Best Springsteen Albums?

[johnezz]

Holy shit, check this video, Best performance of Thunder Road, ever!

Its from the DVD

Just Bruce and Roy, bloody amazing!

[Morten..]

I rank the ones I have, plan on buying many more!

1.The Rising

2.Born in the USA

3.Tunnel of love

4.Seeger Sessions

5.Devils and Dust

I don't even have Born to Run

[axlslash]

Holy shit, check this video, Best performance of Thunder Road, ever!

Its from the DVD

Just Bruce and Roy, bloody amazing!

This one is stellar, don't get me wrong, but the one from Storytellers takes the cake. It's just Bruce. He sits down at the piano, puts on his harmonica, just says "Thunder Road," and the crowd erupts before going deathly silent. What follows is a performance which, just sitting at the computer watching the DVD, almost made me cry. It's touching, beautiful, epic, masterful, and all other things that Bruce is.

Here's the vid: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CP3NIi1P-0A

Edited October 24, 2006 by axlslash

[johnezz]

Holy shit, check this video, Best performance of Thunder Road, ever!

Its from the DVD

Just Bruce and Roy, bloody amazing!

This one is stellar, don't get me wrong, but the one from Storytellers takes the cake. It's just Bruce. He sits down at the piano, puts on his harmonica, just says "Thunder Road," and the crowd erupts before going deathly silent. What follows is a performance which, just sitting at the computer watching the DVD, almost made me cry. It's touching, beautiful, epic, masterful, and all other things that Bruce is.

Here's the vid: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CP3NIi1P-0A

Wow... and wow.

That was amazing.

Two very different performances though, like someone commented on youtube about the storytellers version:

"The differences between the original and this version are the source of half the chill, I find. The original seems so full of hope. Here it is as though the journey he is singing about has come to an end, as though that hope is significant not for the results it brought but for the fact that it existed at all."

That sums it up better than i could say.

I like both equally. The 1975 is still fresh on his mind though, Born to Run had just been realesed that year, he sings it with so much passion.

God i love Bruce.

[adnan]

11) The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle

Why?

Holy shit, check this video, Best performance of Thunder Road, ever!

Its from the DVD

Just Bruce and Roy, bloody amazing!

That whole show is just fantastic. One of the top 10 shows of all time IMO. I have the DVD and CD and can't get enough of them!

[axlslash]

11) The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle

Why?

I don't think it's bad. I have nothing negative to say about the album either. I just think his others are great-er than this one. That leaves a lot of room to be great though. Here's a breakdown:

1) Tom Joad- simply an underrated masterpiece; featured what I think to be some of Bruce's finest lyrical work (certainly his best lyrical album, save for maybe BTR) as well as some of the finest folk guitar playing I've heard in a while. Bruce also has a passion on this album that really cuts to the core.

2) BTR- If I have to explain this one, don't bother reading on

3) Seeger Sessions - the folk standards featured on this album are the songs my folks raised me on, and that voice is the voice I've grown to love on my own. This album is like a walk through my whole life so far, plus the band is killer.

4) The Rising - the pain of 9/11 brought out some of Bruce's best work ever. Just to run down: The Rising, Waiting on a Sunny Day, You're Missing, Marry's Place, City of Ruin, Worlds Apart.....need I continue?

5) Devils & Dust - a change of pace from typical Bruce, this album features hookers, boxers, and ghetto children - topics which Bruce doesn't usually touch on. The themes explored and the music that goes with them make this album spectacular

6) The River - the title track surrounded by disco songs would still make for a great record for The River alone. Throw in Hungry Heart, Out in The Street, Cadillac Ranch, Ramrod......yeah.

7) Greetings - Blinded By The Light is so thoroughly hysterical (particularly after hearing Bruce talk about it on storytellers) that I can't say no to it. Throw in Spirit in the Night (check the piano solo performance of this on Live in Barcelona), Flood, Growin' Up, etc. and it makes for a phoenominal debut album (still the best since Dylan's selftitled)

8) Nebraska - simply the greatest demo tape ever recorded (that's what it was; Bruce made the tape to give to the E Street Band and do the songs with a full band, but everyone thought it was already perfect)

9) Darkness - a great album, just not better than the others; Badlands is a killer cut though!

10) BITUSA - a great album lyrically and musically, but a bit poppier than his other E Street Band era stuff which seems a bit odd to me. Much of the synth-heavy stuff is too 80s for me. That not withstanding, My Hometown is easily in his top 10 lyrical pieces.

And that leaves WI&ESS. I don't dislike it, again, at all. This is just how I see the albums falling out. I do really dig it, I just don't think it's better than the others.

[adnan]

Here's another great performance from the Hammersmith '75 show:

[axlslash]

I got the DVD in the 3-disc collector set of Born to Run that came out last year. Absolutely fucking brilliant show. Maybe the best of all time available on DVD. Stunningly superb.

[johnezz]

Both you guys rate Darkness fairly low,

Alot of critics actully rate it as his best.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that, Born to Run is his best, without a doubt, but Darkness is absolute genius too.

It's a much darker album, but his lyrics are top notch, every single song on it is awesome.

It's proberly his best album played Live too. Prove it All Night is phernominal.

[Truckin']

I love Darkness but it's not as great as the rest. Still excellent though.