The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project

This is my favourite Springsteen album, and in my top five albums of all time. This is a peak showcase for a songwriter in the middle of a creative flow almost only matched by what Dylan did in the sixties. And then you realise that he pretty much sat on outtakes that could make an almost equally as strong alternative album from the same period (see Tracks, The Promise and The Ties That Bind box sets for context). Mindblowingly prolific.

EDIT: Here's one version of that alternative album that I put together a few years ago. "Janey Needs A Shooter" was written in 74 and recorded for both Born to Run and Darknes, and "Frankie" was written during the Darkness sessions (and probably recorded too) but he kept rerecording it in every album session up to Tunnel of Love.
 
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jamieanderson1968 said:
try every 5 y
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jamieanderson1968 said:
I know there is a lot of love for Bruce but he has never clicked with me. I try every 5 years or so but nothing. I am perfectly fine with that.
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From my dive into his catalog, my impression so far is that he's fine. I like the music more than I thought I would, I don't seem him breaking into my list of favorite artists or anything. I would be curious to see him live though.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
I know there is a lot of love for Bruce but he has never clicked with me. I try every 5 years or so but nothing. I am perfectly fine with that.
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Same. I like Nebraska quite a bit, and a buddy got me the first two records earlier this year to try to help me along, but he hasn't resonated for me yet.
 
As an aside, I've just finished audio version of his autobiography, and I have to say it was fantastic. The best bit by far is the pre-fame stuff; he actually says surprisingly little about each of his songs - he spends more on Streets of Philadelphia than all his best albums (almost put together). He comes across well. I liked listening to him narrate it too. On Darkness, it's a great album. It's also remarkable just how many songs he tried out and rejected. The Promise is one of my favourite albums by him, and it's just an odds and sods collection really.
 
Poly-Rythmo said:
As an aside, I've just finished audio version of his autobiography, and I have to say it was fantastic. The best bit by far is the pre-fame stuff; he actually says surprisingly little about each of his songs - he spends more on Streets of Philadelphia than all his best albums (almost put together). He comes across well. I liked listening to him narrate it too. On Darkness, it's a great album. It's also remarkable just how many songs he tried out and rejected. The Promise is one of my favourite albums by him, and it's just an odds and sods collection really.
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I have the book in my long reading queue. One day. My wife hates Springsteen. The only record she has ever bought me was the companion compilation.
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
Same. I like Nebraska quite a bit, and a buddy got me the first two records earlier this year to try to help me along, but he hasn't resonated for me yet.
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Drive around solo though the countryside on a warm summer night with the windows rolled down and “Spirit In The Night” blasting and that might punch that ticket. Bruce has the ability to make you feel nostalgic for things you never experienced.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
I know there is a lot of love for Bruce but he has never clicked with me. I try every 5 years or so but nothing. I am perfectly fine with that.
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To me he ranges from fine to kinda annoying. “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark” are really the only exceptions for songs I really like. I really have dug that deep so I could be wrong but I also feel no need to dive
 
I've heard Bruce's version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" so many times that it's totally embedded in my brain as a holiday classic at this point. But he is for sure singing pretty flat in that, right? It's wild to imagine a live track like that becoming so ubiquitous in today's environment without perfect (or autotuned) pitch. If that was released for the first time today he'd be torn to shreds.
 
Indymisanthrope said:
I've heard Bruce's version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" so many times that it's totally embedded in my brain as a holiday classic at this point. But he is for sure singing pretty flat in that, right? It's wild to imagine a live track like that becoming so ubiquitous in today's environment without perfect (or autotuned) pitch. If that was released for the first time today he'd be torn to shreds.
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I don’t know, his diehard fans are very fond of that last soul covers record he did.
 
Lee Newman said:
Five songs in and I fucking love this.
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This one was my big discovery last year. I'd seen it called one of the bleakest albums ever and had to hear it. Immediately fell hard in love, bought a copy and a couple books about it and listened to it near daily for much of 2022 Q1. Fucking incredible album. An all-timer for me, despite coming to it decades late. 6/5.
 
This is fantastic and the story of the album is something. I’m gonna end up listening to these guys whole discography.


It recalls so much music that I love… it’s like foo fighters queens of the Stone Age Dead Kennedys Queen and bunch of hair bands got together and it’s filtered through grunge and Brit pop. The damn interstitial stuff is reminiscent of Wu Tang.

I love the politics.

I love the grit.

Jesus I love everything about it.
 
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