Favorite Bruce Springsteen Albums?

[phanan]

I think most big Bruce fans like Nebraska a lot, or at least they do in my experience. Phanan might know better than I.

Yeah, Nebraska is considered his true solo masterpiece.

I didn't see it live until the Magic Tour, which meant I saw the ridiculous 11-minute version. Not my favorite.

Seeing it once was definitely enough. I was very surprised it returned to the Magic tour, and I wish it hadn't.

I LIKE The Rising. I like it a lot. It just does not strike me as a "classic" especially when you look at the body of Bruce's work.

This.

 

[LemonMelon]

Nonetheless, I love pretty much every song aside from Mary's Place.

Paradise is one of the worst mood-killers since Revolution #9. Other than that, The Rising is fantastic.

 

[phanan]

I like Let's Be Friends.

There, I said it.

 

[bono_212]

I like Let's Be Friends.

There, I said it.

You're >_> not alone.

 

[LMP]

You mean from the film Psycho by Alfred HitchFAIL?

That could be the only time you've actually taken "cock" out of a word. Amazing.

 

[phillyfan26]

Paradise is one of the worst mood-killers since Revolution #9. Other than that, The Rising is fantastic.

Mood-killer? There's a number of downers on that album, all equally beautiful, so I don't see how Paradise is anymore of a mood-killer than Empty Sky or You're Missing.

 

[HCL]

It's about the tour setlist, don't click if you don't want to know about it:

Spoiler

My three favorite U2 songs are Bad, Please, and Until the End of the World, so I can relate to your "not playing it live" pains.

Two out of three, huh? Now could you ask for Hold Me or Levitate please?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Born To Run
Darkness
Born in the USA
Asbury Park
The Wild, The Innocent...

And I think that's in order. The first three definitely are, with BTR bouncing in and out of the top slot on my favorite albums of all-time list. It makes me want to live a better life.

 

[cobl04]

It's about the tour setlist, don't click if you don't want to know about it:

Spoiler

Two out of three, huh? Now could you ask for Hold Me or Levitate please?

Levitate and Hold Me are two of my favourite Springsteen albums too.

 

[LemonMelon]

Mood-killer? There's a number of downers on that album, all equally beautiful, so I don't see how Paradise is anymore of a mood-killer than Empty Sky or You're Missing.

It's the placement. After Empty Sky or You're Missing, it wouldn't be a thing, but following the title track, it's a different matter.

 

[phillyfan26]

I don't know, I liked its placement before My City of Ruins and didn't mind it coming out of The Rising. I thought it worked.

 

[LemonMelon]

Ah, you don't have to agree. Just trying to explain myself here.

I'm not sure if I'm pleasantly surprised or just surprised that Tunnel Of Love is ahead of Nebraska right now. I know Nebraska is fairly divisive, but I expected a little more support than this. Oh well, that won't prevent Atlantic City from kicking ass.

 

[LMP]

What other Springsteen albums would you improve?

 

[phanan]

The obvious improvement would have been Human Touch and Lucky Town combined into one album. It really would have been excellent if done that way.

 

[YBORCITY]

Nebraska
Born To Run
Darkness
The River
wild...

 

[phanan]

We certainly have some distinct voting levels forming here.

 

[cobl04]

Cool to see USA is not being showered with love here

 

[phanan]

Not sure what you are looking at. It's in fourth place, right behind The Rising. Quite respectable and pretty much right on target.

 

[If you shout...]

I really love Springsteen and he's one of my all time favorites, but my relationship with his music has always been kind of...iffy, I guess? What I mean is that I wildly love a handful of his records (and lots of his songs, even from "bad" albums), and actively dislike the others. And by "the others," I really mean "most of them." This has gotten to be more pronounced as the years have gone by and he's gotten a really out-of-step sound which has, surprisingly, lasted all the way from The River (if not the overrated Darkness on the Edge of Town to the present. This doesn't mean that his albums are badly produced or necessarily bad, per se, but rather that all of them sound dated upon release. That works for some, doesn't seem to bother most, and annoys me. Also, I think that his songwriting peak only lasted for a few years, with the notable exception of Born in the USA, which I think is brilliant.

Anyway, my top 4 follow his best record, one about which there is no room for things like debate or opinion...

1a) The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle

1) Born in the USA
2) Nebraska
3) Born to Run
4) Darkness on the Edge of Town (begrudgingly--I love a few songs, dislike the others; same goes for The River, which is simply impossible to listen to, in one sitting)

 

[phanan]

I find it curious that you think most of his albums sound dated upon release, yet your second favorite album is Born In The USA, which is arguably his most dated record of them all (although I also enjoy it).

 

[If you shout...]

If you think that USA sounds more dated than The River or even Darkness, then you are deaf. To be fair, though, I should clarify--I didn't mean dated in terms of arrangements or songwriting or anything along those lines; instead, I meant in terms of the actual sound engineering, mastering, and overall production. I definitely think that some of the flamboyant synth lines in USA are now crazily dated, but they didn't sound brittle and tinny when they first came out...nor do they, now! They just sound, you know...pretty damn '80s!

 

[No spoken words]

If you think that USA sounds more dated than The River or even Darkness, then you are deaf.

You have such a light conversational touch.

 

[corianderstem]

The River does sound dated. I'm not going to try and compare it to how other albums sound. But I can agree that it definitely sounds dated.

 

[phanan]

I don't think it sounds that dated. If anything, these albums just need to be remastered finally.

 

[phanan]

You have such a light conversational touch.

I guess I'm deaf and don't know what I'm talking about after 25 years of listening.

 

[corianderstem]

Maybe that's what I'm hearing - not necessarily 'dated' but 'why does this sound so bad, does that mean it needs remastering, or do I just not like this album?'

When the songs pop up on my iPod, it sounds so quiet and ... tinny? I don't know that that's the right word.

Eh, whatever. I'm not a big fan of The River.

 

[phanan]

Yeah, ok. The sound quality on The River is atrocious, most definitely. It's probably the record that needs a remastering the most.

And speaking of remasters, where the hell is that Darkness box set...

 

[If you shout...]

Yeah, ok. The sound quality on The River is atrocious, most definitely.

Thank you.

 

[lazarus]

Not sure what you are looking at. It's in fourth place, right behind The Rising. Quite respectable and pretty much right on target.

Isn't Born in the USA his best-selling and most popular album? I'd say the expectation would be for it to be in the #1 or #2 slot.

We know Darkness is a big fan favorite, so that's not the real shocker here, but The Rising even coming close to Born in the USA, let alone having more votes, is a welcome surprise, as I don't think the latter is very good.

 

[phanan]

Isn't Born in the USA his best-selling and most popular album? I'd say the expectation would be for it to be in the #1 or #2 slot.

We know Darkness is a big fan favorite, so that's not the real shocker here, but The Rising even coming close to Born in the USA, let alone having more votes, is a welcome surprise, as I don't think the latter is very good.

If we were going strictly by sales, then yes, USA should be first, but generally speaking, Born To Run and Darkness are considered stronger albums.

I'm very surprised that The Rising is doing so well.