Little Steven's Big Sound

Steven Van Zandt on the “five Crafts” of Rock and Roll

- Dave Hunter

NEVER MIND THAT MORE PEOPLE around the world might know the face and the voice from his acting performances in hit TV shows such as The Sopranos and Lilyhammer, rock and roll is veritable lifeblood for Steven Van Zandt. From strutting stages as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, co-leading Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, and pursuing a sporadic yet trenchant solo career, Van Zandt has become a veritable compendium of the glories of the rock genre. He’s a member of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and an inductee himself), and DJ of the syndicated radio show, Underground Garage. So if you need a quick hit of the transformational properties of rock and roll—spiritually, sonically, philosophically—you need look no further than the guitarist, singer, songwriter, and all-around professor of rock who has plied his trade as “Little Steven” for going on five decades.

Putting this massive cache of street cred back between the grooves where it belongs, Little Steven’s new album, Soulfire [Wicked Cool/Big Machine/Ume], is simultaneously a celebration of the sound and style that has propelled his career, and a declaration of the enduring power of music. Recorded in his own New York City studio following a string of European dates—and backed by his 15-piece band, the Disciples of Soul— the album captures spirited re-workings of several of the most significant songs of Van Zandt’s career, along with some new material, and a few choice favorites from other artists.

Alongside several of Van Zandt’s compositions (originally written for himself, Southside Johnny, Richie Sambora, David Ruffin and The Temptations), and songs he co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen and Gary U.S. Bonds, are tear-the-roof-off renditions of the Etta James track “The Blues Is My Business” and James Brown’s