Nebraska (album)
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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.
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 the low-peak tapes ensued but were then overcome.
The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative by a serial killer (based loosely on Charles Starkweather) 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 gloom-laden tone, although "Open All Night," a Chuck Berry-style lone guitar rave-up, does manage a dose of defiant, humming-towards-the-gallows exuberance.
Other highlights include "Atlantic City" and the dark, "Suicide"-influenced "State Trooper".
Nebraska peaked at #3 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. In 2003, the album was ranked number 224 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Indeed Nebraska ended up being one of the most well-reviewed records in his catalog, and Springsteen returned to somewhat recapture the sound and feel of it on later recordings such as The Ghost of Tom Joad and Devils & Dust.
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.
Springsteen fans have long speculated whether Springsteen's full-band recording of the album, nicknamed Electric Nebraska, will ever surface. 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.
Track listing
- "Nebraska" – 4:32
- "Atlantic City" – 4:00
- "Mansion on the Hill" – 4:08
- "Johnny 99" – 3:43
- "Highway Patrolman" – 5:40
- "State Trooper" – 3:17
- "Used Cars" – 3:10
- "Open All Night" – 2:58
- "My Father's House" – 5:07
- "Reason to Believe" – 4:10
Personnel
Production
- Mike Batlin – engineer
- David Michael Kennedy – photography
- Dennis King – mastering
- Andrea Klein – design
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 3 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
External link
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