Among the many things I’m grateful to Bruce for: he wears his influences on his sleeve.<\/p>\n
Over the years, interviewers have covered most of Bruce’s catalog with him, so there’s a pretty good historical record to draw from when I write these essays. But every once in a while, the dice assign me a relative obscurity and I’m on my own.<\/p>\n
But one listen to “The Brokenhearted” tells you pretty much everything you need to know. If Roy Orbison fronting The Drifters doesn’t come immediately to mind, you weren’t paying close attention.<\/p>\n
“The Brokenhearted” is a gorgeous torch song and almost certainly an homage to two of Bruce’s influences: his soaring vocals are clearly mimicking Orbison’s style, and the mariachi melody (complete with horns) are evocative of “Spanish Harlem,<\/a>“which Bruce had performed in concert a few years earlier.<\/p>\n