By SoDak and Null
When we can muster up the energy, attention, and time to discuss our favorite records by a particular artist, we will post a contribution along these lines.
Over the decades, we have had numerous conversations focused extensively on Bruce Springsteen, covering our favorite songs and records, as well as our confusion and disappointments. Much of the latter has involved the overproduction on recent records, especially the ones featuring the E Street Band. The space between notes is too often missing. Regardless, plenty of these records have captured our attention and have grown on us. In fact, some of these latter records are the ones that we listen to the most now.
SoDak: I believe that there are three records by Bruce Springsteen that both of us will list as our favorite records by him. For decades, you and I have consistently held three records in high regard, noting how fucking exceptional they are in regard to the lyrics, the singing, and emotional weight. This much, as far as our favorites, has not changed through the years. In fact, every time Springsteen announces a new record, we are hoping for the fourth record that captures this essence for us. Our favorite three records, except perhaps one of them, are not generally the albums others mention.
Null: That’s right. These three records are Nebraska (1982), The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995), and Devils and Dust (2005). I measure all of his work against these three albums. We both lean toward the “acoustic” Springsteen, which tends to be more working class, political, and darker. However, most of the politics are couched in rich descriptions of the various social relationships of the characters in the songs, which is where his brilliance as a storyteller truly resides. When he’s good, he’s heartbreaking. Each of the albums mentioned above are understated. Not always, but often, when he works with the E Street Band, the outcome is a Phil Spector wall of noise that I refer to as a wall of “meat street and potatoes.” There are exceptions to this, such as Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and Letter to You.
SoDak: All of this is exactly right. Springsteen is most powerful when he paints a picture of the life, circumstances, and struggles of people. This may involve how someone lacks choices or options to fix a situation or how people just persist trying to create meaningful lives. The context of these situations is often apparent, such as economic decline or the closing of factories. Each of these three records are largely situated within the general misery created by the workings of capitalism, as people are losing their jobs or farms, leading to desperate attempts to survive. Partly inspired by John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, but also by all the accounts of homelessness and migration in the United States and Mexico in the 1990s, Springsteen’s The Ghost of Tom Joad is a remarkable piece of work. His voice captures the weariness and exhaustion of the period, as the callous war on the poor intensified. While there is instrumentation beyond his guitar, the music is sparse, adding gentle textures. The music directs attention to the story.
Null: The Ghost of Tom Joad is an absolute masterpiece from beginning to end. I think of it as a literary classic. It’s almost like a spoken word record, or should I say “whispered word” record, as one cannot speak openly of the underbelly and failures of the empire. These are the secrets that never find their way onto the national news or into the national narrative. It’s almost an anti-record, in the sense that his vocals are so quite one must almost strain to hear them or have the lyric sheet in hand. Reading the lyric sheet while listening to the album will leave an impression because the songs are so powerful and heartbreaking. One only needs to read along with the lyrics once. You don’t forget these stories as they are silhouetted with corpses and missing loved ones. It is closely related to Nebraska, another masterpiece. Nebraska isn’t so much whispered, as a hushed conversation between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning, or in the “wee-wee hours.” It’s the sound of being a solitary driver on the freeway in a moonless night. The radio is on low as you pass through desolate industrial wastelands reminiscing on deceased family members, missing brothers, and growing up working class. It was recorded on a 4-track in Springsteen’s bedroom.
SoDak: Nebraska fucked me up as kid. When I first heard it, I just sat there, staring at the record spin. As strange as it sounds, Springsteen was singing songs that made me think about my extended family, struggling to get by, to hold onto their farms and ranches. The characters in the songs reminded me of people I knew throughout the small city where I was raised. In other words, these songs hit close to home, with some of them set in neighboring states. While it is a somber record, it is captivating from start to finish. “Atlantic City” is an obvious classic with a catchy chorus. But it is a haunting song. His background vocals are foreboding. These tales of loss capture what it is like being ground-down and forgotten about in the American nightmare. Interestingly, for this record, Springsteen was inspired by Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.
Null: Fascinating. This influence is apparent in much of his best work. Devils and Dust feels like the third part in a trilogy. If the Ghost of Tom Joad exists in some ethereal, whispered landscape and Nebraska exists in the middle of the night, then Devils and Dust exists the next morning in the shadows of motels and alleyways as the sun is shedding its first rays. It is not a wholly acoustic affair. It feels like an acoustic album but it really isn’t. It follows in the tradition of the other records, but it is a bit brighter. A bit. Its themes are still disappointment and resignation, but there is also a glimmer of hope.
SoDak: That is a good description. A few of the songs were written when he was touring the Ghost of Tom Joad record, so there is a cool connection between these records. In many of the songs, the characters seem exhausted. They have lived in the shit for so long; they are just doing what they can to persist. I suppose it is not surprising that this sentiment seems to hit home in many ways, given the daily grind that we experience. The connections people find with each other provide a sense of relief. On this record, Springsteen really illuminates everyday life, beyond the screens and other distractions. Some songs are still somber, but there is some possibility in the unknown future.
Null: My fourth favorite record by Springsteen is Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978). It’s just the perfect E Street Band rock record. The band isn’t humongous and overwhelming; it’s all very contained. Darkness is also the fitting companion piece to Nebraska. I’ve always seen these two albums as a pair. Whereas Nebraska exists out on the godless highways, Darkness is walled in. It exists in the dreary confines of working-class towns where the only hope of escape is in the imagination or death. The album is trapped in claustrophobic living rooms (“Adam Raised a Cain”) and exhausted factory floors (“Factory”). The guitars are angry, mean, and, in my opinion, never loud enough in the mix. “Poor man wanna be rich / Rich man wanna be king / And the king ain’t satisfied ‘til he rules everything.” To me, Darkness is the seed of the mythology surrounding Springsteen’s pathos and rock band.
SoDak: I am tempted to name Darkness on the Edge of Town as one of my top five. It is certainly a record that I have had a strong connection to, but the last ten years I have been picking up some of his other records more often. Part of the reason for this is that I want to listen to his records that I do not know as much as those from when we were young. As a result, I have really come to love Western Stars (2019). I have many of the same reservations that you did about this record, which you noted in your review of it. The record is so lush, like a soundtrack, with all the instruments being played on it. Nevertheless, I have fallen in love with the songs and the feel of the record. I think the songs would be even better if some of the instruments were stripped away. Regardless, I find a strange comfort in these songs. Within the songs, Springsteen shares stories of aimlessness and exploration. At times, there is a sense of surrendering and letting go, just to see what will happen. The last record in my top five is Wrecking Ball (2012). I saw him on this tour and was captivated by the performance. The songs on this record sound very big. It opens with an anthemic song, “We Take Care of Our Own,” which is no doubt too optimistic about the humanity to be found within the United States. Plus, the song was readily incorporated into Obama’s campaign drive as part of manipulated emotions alongside empty promises. No surprises here. Regardless, the record is filled with many songs about how greedy fuckers are gutting hometowns and driving down wages. On “We Are Alive,” Springsteen imagines an uprising as radicals from throughout the decades are embodied as a mighty force to overthrow the existing order. Anyhow, Western Stars and Wrecking Ball are now among my favorite five Springsteen records. I was not anticipating this to be the case when we started talking about this project.
Null: Western Stars and Wrecking Ball are both pretty great albums. The last song on Western Stars, “Moonlight Motel,” crushes me every time I hear it. I’ve never listened to it without crying. Wrecking Ball is also closely related to Darkness, thematically. Except that it has more of a “European folk-feel” with the fiddles and whatnot. It was also great to hear Springsteen return to his working-class storytelling mode.
SoDak: I know that this is part of the reason I continue to listen to Wrecking Ball.
Null: The last record in my five favorites has to be Letter to You (2020). It was on my Musical Obsessions list for last year on this site. Springsteen recorded the album, with the E Street Band, in just four days. No one had time for three-hour sax solos or bombastic theatrics. The lyrics are a reflection on age and loss. I had been waiting years for a Springsteen record like this one. The great Springsteen “rock records” are Darkness, Letter to You, and the Live 1975-85 (1986) box set. There is a similarity between these records that I can’t quit put my figure on. Maybe it’s just electric guitars and great songs.
SoDak: This is wonderful. Letter to You continues to grow on me. Null, I am curious, are there any Springsteen records that you think are forgettable or that you do not like? I can think of one.
Null: I can’t stand the second album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle (1973), but there are several others that I pay no attention to because they only have a few good songs. I think of these albums as “singles with a few B-sides,” despite that fact that they are full albums. It’s a lie I tell myself.
SoDak: I also find The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle to be unbearable. I am glad that it was not my entry point for Springsteen, otherwise, I might not have wanted to explore other parts of his catalog. For some reason, I also do not find myself listening to Born to Run (1975) very often, despite this being such a huge record for him. At the same time, I love some of the songs on that record, such as “Thunder Road,” “Backstreets,” and “Jungleland.” Guess, I often choose to listen to these songs on some of the collections or live records rather than on Born to Run.
Null: I agree. I never listen to the Born to Run album.
SoDak: The odd thing about Springsteen is that some of my favorite songs by him are not on my favorite records by him. Is this true for you as well?
Null: Yes, that is exactly what I mean when I purposefully lie to myself about his discography. Take Magic (2007) for example. When I think of that album, I think of “Nowhere Radio” and “Girls in Their Summer Clothes.”
SoDak: Right, those are great songs on an okay record.
Null: To me that record is a seven-inch with an A-side and B-side. I’m sure there are other good tunes on there, but when, Nebraska, Ghost, and Devils are my reference points, Magic is just too much fucking work and too much “meat and potatoes” E Street Band. Oddly enough, the lyrics tend to turn into lumpy gravy in this stew. He just writes better songs when he is more subdued. Not always, but mostly. “Radio Nowhere” is great. He can write some kick ass rock songs, but rarely does he write that many in a row. It’s understandable—who can be reflective and introspective when a E Street cement truck is unloading on your head?
SoDak: Good point. Many of his average to good records have outstanding songs. For instance, The River (1980) is an ambitious record. Perhaps too long. But it includes some unbelievable cuts. Of course, “The River” is a fucking classic—a perfect song as far as I am concerned. It fucks me up each time I listen to it. The song includes everything that makes Springsteen so extraordinary at times. I have also always been head-over-heels for “I’m on Fire” from Born in the U.S.A. (1984), despite the production on the record, which, while poor, still might be part of the charm. Beyond the hits, I really like songs such as “Outlaw Pete” and “The Wrestler” from Working on a Dream (2009) and various cuts on the three forgotten records: Tunnel of Love (1987), Human Touch (1992), and Lucky Town (1992). Plus, he did some great songs on soundtracks, such as “Dead Man Walkin’” and “Lift Me Up.”
Null: I agree. Those are great tracks. Springsteen has some really moving and excellent songs spread throughout his entire catalogue—the bastard. Many of these hidden gems I have only learned about because of you. I always loved “Lonesome Day” from The Rising (2002) album. “No Surrender” is another song I couldn’t live without. Many great songs can be found on the Live 1975-85 box set—that box set opened me up to some incredible Springsteen songs. I bought that box set when it came out in 1986. The only other Springsteen record I had at the time was his first, Greetings from Asbury Park (1973), which is a dark and muddy affair. I have a soft spot for that record. Yeah, Springsteen has a ton of great songs buried in box sets and middle-of-the-road records. It’s a pain in the ass. I sort of fell in love with Working on a Dream once I figured out it was his “Smoky Robinson” record, which made me hear it differently, but it isn’t good enough to be in my five favorites. Also, that four CD Tracks (1998) box set was about 60 percent killer.
SoDak: Tracks is an incredible collection, filled with previously unreleased gems.
Null: Yeah. As far as my five favorite Springsteen records, I will hold to them being Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Devils and Dust, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and Letter to You, in no particular order, with a suggested supplement of Live 1975-85 and a shit-ton of random tracks spread like debris over a minefield. There a quite of few meandering and unfocused albums of his out there that I do not spend much time with.
SoDak: My favorite five are also in no particular order, but currently are: Devils and Dust, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Nebraska, Western Stars, and Wrecking Ball. We’ll see what happens when he releases more records.
Null: Maybe, we will get the next record that we have been wanting.
SoDak: The potential stories to tell are bountiful.
Null: We definitely need to hear these stories.
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