The Guide to Bruce Springsteen (2008 update)
Submitted by lbangs on Wed, 05/18/2005 - 05:51
Tags:
- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) - ***
- The Wild, the Innocent & the E-Street Shuffle (1973) - ****
- Born to Run (1975) - *****
- Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) - **** 1/2
- The River (1980) - **** 1/2
- Nebraska (1982) - **** 1/2
- Born in the U.S.A. (1984) - ****
- Live/1975-85 (1986) - *** 1/2
- Tunnel of Love (1987) - **** 1/2
- Human Touch (1992) - ** 1/2
- Lucky Town (1992) - ***
- The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) - *** 1/2
- Greatest Hits (1995) - *** 1/2
- Tracks (1998) - ****
- 18 Tracks (1999) - ***
- Live in New York City (2001) - ***
- The Rising (2002) - ****
- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003) - **** 1/2
- Devils & Dust (2005) - *** 1/2
- Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 (2006) - ***
- We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) - *** 1/2
Author Comments:
This appears just like my CC series, but there is one crucial distinction. This list is the combined opinions of me and the critics in the critical consensus series. My vote counted for one point just like the vote of each critic.
Essentially, this is simply an update of the CC series with my little voice tossed in as a drop in the critical pool.
Scale:
***** - Masterpiece
**** 1/2 - Classic
**** - Great
*** 1/2 - Good
*** - Above Average
** 1/2 - Average
** - Below Average
* 1/2 - Bad
* - Terrible
1/2 - One of the worst albums ever
BtR, Darkness, River:
The best three-album run ever. Ever!
Great run, though I fear it would just fall short of getting my vote.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
...then how can it not be the best four-album run ever? Ever! when you add Nebraska on the tail end?
Aside from the artistic statement itself I think it stands as the greatest statement of artistic integrity in the rock and/or roll era. To follow up your first Top 40 hit with an acoustic album of sorrow and desperation is a breathtakingly bold act. The greatest refutation of the Reagan Era in America ever. Ever!
I completely agree with your sentiment and will stand with you... but I do think that the Beatles had (several) good runs.
Goodness! When you remember that The River was a double album... goodness!
For three-album runs, I probably have to lean (as usual) toward Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde.
Four-album runs. Hmm. I'm not sure. Costello's tear through This Year's Model, Armed Forces, Get Happy!!, and Trust is hard to top, but then so is the Springsteen quartet you've nominated. I'll have to ponder...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I've always felt Nebraska to be ever so slightly weaker the prior three, but having said that it's still excellent and those four indeed comprise one of the best album runs of all-time. Of course, Dylana nd The Beatles have had good runs too; and personal favourite to me REM have had two brilliant runs of 4 albums in my opinion (Murmur -> Lifes Rich Pageant, Out of Time -> New Adventures) but Springsteen's is hard to top.
REM had some great runs. Concerning Out of Time -> New Adventures, I find myself in the odd position of liking Monster and New Adventures more the the critics and most of my friends did and a little less than you. Still, great stuff!
Though they do not get my vote, The Jimi Hendrix Experience had three great albums in a row also...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
The Velvet Underground's first four albums is one of the best runs. As much as I love Springsteen, BIABH/Highway/Blonde is VERY tough to beat.
How did I forget VU's four albums?
I think we may have a winner...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
* grumble mumble tch tch tch *
I'd have to hear a case made for that.
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
I suspect you like Help! more than I do...
Your best bet for a Beatles four-in-a-row is to play the technical card; claim Magical Mystery Tour doesn't count as an album, being originally EPs, and triumph Revolver, Sgt. Peppers, The White Album, and Abbey Road. (We all know Yellow Submarine doesn't count.) That makes a quite worthy competitor!
Not that I would necessarily buy the technical foul, but still...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
This list needs to be updated, as The Boss has, since 2003, made many more great contributions to the world of music, just to name Devils and Dust and Magic.
I've been toying with either updating this series or doing a streamlined one with only my own opinions. If I go with the last option, each list would simply have two categories - You Need: and Fans Also Need. Lesser albums would be ignored.
Of course, if I keep feeling this itch, I may just update this line and start the new one...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs