Springsteen for a newb?
02-22-09, 10:42 AM
#26
Senior Member
Re: Springsteen for a newb?
With all due respect, I don't think Springsteen is a singles artist. Like Radiohead, whose Greatest Hits album was a bit of a mess, Springsteen's albums are cohesive and different enough that they should be experienced as whole albums. If your only taste of The River is "Hungry Heart" and the title track, you really miss out on a lot.
02-22-09, 04:59 PM
#27
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Springsteen for a newb?
?? The keyboards on The River are very different from Born. "Cadillac Ranch" is one of my favorite songs and I've never found those keys yucky. I don't find the The River to be in the no-newbie zone. "The Ties That Bind" and a few other tunes are simply great, traditional sounding rock songs.
"Beaverbrown" keyboards..(Yes I know Bruce did it first.) I'd love a version with out them, like Let it be - Naked.... I almost started a thread regarding what "Naked" album you would like to see.... It would be a tie for me, The River sans keyboards, or the Police - Ghost in the Machine sans the horns... Born in the USA is too dated now, I can't even listen to half of it, which was true for me even when it was released, where the ones on my list I think are timeless..
03-29-09, 09:30 AM
#28
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Springsteen for a newb?
I'm surprised at the lack of love for The Ghost of Tom Joad. I'd had the two Born albums when I was a kid, but Ghost of Tom Joad came out right before I went to college and got me interested enough to pick up all his back catalogue. While he's had great songs throughout his career, that album remains my favorite of his.
I like almost all Springsteen music, but Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad are incredible works. Depressing to hear, but they tell beautiful, haunting human stories. Across the Border and Youngstown are two of my favorite songs. The Ghost CD is hard to find, but you can always buy online.
03-29-09, 03:20 PM
#30
DVD Talk Special Edition
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Re: Springsteen for a newb?
a lot of people say Born In The USA, but almost the entire album was a hit single. I'd start with Born To Run to encounter some GREAT Bruce that your ears might not have been overexposed to besides the title track. Anyone who grew up in the 80's has probably heard all of BITUSA some way or another, 7 songs were singles and the other 5 tracks got a lot of rock radio airplay too. It's like Thriller or Purple Rain or Hysteria in that sense that you probably know the whole album even if you never owned a copy.
I'm not a hardcore Boss fan but do love his run of albums from Born To Run through Tunnel Of Love (not a conventional E-Street Band album and not an album loaded with "rock anthems" but a great breakup confessional), and his last few albums have been great too. Working On A Dream isn't quite the 5-star album Rolling Stone gave it, but it's still a fantastic latter day Boss album and "Outlaw Pete" is just another addition to his cannon of epic tracks.
I'm not a hardcore Boss fan but do love his run of albums from Born To Run through Tunnel Of Love (not a conventional E-Street Band album and not an album loaded with "rock anthems" but a great breakup confessional), and his last few albums have been great too. Working On A Dream isn't quite the 5-star album Rolling Stone gave it, but it's still a fantastic latter day Boss album and "Outlaw Pete" is just another addition to his cannon of epic tracks.
