#150 Bruce Springsteen, 'Nebraska' (1982)
Previously #226
Following his first ever #1 record, ‘The River,’ Springsteen decided to change how he approached records. Previously he would take the bones of a song to the studio and flesh it out there, often slowing down the recording process. This time he decided to fully write the songs, record demos, which he’d present to the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-quaking, booty-shaking, love-making, legendary E Street Band. He acquired a 4-track cassette recorder and one Winter night, 3 January 1982, Springsteen sat down and managed to record 15 songs. The music on the demos was sparse; guitar, vocals, harmonica, and occasionally other instruments such as mandolin, glockenspiel, tambourine, organ, synthesizer, and of course, Springsteen’s voice. The demos would be the perfect blueprint for the band to listen to and add their parts.
Springsteen schlepped the demo tape around with him for months. The tape would never actually make it to the studio, and what you hear on ‘Nebraska’ is those very demos; no additions, no alterations, warts and all. 10 songs made it to the final record. A couple of the offcuts made it to his next record in a full band format (one of those offcuts was actually ‘Born In The U.S.A.,’ the other being ‘Downbound Train). The songs on ‘Nebraska’ are a collection of stories featuring blue-collar characters; the Chicken Man on ‘Atlantic City,’ the first single and major highlight on the record, the titular characters in ‘Johnny 99, ’‘Highway Patrolman’ and ‘State Trooper.’ The semi-autobiographical ‘My Father’s House’ feels like a very personal song for a man who had a complicated relationship with his father. The songs on the album are filled with despair; songs about crime and down-on-their-luck characters. It was a real shift from the Heartland Rock we’d come to know Springsteen for and the songs, without the bells and whistles, shine. A real example of top class songwriting. The songs didn’t need a major studio makeover, their stark rawness is what makes them special, which goes to show, it’s not always about polished production, it’s often just about good songs.
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