Brilliant Disguise

Infobox Single
Name = Brilliant Disguise


Artist = Bruce Springsteen
from Album = Tunnel of Love
B-side =
Released = October 1987
Format = 7" single
Recorded = Between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen's home studio)
Genre = Rock
Length = 4:17
Label = Columbia Records
Writer = Bruce Springsteen
Producer = Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Plotkin
Last single = "Fire"
(1987)
This single = "Brilliant Disguise"
(1987)
Next single = "Tunnel of Love"
(1988)

"Brilliant Disguise" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 album "Tunnel of Love". It was released as the first single from the album, reaching position #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States.cite web|title=Bruce Springsteen Chart History|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5738&model.vnuAlbumId=943342|accessdate=2008-08-04] The followup single, "Tunnel of Love", also reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, giving Springsteen two consecutive #1's. The single had less commercial success in other countries.

History

Like much of the "Tunnel of Love" album, "Brilliant Disguise" was recorded in Springsteen's home studio, called Thrill Hill East, between January and May of 1987 with several members of the E Street Band.cite web|title=Bruce Base Tunnel of Love|url=http://www.brucebase.org.uk/11.htm|accessdate=2008-08-03] On this song, Springsteen played several instruments and is backed by Roy Bittan on keyboards, Danny Federici on organ and Max Weinberg on drums.

The lyrics of "Brilliant Disguise" represent a confession of self doubt on the part of the singer.cite web|title=Allmusic Brilliant Disguise|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:fcftxqtjld0e|accessdate=2008-08-03] The emotions expressed in the song include confusion, jealousy and anxiety about whether the singer's wife has become a stranger to him. The song deals with the masks people wear and the bitterness that can ensue when we realize the darkness that may lie behind those masks.cite book|title=Bruce Springsteen|author=Patrick Humphries|page=80-81|year=1996|isbn=0 7119 5304 X]

The song's quiet power builds slowly.cite book|title=Tougher Than the Rest 100 Best Bruce Springsteen Songs|author=June Skinner Sawyers|page=115-116|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8256-3470-3] The sound is scaled back from the typical E Street Band sound. The singer struggles to do things right, but it doesn't help. He can't trust either himself or his wife. Both he and his wife continue to play their roles - he of a "faithful man", she of a "loving woman", but the singer is nonetheless wracked with self-doubt. A key line towards he end of the song:

"I wanna know if it's you I don't trust/Because I damn sure don't trust myself."

sums up the emotions that resonate throughout the song, and indeed the entire second side of the "Tunnel of Love" album.cite book|title=Glory Days|author=Dave Marsh|year=1996|page=xxvii|isbn=1-56025-101-8]

Springsteen himself wrote about the song "after '85 I'd had enough and turned inward to write about men, women and love, things that have previously been on the periphery of my work."

The song was later released on the compilation album "The Essential Bruce Springsteen". [cite web|title=allmusic The Essential Bruce Springsteen|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fvfixqtaldde|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Video

Like several other music videos from the "Tunnel of Love" album, including "Tunnel of Love", "One Step Up" and "Tougher Than the Rest", the video for "Brilliant Disguise" was directed by Meiert Avis.

The video of the song effectively reflects its emotions. The singer sits uncomfortably on the edge of a chair. He plays his guitar as he sings the lyrics about what it means to try to trust someone looking straight into the camera, never flinching. This very personal performance can make it difficult to watch, but it effectively reflects the themes of the song.

The intensely personal "Brilliant Disguise" video broke new ground on MTV, being a single shot without edits, and also using live vocals for the first time on an MTV music video. The video was nominated for four MTV Awards, including Video of the Year and, paradoxically, Best Editing.

The video was later released on the VHS and DVD "Video Anthology / 1978-88". [cite web|title=Internet Movie Database - Bruce Springsteen: Video Anthology 1978-1988|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096987/|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Live performance history

Despite the personal nature of the song, it has been reasonably popular in live performances. From the Tunnel of Love Express Tour that supported the initial release of the album through July 2005, the song received 184 live performances in concert. [cite web|title=Bruce Springsteen Set List Page Brilliant Disguise|url=http://www.brucesetlists.com/townlist.php|accessdate=2008-08-03]

External links

* [http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/BrilliantDisguise.html Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net]

References