| January 23rd, 2006 01:34 AM |
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| Zack |
Entering a renewed Springsteen phase, and ready to comment on a few favorites, hoping to elicit inspiration to dig deeper into the Boss catalog. Your comments, please, on what you agree with and what I've left out.
1. Darkness on the Edge of Town. I don't know of any other album that is so entertaining yet so clearly articulates the frustration of seeing what life could be like but not knowing how to achieve it.
2. Tunnel of Love. Far and away his prettiest album, which at the same time offers keen insight into what makes relationships turn sour.
3. Born to Run. Great, but you get the feeling it's trying to hard to be great. Production of title cut is a bit too much like Spector. Thunder Road his best song ever.
4. Wild, Innocent & E Street Shuffle. Astonishing mix of Stax soul and jazz, but still sounds like him.
5. The River. Sustained brilliance over four sides, all the way to the amazing two final tracks. Rim-shot drum style begins to grate, which makes Born in the USA barely listenable, especially when you hear how it ruined the title cut of that album compared to the Tracks version.
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| January 23rd, 2006 01:56 AM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
Nebraska
then Darkness on the Edge of Town/Tunnel of Love (hard to separate)
Born to Run (hey Zack nothing wrong with "sounding" like Spector just don't act like him)
i know that's only four but they are the ones the really stand apart as "albums" - there are certain tracks from other albums which i rate 'tho
The River
Downbound Train
Wreck on the Highway
Lucky Town
Just Another Roll of the Dice
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| January 23rd, 2006 01:59 AM |
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| Child of the Moon |
1. Nebraska
2. Born to Run
3. Greetings from Asbury Park (the album that turned me from a casual fan to a big fan)
4. The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle
5. Devils and Dust
Very close to the top are Tunnel of Love and The River. |
| January 23rd, 2006 05:43 AM |
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| Zack |
Both you guys think Nebraska is his best work EVER? It initially struck me as a set of rather gloomy home demos. What's so great? |
| January 23rd, 2006 01:32 PM |
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| Kurtcobainkid87 |
1. Darkness on the Edge of Town - it was an album that kicked you in the face, and you liked it.
2. Born to Run - Awesome, yes there are a lot of hits on it however, every song is great.
3. Nebraska - Bruce turned acoustic. It was dark, gloomy, different, and that's why it's still intriguing today. It's un-Bruce like, for the most part.
4. Tunnel of Love - different, the songs are beautiful, and even more beautiful solo.
5. Wild, the Innocent, and E Street Shuffle - very upbeat, a lot of raw energy, fantastic album
Those are my top five, although I really love every Bruce album except Human Touch and even it has its moments where its good. I saw him three times on the Devils and Dust Tour and for anyone who hasn't really listened to Bruce Springsteen in depth. I highly recommend him. I think you will be plesantly surprised at how much you enjoy it. |
| January 23rd, 2006 01:48 PM |
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| Jumping Jack |
Jumping Jack Flash
Brown Sugar
Bitch
All Down The Line
Satisfaction |
| January 23rd, 2006 02:19 PM |
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| texile |
the river - this is the one that did it for me - i was 13 and christmas was one week away and i had to have it....sad, haunting and his most passionate. (stolen car gives me the chills)
the wild, innocent - rosalita is pure heaven, new york city serenade is sublime
darkness...- candy's room, prove it all night
tunnel of love - underrated and overshadowed by USA....
tunnel of love, brilliant disguise......low key but beautiful. |
| January 23rd, 2006 02:54 PM |
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| Joey |
[quote]stonedinaustralia wrote:
Nebraska"
Agree One Hundred Percent S.I.A.
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| January 23rd, 2006 03:10 PM |
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| stonesmachine |
Never was a big fan, find his music pretty frikin boring actually |
| January 23rd, 2006 03:14 PM |
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| Gazza |
To paraphrase Keith, picking a favourite Bruce album for me is like being asked to choose between your babies. They're all special to me in different ways and in some cases his albums and shows have tied in with life-changing events for me - part of the reason why his music has always resonated with me since I was about 16
1) The River was released in my final year of school and the first Bruce show I attended (London, May 1981) was the day before I turned 18 and (supposedly) became an adult
2) Born In The USA was released the same week that I finished university
3) Tunnel of Love was released two days after I got married
4) the Dublin show I saw in 2003 was the day after I turned 40.
Its hard to pick one. I think that run of albums from Wild The Innocent (1973) to Nebraska (1982) is almost impossible to top. Tunnel of Love and The Rising are also up there too. Every album has its' moments of magic. He's hard to beat. |
| January 23rd, 2006 04:17 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
quote:
Zack wrote:
Both you guys think Nebraska is his best work EVER? It initially struck me as a set of rather gloomy home demos. What's so great?
for me Zack you've answered your own question
gloomy?? - yes i suppose so - i think it of it more in terms of "heavy atmosphere"
and you're right they were essentially "home demos"(and much like being into stones studio out- takes) it lets you see the raw art and the naked artist uncluttered and undisguised by artifice |
| January 23rd, 2006 05:01 PM |
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| IzzyStradlin |
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Nebraska
The River
Born to Run
Live |
| January 23rd, 2006 05:52 PM |
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| Paranoid_Android |
quote:
stonesmachine wrote:
Never was a big fan, find his music pretty frikin boring actually
Tom Joad was great...the rest I find boring |
| January 23rd, 2006 09:36 PM |
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| Gazza |
HAMMERSMITH: IT'S NOT JUST FOR VIDEO ANYMORE
1975 London concert to get 2CD release on February 28
What would, until very recently, have been a shout-it-from-the-hilltops event -- a new live album from Springsteen and the E Street Band, consisting of a complete show from 1975 -- will likely be rolled out with little fanfare by Columbia and perhaps even met with a shrug from some fans. But the fact that this Hammersmith concert has already been released on video form on DVD (as part of the Born to Run 30th anniversary box) makes this no less momentous: a fine addition to Springsteen's album canon, with the young-and-hungry E Street Band woefully under-represented in live album form; a boon to fans who'd like to take this show on the road in cars or iPods; and yet another step toward a why-don't-they-just-do-it? series of releases from the archives. Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 will be issued as a two-CD set on February 28 and available through iTunes even sooner, on February 7.
www.backstreets.com
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| January 23rd, 2006 09:46 PM |
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| Zack |
I will order Nebraska from Amazon.
Does anyone else think Max Weinberg's "hammer" drum patterns starting in the 80s spoil a lot of it, especially Born the USA? That album had a bunch of production issues that make it hard for me to like, mostly the drums. |
| January 23rd, 2006 09:59 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
quote:
Zack wrote:
Does anyone else think Max Weinberg's "hammer" drum patterns starting in the 80s spoil a lot of it, especially Born the USA? That album had a bunch of production issues that make it hard for me to like, mostly the drums.
know what you mean Zack and tend to agree
esp. re the title track of USA
[Edited by stonedinaustralia] |
| January 23rd, 2006 10:49 PM |
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| keefjunkie |
quote:
Jumping Jack wrote:
Jumping Jack Flash
Brown Sugar
Bitch
All Down The Line
Satisfaction
yes yes yes!
Devils and Dust?? Someone wishes they are Dyyyylann |
| January 23rd, 2006 11:52 PM |
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| Gazza |
bollocks
The album's nothing like Bob Dylan's style of writing by ANY stretch of the imagination....unless you think Bob has exclusive rights to making records that are primarily acoustically based
Springsteen progressed beyond trying to write like Dylan after his debut album came out. |
| January 24th, 2006 02:46 PM |
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| texile |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
bollocks
The album's nothing like Bob Dylan's style of writing by ANY stretch of the imagination....unless you think Bob has exclusive rights to making records that are primarily acoustically based
Springsteen progressed beyond trying to write like Dylan after his debut album came out.
agree.
bruce's songwriting is unlike anyone else -
he's like a novelist to me - his songs are little one, two, three act plays...he has an amazing ability to step in people's shoes and tell thier stories and yet, make them personal ....he's a great chronicler of american life.
he's a fucking genius. dylan was more insular.....
but i was never a fan of those door-shutting, cardboard drums - except for the slow songs and hungry heart, max too often killed the groove ...
the ties that bind is my favorite from the river, but those damn drums are so OFF. |
| January 24th, 2006 06:05 PM |
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| Rutger |
To me, Nebraska ranks as one of the greatest albums ever. It's classic from start to finish. With Bruce delivering some of the most haunting melody's of his entire career. This album is like Exile in many ways (though Exile is the best). It's a cohesive piece of pure american art that Bruce was only once able to write. Highway Patrol Man is such a gem. |
| January 24th, 2006 06:47 PM |
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| Soldatti |
Very, very hard...
1. Born to Run
2. Tunnel of Love
3. The River
4. Nebraska
5. Darkness on the Edge of Town
The Rising is very good too. |
| January 27th, 2006 05:49 PM |
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| Ronnie Richards |
1. Darkness
2. Born to Run
3. Nebraska
4. Wild & Innocent
5. Tunnel of Love
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| January 28th, 2006 10:01 PM |
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| nanatod |
1. Fire on the Fingertips
2. Greetings from Asbury Park
I used to be easily able to put 3 other albums on this list, but these days whenever I hear Springsteen's music it has a "dated" feel to it. It might be from the production techniques, or it might be from radio overexposure of his material. I have the same problem with some of his contemporaries (Bob Seger, for one), but not necessarily bands that came after him. |
| January 28th, 2006 10:40 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
1. Fire on the Fingertips
oh, ya big show-off 
That was the first Springsteen bootleg I ever heard. Loved it (of course, he released all 5 songs on 'Tracks' eventually, but that couldnt top the thrill of hearing that 'forbidden fruit' for the first time...) |
| January 28th, 2006 11:04 PM |
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| nanatod |
Gazza, I didn't mean to show off. In the l990's, when my LP collection went from 300 down to about 75 (for economic reasons), Fire on the Fingertips was one of the casualties. I really liked the songs on the album, because they weren't the same couple of songs that the rock radio stations where I lived always overplayed.
That's also why my favorite Stones album is not Exile, but Goat's Head Soup-- I'd give anything if (classic) rock radio would put Silver Train and Winter into their staid rotation. |
| January 29th, 2006 08:02 AM |
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| IzzyStradlin |
quote:
Zack wrote:
I will order Nebraska from Amazon.
Does anyone else think Max Weinberg's "hammer" drum patterns starting in the 80s spoil a lot of it, especially Born the USA? That album had a bunch of production issues that make it hard for me to like, mostly the drums.
It's not Max - it's the PRODUCTION. Any musician can tell you that. He's panned up way too high. |
| January 30th, 2006 12:25 PM |
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| Saint Sway |
Darkness
Nebraska
Lucky Town
I really enjoy those 3. |
| January 30th, 2006 12:27 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
Gazza, I didn't mean to show off.
I know you werent. Hence the
Fire on the Fingertips is a great choice |
