Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

Yeah, I was being sarcastic.

Magic might have some strong moments, but I wouldn't know because the loudness on that album makes my ears bleed.

Brendan O'Brien should only produce Pearl Jam.

"magic" still a terrible title

sounds like he's not singin in his comfort zone on magic. kinda too
"shouty", at least for me. yeah, magic isn't a very creative title, izzit

"Radio Nowhere" is the only single of his of the last twenty years with any energy.

yeah, no doubt, i was excepting that tune, then

just seems like a conscious decision to sing louder throughout, to my ears

I've mostly hated his singing voice since Tunnel Of Love & while I love that album on the whole, "Ain't Got You" portends the hoarse shouting of the twin releases of 1992 that's been standard since, with a few notable exceptions; e.g. "Streets of Philadelphia", "Lift Me Up", "Paradise". I guess "Reno" was "fun". I was so disappointed when I got Tom Joad & realized that it wasn't the new Nebraska the (hack) reviews suggested; listening to it's the equivalent of eating a 70-year can of sardines from Cannery Row.

"LIft Me Up" is one of the most incredible deep cuts of any act. It's sort of the closest we'll ever get to Eno producing Bruce, and that unlikely combo not totally sucking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aext39mEYqg

"You're Missing" is a weird 'un, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUOB_kopu_o

tbh i actually prefer the hoarse delivery he's favored since ToL, only hearing more recent live versions of the darkness stuff really brought them home for me

that having been said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRA7hyYbTf0

Man, that song.

IMO his best single song of the last 20 years (and "Lift Me Up" is right up there) is "Living Proof".

underrated imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRUVdKin_9w&NR=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogwksftPfa8&feature=related

"If I Should Fall Behind" is lovely. Grant McLennan did a nice version of it. "Lucky Town" has some gems, most buried beneath the anti-climax that was "Human Touch."

For those that missed it, this solo banjo arrangement of "I'm On Fire" he did is pretty incredible:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4WKYtS4JDk

Hell, here's the amazing demo of "Protection" that Donna Summer did:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3TB1ljTvCE

I just found a 2 disc Best Of some guy assembled that pares it down his subjective faves from the 19 Disc Lost Masters set. It's got some great shit. Google with some specificity and it comes right up.

if this thread is becoming 'rare bruce springsteen' this song has to be mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0-lXCKqawU

hoos you talking about the essential lost masters or something like that?

"If I Should Fall Behind" is lovely. Grant McLennan did a nice version of it.

woah!

Yeah the Lost Masters, it's just convenient for me to have a 2-disc version from across the eras instead of having to wade through all 19 discs. Then again I guess I can really see the appeal of having outtakes from a specific set of sessions.

Donna Summer and Quincy Jones sound like they just replaced his vocal with hers.

here's the tracklist for what i dl'd btw

Disc 1: 1977 - 1979

Darkness on the Edge of Town studio outtakes:

01. Drive All Night - early demo, subsequently rerecorded for The River
02. The Promise - unreleased full band version, subsequently rerecorded in 1999 for 18 Tracks
03. Racing in the Street - alternate arrangement w/ harp
04. One Way Street
05. Candy's Boy - lyrical predecessor to Candy's Room
06. The Fast Song - musical predecessor to Candy's Room
07. Fire
08. Because the Night - incomplete lyrics (this unfinished song was given to Patti Smith who's subsequent release of the track provided her with her biggest single ever)
09. Spanish Eyes
10. Get That Feeling

The River studio outtakes:

11. Roulette - original version
12. To Be True - original version w/ double tracked vocals
13. Rickie - alternate mix (prominent organ) and slight lyrical changes
14. I Wanna Be With You - slight lyrical changes
15. Cindy - Clarence Clemons harmony vocals
16. Hungry Heart - original tempo
17. The Price You Pay - alternate intro & 3rd verse, extended ending
18. I Wanna Marry You - alternate mix: new vocal, no sax
19. Stolen Car - original version considered for the aborted The Ties That Bind album from 1979

Disc 2: 1981 - 1983

Nebraska solo acoustic outtakes:

01. Born in the USA - subsequently rerecorded with the E Street Band for Born in the USA
02. Downbound Train - subsequently rerecorded with the E Street Band for Born in the USA
03. Child Bride - lyrical predecessor to Working on the Highway
04. Pink Cadillac - subsequently rerecorded with the E Street Band for Born in the USA
05. Losin' Kind - thematic predecessor to Highway 29

Born in the USA solo outtakes:

06. Shut Out the Light - unabridged version w/ 2 extra verses
07. Sugarland
08. The Klansman
09. Don't Back Down - acoustic version
10. Unsatisfied Heart [note - this song is unfortunately rather poorly mixed with an overbearing synthesizer]
11. Bye-Bye Johnny - alternate arrangement w/ cricket sound effects
12. Follow That Dream - rewrite of the Elvis Presley song

Born in the USA studio outtakes:

13. County Fair - E Street Band version
14. TV Movie - alternate mix: sax solo
15. Glory Days - original recording w/ extra verse
16. Murder Incorporated - original recording
17. My Love Will Not Let You Down
18. Frankie

Yeah I guess I have that, def. some v. great stuff in there. Sound quality on my version is pretty spotty in points, like some copies are many generations old.

I wrote a piece once that talked about "Shut Out the Light", and in my piece I talked about the wonderful storytelling economy of that song, and how he left holes in the story about the main character's background and what happens at the end, which to me made it so much more interesting (that is top 5 Springsteen songs for me). And when I heard this version of "Shut Out the Light" with the two extra verses, man, what an amazing insight into his songwriting process. Because those two verses *do* spell it out and leave nothing to the imagination, and the song loses so much (but I'm still glad I've heard it, and this version is interesting on its own obv.) Sent a chill down my spine when I first heard the alternate version, I tell ya.

ugh i just dl'd this show from japan in 96 when he was touring ghost of tom joad, and there's this country blues version of "born in the u.s.a." with slide guitar that just fuckin kiiiiiiiiiills me

never heard dude play slide, he hits it

its so fuckin weird that they were callin him "chairman of the board" in 1978

I could imagine the Pixies, of all people, doing this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ewhMge_MXM

Enjoying this remix of State Trooper.

slow folky/bluesy BITUSA is fantastic, but it's got nothing on weepy acoustic thunder road imo

^^^ yeah i've heard this like 200 times and it kills me every fuckin time

i really liked the bonnie price billy/tortoise cover of thunder road

i like that cover a lot, too! i know some more devout springsteen heads who thought it sucked, but i liked how oldham's vox worked with the song.

man racing in the street rules

Wow, just debuted "rock" version of "Racing!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YhcdqD7MjE

that version of "racing" furtner confirms what i first learned from "tracks" -- springsteen has a really really good ear for what works and what doesn't, and the songs and versions he's released on his proper albums are always, almost without fail, better than the songs and versions he leaves behind. his instincts for what to keep and what to discard are very OTM.

yeah that's otm -- it's impressive that he recorded that version of "racing" and (even though it sounds pretty fully formed) decided to scrap it and build the song up from scratch, and actually make it better.
listening to the roxy night 1978 bootleg right now btw. eeyowch.

Darkness box set has me geeking out on Bruce like a freak. Finally picked up Greetings From Asbury, & Wild Innocent today...bizarre that for all of the years I loved him that I never had either album. I knew a lot of the songs from the live box set, lol. I was into Tom Joad for a long time, and Born to Run, and Darkness, just sort of all over the place but I think those first 2 albums convince me that my favorite Bruce is up to & including The River. I really love the storytelling of the early songs like Spirit of The Night, or 4th of July, or Racing in the Street, the way the rhythms and the lyrics hang together in that cool intertwined way. But there's also girl crush of Rosalita and Fire and Dancing in the Dark and I'm on Fire...academia goes out the window and it's all about ass.
Maybe that's why I love him, bc the songs are so much about what you do and feel, you kinda feel it right along with him even if you're just tooling around the suburbs in your Honda, lol.

Interesting, yeah, IMO Wild & Innocent has a legit claim to being his best album, but it also sounds nothing like the others. But man I love it so much. The debut has some good songs, I like it a lot, but seems a tier lower. Everything after through Tunnel of Love is great.

yeah i remember when, after hearing nebraska & born to run, i picked up wild & innocent and O_______________O'd at the opening moments

Wild I & es is prob my fav atm tbh

I'm loving Wild & Innocent, yeah. The whole thing hangs together like one big song in many parts...it's a real joy to 'discover' it finally.
I think it will take me a few listens to ease into Greetings, it is a different sounding Bruce & band for sure. Band is so much further down in the mix or something, and at times he is very Dylan sounding with his sing-talkign... It's just weird to go back to that from Darkness, say. The songs themselves are p. great though. Cool to hear and get acquainted with the original Blinded By The Light though bc the Manfred Mann version drives me bonkers.

Never really heard Wild & Innocent - and I say I love the Boss?

Greetings doesn't quite do it for me, not as much as later records anyway. I love virtually everything from Born to Run on - including almost everything he's released in the last decade: rare for an artist to stay that good and not throw it all away somehow.

Oh and The Promise is probably my favourite LP of 2010.

I love most of his stuff in the last decade too. Magic in particular was a terrific album. Workin' on a Dream was less good, but still had several stellar tracks. To me, Springsteen is the only rock/pop artist with a career spanning several decades that has never truly had a bad period. (I realize Human Touch sort of sucked, but even that had some great songs -- and I love Lucky Town). Sure, I would agree that his music up through Tunnel of Love was better than the music after, but to me the drop-off is not that big -- the real reason that the earlier music gets more attention and love is the subject matter it deals with rather than the quality of the material.

Dug up the Hammersmith 75 show.... the part in Spirit of the Night where he tumbles off the stage and goes back into the song whispering "Where's my hat?" lololol

Bruce in woollen beanie and beard pretty much unfuckwithable <3. Damn this show is so freaking TIGHT
And the quality of his voice is just kinda mesmerizing, especially in that piano only Thunder Road. Like, damn.

yeah that thunder road just had me speechless

The Live 85 box version almost pales...same arrangement but yeah, the Hammersmith performance just smokes everything I've heard