1d ago
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Caveat: I'm not a midlife-crisis "Brooce guy."
But every so often I return to his four-track, almost-demo LP "Nebraska" like it's a prayer.
To call this a "shock" when it was released in 1982 is a huge understatement.
"The River" (the LP just before it) had been a huge hit and he was poised for superstardom, which would come on the NEXT album, "Born in the USA."
In between -- Bruce discovered the TEAC 144, a four-track home recording device that nobody was using at the time and disintermediated the studio process. He had originally thought this version of these songs would be presented to the E Street Band as demos, they'd learn 'em, and record them in the good ol' E Street way.
But they didn't. They went out just like this -- spare, skeletal, almost entirely acoustic solo sketches of desperate American lives poised on the brink of disaster and cataclysmic change. The title track is about a convicted murderer awaiting the electric chair (based on the all-too-real spree killer, Charles Starkweather). The rest of the album is equally as dark, which is a near-complete contrast with the energy and optimism Bruce and the band were known for previously.
In one night -- January 3, 1982, in a rented ranch house in Colts Neck, NJ -- Springsteen recorded "Starkweather" (later, "Nebraska"), "Atlantic City," "Mansion on the Hill," "Johnny 99," "Highway Patrolman," "State Trooper", "Used Cars," "Wanda," "Open All Night," "Reason to Believe," "Born in the U.S.A." (acoustic), "Downbound Train," "Child Bride," "Losin' Kind," "My Father's House" and "Pink Cadillac" for a total of 16 songs, 10 of which ended up on "Nebraska."
It remains punk AF and I can't imagine being someone of Bruce's artistic and commercial stature at that point just lobbing this home-recorded thing out into the world and then not even touring behind it but moving on to the next thing.... which was the album that turned him into a Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Bowie-level entertainer. (It remains one of the top-selling albums of all time while "Nebraska" may be one of his least-selling records despite having made it to number 3 on the Billboard charts).
When I think about our country -- the good, the bad, the ugly -- this is the album I turn to.
And I know for fact that so many artists who would (much later) record albums at home or in their basements or closets -- Elliott Smith, Lou Barlow, Neutral Milk Hotel, Mary Lou Lord, Cat Power, anyone who ever traded in "alt country" like Wilco or Son Volt or Drive-By Truckers, etc -- were almost totally obsessed with this album as a starting point for their songwriting craft.
If you haven't heard it yet, it's here in its entirety. It's not only the best thing I think Springsteen will ever do, it's one of the best LPs ever recorded. There have been months at a time ever since where I listened to almost nothing BUT "Nebraska."
Apr 25, 2024
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The lyrics are CRUSHING sometimes, and are surprisingly relatable like no other genre i’ve encountered.
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