Questlove on Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Brilliant Disguise’

I purchased Tunnel of Love when I was 16. I know that for most people, especially bandwagon critics, that album might have been seen as a letdown, because it had to follow the massive eclipse of Born in the U.S.A. But I’ve always felt it got shafted. It’s his divorce album, and I love breakup records — like Marvin Gaye‘s Here, My Dear, or Bill Withers‘ +Justments, or even Richard and Linda Thompson’s Shoot Out the Lights. On “Brilliant Disguise,” Bruce is so open about saying it’s over. Most people in the public eye go to great lengths to be private, even in the celebrity-obsessed society we live in. But he’s just like, “We gave it our best shot, and it didn’t work.” It’s unresolved. You don’t get that type of honesty and vulnerability from music very often.

Last year, I spent two weeks going to Springsteen shows. I went to, like, four of them — night after night, at the Apollo, at the Garden, in Philly and in Jersey. I watched him literally climbing the walls of the Apollo. He’s in his sixties! I couldn’t do that, and I’m way younger than him. I started studying his catalog even more after that.

When Bruce came on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, that was one of the most magical moments ever in the show. He’s so all-inclusive, and so not full of ego. I mean, I’ve seen acts walk through here with, like, 12 bodyguards just to go to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Springsteen walks in our dressing room without knocking, takes a guitar and starts telling us about Nebraska. That’s just him. When we performed “E Street Shuffle,” he just said, “Follow my lead,” and brought the audience up to dance with us. We were all out on the floor, including the entire staff – wardrobe, makeup, producers, everything. He just has this circus-ringleader quality about him. It’s awesome.

This originally appeared in the 100 Greatest Bruce Springsteen Songs of All Time list