On the Boss

Starved for new Hold Steady, I've spending quite a bit of time with Bruce Springsteen's first several album, hence my LFTR PLR allusion on Twitter. "BRUCE BENDER", I believe it said.

Previously, I've written off Springsteen as overly dramatic and overly sentimental in his epic mythologizing of youth and young manhood in New Jersey. I loved "Born to Run" (the song) for the same reason I love the Killers: for, rather than in spite of, grandiosity bordering on silliness. And "Born to Run" was about all the Bruce I needed, until Craig Finn, Titus Andronicus, and even Brandon Flowers finally convinced me I should get serious about the Boss. So, I did. Here are my thoughts on his 70s and 80s output:


Greetings from Asbury Park [1973]
The latest Dylan hedges his bets on whether "Desolation Row" was a joke, splitting his time between absurdist fun and obnoxiously earnest ballads. Too ramshackle to produce any hits. Key line: "Go-Kart Mozart was checkin out the weather charts." Indeed.

The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle [1973]
The playing is again too wild for true cohesion, the characters begin to lose their innocence, and the E Street Band shuffles for the last time before the introduction of metronomic Max Weinberg. Transitional for sure, but a definite improvement as Bruce escapes from Dylan's shadow.

Born to Run [1975]
The lyrics, production, and playing are tight to the brink of joylessness. Bruce more explicitly reveals his formula of referencing rock and roll to further his lyrical themes of nostalgia. It makes the whole thing feel insincere in a way that the populist production of Born in the USA doesn't. Some great tunes, nevertheless.

Darkness on the Edge of Town [1978]
Dark, slightly difficult follow-up to a commercial breakthrough. The songwriting keeps getting sharper, more definitively "Springsteen".

The River [1980]
Double albums should of course never be. Radio hit "Hungry Heart" takes nostalgic formalism to new heights, but "The River" is possibly the Springsteen-iest song ever.

Nebraska [1982]
Goddamn, if this isn't a bleak album. A bit too much so musically. But lyrically this might be his most consistently solid record.

Born in the USA [1984]
A commercial and critical smash that rivals the contemporary Purple Rain. By far my favorite of all of his albums, where the pop hits are up to par with the character sketches. John Landau pushed him the right direction and we are all better for it.

Tunnel of Love [1987]
Springsteen's Blood on the Tracks is bogged down by too much synth and not enough E Street band. Plus, I'm not all that interested in hearing about his story, per se.