recommend me a springsteen album, please

[Vintage Paw]

how about privately educated toffs singing about slinging crack in the bronx? for all the excellence of the privately educated toffs' music, there's a point where it becomes insincere, no?

Yeah, I guess it can be, but it depends what a) you want from your music, and b) what the singer wants to achieve with it. Not everything is a heartfelt retelling of hardship and times gone by. Music can be and is as much of a fiction as a novel or a film. Because we become affected by it in quite personal ways perhaps we lose sight of that. Sure, there are those singers out there who are doing the whole heartfelt personal monologue thing with their music, but it's not all music is.

 

[editor]

is any of it familiar? must be odd seeing a film of concert you saw 40 years ago...

I was young and mostly remember being mesmerised by the drummer and Springsteen's electric onstage presence. He wasn't the future of rock'n'roll, but he was a lot better than Uriah Heep, Budgie and all the other stuff I'd seen growing up (Thin Lizzy excepted, natch).

But punk was just around the corner and that's where I found a home.

 

[Sprocket.]

Can't think of one album, but can only recommend the track on Born to Run,
Meeting Across the River.

 

[maomao]

the thing that slightly grates me is the "blue collar" posing. mate, you're worth millions and millions, but you still sing and play out the "just got back from coal mine, gonna get me a waitress and go to the rodeo" type working class posturing. can't you sing about NOW? the reality of your life NOW?

That's the only bit about him that once every five years makes me think 'I'll try a bit of Springsteen' (usually takes less than 10 minutes to realise he's not really for me) but really, if Springsteen didn't have a class consciousness he'd be Jon Bon Fucking Jovi ffs!

 

[Vintage Paw]

Hey, I'll have you know Jon Bon Jovi opened up a free restaurant for people who couldn't pay. He's socially conscious. And has lovely hair.

 

[BigMoaner]

Jovi is a cunt and not worth the pixels

 

[Vintage Paw]

He's got nice teeth, too.

 

[killer b]

'always' is a great tune tbf.

 

[BigMoaner]

imagine running your hand through that hair whilst he's got his teeth out

 

[maomao]

Hey, I'll have you know Jon Bon Jovi opened up a free restaurant for people who couldn't pay. He's socially conscious. And has lovely hair.

And Living On A Prayer is a great song about working class people! I don't know enough bland rockstars from New Jersey to suggest an alternative though.

 

[Vintage Paw]

imagine running your hand through that hair whilst he's got his teeth out

I've gone all of a quiver.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

the thing that slightly grates me is the "blue collar" posing. mate, you're worth millions and millions, but you still sing and play out the "just got back from coal mine, gonna get me a waitress and go to the rodeo" type working class posturing. can't you sing about NOW? the reality of your life NOW?

i'd suggest "money for nothing" by dire straits for that sort of thing

 

[pauld]

I, err, was at that gig!

Haha!

Me too, sat next to you.

Here's my setlist, scrawled on a serviette in a greasy spoon near Paddington before the redeye took hordes of Springsteen fans back to Cardiff.

 

[Dr. Furface]

When simply nothing else will do... http://springsteenradio.com/playing.php

 

[editor]

I know he's not the most fashionable of artists but read this lyric he *left out* of the original version of 'The Price You Pay.'

For many writers, this would be as good as their writing ever got:

"Some say forget the past
And some say don't look back
Bur for every breath you take
You leave a track
And it just don't seem fair
Bur for every smile that breaks
A tear must fall somewhere"

 

[SpookyFrank]

I like that one where he sings about being a bard for the common folk while charging 80 quid a ticket.

 

[editor]

I like that one where he sings about being a bard for the common folk while charging 80 quid a ticket.

Yes. Why can't he pay for free and get all the musicians and crew and venue staff to play for free too? And get free electricity and petrol. And free buses.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Born to Run is the best one; the title track is imo one of the greatest rock singles ever written and it's about 3rd or 4th best song on the album. Must have listened to "Jungleland" over 100 times since I bought the record a couple of years back and not once have I failed to get goosebumps at the "Tonight the street's on fire..." bit

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.

 

[passenger]

Asbury park for me then the River and Nebraska

 

[billy_bob]

Always kind of felt like I should get Springsteen more than I do, because he sounds more or less like lots of stuff I do like, but it never quite did it for me. My favourite thing he did, tellingly, is the live cover of Chimes of Freedom that Andy Kershaw used to play fairly regularly.

 

[editor]

Now that's what I call a selfie!

 

[seeformiles]

I remember this thread first time around and, 10 years later, I’m still no closer to liking his music although I quite liked the sparseness of “Nebraska” as it was a fave album of a friend who killed himself.

A lot of it is down to his band who are the epitome of too many cooks spoiling the musical broth. Apart from making every damned tune sound the same, they don’t give each other any space and just bang away in a most untidy fashion. You just don’t need this “more the merrier” multiple guitars, keyboard players, horns, singers, percussionists etc. as it just gets sprawling and messy - no more so when they covered AC/DC while on an Aussie tour. I’m glad Bon Scott wasn’t alive to hear this dreck - although no doubt someone likes it.

 

[kabbes]

This thread makes me sad for the people who are, one way or other, no longer with us on urban.

 

[Jennaonthebeach]

Darkness on the Edge of Town was always my favourite, closely followed by Nebraska. Recently discovered that The River is pretty good too. Definitely not Born in the USA though which is pretty much pants imo.

 

[Jennaonthebeach]

Thunder Road is such a beautiful song.

It was hearing Dexys Midnight Runners doing this song that turned me on to listening to Springsteen beyond the two albums i had had on tape since i was at school (Nebraska/Darkness on the Edge of town). It's great.

 

[tommers]

The River is probably the saddest song, I think. Breaks my heart every time I listen to it.

 

[kabbes]

I love the whole Born to Run album. I grew up with it and it really speaks to me. I also love the albums Born in the USA and The River. Nebraska is good but without the E-Street band, it gets a bit whiny and samey. Once the E-Street band split up, I don’t think it was ever quite the same.

However, if I was to recommend a single ‘album’ (not really an album), it would have to be Live 75-85. A collection of incredible live recordings, including some very personal stories that he told on-stage. It includes all the classics, but they were always even better live.

 

[Hollis]

Born to Run, Nebraska & The Ghost of Tom Joad.

I know it's a cliche but Springsteen live really does take his songs up a level.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Nebraska for me.

I like the story of him working in the same studio as, and meeting Alan Vega (who was making the second Suicide LP at the time). It was listening in on that recording session and chatting with Vega that apparently inspired Springsteen to make the more stripped back and minimal 'Nebraska'.

I still don't like it though.