View Poll Results: What's Your Favorite Springsteen Album of all-time
Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (1973)
1
4.55%
The Wild, The Innocent, & The E-Street Shuffle (1973)
0
0%
Born To Run (1975) #3
0
0%
Darkness On The Edge of Town (1978) #5
6
27.27%
The River (1980) #1
1
4.55%
Nebraska (1982) #3
7
31.82%
Born in the U.S.A. (1984) #1
4
18.18%
Live 1975-1985 (1986) #1 (4th album to debut at the top of the charts
1
4.55%
Tunnel of Love (1987) #1
2
9.09%
Human Touch/Better Days (1992) #2 & #3 respectively
0
0%
Voters: 22. You may not vote on this poll
Your Favorite BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Album
03-21-03, 08:33 PM
#1
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Thread Starter
Your Favorite BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Album
In 1973, Columbia Records campaigned two newcomers at the same time, and released their debut albums that year. It was Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band and Aerosmith. They invested more money in Springsteen because they felt he had more potential than Aerosmith, but both failed to ignite in the commercial market. Springsteen did, however, gain critical raves for his debut album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J."
Ironically, it was in 1975 where both Springsteen and Aerosmith caught on in the seller's market: Springsteen's "Born To Run" was a smash hit, peaking at #3; Aerosmith's "Toys In The Attic" went to #11 and yielded the group's first top 10 hit with "Walk This Way."
(This is where we break away from the Springsteen/Aerosmith connection.)
I got into Bruce Springsteen very late in life. "I'm 33, got a boy of our own now..." (sorry for the paraphrase). Naturally, living in the world, I heard Springsteen music while growing up. In fact, in 1985, I could be heard from my bedroom window singing "I'm Goin' Down" (my friends, who were outside, will never let me live that one down), so I knew of Springsteen, but I was no fan. This is not to say that I disliked Springsteen...I just wasn't into MUSIC at that point in my life. I was 15 in 1985, and my interest lay in television.
Anyway, living in New York when I was 23, an old girl friend from Las Vegas mailed me a tape. On it was a mix of John Cougar, Springsteen, and Heart. Needless to say, Springsteen's music stood out from the rest, and I was hooked! I went out and bought album after album, and went to the concert at The Meadowlands in New Jersey in 1993 when Springsteen was performing with his new band. (I bought my old girl friend a ticket to the concert, so she flew out to join me and my sister for the show. It was my way of paying her back for enlighting my life.) It was a phoenomenal concert, to say the least! Every person in the place was singing along with The Boss, and it enhanced my appreciation. To make a long story short, I got into Springsteen in 1993, and I ain't never looked back.
Ironically, it was in 1975 where both Springsteen and Aerosmith caught on in the seller's market: Springsteen's "Born To Run" was a smash hit, peaking at #3; Aerosmith's "Toys In The Attic" went to #11 and yielded the group's first top 10 hit with "Walk This Way."
(This is where we break away from the Springsteen/Aerosmith connection.)
I got into Bruce Springsteen very late in life. "I'm 33, got a boy of our own now..." (sorry for the paraphrase). Naturally, living in the world, I heard Springsteen music while growing up. In fact, in 1985, I could be heard from my bedroom window singing "I'm Goin' Down" (my friends, who were outside, will never let me live that one down), so I knew of Springsteen, but I was no fan. This is not to say that I disliked Springsteen...I just wasn't into MUSIC at that point in my life. I was 15 in 1985, and my interest lay in television.
Anyway, living in New York when I was 23, an old girl friend from Las Vegas mailed me a tape. On it was a mix of John Cougar, Springsteen, and Heart. Needless to say, Springsteen's music stood out from the rest, and I was hooked! I went out and bought album after album, and went to the concert at The Meadowlands in New Jersey in 1993 when Springsteen was performing with his new band. (I bought my old girl friend a ticket to the concert, so she flew out to join me and my sister for the show. It was my way of paying her back for enlighting my life.) It was a phoenomenal concert, to say the least! Every person in the place was singing along with The Boss, and it enhanced my appreciation. To make a long story short, I got into Springsteen in 1993, and I ain't never looked back.
03-21-03, 10:51 PM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
Great topic, Butt. This is a tough decision. Of course you're missing a few. Ghost of Tom Joad, The Rising are two, and I would argue that Tracks, though an anthology, could be considered too, since much of its content had never seen the light of day before. By Better Days you must mean Lucky Town.
I'll have to break it into categories:
Best overall album: The Rising - None of the songs here approach the kind of anthemic majesty of some of his earlier work, but the set contains nary a bum tune (okay, "Let's Be Friends" is a turd, but the rest are all at least good).
A close second: Born in the U.S.A - "No Surrender", "Dancing in the Dark", "I'm on Fire", etc. Obviously the album on which he and his band were at their most finely tuned.
Third favourite: Tracks box set - I don't know why this seems to have been relegated to obscurity since its release in '98. Disc 2, 17 songs, which encompass approx. 1979-1983, is some of his best music, highlighted by "Living on the Edge of the World" and "I Wanna be With You". Disc 1 has several goodies also, with "Santa Ana" standing out. Although very weak generally, Disc 3 includes what I think (and I seem to be in the minority) is Bruce's second best song, "Brothers Under the Bridges '83", a tune that almost reaches the same emotional peaks as "Born to Run". Disc 4 is more low-key than the others.
Most underrated album: Human Touch - Critics called it the most routine collection of rockers in Bruce's career. Text-wise they may be right, but musically I think it's one of his most cohesive albums. "Man's Job" is terrific, and others are very good as well.
Worth revisiting: His first two, Greetings from Asbury... and The Wild, the Innocent... hold a few treasures of their own, and the albums display the youthful insouciance that would be gone on his next release.
Least Favourite: Nebraska and Lucky Town. I don't like his acoustic stuff. That's why I have never bothered getting Tom Joad and The River; I suspect it's more of the same borderline-country music.
A final note: "Born to Run" (the song) is clearly his masterpiece, in my view, but I find the album as a whole not of the same calibre. I'd put it a few notches down from the best.
I'll have to break it into categories:
Best overall album: The Rising - None of the songs here approach the kind of anthemic majesty of some of his earlier work, but the set contains nary a bum tune (okay, "Let's Be Friends" is a turd, but the rest are all at least good).
A close second: Born in the U.S.A - "No Surrender", "Dancing in the Dark", "I'm on Fire", etc. Obviously the album on which he and his band were at their most finely tuned.
Third favourite: Tracks box set - I don't know why this seems to have been relegated to obscurity since its release in '98. Disc 2, 17 songs, which encompass approx. 1979-1983, is some of his best music, highlighted by "Living on the Edge of the World" and "I Wanna be With You". Disc 1 has several goodies also, with "Santa Ana" standing out. Although very weak generally, Disc 3 includes what I think (and I seem to be in the minority) is Bruce's second best song, "Brothers Under the Bridges '83", a tune that almost reaches the same emotional peaks as "Born to Run". Disc 4 is more low-key than the others.
Most underrated album: Human Touch - Critics called it the most routine collection of rockers in Bruce's career. Text-wise they may be right, but musically I think it's one of his most cohesive albums. "Man's Job" is terrific, and others are very good as well.
Worth revisiting: His first two, Greetings from Asbury... and The Wild, the Innocent... hold a few treasures of their own, and the albums display the youthful insouciance that would be gone on his next release.
Least Favourite: Nebraska and Lucky Town. I don't like his acoustic stuff. That's why I have never bothered getting Tom Joad and The River; I suspect it's more of the same borderline-country music.
A final note: "Born to Run" (the song) is clearly his masterpiece, in my view, but I find the album as a whole not of the same calibre. I'd put it a few notches down from the best.
03-22-03, 01:22 AM
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Thread Starter
Originally posted by Norm de Plume
Great topic, Butt. This is a tough decision. Of course you're missing a few. Ghost of Tom Joad, The Rising are two, and I would argue that Tracks, though an anthology, could be considered too, since much of its content had never seen the light of day before. By Better Days you must mean Lucky Town.
Great topic, Butt. This is a tough decision. Of course you're missing a few. Ghost of Tom Joad, The Rising are two, and I would argue that Tracks, though an anthology, could be considered too, since much of its content had never seen the light of day before. By Better Days you must mean Lucky Town.
03-22-03, 02:25 AM
#5
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My personal rankings:
1. Darkness On The Edge of Town - Badlands, The Promised Land, Prove It All Night and the title track make this the greatest top down, hair in the wind driving album ever.
2. The Rising - Start to finish, the Boss' best album. After all these years, it still amazes me that the band had the drive to produce such a masterpiece (that was robbed of a Grammy, IMO)
3. Born To Run - Thunder Road, 10th Avenue, Backstreets, Born To Run and Jungleland are five of my top ten songs. Unfortunately, this album is only 8 songs. Certainly a peak of the E Street Band's career.
4. Born in the U.S.A. - most popular album for a good reason - it rocks. Most energy put into an album by the band.
5 Tracks - awesome compilation and a pretty good look at the evolution of the band's sound.
6. The River - eclectic mix. A little too much keyboard for my taste. 2 discs is a big plus, however.
7. Nebraska - this album took a LONG time to grow on me. After I saw Bruce play these songs on the acoustic tour, it was in my CD changer for 5 months.
8. Ghost of Tom Joad - Also needed to see these played live before I realized how great they are.
9. Live 1975-1985 - This used to be much higher but unfortunately got totally played out by my roommates in college. That said, the version of "Born to Run" on disc 3 is my favorite song of all time. Still gives me chills when I hear it.
10. Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ - Great songs on this. Blinded by the Light, Growin' Up, For You are superb. Production quality definitely leaves something to be desired, however (and yes, I know it's old)
11. Live in NYC - solid but unspectacular
12. Lucky Town - no E Street Band, no likey
13. Human Touch - ditto
14. The Wild, The Innocent, & The E-Street Shuffle - never got into this one. Rosalita's awesome, though (albeit even better live)
15. Tunnel of Love - Sorry. This should be called Tunnel of Cheese because it is layered on pretty thick.
MTVUnPlugged does not even deserve to be on this list.
1. Darkness On The Edge of Town - Badlands, The Promised Land, Prove It All Night and the title track make this the greatest top down, hair in the wind driving album ever.
2. The Rising - Start to finish, the Boss' best album. After all these years, it still amazes me that the band had the drive to produce such a masterpiece (that was robbed of a Grammy, IMO)
3. Born To Run - Thunder Road, 10th Avenue, Backstreets, Born To Run and Jungleland are five of my top ten songs. Unfortunately, this album is only 8 songs. Certainly a peak of the E Street Band's career.
4. Born in the U.S.A. - most popular album for a good reason - it rocks. Most energy put into an album by the band.
5 Tracks - awesome compilation and a pretty good look at the evolution of the band's sound.
6. The River - eclectic mix. A little too much keyboard for my taste. 2 discs is a big plus, however.
7. Nebraska - this album took a LONG time to grow on me. After I saw Bruce play these songs on the acoustic tour, it was in my CD changer for 5 months.
8. Ghost of Tom Joad - Also needed to see these played live before I realized how great they are.
9. Live 1975-1985 - This used to be much higher but unfortunately got totally played out by my roommates in college. That said, the version of "Born to Run" on disc 3 is my favorite song of all time. Still gives me chills when I hear it.
10. Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ - Great songs on this. Blinded by the Light, Growin' Up, For You are superb. Production quality definitely leaves something to be desired, however (and yes, I know it's old)
11. Live in NYC - solid but unspectacular
12. Lucky Town - no E Street Band, no likey
13. Human Touch - ditto
14. The Wild, The Innocent, & The E-Street Shuffle - never got into this one. Rosalita's awesome, though (albeit even better live)
15. Tunnel of Love - Sorry. This should be called Tunnel of Cheese because it is layered on pretty thick.
MTV
Last edited by flabio; 03-22-03 at 02:30 AM.
03-22-03, 06:24 AM
#6
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Interesting take on what you guys have said. I remember being in high school in 1980 and all these friends of mine were going to see him in concert (Indy) for "The River" tour. I didn't get his popularity back then. I never cared for music about cars...zzzzz.
Makes me laugh because now I really like him.
"Darkness on the Edge of Town" is my favorite. "Racing in the Streets" and "Candy's Room" are excellent songs. I like this era of Springsteen. "The River" is probably my 2nd fave.
I got to see him live for the "Born USA" tour and was very impressed. I also think that recording has some incredible tunes. "I'm on Fire" is as good as it gets. But, I haven't been very interested in his music since the dismal "Lucky Town" and "Human Touch" discs. Those were not very good. I've also not taken to "The Rising". It's a good recording, but it's not really what I'm into these days.
I will say this... whenever Springsteen is on TV I can't change the channel. He's someone I respect very much.
Makes me laugh because now I really like him.
"Darkness on the Edge of Town" is my favorite. "Racing in the Streets" and "Candy's Room" are excellent songs. I like this era of Springsteen. "The River" is probably my 2nd fave.
I got to see him live for the "Born USA" tour and was very impressed. I also think that recording has some incredible tunes. "I'm on Fire" is as good as it gets. But, I haven't been very interested in his music since the dismal "Lucky Town" and "Human Touch" discs. Those were not very good. I've also not taken to "The Rising". It's a good recording, but it's not really what I'm into these days.
I will say this... whenever Springsteen is on TV I can't change the channel. He's someone I respect very much.
03-22-03, 09:03 AM
#8
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Thread Starter
The River is my favorite. Although I do not enjoy every track, I like the majority. On Disc 1 there's "The Ties That Bind," "Sherry Darling," "Jackson Cage," "Two Heart," "Independence Day," "Hungry Heart," and "Out In The Street." That's from track 1 to track 7, and they're all great! There's more on Disc 1, but only track 11, "The River," is listened to.
Disc 2 has less, but "Cadallic Ranch" (track 2), "Fade Away" (track 4), "The Price You Pay" (track 7) and "Wreck on the Highway" (track 9) are the standouts, imho.
That's 12 songs that I listen to constantly on my mix tapes, and if The River album was just one disc instead of two, and if it included just the above songs, it would have been one nice package.
Disc 2 has less, but "Cadallic Ranch" (track 2), "Fade Away" (track 4), "The Price You Pay" (track 7) and "Wreck on the Highway" (track 9) are the standouts, imho.
That's 12 songs that I listen to constantly on my mix tapes, and if The River album was just one disc instead of two, and if it included just the above songs, it would have been one nice package.
Last edited by Buttmunker; 03-22-03 at 09:05 AM.
03-22-03, 09:37 AM
#9
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Thread Starter
Springsteen's first two albums, Greetings From Asbury Park and The Wild, The Innocent..., are just unlistenable to me. There's not one song on any of the albums (including his horrid "Blinded By The Light"), and I'm surprised Springsteen wasn't dropped from the Columbia label after the two albums tanked in 1973. Their support of Springsteen was amazing - and their faith proved results with his third album two years later.
I'm not that crazy about the "Born To Run" album from 1975, but I do enjoy the title track and "Thunder Road". But being that I only like two songs from an entire album ranks "Born To Run" low on my list of faves.
1978's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" was much better, although the production was severely weak. The songs from "Born to Run" and "Darkness" sound like they're in slo'mo, but the songs are so much better on "Darkness" that you can forgive the lousy production.
Badlands, The Promised Land, Factory, and Prove It All Night are the standouts.
I already spoke about "The River" album...one further comment is that the producers WOKE UP at this point! F.Y.I., The Turtles sang backing vocals on the single "Hungry Heart". Flo and Eddie (The Turtles) added some nice harmonies to Springsteen's first Top 10 hit single.
"Nebraska" was a severe departure from "The River," as it didn't contain any upbeat, tap your finger against the dashboard-type songs, and it is not an album that's grown on me.
"Born In The U.S.A" is a nearly perfect album. Released in 1984, the album spread like wildfire and made Bruce Springsteen a bona fide superstar. I like all but one track, "Darlington County," because while the song has a nice groove to it, the message made very little sense. In the song, he and his friend Wayne go on a road trip, wind up in Darlington county, Wayne gets arrested, and Springsteen drives out of Darlington county seeing the glory of the coming of the lord. Why would he be happy his good buddy Wayne is handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper's ford? Why would he drive out of there in a triumph of celebration? Oh, well.
"Live 1975-1985" has superb versions of "Cadallic Ranch" and "The Promised Land," and I'm surprised these weren't the singles released from the box set instead of "War," which wound up hitting the top 10.
1987's "Tunnel of Love" is not bad either, although it is the total opposite of what "Born in the U.S.A." was. I enjoyed Tougher Than The Rest, All That Heaven Will Allow, Brilliant Disguise, One Step Up, and When You're Alone.
After that, Springsteen all but disappeared for five years. He returned in 1992 with "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town", two albums released simultaneously, but without the E-Street Band backing him the albums weren't really received that well. Of course, 1992 was the rise of Grunge and Nirvana, so new Springsteen music was a bit out of place.
I'm not that crazy about the "Born To Run" album from 1975, but I do enjoy the title track and "Thunder Road". But being that I only like two songs from an entire album ranks "Born To Run" low on my list of faves.
1978's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" was much better, although the production was severely weak. The songs from "Born to Run" and "Darkness" sound like they're in slo'mo, but the songs are so much better on "Darkness" that you can forgive the lousy production.
Badlands, The Promised Land, Factory, and Prove It All Night are the standouts.
I already spoke about "The River" album...one further comment is that the producers WOKE UP at this point! F.Y.I., The Turtles sang backing vocals on the single "Hungry Heart". Flo and Eddie (The Turtles) added some nice harmonies to Springsteen's first Top 10 hit single.
"Nebraska" was a severe departure from "The River," as it didn't contain any upbeat, tap your finger against the dashboard-type songs, and it is not an album that's grown on me.
"Born In The U.S.A" is a nearly perfect album. Released in 1984, the album spread like wildfire and made Bruce Springsteen a bona fide superstar. I like all but one track, "Darlington County," because while the song has a nice groove to it, the message made very little sense. In the song, he and his friend Wayne go on a road trip, wind up in Darlington county, Wayne gets arrested, and Springsteen drives out of Darlington county seeing the glory of the coming of the lord. Why would he be happy his good buddy Wayne is handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper's ford? Why would he drive out of there in a triumph of celebration? Oh, well.
"Live 1975-1985" has superb versions of "Cadallic Ranch" and "The Promised Land," and I'm surprised these weren't the singles released from the box set instead of "War," which wound up hitting the top 10.
1987's "Tunnel of Love" is not bad either, although it is the total opposite of what "Born in the U.S.A." was. I enjoyed Tougher Than The Rest, All That Heaven Will Allow, Brilliant Disguise, One Step Up, and When You're Alone.
After that, Springsteen all but disappeared for five years. He returned in 1992 with "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town", two albums released simultaneously, but without the E-Street Band backing him the albums weren't really received that well. Of course, 1992 was the rise of Grunge and Nirvana, so new Springsteen music was a bit out of place.
03-22-03, 04:06 PM
#10
Moderator
Nebraska is my favorite, followed closely by Born to Run. Darkness would be a distant third, and after that, who knows...
I should say that I don't own any of his albums since Tunnel of Love, but I own all the ones from that one back.
I should say that I don't own any of his albums since Tunnel of Love, but I own all the ones from that one back.
03-23-03, 01:58 PM
#12
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Nebraska. Bar none. Stripped down recording, great songs, great lyrics and terrific delivery by the Boss.
Born in the USA is probably second. It's probably his most diverse album.
Tunnel of Love third. It's Bruce at 40. Probably the second best album he ever did lyrics-wise. "Tougher Than the Rest" is my personal favorite Springsteen song.
Born in the USA is probably second. It's probably his most diverse album.
Tunnel of Love third. It's Bruce at 40. Probably the second best album he ever did lyrics-wise. "Tougher Than the Rest" is my personal favorite Springsteen song.
