Nebraska (album)
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| Nebraska | |||||
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| Studio album by Bruce Springsteen | |||||
| Released | September 20, 1982 | ||||
| Recorded | Mostly January 3, 1982 in Bruce Springsteen's Colts Neck, New Jersey bedroom | ||||
| Genre | Rock, Folk | ||||
| Length | 40:50 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Producer | Bruce Springsteen | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Bruce Springsteen chronology | |||||
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Nebraska is the sixth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). The album was a critical success in spite of a lukewarm public reception.
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[edit] History
Initially, Springsteen recorded demos for the album at his home with 4-track cassette recorder. The demos were sparse, using only acoustic guitar, electric guitar (on "Open All Night"), harmonica, and Springsteen's voice.
Springsteen then recorded the album in a studio with the E Street Band. However, he and the producers and engineers working with him felt that a raw, haunted folk essence present on the home tapes was lacking in the band treatments, and so they ultimately decided to release the demo version as the final album. Complications with mastering of the tapes ensued because of low recording volume. But the problem was overcome with sophisticated noise reduction techniques.
Springsteen fans have long speculated whether Springsteen's full-band recording of the album, nicknamed Electric Nebraska, will ever surface (in a 2006 interview, manager Jon Landau said it was unlikely and that "the right version of Nebraska came out").[1] Somewhat different band arrangements of most of these songs were heard on the 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour and have been played in various guises ever since.
[edit] Songs and video
The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative by a serial killer (based loosely on Terrence Malick's 1973 film Badlands, itself based on the real-life killing spree in 1957 by Charles Starkweather) and his fourteen year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, and ends with "Reason to Believe", a complex narration that renders its title phrase into contemptuous sarcasm. The remaining songs are largely of the same bleak tone, including the dark "State Trooper" influenced by Suicide's "Frankie Teardrop", although "Open All Night", a Chuck Berry-style lone guitar rave-up, does manage a dose of defiant, humming-towards-the-gallows exuberance.
A music video was produced for the song "Atlantic City"; it featured stark, black and white images of the city, which had not yet undergone its later transformation, and was still rather bleak and depressed. "Atlantic City" was released as a single in the UK but not the U.S.
[edit] Critical praise
In 1989, Nebraska was ranked #43 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 224 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Pitchfork Media listed it the 60th greatest album of the 1980s.
[edit] Homage
Country music icon Johnny Cash's 1983 album Johnny 99 featured versions of two of Springsteen's songs from Nebraska: "Johnny 99" and "Highway Patrolman".
The Nebraska Project took place at Winter Garden/World Financial Center, New York City, on January 14, 2006, as the opening night concert of the 2006 New York Guitar Festival (www.newyorkguitarfestival.org). This live celebration and re-creation of the seminal album, produced by Festival creator and artistic director David Spelman and co-produced by A.J. Benson, and hosted by WFUV DJ John Platt, presented a diverse line-up of artists who covered the songs in album sequence. Line-up was as follows: Nebraska: Michelle Shocked / Atlantic City: Jesse Harris / Mansion On The Hill: The National / Johnny 99: Chocolate Genius / Highway Patrolman: Martha Wainwright with Marc Ribot / State Trooper: Dan Zanes with Vernon Reid / Used Cars: Laura Cantrell / Open All Night: Otis Taylor / My Father's House: Mark Eitzel / Reason to Believe: Kevn Kinney with Lenny Kaye / Encore (comprising all artists, plus special guest Bruce Springsteen): Oklahoma Hills / Plus instrumental interludes by Gary Lucas, Harry Manx, Marc Ribot, Kerryn Tolhurst & David Spelman.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.
- "Nebraska" – 4:32
- "Atlantic City" – 4:00
- "Mansion on the Hill" – 4:08
- "Johnny 99" – 3:44
- "Highway Patrolman" – 5:40
- "State Trooper" – 3:17
- "Used Cars" – 3:11
- "Open All Night" – 2:58
- "My Father's House" – 5:07
- "Reason to Believe" – 4:11
[edit] Alternate Master(1st CD Master)
- "Nebraska" – 4:25
- "Atlantic City" – 3:50
- "Mansion on the Hill" – 4:01
- "Johnny 99" – 3:41
- "Highway Patrolman" – 5:41
- "State Trooper" – 3:09
- "Used Cars" – 3:04
- "Open All Night" – 2:52
- "My Father's House" – 5:36
- "Reason to Believe" – 4:06
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Production
- Mike Batlin – engineer
- David Michael Kennedy– photography
- Dennis King – mastering
- Andrea Klein – design
[edit] Album interpretation
The songs of Nebraska are classic Springsteen in the sense that they deal with ordinary, blue collar characters who face a challenge or a turning point in their lives. Some characters on Nebraska also commit some sort of offence as on the song "Highway Patrolman" - even though the protagonist works for the law, he can be seen letting his brother escape after he has shot someone. This became the basis for the Sean Penn-directed film The Indian Runner. Similar to this, on the song "Nebraska", the characters are based on the Terrence Malick film Badlands (1973), itself loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his fourteen year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, in 1957. Because of these kinds of themes on Nebraska, there is very little of the grace or salvation which can be seen in other albums. It could be said that the bleakness of the album was the reason it received poor sales, yet critical acclaim.
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 3 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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| 1982 | "Atlantic City" | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock | 10 |
| 1982 | "Johnny 99" | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock | 50 |
| 1982 | "Open All Night" | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock | 22 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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