Springsteen is my favorite artist of all time, so glad you liked this album. This is Bruce’s best album lyrically in my opinion. So stark and haunting. A true masterpiece.
When I was young, I heard Springsteen on the radio as one of many artist but nothing special. There was a couple of songs that I enjoyed like: Burn to run, Sherry Darling, Hungry hart, Dancing in the dark, I'm on fire but I wasn't a real fan. Oddly enough, it's after listening to Tunnel of love album that I really got into him and started to appreciate the genius of his story telling and sense of melody that is often drowned out by too many instruments (the arrangements are often too busy for my taste). Other great albums that came afterwards that I really liked: Ghost of Tom Joad, The rising and Working on a dream (Outlaw Pete is a 8 minute masterpiece) Well, Just felt I had to add my 5 cents :) Thanks and keep up the good work!
Nebraska has been my favourite Springsteen album for 40 years. Lyrically, atmospherically, thematically he's never been better. These songs are like a collection of short stories with unforgettable characters. Glad you like it :)
Hey TJR, I remember when Nebraska came out. It was a big departure for Springsteen as far as what he had done before it. He fashioned the ‘Bruce Sound’ with the band so I’m sure it was expected he’d have the same sound. I think it turned a lot of people off because it was totally different but I gave him a lot of credit. It was truly an artistic effort and not something done to keep the typical conveyer belt sound of his earlier recordings.
I was 13 when “Nebraska” came out, and our local Rock-radio” played “Johnny 99”. I bicycled to my local record shop to buy the 45. I couldn’t find J99 in the singles, and asked at the desk. The clerk said to me, “Kid, just buy the LP, it’s great. And “Johnny 99, isn’t a single.” I had to return, with more money, to buy the album. It became a favorite Springsteen album of mine, valued for its stark honesty, and view of America. When I went to college (‘87-‘91) and had CD and vinyl, only “Nebraska” and “Darkness on the edge of town” were in my ‘cool’ music rank for Bruce (Born in USA -was so overdone). Glad you have appreciated, TJR!
I'm like you. I have always thought Springsteen was good, I didn't really like him, but he was ok. I had a friend who always bought his stuff, and I heard all of it. But Nebraska, I love, and I have always been passionate about it.
Nebraska is my 2nd favorite Springsteen album. Bought it when it first came out way back in the eighties. I didn’t fully fall in love with it until I was much older. The songs are about desperate, flawed people trying come to terms with the reality of their life. A very stark, haunting album.
This album came out when I was like 14 or 15, had it on cassette, Sony walkman, walking back and forth to work, in snow and ice. played that album to death .
A great video TJ! I've seen Bruce Springsteen in concert approximately 25 times dating back to 1980 and his artistry is amazing. His songs are incredible. I'm glad you continue to give his recordings a listen too, and you loved "Nebraska."
Bravo, TJR!!! Great video!! I love this album, but back in the day 1984 i recorded this album to cassette and stopped after 3 tracks. The story is Springsteen had Nebraska on cassette in his pocket and made the album from this cassette so a vinyl me please, i dont know. So making a audiofile album from a cassette tape. Its the same master as the 2014 box set. great video
Great review! Thanks for that. Nebraska is epic. Through this album I dived deeper in Springsteen. A few years ago I was aware of him, but I did not care about his music. Strange for me now, I really appreciate all of his work. You should give a try to the River which is still my favorite Springsteen record.
I am a very casual Springsteen fan I like born to run darkness on the edge of town and the river but I really don’t listen to him much but one of the best shows I ever did see was a Bruce Springsteen show back in 1985 semi gave us tickets to see him at the LA Coliseum he played for 3 1/2 hours. I am more of a John Mellencamp fan. I really like his stuff a lot.
Bruce recorded the whole thing in a day or two at the kitchen table of his rented house- alone. Not an album to listen to if already feeling depressed. Bruce had his first episode of clinical depression around this time period. He's had a few others since then. His father was clinically depressed and schizophrenic. This was the only album Bruce did not tour behind. He barely promoted it.
I agree with you about Born in the USA. It got played so much in the 80s and not many people got the point of the song. He actually recorded a demo for that song during the Nebraska sessions that gets across the despair that the character feels. Here’s a link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-22Gh1wQEe1I.html
Ryan Adams just released online for free a whole cover of the album Nebraska..interesting interpretation of Springsteen's songs. Also check out an outake from " Nebraska" on YT called the "Losin Kind" by Springsteen ...almost a sequel to the song "Highway Patrolman".
Yes, it is an amazing intense album. It's quite a road trip album when you are driving by night across the country thru the strange towns and countryside alone. Oddly enough, that may be his masterpiece.
We went to Tennessee recently to visit some music history. One night we had a four hour evening drive to see the Crossroads landmark. We drove across some roads just like you described, and I played Nebraska during the drive.
Don’t know if you know about Ryan Adams or whether or not you particularly like him, but he released a cover of the whole Nebraska album and it’s very unique in my opinion. He did the same thing with Taylor Swift’s 1989 album and it floored me how good it was. Ryan Adams is doing some interesting stuff lately and posts mostly on instagram.
In the mid '80's, I had "Born To Run", "Darkness On The Edge Of Town", "The River" and "Born In The U.S.A." on vinyl. I heard about the "Nebraska" album and it's acoustic starkness, and that didn't really appeal to me, as a teenager. But, I ordered it from a record club, for a cheap price. And I put it on. And I couldn't believe the title track. Like you said, you're so drawn in by the starkness, the atmosphere and the story Bruce is singing. And I especially like the last track, "Reason To Believe". But, all of the songs are very good. I like "Nebraska" a lot, though it's not my favorite Springsteen album. I'd say, considering what you like about "Nebraska", that "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" should be the next Bruce Springsteen album you try. The album itself is so different from most of "The Promise" outtakes. There's a documentary, where Little Steven says he couldn't believe the songs that Bruce was leaving off. He begged him to reconsider some of them back then, but Bruce had a clear vision for "Darkness On The Edge Of Town".
The song Nebraska is based on the true story of America's first "celebrated" spree killer, Charles Starkweather. The line, "I guess there's just a meanness in this world" is a nod the the short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor, whose work Springsteen was reading extensively at the time he wrote and recorded _Nebraska_ . That short story, in turn, is also about a spree killer. "She would have been a good woman, if'n there'd be someone there to shoot her every minute of her life."
Springsteen's first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth albums are all as different as the next one. Born To Run, was nothing like the first two, and Nebraska was unlike anything he'd released to that point.
A little shocking to hear that you aren't a huge Springsteen fan. As a guitarist I guess I've always just assumed you were. But, as you''ve said many times in the past, everyones musical journey is different. If you liked Nebraska, I think you will also like The River a lot too. Check it out.
As good as Nebraska is Bruce has at least 5 albums that are better. Many of my favorite Bruce songs went unreleased for decades before coming out on things like his "Tracks" collection. He took 21 years to release his song "Fever", and 10 years to release his song "Because the Night". He has said he will soon release 5 albums he recorded in the 1990s but never released.
I bought one of those Teac 246 4-track cassette recorders. (I had the earlier 144 model too, but sold it for the 246.) Check out my channel for songs I recorded during 1980-83 on that machine. For some reason, it made some nice sounding recordings.)
NIce review Tjr. But have you ever really looked at the lyrics to "Born In the USA"? [Verse 1] Born down in a dead man's town The first kick I took was when I hit the ground You end up like a dog that's been beat too much 'Til you spend half your life just coverin' up [Chorus] Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. [Verse 2] Got in a little hometown jam So they put a rifle in my hand Sent me off to a foreign land To go and kill the yellow man [Chorus] Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. [Verse 3] Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says, "Son if it was up to me" Went down to see my V.A. man He said, "Son, don't you understand" [Verse 4] I had a brother at Khe Sanh Fighting off the Viet Cong They're still there, he's all gone He had a woman he loved in Saigon I got a picture of him in her arms now [Verse 5] Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I'm ten years burning down the road Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go [Chorus] Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. now Born in the U.S.A. I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. now Born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. I'm a cool rockin' Daddy in the U.S.A. now Do you really think this is an "obnoxious" story? It's really an anti- war song.
I have been familiar with the lyrics, and I must apologize. I should have clarified my comment: I found the production to be obnoxious (not the lyrics). It’s been a while since I heard the song though, and during the 80’s I was just so tired of every song having that overtly loud heavily reverb'd snare throughout the entire song. For a while there, everyone used it (including the Boss) and it just annoyed me. Nowadays, I can go back to songs from this era and hear them with new ears. Thanks for the comment.
