Bruce Springsteen

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DrVanNostrand said:
Better Days - it's okay, was great live, nice bit of filler too pad out the 100 I guess
WOAD - vomit. There's are some fantastic songs on this album, but this isn't one of then. And yes, Good Eye is an abomination.
The Promise - 91????!!!!! Top 20 material right here. You prefer the 18 Tracks version, or 210 version (electric version)?
Janey, Don't You Lose Heart - too low. The sax break is magical. One of my most frequently played Bruce songs.
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I quite like Better Days even more now.
I don't mind WOAD. I can acknowledge it is nowhere near his best work, but it's just easy listening simple pop music.
Promise is indeed a great song, I just don't listen to it often. The version he does by himself is much better purely for the emotion he puts into it, watch the clip I accompanied the description with.
Janey is nice. Don't listen to it much but it is a nice song that I do enjoy.
 
89) If I Should Fall Behind
Album: Lucky Town (1992)
*New entry*

"I'll wait for you, and should I fall behind, wait for me"

It may only be number 89 in this countdown but if we were talking about songs in which Bruce captures a song’s true beauty, this would easily be in the top 10. The raw emotion is something that can't be manufactured. It is something that just happens. And it is evident in If I Should Fall Behind.

I only really paid attention to this song last year, again after trawling YouTube for recently uploaded clips and he had played it in Zurich at the piano by himself. It brought tears to my eyes with how beautiful a rendition it was. I had heard the NYC DVD version but I don’t know, it was nice, but it didn’t grab me like this one. I just thought it was a just a stunning rendition and you can feel the emotion pouring out. It’s beautiful.

It is impossible to sit and watch this and not be moved.

A comment on another video sums it up perfectly – “Impressing, stunning, wonderful.”

 
Would be interesting to hear your thoughts on this entry/song too DrVanNostrand as you're a big Rising fan.

88) Into The Fire
Album: The Rising (2002)
*New entry*

“I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher”

“The sky was falling and streaked with blood.” As I have said before, and no doubt will again, Bruce is masterful with writing lyrics that paint images in our head. The first line of Into The Fire fills my mind with images of 9/11 and I can’t even imagine what it would have been like for anybody involved in the attacks in New York on the day that changed the world.

Again, being from The Rising, it is centred around 9/11. This is written from the perspective of a wife of a firefighter heading into the Towers, and not returning – “Then walked into the darkness of your smoky grave”. The imagery as previously mentioned is strong, the delivery Bruce gives it is intense and emotional at the same time. The chorus pays a fitting tribute to those who risk(ed) their lives to help others

“May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love”

The song takes on a whole new dimension live. With the studio version, the song does not have the intensity, nor does it pull on the emotional heartstrings it does when performed live. The only thing better about the studio version is how well the strings can be heard. Having said this though, I found myself focusing on the words a lot more when listening to a live version.

Sadly it has only been played once in the past year, and only four times in 2009, made a few appearances on the D&D Tour, but the bulk of its appearances are from The Rising tour.

Very underrated song.

 

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87) Mary’s Place
Album: The Rising (2002)
*New entry*

“I got seven pictures of Buddha, profit’s on my tongue”

With all the doom and gloom that is on The Rising, Mary’s Place is the shining light of happiness on the album.

It’s like a poor man’s Rosie. It’s fun, it’s loose, you forget everything when listening to it, get lost in the joy of the song and just have a good time. While it is nowhere near his best work, I think everyone knows that and can just appreciate the song for what it is.

I love how it was turned into a big focal point during The Rising tour introducing the band. Sure it was dragged out for a bit, but the whole “are you ready?” bit near the start is great for building tempo and getting the crowd involved. And the “let it rain” and “turn it up” bits are always great to sing along to.

Watching the clip below makes me wonder how this would have gone down in Australia, think it would be a great substitute for Sunny Day at times, definitely great for working the crowd.

I actually learnt all the words to that extended intro in the Barcelona rendition "silenzio! sh sh sh" and all that when I was a teeanger. :D

From Barcelona:



and from a pit perspective (2012):

 
Two solid entries there. Good to see The Promise isn't the only top 20-er copping a beating.

Big fan of Into the Fire. Don't listen to it a lot, I tend to play the whole album and don't usually listen to Rising songs in isolation. Windows down, I blasted The Rising during a long drive I had on Friday night out to a quiet rural area. Such a passionate chorus, and the title itself is just haunting. I actually prefer the studio version. The Rising is the only E Street album Brendan O'Brien gets a pass mark for the production.

I expect to see every song from The Rising on here. ;) Okay, maybe I could excuse the absence of Empty Sky and Countin' on a Miracle. Don't know when this chaaaance might come again....
 
DrVanNostrand said:
Two solid entries there. Good to see The Promise isn't the only top 20-er copping a beating.

Big fan of Into the Fire. Don't listen to it a lot, I tend to play the whole album and don't usually listen to Rising songs in isolation. Windows down, I blasted The Rising during a long drive I had on Friday night out to a quiet rural area. Such a passionate chorus, and the title itself is just haunting. I actually prefer the studio version. The Rising is the only E Street album Brendan O'Brien gets a pass mark for the production.

I expect to see every song from The Rising on here. ;) Okay, maybe I could excuse the absence of Empty Sky and Countin' on a Miracle. Don't know when this chaaaance might come again....
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8 songs make it on.

I can tell you Worlds Apart is definitely not on this list, don't like that at all really.
 
DrVanNostrand said:
GTFO.

I happened to watch the Barcelona version a few days ago, I love the extended breakdown. Awesome that the crowded knew it. Hooooooooow do we gettttt this thing starrrrted. Meeeeeeeeeet me...

I hadn't seen that version from this tour yet, thanks.
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I should mention that being a poor man's Rosie is not really a bad thing. It's the most fun song ever written so everything is going to like bland in comparison. I thought you would have worked this out with what I said in the next sentence lol.
 
Sorry DrVanNostrand :D

86) Countin On A Miracle
Album: The Rising (2002)
*New entry*

“I'm runnin' through the forest, with this wolf at my heels”

And this completes the hat trick of Rising songs, and for a while mind you. While Countin’ On A Miracle may seem just like a simple rock song, we know Bruce does simple well.

While there is nothing about it that really blows me away or rises above other songs that make it great, it garnishes solid marks across the board. I do quite like the lyrics, and the violin, though not prominent enough in my opinion, adds a great a mix to it.

Definitely one of The Rising songs I play regularly. I really think it’s the lyrics that make me like this song so much, which is ironic as I rate music above lyrics much higher.

 

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85) Two Hearts
Album: The River (1980)
*New entry*

Entry number two in this list off The River. Not really on high rotation in my Bruce songs, but I don’t often skip it if it comes on. Fast paced, energetic, fun, upbeat, those are the words I think of when I listen to Two Hearts.

During the tour, I was talking to a wife of one of the men who was running the line, they made a sign for this somewhere in the States, and Bruce played, then at the following show, Bruce saw them, pointed at them, looked at Steve and boom, they played this. Was a lovely story and made me smile.


This song is practically a duet with Stevie. It makes the song.

TheMagikRat delivers again -



 
84) Sad Eyes
Album: Tracks (1998)
Previous rank: 60 (down 24)

“Sad eyes never lie”

Tracks is goldmine when it comes to unheard material in the Bruce vault, well it did, not so much anymore as it’s been out for 15 years.

It’s a nice and mellow ballad. It’s a nice and mellow ballad. This was recorded in 1990, I think it's quite unlucky not to have made either of Lucky Town or Human Touch. This was not long after Bruce divorced Julianne Phillips, so it may well have been written about his feelings for Patti while still being married.

There’s nothing amazing about this musically, or lyrically really. It’s simple, and simple is sometimes good. No crazy solos, no pounding drum beat from Max. Although the bass line is fairly prominent, and nobody ever knocked a good bass line. We get treated to Bruce’s falsetto, rather pleasant on the ear if you ask me. Doesn’t really play it much live, the only version I have found on YouTube is one from the D&D Tour and he sort of struggles with the falsetto.

Lovely song that just floats along and it’s over before you know it.

 
83) Glory Days
Album: Born In The USA 1984
*New entry*

“Glory days well they'll pass you by”

Look, I’m not going to lie. For a long time I really didn’t like Glory Days. It was probably because I used to hear it so often on the radio and it never really grabbed me.

However, I saw some sort of light and realized it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I’m not going to bore you with what the song is about. It is fun though, you can understand why it’s in the encores. It gets everyone up and singing and BUMS out of seats!

I remember at Hanging Rock 1 when he played it (I was unfortunately not in the pit for that show), there was a guy who was a row behind me who absolutely went nuts when this came on. It was great to see and it’s reassuring to know what one person may not enjoy entirely, it is gold to another person. It was definitely fun to see him screaming at the top of his lungs and dancing around like nobody cared.

For me, it’s alright. Good song when you’re drunk. Music is nothing spectacular, lyrics are middle of the range. But I can forgive Bruce for that. It was the 80s, and let’s be honest, this album is what propelled him to superstardom.

The banter leading up to the intro here is great



jpkennedy, there is a familiar face at 2.22 in that clip!
 
82) Long Walk Home
Album: Magic (2007)
*New entry*

It’s a shame that a song as good as this sits at number 82. I blame myself for not listening to it enough in the past and not fully appreciating it until it opened Melbourne3.

The conviction Bruce gives to it on stage is incredible, I thought it was a great opening number, and while it may not be well known among more mainstream fans, I think any casual listener could appreciate Long Walk Home.

Again (I’m starting to sound like a broken record), the imagery here in this is strong. For me the song really peaks from the second verse onwards when the band comes in. The intro sets things up, but from the second verse onwards is where the song climbs to its summit.

Extended outro here with Steve is fantastic.

 
81) When You’re Alone
Alum: Tunnel of Love (1986)
*New entry*

“But there's things that'll knock you down you don't even see coming”

“When you’re alone, you ain’t nothing but alone”

That line says a lot. While so straightforward and obvious, it’s something that doesn’t actually become known to us until we sit down and think about it.

Coming from Tunnel of Love, we saw a whole different side of Springsteen on this album. He was vulnerable, hurt, confused, he was in a failing marriage and I guess his way of dealing with all of that was the Tunnel Of Love album.

I find myself listening to versions from the D&D tour as I just think the song contains so much more emotion when all you’re focusing on is Bruce’s voice and the piano.

 
80) Iceman
Album: Tracks (1998)
Previous rank: 59 (down 21)

“Once they tried to steal my heart, beat it right out of my head, but baby they didn’t know that I was born dead.”

A true hidden gem on Tracks IMO. It was recorded in 1977, so it was more than likely a song that Bruce didn’t deem fit enough for Darkness, Probably wouldn’t fit in on that album (although I think it’s a much better song than Factory and would have gladly substitute them if the decision was up to me back then).

When you listen to the lyrics, they are some of his darker ones. It sounds like this guy has lost everything who meant everything to him. People are trying to steal his heart, but he was born dead – making him cold. He is The Iceman.

From what I can gather by the sound of his voice, it sounds like it was recorded in the late 70s, maybe in the Darkness era. Probably wouldn’t fit on that album (although I think it’s a much better song than Factory and would have gladly substitute them if the decision was up to me back then).

The bass is great and I find the bass drum really enforces itself with relative ease. The piano sounds dark and it fits right in with the lyrics and mood that accompanies the song.

 
Cruyff14 said:
82) Long Walk Home
Album: Magic (2007)
*New entry*

It’s a shame that a song as good as this sits at number 82. I blame myself for not listening to it enough in the past and not fully appreciating it until it opened Melbourne3.

The conviction Bruce gives to it on stage is incredible, I thought it was a great opening number, and while it may not be well known among more mainstream fans, I think any casual listener could appreciate Long Walk Home.

Again (I’m starting to sound like a broken record), the imagery here in this is strong. For me the song really peaks from the second verse onwards when the band comes in. The intro sets things up, but from the second verse onwards is where the song climbs to its summit.

Extended outro here with Steve is fantastic.

Click to expand...

Should be way higher...but thats just my opinion. Love it.
 
Set list from Copenhagen...... sigh

1. We Take Care of Our Own
2. Two Hearts
3. Loose Ends
4. Cadillac Ranch (request)
5. Radio Nowhere (request)
6. Trapped (request)
7. Wrecking Ball
8. Death To My Hometown
9. Spirit In The Night
Born to Run Album!
10. Thunder Road
11. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
12. Night
13. Backstreets
14. Born To Run
15. She's The One
16. Meeting Across The River
17. Jungleland
End of Album
18. Pay Me My Money Down
19. Shackled and Drawn
20. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
21. Lonesome Day
22. Badlands
-------------
23. Brilliant Disguise
24. Light Of Day
25. Born In The USA
26. Glory Days
27. Bobby Jean
28. Dancing In The Dark
29. Twist & Shout (with Jon Landau (birthday) on stage)
30. Raise Your Hand
 

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