Between Our Dreams and Actions Lies This World - The Essential Bruce Springsteen disc 3

(2003)

After completing the table of contents for the  Springsteen series Bryant and I did, we realized (or had pointed out to us) we forgot a few. There are a few hidden surprises in that aforelinked post, such as The Ties That Bind tucked away in the Chapter and Verse post. And until I looked for it, I thought The Essential Bruce Springsteen was one of those, as well. But nope - nowhere to be found. Here at the blog that is - searched my old gmails and found all the below. Phwew!

The Essential came as a 2-CD affair or with a 3rd CD filled with unreleased tracks. Let's dive in:

"From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)"

Bryan: 5/5 Love this! Ridiculous to discard it.
Bryant: I don’t like this quite as much as you, but it does indeed kick ass.  4.25/5  I sort of get why it was left off The River.  Not really, but in theory.  But its omission from Tracks is genuinely mystifying. 

"Big Payback"

Bryan: 4/5 I love stuff that sounds like this. I can't really evaluate it as a song but it's fun.
Bryant: 4.5/5  I goddam love this one.  Wikipedia says it was a b-side to “Open All Night,” but apparently not in America.  It kicks much ass is all I know for sure.

"Held Up Without a Gun (live)"

Bryan: 4/5 I overscored "You Can Look But You Better Not Touch" but I think I prefer it like this. The title works better at least.
Bryant: Steve is really going for it on those background vocals, isn’t he?  This is probably the closest the Band ever got to punk rock.  They do it quite credibly.  This is not a favorite for me, though.  2/5

"Trapped (live)"

Bryan: 3.5/5 I like the verses, not the chorus so much. Nice Clarence solo as always. 
Bryant: I’ve never heard the Jimmy Cliff original, and I’m not sure I want to.  If I had not been told this was a cover, I’d have no idea.  This was released on We Are the World, so it likely reached a much larger audience than all the other songs on this third Essential disc.  3.25/5 from me.

"None But the Brave"

Bryan: 3/5 Not a bad tune, but I can see why it was left off Born in the USA.  Nice Clarence outro. (I mean, it's always good when Clarence comes in. Everyone knows this.)
Bryant: I’m a big fan of this one.  4.25/5  I think it would fit Born in the U.S.A. like a glove; but that album was overburdened with riches, so the omission makes sense.  But, again, two questions scream in the front of my mind: (A) how was this left off of Tracks?!?; and (B) how did they not assemble a new album circa 1986 using some of this stuff?!?  That outro of Clarence’s is indeed divine. 

"Missing"

Bryan: 4.75/5 This for me is hands down the best of Springsteen's soundtrack work. I heard this for the first time sometime after I moved to Chicago and remember thinking "Sheesh is that what Bruce is doing now? That sounds great." And then someone told me or I discovered it was from The Crossing Guard soundtrak. (Never saw it.) Love this track, though.
Bryant: Well, I’m not as big a fan of this as you, but I do like it quite a bit.  I’ll say to the tune of 3.25/5.  It kind of anticipates the adventurousness of “Worlds Apart,” doesn’t it?  It’s not like he’d never done atmospheric; in a way, “I’m on Fire” seems to come from the same place.  But the aural landscape of the production here is unusual compared to most everything else in his catalog, and I’d kind of be into hearing more from him in this vein.

"Lift Me Up"

Bryan: 2/5 Of his "emo" minimalist work, this is the least of it for me.  Never saw the movie - perhaps it accompanies it very aptly. 
Bryant:  Does he say “I don’t need your Instagrams” at the beginning of this?!?  I doubt it, but I bet he really doesn’t need anyone’s Instagrams.  Anyways, I adore this song.  4/5 from me.  The movie – Limbo, directed by John Sayles – is terrific.  I don’t know that it makes the song better, but I also don’t remember a whole lot about it.  You’ve probably figured out long since that I’ve got a very – VERY – emo side to me.  I like that about music.  I’m not too emo in real life, but I can kind of access the feelings of the me on the level of the Tower where I am that.  I was over at a friend’s the other night, and he was listening to Neurosis, and I was kind of accessing the twinner of me who is into sludge metal.  Other times, the disco twinner might take over for a while.  I like that about music; it brings out the other versions of me.  Anyways, I love “Lift Me Up.”
Bryan: Man, disco twinner is pretty good. I want to meet my and your twinners of every genre out there. 

"Viva Las Vegas"

Bryan: 3/5 How can you go wrong? I may prefer the Dead Kennedys version but this is perfectly fine, if not particularly distinguished. Doesn't have to be tho.
Bryant: The Dead Kennedys version damn near makes the Elvis version secondary.  Not quite, but close.  This one is great, too.  2.75/5  My only regret is that it wasn’t with the E Street folks.  Would I listen to an entire album of Springsteen covers of Elvis songs?  You better believe it.  And, as we’ve established, it’s a damn shame there couldn’t also be a Elvis-covers-Springsteen album or two.

"County Fair"

Bryan: 4.5/5 Now here's one that would've fit on Born in the USA as a b-side at the very least. What a great little tune.
Bryant: It’s obscene how much great material got shunted away back in the early eighties.  I know I’ve said that repeatedly, but it’s just astonishing.  Wikipedia says this is a Born in the U.S.A. outtake, but it sounds more like Nebraska to me.  Regardless, it’s terrific.  4/5

"Code of Silence (live)"

Bryan: 2.5/5 Kind of a boring tune.
Bryant: Yeah, this one is just kind of bland.  It’s not bad, but I listen to it and just kind of shrug.  2/5

"Dead Man's Walkin'"

Bryan: 1.5/5 Ugh. A suitable song for the film. 
Bryant: Huh.  Well, we’ve diverged radically again on this one.  I’ve always loved this song.  I loved the movie, too, although I haven’t seen it since it came out.  4.5/5  One of my favorite of his acoustic songs.

"Countin' on a Miracle (acoustic)"

Bryan: 1.5/5 Didn't think much of the studio version and this one is just kinda there. An odd way to close an "Essential" album for Bryan McMillan
Bryant: I’m going to give this a 2.8/5, because I like it slightly more than the studio version.

~

Bryan: Total 39.25 Avg. 3.27 That puts it ahead of Live in Dublin. Which is funny because I think I always kind of want to listen to Live in Dublin, more than this one. Although I added "Missing" and a couple of other numbers to my mega-Bruce mix as a result of typing this one up. 

Bryant: (disc 3 only) 41.55 total, 3.46 average.  That’s a better score than 18 Tracks, surprisingly.  But I do think I prefer this disc to that one.

Bryan: What do you think of the selections for the first 2 discs?

Bryant: Can I take a moment to complain about the fact that with TWO DISCS TO WORK WITH, “I’m on Fire” was still omitted?

Bryan: Yeah, that is nuts. If that one isn't Essential Bruce I don't know what is.

Bryant: Because it amuses me to do so, I’m going to score the entire thing:

Disc 1

(1)  “Blinded by the Light” – 3.75/5

(2)  “For You” – 2.75/5

(3)  “Spirit in the Night” – 3.5/5

(4)  “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” – 3.5/5

(5)  “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight”) – 4.75/5

(6)  “Thunder Road” – 4.5/5  I didn’t give this a 5?  Really?!?

(7)  “Born to Run” – 5/5

(8)  “Jungleland” – 5/5

(9)  “Badlands” – 7/5

(10)  “Darkness on the Edge of Town” – 5/5

(11)  “The Promised Land” – 4.25/5

(12)  “The River” – 5/5

(13)  “Hungry Heart” – 6.5/5

(14)  “Nebraska” – 4.75/5

(15)  “Atlantic City” –7/5

Disc 2

(1)  “Born in the U.S.A.” – 5/5

(2)  “Glory Days” – 5/5

(3)  “Dancing in the Dark” – 6/5

(4)  “Tunnel of Love” – 3.5/5

(5)  “Brilliant Disguise” – 4.25/5

(6)  “Human Touch” – 2.5/5

(7)  “Living Proof” – 2.25/5

(8)  “Lucky Town” – 2.75/5

(9)  “Streets of Philadelphia” – 5/5

(10)  “The Ghost of Tom Joad” – 4/5

(11)  “The Rising” – 4/5

(12)  “Mary’s Place” – 3.75/5

(13)  “Lonesome Day” – 2/5

(14)  “American Skin (41 Shots)” – 5/5

(15)  “Land of Hope and Dreams” – 5/5

Overall score for the two-disc version – 132.25 total, 4.41 average.  That’s very strong, but it actually manages to come in slightly lower than Greatest Hits.
Overall (three-disc set) – 173.8 total, 4.14 average.

~

Bryan:

Lucky Town 2.15

Greetings from Asbury Park 2.19

Magic 2.27

The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.44 

American Beauty 2.56 

Working on a Dream 2.71

Chapter and Verse 2.75

In Concert / MTV Plugged 2.82

Tracks 2.83

Chimes of Freedom 2.86

Wrecking Ball 2.86

Blood Brothers 2.88

Human Touch 2.9

The Promise 3.08

Book of Dreams 3.1

Hammersmith Odeon, London 3.1

Western Stars 3.26

The Rising 3.3

Devils and Dust 3.36

High Hopes 3.39

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

Essential Bruce, disc 3 3.46

Live in New York City 3.5

Loose Ends 3.63

Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.65

We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.67

The River 3.71

Tunnel of Love 3.8

Darkness on the Edge of Town 3.82

Live ’75 - ‘85 4

Live in Dublin 4.11

Born to Run 4.41

Nebraska 4.5

Born in the USA 5.4

Bryant:

Human Touch 1.7

American Beauty 2.00

Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 2.04

Lucky Town 2.15 

Chapter and Verse 2.15 

Working on a Dream 2.23

The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.46

Magic 2.46

Devils and Dust 2.48

Book of Dreams 2.58

The River outtakes 2.66

Chimes of Freedom 2.69

In Concert / Mtv Plugged 2.75

Greetings from Asbury Park 2.75

Wrecking Ball 2.77

Tracks 2.81

High Hopes 2.83

Blood Brothers 2.9

The Promise 2.99

The Rising 3.1

Live in Dublin 3.22

Essential Bruce 3.27

Tunnel of Love 3.35

We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.37

Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.38

The River 3.39

Live in New York City 3.48

Western Stars 3.52

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

Live ’75 - ‘85 3.7

Loose Ends 3.92

Born to Run 4.35

Darkness on the Edge of Town 4.4

Nebraska 4.63 

Born in the USA 4.88

Springsteen

From September 2017 through this past week and weekend, Bryant Burnette (The Truth Inside the Lie, Where No Blog Has Gone Before, You Only Blog Twice) and I did an album by album overview of Bruce Springsteen's discography under the moniker of "Saturday (or Sunday) Night (or Morning) Springsteen." 

With the recent release of Western Stars I figured it was time to get a Table of Contents sort of post up for all our reviews and overviews. Bryant was kind enough to supply all new capsule reviews of each album for this here post. Click on the link of your choice for track-by-track reviews, screencaps galore, and other fine commentaries. 

"Like a river that don't know where it's flowing /

I went out for a ride and I just kept going."

Greetings from Asbury Park (1973)

This sounds today very much like what it is, i.e., a first album by a performer/band still trying to figure out their sound.  But it's better than most such albums, and you'd have to respect it if only for the career(s) it launched.  I think it's got a lot to enjoy in its own right, though; and if I try to astrally project myself back to 1973, I think I have to conclude that from a point of view of that "when," I've never quite heard anything like this album.

The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle (1973)

This is very much a sequel to the first album, but it's a sequel that deviates from its forerunner in sound, scope, and weight.  There are some absolutely killer tracks on here, and for my money, the entirety of Side B is gold.

Born to Run (1975)

I mean, what can you say?  It's not the sound of ALL rock and roll, but it's definitely THE sound of a certain kind of rock and roll, and in that regard it will probably never be topped.  Springsteen, wisely, rarely tried.

Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)

(Bryan here: How many times does Bruce make this face in the 70s and 80s? A lot.)

Here's another sequel; this one to Born to Run, and in many ways most of what I said about E Street Shuffle also applies to this one.  Born to Run gets all the glory, but I think this is actually a better album by a marginal degree.  But who's checking margins on these two masterpieces?  (Us, I guess!)

The River (1980)

This two-album set reflects a desire in Springsteen to run away from what he'd created in the foregoing half a decade.  Not with any malice or refutation, but with an acknowledgment: he'd climbed THAT mountain already, and he didn't want to try to better what he'd done, so he'd do something a little different.  Which The River mostly is; not entirely (it's not like you wouldn't recognize this style of music if you bought the album when it came out in October of 1980), but in little ways.  It's a great set of tunes, and in the end, that's probably all that ought to matter.

Nebraska (1982)

Now THIS was a true divergence.  If you bought THIS album on release day (some two years after The River) without knowledge of what you were about to hear, you probably would be a bit rattled.  It's not to everyone's tastes, and it's not even to the tastes of all Springsteen fans.  However, I'd venture a guess: most Springsteen fans who don't dig this album are perhaps fans more of the E Street band than of Springsteen himself.  If so, their ambivalence might make sense: this is Springsteen's core, his essence.  And it's his best album.  With maybe one exception...

Born in the U.S.A. (1984)

Rarely has a better collection of tunes been grouped together on a two-sided piece of vinyl.  What's your list of the best rock albums ever recorded?  If it is missing Born in the U.S.A., it's invalid.  I'm not saying it's THE best; but I am saying it better be in the conversation, or it's not a conversation worth having.

(Bryan again: Hear him, hear him.)

Live 1975 - 1985 (1986)

I want to be clear about what I'm about to say.  No misunderstandings, please; I'm glad Bruce Springsteen is still alive.  BUT ... if fate had decreed that he had to die early, I'd say he ought to have died sometime in the early months of 1986, so that this box set could serve as a tombstone, epitaph, and canonization.  Because in a way, it kind of already does.  Again, I'M VERY GLAD it's not in a literal sense.  But if such a thing had had to happen, 1986 would have been the best possible time.  The only good thing to come from it would have been the reverence that would be bestowed upon those years and upon this set, which is so awesome that it almost makes you wish Bruce had gone out in a blaze of some sort of glory.

Tunnel of Love (1987)

And now for something completely different...  Well, look: it's not hard to see why some people might have turned their noses up at this in comparison to what had come before it.  Hell, I'm the guy who just had to dance around not saying that he wishes Springsteen had died at the top of his powers, and thus ascended into the realm of myth and legend.  No myth or legends are apt to come out of Tunnel of Love, which is indeed a completely different thing.  And yet, it's got enough excellence on it that it really does add to both the myths and the legends, provided you are willing to expand your notion of what that means.  Great album; not iconic, maybe, but great all the same.  And, I'd argue, the last great album he'd make for quite a while.

Human Touch and Lucky Town (1992)

A weird idea, putting out two albums on the same day.  Doing that kind of denies them their own identity, and you wonder why it wasn't just a double-disc release under a single title.  But the albums do have their own identity, provided you are interested enough to look for it.  In the case of Human Touch, it's ... uh ... well, I don't know, but I know it when I hear it.  If that's an anticlimactic pronouncement, well, it's an anticlimactic album.  It makes for interesting supplemental material to a biography, but the tunes themselves are mostly not great.  Some aren't even good.

Springsteen and his new band sound more engaged with the material on Lucky Town, but in all honesty, it's six versus half-a-dozen; the distinction doesn't make all that much difference.

MTV Plugged / In Concert (1992)

This is the sound of a guy trying to keep up his awesome live presence with a different cast of musicians.  And it's not a bad try!  You can tell that Springsteen is going to put on a great show no matter who is on stage with him; give him a microphone, a guitar, and a bunch of ferrets in tutus, and it would probably still be fun.  This is better than that.

Greatest Hits and more (1995)

A good sampling, and a few good "new" tracks, but there's no excuse for this not having been two discs.

The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995)

Springsteen delivers a book of mediocre poetry and does so in musical format.  I love a couple of the songs; the rest, I can't even remember.  It's not that they're bad; they're just so ephemeral that the wind takes them and they go someplace I can't mentally access them.

Tracks (1998) and 18 Tracks (1999):
Pt. 1 and Pt. 2

A hell of a collection of tunes, most of which will never be heard by a mass audience.  If somebody had been a bit more mercenary, there are probably three or four top-ten albums that could have been made from all this at the height of Springsteen's powers.  But hey, so be it; the hardcore fans know what's up.

Live from New York City (2001)

We've yet to see Jesus return on HBO, but we did see The E Street Band return, and if Jesus returning can be better than that then we've all really got something to look forward to. 

The Rising (2002)

A strong collection of tunes, done absolutely no justice by paltry ideas about what "Bruce Springsteen" should sound like.  Hey, look, I get it; it wasn't 1979 anymore.  Maybe trying to sound like it was wouldn't have worked.  But in trying to sound like 2002, they managed only to sound like 1979 trying to sound like 2002 Man, be what you ARE...!

The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003)

(Bryan here: Kind of weird of Bruce to put out another retrospective so soon after Greatest Hits isn't it? This one is a better selection of songs for my money.)

Devils and Dust (2005)

Scroll up to my comments about The Ghost of Tom Joad.  Same for this one.

We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions (2006)

This is Bruce's only post-eighties album that actually satisfies me.  All the others have a few good songs at a minimum (and most have a few greats), so you'll never catch me wishing they didn't exist.  But whatever happened on this album didn't happen on the others; this is the sound of inspiration striking.

Hammersmith Odeon London '75 (2006)

(Bryan here: I guess I don't have any summary remarks from Bryant on this one, probably because he was really not feeling this one on our listenthrough. Click the link for all the grumpiness, as well as links galore to vintage E Street sound and mayhem.)

Live in Dublin (2007)

Springsteen live albums tend to be pretty glorious, don't they?  This one is no exception.

Magic (2007)

Boy am I glad we did this series of posts!  Thanks to that process, I now know that I can blame some of my dissatisfaction with new-millennium Springsteen albums on piss-poor production.  This album wasn't the first to have lousy sound, but it might be the lousiest-sounding of them all.  It sounds fake.  It sounds like a computer simulation of "Bruce Springsteen."

Working on a Dream (2009)

Not a whit better than Magic in the sound department.  Some decent songs, though.  

The Promise (2010)

How is it even possible that after Tracks, there can be this much great stuff still lying around?  Other bands must hear this and begin weeping.

Wrecking Ball (2012)

I don't LOVE this album, but it's a step up from the previous couple, and it sounds like Springsteen is still very much engaged with the process of writing songs.  He's trying new things, he's not simply copying and pasting his old style.  Still, I think he needs to find a producer who really understands his career; that hasn't happened in a good long while, even if they all swear they do.

High Hopes (2014)

This isn't great or anything, but it's fundamentally solid.  If Springsteen puts out albums "only" as good as this and Wrecking Ball for the rest of his career, then he's still doing alright in my book.  I'll be there for every bit of it I can get!

Chapter and Verse (2016)

 
I'd happily have listened to a full two-disc set of stuff from this era. And you just KNOW such a thing could have been done. (This one also reviews The Ties That Bind.) 

Springsteen on Broadway (2018)

Coming soon.

Western Stars (2019)

The best album of new material he'd put out since The Rising, if not Tunnel of Love. I think this is rather a triumph; maybe just a low-key one, but when you've had a career like the career this dude has had, that's saying something.

~