“It tells the story of him recording Nebraska… an extraordinary album, and the one I think most personal to him.”
I’ve been lucky in my career to cross paths with extraordinary people, but Bruce Springsteen has always stood in a category of his own. Watching Bruce Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere recently brought me right back to some deeply personal memories — moments I shared with him when we worked together at Sony Music Entertainment, which owned Columbia Records. Bruce signed with Columbia in 1972 (10 years after Bob Dylan). I met Bruce in 2003, 20 years after he made Nebraska. It’s a remarkable film, and if you haven’t seen it, put it at the very top of your list.
What makes the film so powerful is that it captures Bruce at a time that was both creatively electrifying and emotionally turbulent. That album wasn’t just another project; it was the expression of someone wrestling with something heavy, trying to translate it into something meaningful, something true.
It tells the story of him recording Nebraska… an extraordinary album, and the one I think most personal to him.
Early on at Sony, Bruce invited me out to New Jersey to visit him. I can still picture his studio—modest, quiet, tucked away. We hung out a bit, talked about music, and drove around his property. You could feel the weight on him as he shared everything on his mind.
It wasn’t until watching this film, though, that I realized just how deeply he was struggling with his own demons. The film reveals layers of vulnerability. It shows the depression he was fighting, the isolation he sometimes needed, and that relentless artistic drive that has always set him apart. There is nobody like him.
If you love Bruce, or love understanding how great music gets made, this film is essential. It reminds us how much of himself he poured into Nebraska — and really, into everything he’s given the world. His unique character and career didn’t just shape rock and roll; they shaped a piece of the country we know, the one he wrote about so honestly.
And what amazes me most is that after all these years, he’s still out there. Still singing, still making records, still telling stories the only way he knows how: with everything he’s got.
Deliver Me From Nowhere helped me see my friend in a clearer light. And it reminded me why Bruce Springsteen continues to matter — not just as an artist, but as a man who has never stopped searching, never stopped creating, and never stopped giving voice to the struggles that define us all.