Van Morrison on his problem with Bruce Springsteen

It’s hard not to borrow something, anything at all, from your influences. No music is ever created in a vacuum. Unless you’re recording straight out of a rhumba. The greatest musicians of all time will only admit that they were initially inspired by the records in their record collections. Though Morrison blended rock with jazz inspiration, he believed Springsteen plagiarized his material entirely upon success.

Morrison was a different person by the time Springsteen portrayed the all-American version of the rock and roll star. After years of separation, it’s hardly surprising that he was working on swinging albums similar to Moondance at the time. So, it’s safe to assume he had a Born to Run under his belt.

However, Springsteen’s discography encompassed more than just classic heartland rock. Many of his songs tended to be lengthy and meandering. They were much like Morrison’s on Astral Weeks. But Springsteen had a far more powerful band than Morrison could have imagined. Before he had figured out how to get the ideal sound for the E Street Band.

Despite this, Morrison continued to criticize the inexperienced songwriter, stating, “People have been telling me for years, have you heard this guy Springsteen? When [he] appeared on the video, it was the first time I had ever seen him, and I can honestly say that he conned me. That is beyond dispute. In addition, Springsteen completely took apart my movements. Do you recognize my movements from the 1970s?

Recording live videos led to this approach, which falls far short of what Morrison achieved. Springsteen seemed to treat his craft like a laborer’s job, never content until he got the most out of his band. Morrison, on the other hand, was the beatnik poet type who could scat sing anything he set his mind to.

Morrison might have had better results, if at all if he had confronted Springsteen about taking advantage of him back before Born to Run. The jam-band songwriting approach borrows heavily from Morrison’s best albums. It probably doesn’t help that Springsteen is also a soulful rocker who loves horn sounds on his albums.

Some argue strongly that Bob Dylan should criticize both Morrison and Springsteen. Upon assuming a more prominent role, both of them appeared to be borrowing heavily from Dylan’s playbook. From Morrison’s narrative style to Springsteen penning a song in the same tone as an irate novelist writes their characters.

Despite this, Springsteen was able to step out from under Morrison’s shadow by creating the blueprint for contemporary American rock & roll. He shares some poetic devices with Morrison on albums such as Nebraska, but the storyteller here is entirely different. He realized that sacrificing everything for his A-material was essential. With some of Morrison’s moves at his disposal, no one else could have crafted a song as catchy as “Jungleland.”