Favorite Bruce Springsteen Albums?

[bono_212]

I've always been curious about this, does USA just suffer a lot from being the "Popular" album or something? Among the fanbase, I mean.

 

[impy13]

It has "Glory Days" on it. It deserves to suffer.


I forgot to tell this story. I found Darkness at the record store a few days ago. Naturally, I was excited but cautious, so I took it up to the turntable to have a quick listen to see if it was in good condition. Took it out of the sleeve and it was a fucking Billy Joel LP.

 

[HCL]

If you ask me, Born In the U.S.A. is a great album. Only albums that I feel that are not doing well enough are Magic, Nebraska and The River. Also, I'm not Darkness' biggest fan but I understand it doing so well.
Also, I'm not as classy as some people to say that other are deaf for not agreeing, but I can't see how listen to the The River could be a bad experience. Of course, it's not every day that we can enjoy go all the way through a double album, but I think this album's balance is almost perfect.

 

[corianderstem]

I don't care for most of the songs on The River, I think it's too long, and it doesn't sound good to my ears.

That's how it could be a bad experience.

 

[HCL]

Well... damn, even I forget about the whole subjectivity of the stuff sometimes.


So, I'm impressed with so many people voting. I guess Bruce's survivor will be a little agitated then. At least, more than R.E.M.'s one.

 

[corianderstem]

Subjective, schmubjective. We all get a little riled up now and again about other people's opinions.

Like, a lot on this site. A LOT a lot a lot.

 

[Lancemc]

Subjective, schmubjective. We all get a little riled up now and again about other people's opinions.

Like, a lot on this site. A LOT a lot a lot.

No wai!

 

[If you shout...]

Also, I'm not as classy as some people to say that other are deaf for not agreeing, but I can't see how listen to the The River could be a bad experience.

Oh, for fuck's sake. You're not deaf, but perhaps blind...? Go back and fucking read what I said, before making such a poorly considered and late-to-the-bandwagon remark. I'm talking about SOUND QUALITY, not song quality. Nobody's deaf for not agreeing with me that The River is too long, or something--it's just not possible to say that it is a well-produced album or that, in terms of engineering, it doesn't sound dated. It isn't and it does. There is no opinion, here. Just like Innocent, in fact, which is historically considered one of the worst mixed/mastered rock albums of the modern era (there's a reason why Born to Run sounds so different--it was because Springsteen had had enough). Here's where opinion comes in: I think that Innocent has songs that're so good that they can overcome the brutal production shortcomings; I think that The River has a few, but not nearly enough.

Thanks for playing.

 

[corianderstem]

no wai!

I NO RITE????

clf

 

[phillyfan26]

The first two albums were recorded in a really shitty studio. So was the title track of Born to Run. It was the other seven tracks of Born to Run that were Springsteen's first recordings in a quality setting.

 

[phanan]

And yet, Wild & Innocent sounds pretty damn good for a non-remastered disc.

The studio couldn't have been that bad.

 

[cobl04]

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.

Was more what I meant. If it weren't for this forum I'd doubt I'd ever have heard of some of the others.

 

[bono_212]

So, I'm going to start this on Monday. I'll work up what exactly I'm doing over the weekend, and will let y'all know Sunday night. Thank you all for voting, whatever the vote total is at Noon (CST) on Sunday, that's the final ranking I'm going to be using.

 

[Lancemc]

It's just a little bit sad to see Born in the USA and The Rising with more votes than The Wild...

 

[LemonMelon]

So, I'm impressed with so many people voting. I guess Bruce's survivor will be a little agitated then. At least, more than R.E.M.'s one.

Actually, the favorite R.E.M. albums poll had 67 different voters, easily trumping the 44 here. That said, I think the Bruce survivor will have a lot of support down the stretch, probably more so than the R.E.M. survivor.

 

[phanan]

It's just a little bit sad to see Born in the USA and The Rising with more votes than The Wild...

At least it will have the same amount of songs represented, from what it looks like, and with only 7 to begin with, it should do well.

Ashley, I'm assuming that because The River is a double album that it gets double the amount, correct? So if it qualified for say, two songs, it really gets four, right?

 

[bono_212]

I don't know, right now it's in 6th...let's just say I were to send through three, would you reallythink it should get six instead?

 

[cobl04]

how many songs does born to run send through?

 

[LMP]

If "Rosalita" gets an early boot, then someone should be shot.

 

[corianderstem]

I don't know, right now it's in 6th...let's just say I were to send through three, would you reallythink it should get six instead?

Oh god, I hope not.

 

[bono_212]

I'm working on all of that right now, Danny.


God, I'm listening to Lucky Town right now, and just seeing it down there where it is kinda makes me sad, this really *is* a good album.

 

[bono_212]

I'll be back with more information this evening, but, I just wanted to officially say that this is the vote total I'm going with is:

1 - Born To Run 36
2 - Darkness on the Edge of Town 27
3 - Born in the U.S.A. 20
3 - The Rising 20
5 - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle 19
6 - The River 14
6 - Nebraska 14
8 - Tunnel of Love 12
8 - Magic 12
10 - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. 6
11 - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions 4
12 - Devils & Dust 3
13 - Working On A Dream 3
14 - Lucky Town 2
14 - The Ghost of Tom Joad 2
16 - Human Touch 1

 

[phanan]

I don't know, right now it's in 6th...let's just say I were to send through three, would you reallythink it should get six instead?

I would have to say yes.

Human Touch and Lucky Town, while different in name, is essentially a double album, released together. If you give each of those albums two songs, then they get four total. Yet an album like The River, despite its flaws, would only get three. Doesn't make sense to me. Nebraska has 10 songs and will have three moving on supposedly. The River has 20, so it should have six.

Oh god, I hope not.

C'mon, The River is really not that bad. It's a four star album surrounded by five star classics, no? What songs are so bad on there that bring it down for you that much? I can only think of a few that don't measure up to the rest.

 

[corianderstem]

What songs are so bad on there that bring it down for you that much? I can only think of a few that don't measure up to the rest.

I can't even tell you, because to me, The River is a small handful of songs I really love (the title track, Cadillac Ranch), a few I like (Hungry Heart, Point Blank, Independence Day)), a couple of songs I prefer in their live versions (Out In the Street, Two Hearts), and a bunch that in my head I'm not able to tell apart because I was so disappointed when I first heard the album that I haven't been able to bring myself to go back and spend that much more time with it.

And honestly ,there are a bunch of songs that just sound so similar to me, or at least have that same synth sound or whatever (when I think of what I'm thinking about, I can hear it in my head but can't really express it), and the songs are interchangable - I don't like them that much. The Ties That Bind, Sherry Darling, Two Hearts, Out IN the Street, You Can Look, I'm a Rocker ...

Yeah, my comment was just a sarcastic response, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have 6 songs advance from it, but there's just something (or several things) about the album that I actively do not like.

... that was probably a lot more words than this response required, but oh well.

 

[Lancemc]

The River is the utter definition of "meh?" when I think Bruce.

 

[phanan]

I can't even tell you, because to me, The River is a small handful of songs I really love (the title track, Cadillac Ranch), a few I like (Hungry Heart, Point Blank, Independence Day)), a couple of songs I prefer in their live versions (Out In the Street, Two Hearts), and a bunch that in my head I'm not able to tell apart because I was so disappointed when I first heard the album that I haven't been able to bring myself to go back and spend that much more time with it.

And honestly ,there are a bunch of songs that just sound so similar to me, or at least have that same synth sound or whatever (when I think of what I'm thinking about, I can hear it in my head but can't really express it), and the songs are interchangable - I don't like them that much. The Ties That Bind, Sherry Darling, Two Hearts, Out IN the Street, You Can Look, I'm a Rocker ...

Yeah, my comment was just a sarcastic response, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have 6 songs advance from it, but there's just something (or several things) about the album that I actively do not like.

... that was probably a lot more words than this response required, but oh well.

Hmm, I wonder if the sound quality of the album, which IYS alluded to previously, hampers it in your eyes a bit, as it really is the worst of them all when it comes to that. The songs themselves, however, are quite good, with the exception of a few silly ones like Crush On You and I'm A Rocker, plus some that are a bit bland (I've never cared for Drive All Night). But I can't agree regarding The Ties That Bind, Sherry Darling, or some of the others that you list (although some of them are definitely better in their live versions, but then again, we can say that about a lot of other songs too).

On a side note, anyone ever notice that Hungry Heart is similar to Pride in that it's actually the reverse - the original sounds way better than any live version I've heard.

 

[phanan]

The River is the utter definition of "meh?" when I think Bruce.

I thought that was 90's Bruce.

 

[corianderstem]

Maybe. When I think of The River, I hear a high-pitched, dee-dee-dee-dee 80s sounding organ sound. Whether that's just because it's "dated" or because of the production, I don't know.

I really like the live version of Hungry Heart on that 3-disc live collection where he lets the audience sing the first verse. Stuff like that makes me happy.

 

[phanan]

I've got to think that a remastering of it would improve it so much. I hear all the River era outtakes on Tracks, and they sound way better (and naturally, some of those songs are better, too).

 

[corianderstem]

I dunno ... when I hear some of those tracks on live discs, I don't care for them either. I don't know why I don't like Out In the Streets or Two Hearts, but they just don't do anything for me.