Unrequited Infatuations: Odyssey of a Rock and Roll Consigliere (A Cautionary Tale) By Stevie Van Zandt
He’d lost his band, his best friend, his career, his way of making a living. Everything. Why? Just to pursue some abstract idea of justifying his existence?
He needed some of those things, but not as much, and not in the traditional way. When he was a kid and fantasized about being in his favorite bands, he was never the front man. He was George in the Beatles, Keith in the Stones, Dave in the Kinks, Jeff in the Yardbirds, and Pete in the Who.
If the pandemic has contributed anything to the World, it has forced its creative citizens to slow down and stop; for musicians, the time-consuming act of touring and playing music every night became an impossibility. Much to the delight, or consternation of their better halves, they were forced to finally unpack those bags (some of which had been packed for decades), and finally enjoy some quality time with their loved ones, until their loved ones had enough and suggested they maybe get back to work, doing whatever they could do, possibly writing and recording a new album – in today’s day and age of home recording studios, this was more than possible. I am not saying Little Stevie Van Zandt, was asked by his wife, Maureen, to do something to get him out of her hair, but like a lot of creative individuals forced to slow down, he used that time wisely, not recording an album, but finally penning his memoirs.
If you are a fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Little Steven Van Zandt a.k.a. Miami Steve Van Zandt, needs no introduction. On a more obscure note, if you are a fan of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Little Steven Van Zandt, once again, needs no introduction. Both heralding from New Jersey, the consigliere Van Zandt refers to on the album cover is himself, a consigliere to Bruce Springsteen, during his early days when Van Zandt was a guitarist, who provided backing vocals as part of The E Street Band. Fans of The Godfather, or any other Mafia-based movie know a consigliere is an advisor, generally to an organized crime boss. As a musician, songwriter, actor, and radio host, Little Steven Van Zandt is one of rock and roll’s greats, and, obviously, an autobiography by him, was a wonderful surprise for Springsteen fans looking for further insights into the singer-songwriter’s career, and Van Zandt does not disappoint, although I imagine he could have gone more in-depth into than he does.
For me, a fan of Southside Johnny, I was more than thrilled to hear more about Van Zandt’s involvement with Southside, and the creation of several albums I consider amongst the best ever recorded (1976’s I Don’t Want to Go Home and 1978’s Hearts of Stone). Van Zandt’s involvement producing them, and the songs he wrote for them, are enough for anyone to be proud of (look up Southside Johnny and check out some of those early albums, you will not be disappointed).
That’s when Johnny got his nickname “Southside.” He had started dressing like he did on his first album cover, with the hat and shades. Like the Blues Brothers five years later. Bruce [Springsteen] started calling him Chicago Johnny. “No,” I said, “the action’s on the Southside, where the Checkerboard Lounge is, Pepper’s, Theresa’s, Florence’s, The 708, Turner’s.” And so it was.
Early in his career, after talking a stab at making a living outside of music (hard labor is never any fun), Van Zandt returned to his true love, and was instrumental in helping Springsteen early in his career, along with Southside, and recounts in Unrequited Infatuations how he never wanted to be the front man, knew his strengths, and help nudged along those he saw talent in, and knew could go the distance, like Springsteen.
It was quite recently that he was still debating whether he wanted to be a lead singer at all. This time, I wasn’t having it. “Look,” I said, “you’re gonna be the leader and lead singer and main writer. That ain’t gonna change. It’ll still be a band, but it’s time for you to be recognized.” That was me. Always looking out for my own self-interest.
That is the theme of Unrequited Infatuations, a career based on recognizing what was good for others, but not necessarily himself. Despite being right there in the eye of the storm, Springsteen’s right-hand man, during his growth as an artist in the 1970’s, right through The River (and even encouraging Springsteen to release Nebraska as the raw album it was), Van Zandt walked away from his place and role in the E Street Band to pursue a solo career – a career that never blossomed as big as others he knew and worked with.
The Prologue of the book, where I pulled the first two quotes that started this article, is where Van Zandt was recalling a dangerous trip in South Africa during the time of Apartheid (a system of institutionalised racial segregation in the country), and Sun City (a luxury resort and casino city catering the white elite), a cause he railed against in his solo career, bringing artists together in a brilliant protest album, 1985’s Sun City, also featuring contributions by Ringo Starr, Peter Gabriel, Bono, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Herbie Hancock, and Miles Davis, amongst others.
In launching a solo career, Van Zandt decided he wanted to get political and try to make a difference, a decision that has done a lot of good over the decades, although many do not realize how much good he did do. Unrequited Infatuations brings to light Van Zandt’s work, attempting to change the world for the better, and underlines how that was not conducive to developing a commercial audience. He talks a lot about the mistakes he made – or bad decisions. As he wrote: I’d blown my life twice at that point. First by leaving the E Street Band, and then by treating my solo career as a purely artistic endeavor. I suspect, he does not regret these decisions as much as he would lead us to believe. Sure, he left money on the table based on some of his decisions, but he has also accomplished a lot, both creatively and as an individual who cares for the World in which he lives, and the money means less to him, I believe, than he would lead us to believe. Van Zandt has not led a life of poverty, but has been hugely successful, while not necessarily becoming a household name. The role of Tony Soprano, in the ground-breaking HBO show, The Sopranos was initially intended for him, however, show creator David Chase could not convince the network, to give the title role to an unproven actor, so instead it went to the late James Gandolfini, and the role of Tony’s consigliere, Silvio Dante, was created specifically for Van Zandt as an alternative.
The final part of the book, where Van Zandt talks about his foray into acting with The Sopranos, and the first foreign produced (Norwegian-American) Netflix show, Lilyhammer where he plays crime boss, Frank Tagliano, in the witness protection program, and living in Norway, was interesting enough, but I was more interested in his musical accomplishments, and found myself a little bored here. Sorry, Little Steven Van Zandt.
As a rock and roll memoir, Unrequited Infatuations is a great read, featuring a lot of interesting insights, including Van Zandt’s take on Springsteen’s epic concert performance (Van Zandt rejoined the E Street Band briefly in 1996 and then permanently in 1999). The pioneers of the ‘50s invented Rock. The Renaissance acts of the ‘60s elevated it to an Artform. Bruce was determined to create work that would not only distract, entertain, and transport but also educate, stimulate, and inspire. He wanted to provide irrefutable proof that life had meaning.
If an audience didn’t leave a show feeling substantially better than when they arrived, we had failed. The E Street Band was delivering something that hadn’t been delivered in its purest form since The Beatles.
Hope. Not hype.
Little Seven Van Zandt has led an interesting life, and with Unrequited Infatuations he shares a little bit of it with us, although I suspect there is a lot more that could be said and revealed, if he had wished to. Nonetheless, the memoir is a MUST READ!
While that is more than enough said, let me finish off this article/review with some insight and wisdom from Van Zandt, who peppers the books with such: But what you want deep down in your soul is to do something great. We may not always achieve greatness, but we should always be reaching for it. Isn’t that our best way to show our gratitude for life itself? ♥