Into That Black River of Doubt: Human Touch and Lucky Town (1992)

To-night!

(1992)

Bryan: I’m joined as always by Bryant, second-to-Last of the Red Hot Swamis.

Bryant:  Second-to-last of the Red Hot Swamis, First of the Chili-Cheese Doggers. Pleased to be here, and pass the mustard.

Bryan: Here's Bruce's double-album release from 1992. It got a decent amount of airplay at the time, but the reaction was decidedly cool. I seem to like Human Touch a lot more than other people, although I had to downgrade some of my original scores after repeat listenings.

Bryant: I had either this or Devils and Dust earmarked as his worst album, so some of these scores you sent surprised me. I was anxious to get to this album and give it a reappraisal. It again proved highly useful to me to use Asbury Park as a calibration agent. I found myself literally asking in many cases, "Do I like this song more or less than 'The Angel' and 'Mary, Queen of Arkansas'?" In a few cases, surprisingly, I had to answer "less."

Bryan: Let us proceed apace.

HUMAN

TOUCH

"Human Touch"

Bryant: 2.5/5  Nothing wrong with this, except that it goes on FAR too long.

Bryan: 2.5/5 Sometimes I don’t mind so much, but with something like this song, I just wonder what mechanism in Bruce’s brain told him this needed to be over six friggin’ minutes long. Should have been 3 and a half, tops. Come on now. Anyway – as a sort of announcement that the mellower, less-E-Street-y sound from Tunnel of Love will continue, it serves its purpose. Not a blockbuster, but it’s catchy and feels and sounds good enough.

"Soul Driver"

Bryant: 2/5  Decent little song, but boy can I imagine Springsteen fans wanting to punch themselves in the face listening to this the first time.

Bryan: 3.75/5 FWIW that was indeed my reaction at the time. I kind of love it now, though and think it’s an underrated bit of his catalog. Sure it’s not the most exciting arrangement or sonic assault, but the lyrics, vibe, and pace agree with me. I kept expecting to downgrade this one a lot with repeat listenings – and I did drop it down ever so slightly – but I think it’s a worthy tune. Cool lyrics, to boot.

Bryant: It's solid.  The production is weird (sounds like Terence Trent D’Arby snuck in and couldn’t be removed), but even that isn't bad; it's just weird (relative to the rest of Springsteen's career).

Bryan: Definitely a sideroad for sure. In some way I can't properly explain, it really reminds me of the early 90s. I don't mean the associative-memories angle, just the sound/approach. 

"57 Channels (And Nothin' On)"

Bryan: 3.75/5 I've thought about this song often over the years. I'll have to look up some live performances and see if he makes the ever-expanding number of channels part of the performance.

Bryant: 2.5/5 If Wikipedia has not lied to me, that's Randy American Idol Jackson on bass, which is something to ponder. I dig this song, though.

Bryan: Oh yeah, he’s one of the E-Street-“scabs.” 

Bryant: I don't know if it's online anywhere accessible, but I remember his SNL performance of "57 Channels and Nothing On" being excruciatingly awful. BUT, that's a much younger version of me talking; I haven't seen it since it aired, and I wasn't a fan at the time. I remember him yelping the "FIF" part of the title. I bet it's pretty awesome.

Bryan: I remember catching that at the time (I must have caught damn near every SNL from 1987 through 2006 or so, minus a couple of years in the 90s when I lived in Dayton and didn't have cable/ an antenna) and totally having a ‘Man, Bruce has lost it’ reaction.

Bryant: Here's an audio-only version. I like that U2-style intro. Yawping aside, that's pretty great.

Bryan: I ended up tracking down the videos. All in all, not the train wreck I remember. The "57 Channels/ Living Proof" medley is a little disjointed, maybe, but they pull it together for the end. Bruce's guitar is pretty wild. The yawping is an odd choice.

"Lucky Town" is just fine, by the way - they played that one first and the "57 Channels/ Living Proof" medley second.

"Cross My Heart"

Bryan 2/5 Not bad. (Edit: Okay, it’s pretty bad.)

Bryant: If I make myself hear this in the style of Nebraska, this one works for me okay.  But as-is, it's kind of painful to my ears.  Bruce was floundering here. 1.75/5

"Gloria's Eyes"

Bryant: This one is right up there on my list of Worst Springsteen Songs. 1.5/5 from me. I'm glad you dig it, though! And I can kind of hear it as a River-style rocker. Too bad that isn't what happened to it. These chumps in this "band" are no E Streeters, that's for sure.

Bryan: 4/5 I agree that these guys are no E Streets, but I kind of love this tune. Here’s another one I kept expecting to downgrade, but my strong opinion of it stayed steady. This might have been a big hit for a band like The Cult. Here's a pretty lackadaisical version from the UK side of the '92-93 tour. If you contrast it to the studio version, aforelinked, it helps bring out the agreeability of the album version. I offer this as a public service.

"With Every Wish"

Bryan: 2.5/5 Musically (except for that lovely trumpet) it doesn't do much for me, but the storytelling here is nice enough.

Bryant: 2.5/5 This might be my favorite song on the album. It’s restrained, simple, evocative, and effective. Nothing special, necessarily, but he at least gets on base with this one. 

"Roll of the Dice"

Bryan: 3.25/5 Not bad. Kind of generic pop sounding but no problem. That piano riff is basically just a scale, but it sticks in my head. I'm frankly shocked how often I find myself singing or otherwise thinking of this one.

Bryant: 1.5/5  I'll tell you what this one sounds like to me: a bunch of guys who are super excited to be working with Bruce Springsteen, and are really letting it rip, but to no good effect. This is a mediocre song at best, but they're really going for it. I mean, hard to blame 'em, right?

Bryan: Here's a version that I kinda like, even if it showcases the perfectly-competent blah-ness of the non-E-Streeters. I like how the description says "Bruce with the Other Band." It's almost like we all make a point not to learn their names; poor dudes. 

Well, with one notable exception.

But hell, our loyalty to the E Streeters was genetically engineered, FFS, from the endless-mythos of themselves across the albums.

“Real World”

Bryant: I hear "Real World" as being potentially effective if done in the slower style of Tunnel of Love, but this new band's take on it does not work for me. 1.5/5

Bryan: 3.25.5 I can see that, but I kinda dig it. Like “Roll of the Dice” (or “Soul Driver”) it’s kind of a generic pop-sounding sort of deal, but I can’t say I mind all that much. I think it’s a decent tune. Might’ve been better to give this one to someone else, maybe.

“All Or Nothin’ at All”

Bryant: Wants to be "You Can Look But You Better Not Touch," but can't even sniff that one.  1.25/5

Bryan: 2/5 I don't quite hear the similarity, but I wish it was a bit more of a “YCLBYBNT” vibe, you ask me. It doesn’t bother me, but it’s kinda boring/ generic.

"Man's Job"

Bryan: 2.25/5 Ditto. Seems like Bruce is exploring a different kind of guitar sound on tracks like this. A sound Van Zandt might not have liked or something? Interestingly, when he showed SVZ all these track, VZ's advice was that they all needed the E Street band to come alive.

Bryant: Steve was right. This is handily one of my least favorite Springsteen songs. Tell that background singer to hush, somebody. 1/5

"I Wish I Were Blind"

Bryan: 3.5/5 Nice and simple. I kind of love stuff like this. Would be a great track for Willie Nelson or Lyle Lovett or something. Or Dylan, actually - that's really who this reminds me of most of all. Maybe I'm overrating this one, but I think it's just a sweet tune.

Bryant: 2.25/5 I like this song; it gets closer to the agreeable vibe that was Tunnel of Love. It does seem to be tailor-made for a guy like Lyle Lovett; that's a great call! Roy Orbison would have turned it into a stone-cold classic.

"The Long Goodbye"

Bryant:  1/5 Utterly unmemorable. Worst song on the album for me, and therefore arguably the worst song of Springsteen's career.

Bryan: 2.25/5 My vote for 2^nd worst. My least favorite is:

"Real Man”

Bryan: 2/5 The lyrics are good, but the arrangement's not that exciting.

Bryant: 1/5 A song called "Real Man" begins with a synthesized horn blast.  Uh-huh...

Bryan: Real men uses synths! If the Vikings or Mongols had keytars, they'd have kicked the shit out of everyone with "The Final Countdown" rather than axes to the head.

"Pony Boy"

Bryan: 2.5/5 More Dylan! Fine by me. Sensible choice to close this album but not a fave.

Bryant: Pressed for an answer to the question of what my most-hated Springsteen song is, I'd likely have given you this as an answer.  But it's not actually as bad as I tend to remember it.  What sense does it make as an album-closer, though?  And specifically for THIS album...?  I'll give it a 1.5/5

Bryan: I wrote what I wrote before reading your remarks. Really? What about it makes you think that? For me, it’s an eclectic mix of tunes, so it seemed to “feel” right. If it ended with something like “Roll of the Dice,” for example, the lingering after-taste would be something like generic-pop-sounding. Which is perhaps an honest aftertaste for this album, but I think “Pony Boy” is a good choice in that it might make you think you’ve listened to something more profound than you actually have.

Bryant:  You make a good point.  It does give it a human touch, one might say. (One might also NOT say such a thing, if one were not a lame-o.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Bryan: Total: 39.5 Avg: 2.84 I can see the less-than-enthused reaction to this one, I guess, but to my ears it sounds pretty good. Does it not "aspire to greatness?" Possibly. Is that okay? Definitely. Still a collection of good tracks and if you kind of wonder why (like SVZ) the Boss would want to step back and do this album instead of some huge E Street bonanza, you can't really dis the tracks themselves.

Bryant: 23.75 total, 1.70 average So we're pretty far apart on this one, obviously. Again, if I were assessing a simple like/dislike metric, I'd say I like a mere five of the songs.  It sounds to my ears like Bruce was floundering. The good news is that there is no other album in his discography -- even Lucky Town -- that stands a chance of getting anywhere near that low a score from me. Or, at least, that's how I remember it. The math will tell us for sure! Traditionally, I've sided with the majority in being a bigger fan of Lucky Town. I'm guessing that's how it'll shake out this time, too.  Not that I think that one is all THAT much better; I don't think its lows are as low for me, but the highs aren't much higher, either. We'll see!

Bryan: We shall indeed. RIGHT NOW!

LUCKY

 TOWN

“Better Days”

Bryant: 2.75/5  I feel some passion from this song that is (to my ears) lacking in the majority of Human Touch. 

Bryan: 2.5/5 It's okay just meh. The chorus never really moved me.

“Lucky Town”

Bryan: 3.5/5 This chorus, though, always gets stuck in my head. Kind of a Dylan drawl Bruce sings on this one, but it works. 

Bryant: 2.75/5 I like this, but kind of wish there was a stripped-down acoustic version.

“Local Hero”

Bryan: 2.25/5 Like the lyrics a lot ("First they made me the king then they made me pope / Then they brought the rope") but not the most exciting music / arrangement for me.

Bryant: 2/5 I can imagine this being done in the vein of the Born in the USA songs and coming off well, but as-is, this one doesn't do much for me.

“If I Should Fall Behind”

Bryant: 3/5 I dig this one, but, in a reversal of my typical stance, prefer the live version that can be found on the Live In NYC album a few years later. And I prefer that one by a wide margin. This is good, though; they just took a good song and later turned it into a great one.

Bryan: 3/5 It's fine - kind of a nice country tune I guess but not my thing. A little too similar to “I Wish I Was Blind,” which I prefer.

“Leap of Faith”

Bryan: 1.5/5 This is pretty bland.

Bryant: 1.5/5 Blander than bland. A rice cake with unseasoned tofu spread.

“The Big Muddy”

Bryan: 1.75/5 Some ambience I like but mostly meh. For a dream sequence in a deleted scene from Young Guns 2 or something.

Bryant: 1/5 There's probably a better version of this song that simply never got found in the sessions. This one is high on my list of least-favorite Springsteen songs.

“Living Proof”

Bryan: 2.25/5 Kind of the same deal as "Local Hero". I appreciate the lyrics, but the tune is kinda meh.

Bryant: 2.25/5  If he'd cared to do so, he could have just gathered some of the songs in this vein together, claimed he'd decided to make a Garth Brooks-style country album, and probably sat back and reaped the plaudits. Because, as you've pointed out, that's what a lot of these songs are, and as that, they're not bad. I got no beef with this song; it's just not what I'm looking for from Bruce Springsteen.

Bryan: That’d have been a good idea! Incidentally, I’m listening to a Ratt playlist while typing this up, and you’d be surprised how much it’s throwing off my game. Ratt is not a good band to try and write/ organize to. YOU KNOW YOU REALLY WANT TO LAY IT DOWN – RIGHT NOW! AND HOW! I KNOW – sorry. See what I mean? I have the same problem with Radiohead but for much different reasons.

“Book of Dreams”

Bryan: 3.75/5 Great lyrics here. If you crank this one, it’s much better. You can see the way pointing to “Streets of Philadelphia” and “My City of Ruins,” though maybe it’s just another stop on that way, starting back with “My Hometown” or even earlier. I can’t quite get to 4 for this, but I do really appreciate its presence here.

Bryant: 2.25/5  This would have been more or less at home on Tunnel of Love. As a b-side, if not on the actual album.

Bryan: It really would, you're right. Here's a nice live version.  

“Souls of the Departed”

Bryant: 1/5  Yuck. The guitar on this sucks, and drags an already-lousy song down to an even lower level.

Bryan: 2/5 I hear you. I sympathize with Bruce's desire to just want to stretch his legs/ relax with different musicians than the E Streeters, but at the same time it's like, yeah but those guys are always great-sounding. These guys... technically fine, but there's something missing. Bruce agreed, eventually. Anyway, some lines here, like "Now I ply my trade in the land of king dollar / Where you get paid and your silence passes as honor / And all the hatred and dirty little lies / Been written off the books and into decent men's eyes" are good stuff. I at least like the guitar at the very end, but it’s not enough to really carry the song for me.

Bryant: Those are good lyrics. I’m perpetually guilty – not just with Springsteen, but in general – of failing to pay appropriate attention to song lyrics. Sometimes they really strike me, but if they don’t, they may as well be wallpaper in a blind man’s home. And that’s not fair, because it causes me to miss out on stuff like this. Ah well.

“My Beautiful Reward”

Bryant: 3/5 Would have been at home on Nebraska. Good stuff; I might even have this scored a bit too low.

Bryan: 3.5/5 Good album closer, kind of a great little tune to my ears. I agree - would've been home on Nebraska. Not a bad version here. Look at that crowd! That's South American Metal Festival size.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Bryan: Total 26 Avg 2.6 I seem to have the opposite reaction to this double album than most, preferring Human Touch to Lucky Town. But also the specific criticisms like (from the wiki) "While Human Touch was a disappointing album of second-rate material, Lucky Town is an ambitious collection addressing many of Springsteen's major concerns and moving them forward" I feel are more apt for Lucky Town.

Bryant:  21.5 total, 2.15 average.  So, better than Human Touch, but by less than I'd have guessed at the outset of this project. The songs I dislike really weight it down. I hate to be a cliche, but I really am one of those guys who thinks Springsteen would have been well-advised to simply take the best songs from both albums and make a single release from them.

And hey, why not suggest what that might have looked like?  Here goes:

(1)  "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)"

(2)  "Human Touch"

(3)  "Better Days"

(4)  "With Every Wish"

(5)  "I Wish I Were Blind"

(6)  "Lucky Town"

(7)  "My Beautiful Reward"

(8)  "If I Should Fall Behind"

(9)  "Living Proof"

(10)  "Book of Dreams"

That album -- which I'd call Book of Dreams -- would earn the following score from me: 25.75 overall, 2.58 average.  So not too bad.

Bryan: That same set of songs would score Tot 30.75 Avg 3.1 for me. Not bad at all and better than either album scores with me individually. My own list of tunes would look about the same, though I’d be fine ditching “Human Touch” and “Better Days” and subbing in “Gloria’s Eyes” and “Soul Driver.” And I’d get rid of “If I Should Fall Behind,” too. I like it, just yeah, if “I Wish I Were Blind” is on here, I’d choose that one over that; they’re kind of the same song and I just prefer “Wish I Were Blind.” Maybe I’d put “Roll of the Dice” and “Real World’ in there, too, just to mix it up/ for context.

Bryant: Ultimately my feeling about these two albums is this: so what that they're not great?  They're okay; a few songs are poor enough that I have to say I actively dislike them, but even those are better than a lot of other things I could listen to. 

I suspect that a lot of artistic inspiration comes from deep unhappiness, whereas contentment and happiness are the mortal enemies of rock and roll. So my guess -- and maybe there's something in Carlin's book that speaks to this one way or the other -- is that Springsteen had maybe gotten to a point where he was actually enjoying being alive. If that's true, then I'm glad these albums are mediocre. That guy had just given the world ... depending on what you count ... seven or eight great albums over the course of a decade and a half. 

That's enough. Man, if the price for him finding those "Better Days" and that "Living Proof" was that his music was suddenly not quite as great, then I'm perfectly okay with that.

Or maybe none of that is accurate and he'd just lost his way. Even so, if THIS is what losing your way sounds like, all who lose their way should do half as well.

Bryan:  Your guess is exactly right - the songwriting process for the double album release, there, came from a very complacent place for Bruce, and I often wonder the same thing: what do you do when exorcising your demons (so to speak) via art leads you to a happy place? Bruce’s process seems pretty anti-bullshitting-yourself, and, looking around at his life in the early 90s, Bruce was pretty content. Did it take some of the edge off? Absolutely. And like you say, hey, happy for the guy. Anyway, to your point, Bruce was getting more and more into therapy at this point, and it all came out of realizations post-Born in the USA and Tunnel of Love re: his own mind and temperament/ internal vs. external expectations and where they came from, etc.  I'll have to read that Rolling Stone interview again - he talks about his 90s state of mind a lot in there. I clipped this from Bruce In His Own Words, though I think he’s reading aloud from his autobiography: "You cannot figure out who you are if you don't understand where you came from, what were the forces that work on your life as a child, as a teenager, and as a young man. What part do you have to play? How do you empower yourself?"

Bryant:  Yep, that all makes sense. Which means that Bruce probably thinks much more fondly of these albums – or, at least, of the process of making them – than do the vast majority of his fans. That sort of thing is so interesting to contemplate, similar to how actors can have the absolute time of their lives making a movie literally nobody likes. An artist’s experience need not be at all similar to an audience’s.

THE SCORES THUS FAR:

Bryant:

Human Touch 1.7

Lucky Town 2.15

(Bryant’s proposed mash-up Book of Dreams 2.58)

Greetings from Asbury Park 2.75

Tunnel of Love 3.35

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.68

Live ’75 - ‘85 3.7

The River 3.39

Born to Run 4.35

Darkness on the Edge of Town 4.4

Nebraska 4.63

Born in the USA 4.88

Bryan:

Lucky Town 2.15

Greetings from Asbury Park 2.19

Human Touch 2.84
(Bryant’s proposed mash-up Book of Dreams 3.1)

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.43

The River 3.71

Tunnel of Love 3.8

Darkness on the Edge of Town 3.82

Live ’75 - ‘85 4

Born to Run 4.41

Nebraska 4.5

Born in the USA 5.44