Day 0942 - The Rising

Bruce Springsteen "The Rising" (2002)

This is essentially Bruce's 9/11 album.   He told a story to journalists that at some point after the World Trade Centre attacks, a man in a car had pulled up alongside Bruce, wound down his window and said "we need you now".   Probably for a lesser artist, that story and some of these songs would seem a bit corny; but for the boss it feels about right.

The album seems to manage to capture a myriad of conflicting feelings that were swirling around, from anger, loss, sadness, confusion.  There's the morose "Paradise" contrasting with the gospel tinged "My City of Ruin" and the upbeat "Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)".

It was Springsteen's first studio album in 7 odd years and his first full album with the E-Street Band since "Born in the USA", and Springsteen and the band slip with ease back into that particular groove of hot-blooded stadium-ready rock with an earthy soul to it.  Definitely "Lonesome Day" feels like it would sit quite easily with that album.

There are some different sounds too, with "Worlds Apart" opening with middle-eastern vocals (a daring move, all things considered), or "The Fuse" which with its looped beat and high drawling vocal sounds almost like a Chris Cornell solo track in places.

Springsteen is in fine voice and it's a good album that manages to offer up enough patriotism to keep conservatives happy but with enough understanding and trying to heal wounds to appeal to those who hadn't given in totally to the hate, anger and xenophobia that tried to take hold after the attacks.

Day 0546 - Born in the USA

Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA" (1984) - got it

Following the moody and downbeat "Nebraska", the record company were putting pressure on Bruce to produce something a bit more commercial.   An expectation that he lashed out at lyrically in "Dancing in the Dark" but at the same time, one that he ended up meeting in crafting one of the biggest hits of his career.

Even as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was dropping off the number 1 spot in the charts, Bruce took over that position for the next stretch of time.  As both artists were signed to CBS subsidiaries, that label must have been popping champagne... and probably some cocaine, being the 80s and all.  Like that other album, this one is almost entirely populated with hit singles, making it seem as much a greatest hits as stand-alone album.

"Dancing in the Dark" wasn't the only song with hidden undertones.  The title track seems like a cry of patriotism, but was actually a criticism of the Vietnam war and how America had gone on to treat veterans of that conflict.

This album is a monster.  I was not a rabid Springsteen fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy every song on this album, including the few songs that haven't been thrashed on the radio!  Ended up picking up copies of this album and Nebraska as a result of doing this list.

Day 0511 - Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen "Nebraska"  (1982) - got it

Springsteen originally recorded the demos for this album at home on his 4-track.  He took the demos into the studio to record them with his E-Street Band.  But, once the tracks were down, Bruce and his team decided that the rootsy, stripped-down melancholy of the original demos was the sound that the songs needed and elected to just release Springsteen's demos.  The record company were less certain, but eventually allowed it.

The album remains (justifiably) critically acclaimed.  It is a morose and intimate portrait of struggling small town America.  Bruce moved to more radio-and-stadium-friendly fare for his next album "Born in the USA", but this one certainly adds an extra dimension to his oeuvre.

Day 0409 - Darkness on the Edge of Town

Bruce Springsteen "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (1978)

Legal, record label issues prevented Bruce from recording a follow-up to "Born to run" for a few years. When he finally came back, Springsteen was somewhat jaded by fame and had been spending time in between tours on a farm that he'd purchased, revisiting his small-town upbringing.

This album is a different beast from 'born to run', often quite stripped down, the musical equivalent to a gravelly country road. Arguably this is where Springsteen's gravelly voiced, small-town rocker sound reached maturity

The album didn't produce any 'hits' but has apparently maintained its popularity with Springsteen fans. "Adam raised a Cain" and "Streets of fire" are blisteringly good tracks with pounding vocals.