All 4 of these songs are songwriting hall of fame material. "Our luck may have died Our love may be cold But with you Forever I'll stay We're going out to where the sands turn to gold..." Hey. Do yourself a favor, and don't let this be where you stop on your Bruce "journey." The rabbit hole is endless with this man's music. You simply must keep going!
The whole Tunnel of Love Album is a ,masterpiece....very underated work...this is when he learned how unhappy he was being married to an actress and wanted to be with Patti...
Having been a Springsteen fan for over 50 years and have seen him live over 40 times it’s great to see someone react to a variety of his songs! You still have hundreds to go my friend! I’m glad I found you. Keep up the great work! I enjoy your reactions immensely. Thank you! 👍
Tunnel of Love, and the rest of the TOL album, (including Once Step Up) was mostly about the break-up, and ending of his fairly recent marriage, combined with the blossoming relationship, with bandmate, and future wife, Patti Scialfa. Still married, with 3 grown kids. 🙂
Atlantic City was the first song you've done off of the Nebraska album, I think? The vocal was raw because he recorded the whole album as demos for the band at home on a 4 track tape recorder in his bedroom. All the background vocals were him as well as the music. Then they mixed it down to a cassette using a boombox that had previously been flooded with water. The result was a unique sound. They tried rerecording the album but couldn't get it better than he did it originally so they finally decided to release the demos - after he'd been carrying the cassette they were on around in his pocket for awhile! I normally like Bruce live best, but this album is an exception.
Female vocals are normally done by Patti Scialfa, his wife. She has a great voice. Check out her Rumbledoll album. The higher background vocals on One Step Up are both Bruce and Patti. He has a nice falsetto which he uses a lot more as he has gotten older. The Tunnel Of Love is a collection of songs which are relationship heavy. Mostly about the breakdown of his first marriage. Atlantic City is from the solo Nebraska album. The album that was released was his demo that he recorded on a four track recorder in his bedroom. Just Bruce, his guitar, harmonica and him doing all the backing vocals. The demo was taken to the studio to be recorded with the ESB but they couldn't match the rawness and feel of the demo. Needless to say it was a major process to get the cassette which he had carried around in his pocket for weeks made into a higher enough quality to become the master. The tape machine he used was not set up correctly so was recording at an abnormal speed. Long Walk Home is not about a girl as many think. He is talking about how the country had shifted from its core values, dirtied its reputation and how it was going to take a long time to get it back. The pretty darling is the USA, he or Bruce represents all that is moral or rightous. It was written after the bush presidency. You were spot on about how the town had changed, in this case the 'town' is the whole country. The whole Magic album deals with the policies of that time.
Atlantic City was the first time Bruce ever did a video. Except he didn't appear in it. Its 1982. Michael Jackson is doing Thriller. MTV is basically the whole industry and this is what he offered to support his Nebraska album. Totally cool. then Born in the USA....
Bruce has often stated that in his songs he describes the distance between the American dream, and the American reality. He is a deep artist; his 1st two albums are extremely poetic, stream of consciousness; Born to Run is the iconic rock album reflecting young person's aspiration, filled with angst, hope, desire; Darkness on the Edge of Town is angry , punk Bruce(LOVED IT!); The River, as Bruce himself has said is about the ties that bind you to family, community; Nebraska, all Americana; Born in the USA, what it means to be an American--the good, the bed and the ugly; Tunnel of Love, real descriptions of adult relationships---gonna stop here! Happy you are enjoying learning more BRUUUCE!!!
So far, all but one of the Bruce songs you've reacted to are post-1981. I guess that's because you like official music videos, and Bruce didn't do any of these until 1982, but I think he did most of his best songs pre-1981. So for your next 4 songs of his, I recommend 3 early ones and one later one. The later one is "My Hometown", which has an official music video. Then I recommend live videos for "Rosalita": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CYHGh6lmSbo.html, and "The River" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lc6F47Z6PI4.html, and a studio recording for "Thunder Road" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YdhkaPZtQF4.html.
Great reactions as always. If you are focusing more on live performances going forward you are in luck because there are a ton to choose from. Bruce may be the most recorded and bootlegged artist in the history of live performance. It is an industry unto itself and much of it made it's way onto RU-vid though not always with video to accompany the songs. And of course there are many official releases to work with. A blend of both is probably the way to go. Some I would suggest looking into for reacting: Backstreets- literally any version from '78. I have never heard a version I didn't like though they vary in sound quality and length. Prove it All Night- also from '78. Most versions are great though you should look for the ones that begin with his guitar solo. Phoenix, Houston, Largo or Passaic are all excellent. She's The One- London, 75. My City of Ruins- from the America: A Tribute to Heroes special, 2001 Thunder Road- Roxy Theater, L.A. 75 Chimes of Freedom (Bob Dylan cover) - Amnesty International Tour, '88 The River- L.A. 85. The best version unfortunately doesn't have video but it opens with a story about his father. '85. There are videos with a version of the father story but L.A. seems like all of those other versions distilled into the tightest, most effective and moving take which is undoubtedly one of reasons why it was chosen for the Live 75-85 box set. If actually seeing the performance is crucial to your reaction then Tempe, 80 or the version from the No Nukes concert, 79 are both great though you won't get that story. If you take a deep dive into his catalog you'll see just how central his relationship with his father was to much of his work. Wrecking Ball - Giants Stadium, 2009. A song about the bulldozing of a stadium and, of course, so much more than that. Living Proof- Saturday Night Live, '92. From the criminally underrated Lucky Town album and featuring the short-lived 92-93 backing band post E Street Band breakup. Red Headed Woman- MTV Unplugged, 92. A slightly raunchy tribute to his wife Patti and the only solo acoustic song he performed for the show which, for this episode, would be forever referred to as MTV Plugged. Further On (Up the Road)- Dublin, 2006 with the Seeger Sessions Band.
Try the album Nebraska, Bruce recently agree that if you want to like Bruce, listen to anything his done, but if you want to understand Bruce listen to Nebraska. Then try The Seeger Sessions album, Bruce covering Americana folk songs...watch the vidoes of the live performances...Bruce is best live!
I love your reactions to Bruce,you really hit the point of Long Walk Home...but it is not only about a town,it is about our country. The line about the flag flying over the courthouse ,telling us what we will do and what we won't.. It was about the way we handling/ mishandling the Iraq war . So many songs to listen to live..some for fun ,some for emotions 10th Ave Freezeout...NYC Rosalita ....any The river....1980 tour For you...1970's piano only Back in your arms...Adelaide The promise... Blood Brothers....reunion tour Jungleland..NYC
