THERE IS NO WRONG ANSWER!" Lingerie (43%) wins. King is marking out. Joey: "I know I'm not as excited as you because that table moved and your hands were on top of it."
* They recap the one night build for Coach vs Batista. Vince told Coach original opponent Stone Cold Steve Austin was in an accident at the weekend. "I don't know whether it's valid or, Coach, whether he's just plain afraid of you." Since Coach is Raw's number one announcer, his initial idea was for Coach to face the number one Smackdown announcer - Funaki! But, after Goldust squashed him, Coach gets cocky and challenges ANYONE from Smackdown. Cue World Heavyweight Champion Batista. Vader and Goldust somehow beat him down long enough for Coach to slap him though!
* Lilian announces the gimmicks fans could vote for in this match: a verbal debate, arm wrestling match or street fight (to which fans yell STREET FIGHT). Styles on Goldust: "I don't know if he'd be the first pick of somebody I'd want watching my back." Then when Vader comes out he says "Now that looks like a bodyguard!" King: "That looks like two bodies." Vader: "It's tiiiime for the paiiin gaaame!" T-Grish says Coach called everyone in his home state of Kansas to tell them to vote for the debate. Of course, street fight (91%) won. King: "Kansas is not that heavily populated of a state."
Match 5: Street Fight - World Heavyweight Champion Batista (r/ Smackdown) vs The Coach (w/ Goldust & Vader, r/ Raw)
Dave gets a gargantuan pop. Goldust and Vader don't leave the ring and Coach stays on the apron. Dave initially forces the heels out with rights. He charges Vader into a corner, then DEMOLISHES Goldust with a spear. Coach tries to sneak in but gets punched. Batista tries to suplex Vader(!) but Goldie whacks him with a cane. Coach steals the timekeeper's belt and the real wrestlers hold Dave down so Coach can whip his back. His mistake is asking them to turn him over so Dave can see him, allowing Dave to escape and clean house with clotheslines and whipping everyone with the belt. Heavily edited spinebuster on Vader sees a chair magically appear in the ring (in the replay you see Goldie brought it in but got spinebustered). Dave hauls Coach up just to SLAP THE PISS out of him. Batista Bomb! 1, 2, 3.
Here's what got edited out
Winner: Batista
Verdict: 3/10. What the hell were they thinking bringing Vader in here? He embarrassed himself. This was thoroughly beneath Batista but he was still treated like a star by the audience and that slap and powerbomb to Coach almost made it worth it.
* Grisham snuck backstage to interview HBK, using a handheld mic while still wearing his Michael Jackson face mic. Shawn knows it's a tough guy business but it's great to be popular. Angle interrupts and proposes they take Cena out so they can settle their tied rivalry (1-1-1). Shawn: "I'll think about it."
Match 6: Fulfil Your Fantasy Battle Royal for the WWE Women's Championship - Trish Stratus (C) vs Ashley vs Candice Michelle vs Mickie James vs Maria vs Victoria
Joey: "I'm just going to let you run with this, King." King, upon seeing Candice gyrating: "Oh I'd love to run with that." Mickie's gimmick is she's a mark for Trish so she applauds when she poses with the belt. As usual with Diva Battle Royals, you just need to be thrown out of the ring, rather than over the top, to be eliminated.
Schmoz to start. Trish tries the Stratusphere on Victoria early but is hauled up top for a brawl. Mickie saves Trish and almost helps her eliminate Victoria. Candice pulls both Trish & James down by the hair from behind. Ashley & Maria whip Vic and Candy into each other. Maria celebrates only for Trish and Mickie to eliminate her. Candy nails Ashley with a forearm and hooks her hanging headscissor choke over the top. She celebrates on the apron but Ashley punches her off to eliminate her. Vic knees Trish right in the damn face with her brace and hits her side slam. Mickie, out for revenge, gets her corner headscissors to try and pull her out. When it fails Ashley tries to help but STILL Vic survives and catapults Ashley over the top to eliminate her, then side slams Mickie.
Now it's Trish's turn for revenge with a really cool handstand into a whirling headscissor. Both girls fight around the bottom rope trying to eliminate each other, Trish hooking her leg under the rope to save herself. Mickie brings Trish back inside and rightly gets clotheslined by Victoria. Ma-Trish! But Vic butt bumps her mid bridge! Mickie saves Trish from getting dumped again, then awkwardly spears Vic through the ropes to eliminate Vic and herself! That looked bad, it's amazing neither girl got hurt. Anyway, Trish wins by default.
Winner: Trish Stratus (still champion)
Todd tries interviewing Trish post match but Mickie hot dogs it, marking out at Trish doing it for herself and being the greatest Women's Champion of all time.
Verdict: 5.5/10. A startling display of competence besides the finish. The Diva Search girls were eliminated fairly promptly and botch-free, plus Trish and Victoria had some neat exchanges.
* Video package for Triple H vs Flair highlights Hunter's devotion to his idol, turning him from a shell of a man into someone who appeared great again "standing in [Hunter's] light". H teamed with Ric at Raw Homecoming just to turn on him, furious he's let people spit in the face of his legacy and "wallowing in mediocrity" as IC Champ. Faint burial of the IC Title there. "I'd be damned if I was going to let somebody tarnish MY memories of Ric Flair." Fans could vote for the match to be one fall, a submission match or a cage match. Naturally, after Flair's campaigning ("A CAGE!") the cage (83%) wins and descends.
Match 7: Steel Cage Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship- Ric Flair (C) vs Triple H
Win is by pinfall, submission or escape. H climbs the cage to do his spit pose, the speed of his ascent worries Joey as he could win by escape. Joey's attempt at putting over the personal feud here has him calling the IC belt "a footnote" and King has to reel him back in, so he points out Trips want to take more than the title instead. Much better. Flair is in a fucking GLORIOUS pink robe that's sequinned and bejewelled featuring pink feather trim. The balls on that man to wear that to a cage match.
King makes an excellent point that when explaining his actions Hunter always talked about Ric in the past tense. In a great bit of body language, Trips watches Flair's entrance standing on the top rope, then comes back down to start the match, as if to say "I could just leave and take your title with ease, but I'm here to fight you and END you." Both men mouth "We're gonna find out once and for all now" to each other.
Lock up to start (in a blood feud?). H takes a swing at Naitch but eats a chop. Woo! Flair: "Bring it on." Again Flair gets the best of the resulting brawl with his chops, a big one knocking Trips down. Hunter replies with the Harley Race high knee, and an Arn Anderson spinebuster. He rams Flair into the cage, naturally busting him open. King: "That didn't take long." Joey points out that with all Ric's scar tissue of course the cage would bust him open. Trips zones in on the wound with a knee drop, grinding and ramming it into the cage and using a head of steam to knock Flair into the cage again. He pulls his knee pad down for another knee drop, waves goodbye and climbs. Naitch gives chase and chops him while on the top rope. Both men hit each other and both get crotched on the ropes!
HHH still tries to climb and in the process pulls some chain from the bracket. He tries to use it for a second rope fist drop... and Ric gets a foot up. Hunter flops. Shin breaker by Flair. Figure Four attempt... but Hunter decks him with the chain! 1, 2... no. He goes to the well again with a fist drop. Flair: "AAH! JESUS CHRIST!" That leads to the ref confiscating the chain to BOOs. H just slaps and pounds Flair. King: "This is uncomfortable to watch. It's reminiscent of what Triple H said - it's about who he is and who Flair used to be." Knee drop to the back of the head and Hunter mocks the strut. Oh you fucker - FIGURE FOUR BY TRIPLE H. Flair: "I'll kill you!" Ric's shoulders are down a couple of times for near falls. Hunter's trash talk drives Flair to spit at him and flip him off before reversing the pressure. Trips rolls again to get the rope break (in a cage?).
H mocks Flair's pre-Figure Four dancing and goes for it again, but gets kicked off right into the cage, busting him open! FLAIR BITES THE WOUND!! Then grinds and drives him into the cage. King: "What's good fo the goose is good for the... Game." Ric fishhooks Hunter's face. Ha, one of the feather's from Flair's robe is stuck to H's back. Stalling suplex by Flair gets a damn near standing ovation. He chop blocks Trips in, as Joey points out, the quad he had surgery on. He really goes to town on the knee Garvin style. Figure Four! The Game's in agony. His shoulders are counted down for 2, causing H to reach for the ropes and Flair to pull him back to the middle and flip him off. Trips has to knock the ref into Ric to break the hold. Naitch knees the leg and climbs. H tries cutting him off but Flair comes off the top with an rope axe handle - AND IT WORKED! 1... 2... no.
LOW BLOW by Naitch. H crumples, but manages to grab Ric's feet when he heads for the door. Flair grabs a chair a ref was conveniently sitting on by the door as he's dragged back in. He swings at H while on his back but Trips stamps on the chair. He takes a swing himself... TESTICULAR CLAW BY NAITCH! He whips Hunter in... oh, but lowers his head too soon! Pedigree... backdrop counter on the chair! Flair then whacks HHH right between the eyes with the chair three times, allowing him to walk out of the door and win!!!
Winner: Ric Flair (still champion) Verdict: 9/10. A flat out classic. By winding the clock back to the old school cage matches these two wound up having one of the best modern day cage matches. Tonnes of dirty tricks by Naitch, and H was great at rubbing Ric's heritage in his face, reminding Flair of the great company he kept by using their moves. Oh, and then the Figure Four. It was bloody, violent, and the best match Flair had in years.
* 6,351,188 votes were cast in total.
Main Event: Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship - John Cena (C) vs Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels
FFS the graphic for the title STILL has the Smackdown plate on it. Lol at some guy in the crowd flipping Cena the bird.
Contrary to his earlier offer, Kurt decks HBK from the get go and wears Cena out with uppercuts. Cena sledges and suplexes Angle but Shawn breaks the fall. Kurt tries a back suplex on HBK, but Shawn turns it into a crossbody in mid-air for 2. Angle charges at Cena and get backdropped over the top. Michaels gets whipped by Cena but turns it into a baseball slide to Kurt. Backslide by Cena gets 2. Angle returns with Germans and belly to bellys for both men. HBK sunset flips out of an Angle Slam attempt but Kurt rolls through for the anklelock! Shawn rolls out, sending Kurt into an F-U attempt by Cena. Michaels tries to superkick John but he drops Angle to block and clothesline Shawn - nice sequence. Cena cradles Angle for 2. Sunset flip by Kurt(!) sees Cena stand his ground, Shawn try to crossbody him and John rolling through for 2.
The veteran's double up on Cena, sending him shoulder first to the post. Shawn sets up the Spanish table as Angle sends John to the steps. Joey: "Shawn Michaels wasn't always a choir boy." Wow DOUBLE GORDBUSTER through the Spanish table!! Now the chop war is on. Powerslam by Shawn back inside gets 2. Angle responds with a suplex (for 2) and a bodyscissors. King thinks Kurt should try something more high impact whilst Cena's still down. Shawn brawls out but runs into a belly to belly. HBK then blocks a super belly to belly and goes for the elbow... but Kurt runs the ropes to get a SUPER ANGLE SLAM! 1... 2... NO! The straps are down... CENA'S BACK! He shit cans Angle and clotheslines HBK. Baaack body drop. He starts the five moves of doom but Kurt pulls him out to stop the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Senton plancha by Shawn on both men! Back inside, Shawn starts HIS five moves of doom on Angle, but John returns before he can climb for the elbow.
Flying forearm to Cena by Shawn. Nip up! Right into a belly to belly over the top by Angle!! Holy shit! Angle: "YEEEEAH SCREW YOU!" Protobomb by Cena! U can't C me. Five knuckle shuffle. F-U... countered to the anklelock! Angle hangs on from John's roll throughs and grapevines the leg. Shawn gets up top and elbow drops Kurt! Time to tune up the band... SWEET CHIN MUSIC TO ANGLE! F-U TO HBK!! 1... 2... 3!
Winner: John Cena (still champion) Verdict: 8.5/10. While a lot of the stuff where Shawn had Cena alone in particular was a bit of busy work, this match took off whenever all three men continued to be involved, with some great spots and nice, flowing sequences.
Final Thoughts: Overall this was a thoroughly watchable show. The opening match was great. The match quality took a bit of a dip after that. Despite most of what came between the opener and the cage match being barely above average the show still remained an easy watch, with Eugene and Coach's matches being the only ones to be actively bad. Seeing Mankind again (as opposed to simply Mick Foley) was quite neat, while the super gargantuan Kane & Big Show team becoming tag champs and Trish and Mickie's relationship gave interesting plot points for the future (Murdoch, Trish and Victoria provided some notable performances in those matches too). Then the all time classic cage match kicked things up a notch, with lots of great subtle detail and storytelling to get your teeth into on top of the violence. The main event proved to be a fun outing too, with Angle and HBK delivering the goods as usual and Cena carrying his fair share of things too. That's enough for me to keep this.
TL;DR - Lots of fun to watch with three great matches and even the average matches have something to hook you.
I have no idea how coherent this will prove to be. By the time I'm finished the moment will probably have passed. But sod it.
About ten past seven Monday morning the radio was stirring me awake, then I hear "we've been trying to confirm reports of the passing of David Bowie" ("I heard a rumour from ground control; Oh no, don't say it's true"), before literally within the next breath the official confirmation was read out. David had been ill these past eighteen months with cancer. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. "Where Are We Now?" followed - the very song that signalled David's shock return to the music world three years ago, now accompanied the deeply saddening news he was no longer with us.
It took me a while to process this. David had been, relatively speaking, quite active lately. This past Friday, his 69th birthday, saw the release of his new album Blackstar. Lazarus, the New York Theater Workshop production he had scored, has been on Broadway for a month. Alas, it seemed David was investing in his art as a way of coping with his illness, using his time constructively. Much of the material from Blackstar gained new meaning, particularly the recent video to "Lazarus".
"Look up here, I'm in heaven, I've got scars that can't be seen, I've got drama, can't be stolen, Everybody knows me now"
Blackstar is a challenging and fabulous record. Producer Tony Visconti put it best. "His death was no different from his life - a work of Art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift." As the tributes poured in my grief began to grow. Then I saw this picture David's son Duncan shared with the world and my heart pretty much broke. No longer was I contemplating a world without one of its singular, most breath-taking artists but instead a son contemplating a world without his father. It's not a feeling I'd wish upon anyone.
Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all. pic.twitter.com/Kh2fq3tf9m
As far back as I can remember David Bowie has been a part of my musical life. Not that my parents were massive fans or anything, but some advert brought "Starman" into my life when I was young enough to be in a buggy. I vividly remember singing it at the top of my lungs being wheeled past my future primary school. According to my mum, my future headteacher had a look on his face suggesting he wondered what on Earth he was in for.
From then on I'd continue to encounter David's music throughout my life - "Space Oddity" turned up at school many times as an introduction to storytelling within song, and was sung to death by me and my mate on the long coach journey to Cardiff for Bolton Wanderers' League Cup Final appearance many moons ago. Placebo's "Without You I'm Nothing" became all the more captivating with him sharing vocals with Brian Molko. "Suffragette City" turned up on the original Rock Band, and "Let's Dance" on Elite Beat Agents. There was just a vividness to songs like "Ashes To Ashes" and "Life On Mars" that captured your imagination, especially in childhood. In my teenage years Flight of the Conchords would parody that perfectly in their song "Bowie" ("You can borrow my jumper if you like Bowie?") and each of Bret's dream sequences with Bowie in the episode it featured in. "Wear the eye patch Bret, wear the funky funky eye patch."
Something about reaching university made me no longer satisfied with just having his very most famous songs in my life. His "Berlin era" work always had this hugely magnetic pull, but it was Station To Station that was the first album I actually physically bought, showcasing a side to David I was initially not very familiar with the likes of the beautiful "Word On A Wing". Blackstar bears more than a passing resemblance to this album in my mind, with its layout of fewer, longer songs and ventures into slightly different territory.
Delving past what I cherished during childhood brought up so many wonders. "Always Crashing In The Same Car", "Fantastic Voyage", "Five Years", "Quicksand", "V-2 Schneider", "Watch That Man". Bowie's body of work is simply remarkable, virtually unparalleled. Ask people for their favourite song or aspect of his and the list of responses could easily number in their hundreds.
My admiration for his artistry continues to grow, even beyond his own music, like his production work with Iggy Pop and Lou Reed (and his wonderful backing vocals on "Satellite Of Love" in particular) and his remarkable performance in The Man Who Fell To Earth. I wish I could have seen Lazarus on stage - the first time I heard the title song was when Michael C. Hall and the cast performed it on Stephen Colbert's show and it just felt magical, it felt like Ziggy again. Hopefully a production will make it over here to Britain, but even if it doesn't I'm hardly lacking in memories of David. I felt tremendously lucky to have seen the David Bowie Isexhibition during its initial London residency, and the totally unexpected The Next Day will always hold great memories for me.
Like millions of people around the world, David made an indelible impression on me. I'm not even going to pretend I've scraped the surface of what he means to the world of music. His imagination seemed boundless and in turn he captured the imagination of so many other artists I admire (LCD Soundsystem, Janelle Monae, Arcade Fire). In principle it shouldn't be shocking to hear a man of 69 has passed away, but in addition to the secrecy that surrounded his illness it was this transcendental nature and vibrancy of David's persona and music that made you think of him as other worldly and free from the reigns of mortality. Of course, it is David himself who put it best in "Quicksand": "I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man, just a mortal with potential of a Superman". While David is no longer with us he will remain immortal through his musical and artistic legacy, which shall outlive us all. It was a privilege David.
