I want everything. New. Old. Tours. Everything. Saying Bruce can’t write ‘good songs’ anymore is really just untrue. In addition to what was already listed songwise, he wrote a god damn epic stage show that will destroy your soul for the entire two hours you’re experiencing it.
So I'm assuming that the studio versions of "41 Shots" and "Land of Hope and Dreams" don't count. With that said, it was super hard to pick just five (which I think proves your point) and about half of Magic could have justifiably been on this list: 1. Long Walk Home 2. Wrecking Ball 3. American Land 4. I'll Work for Your Love 5. Long Time Comin' Honorable mention: "Girls in their Summer Clothes," "Living in the Future," "Radio Nowhere," "Hunter of Invisible Game," "The Wrestler" "Last to Die," "Death to My Hometown," "Devils and Dust," "Outlaw Pete"
Classy response, champ. Yeah, those are mostly good, the songs you listed, and some are great. I was super excited and hopeful for this album. Wrecking Ball is terrific. High Hopes was heading in the wrong direction (for me). I WANT new Bruce albums to still be good. I have lost faith. I don't like the new song AT ALL. Maybe he will surprise me with the rest of the album but I doubt it. This is a message board, no? A place to express opinions......? Or is it just a place to blow the artists that cshadows2887 likes? No critiques or disappointment allowed? Let me know. I would love new Bruce records to still be good.....but I'm very skeptical at this point. I think the new song is one of the worst things he's ever done and this is the song he picked to be the single ??? I'm not sure the man can still write great songs like he could in 2012 and previous. Remains my point. I hope he proves me wrong though. Have a nice day.
Can't do just 5. These are my 10 favorite post-Rising songs, in no particular order Devils and Dust Land of Hope and Dreams 41 Shots Shackled and Drawn Death To My Hometown The Wrestler Terry's Song Radio Nowhere Livin' In The Future Long Walk Home
The new song starts off pretty great but I don't really like the strings that come in... Maybe it'll grow on me. I think Bruce Springsteen will be able to write good songs until he stops being alive though and no sooner. The man is a songwriting monster. The quality but also the breadth and depth of his songs - especially once you start taking a deep dive and finding his massive stash of absolutely KILLER unreleased songs. I don't really like High Hopes as an album, but it did contain some amazing songs. "Hunter of Invisible Game" is definitely in the running for my favorite post-Rising Boss song. All of Magic is fantastic. FFS the American Beauty EP is incredible, and it always kinda seemed like an afterthought. * Edited to add that I forgot about Wrecking Ball which is a fantastic album, especially with the bonus track "American Land".
Wrecking Ball Long Walk Home Devils and Dust Death to My Hometown The Wrestler If it counts, "Land of Hope and Dreams" is my number one. Hearing the Clarence solo on the studio version of that song for the first time just fucking broke me.
I still remember getting that NYC live album as a semi-new big fan and hearing American Skin and Land of Hope and Dreams for the first time and just having my mind BLOWN that these were his "leftover" non-album songs.
I did a very hard deep dive into his unreleased songs a while back and found a lot of absolute masterpieces in varying quality. I would pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a release of a giant collection of his unreleased music in top quality.
Yeah, I have all the commercially released stuff (Tracks, The Promise, etc) but you know there are hundreds more just sitting there......plus alternate versions of songs, etc. I found the "rock version" of Blood Brothers recently, was previously unaware of its existence and it's incredible.
Also, just got done reading this book and it was a blast. The insight into the later years was especially cool, as those songs haven't been analyzed to death like his peak material. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419734830/?tag=absolutepunk-20
I'm inclined to count "Land of Hope and Dreams" because it's more or less reinvented on Wrecking Ball. The live version very much feels like a great demo now that the studio one exists. I get legitimately emotional every time I hear that sax. Like EVERY time. Could not be a more fitting way to say goodbye to Clarence.
Fuck, "I'll Work for Your Love" is perfect. Actually better than my token Magic mention of "You'll Be Coming Down"
I so vividly remember Wrecking Ball leaking at like midnight on a Sunday night and staying up to listen to it and chat about it with people in the AbsolutePunk thread. Definitely was wondering what they were going to do with the solo sections on "Land of Hope and Dreams," and just crying when I heard how they did it. In the book I linked above, I read that Aniello had to figure out how to change the tempo and key of the solo from one of the live recordings to get it to fit. But it's still so unmistakably Clarence. It's a truly magical moment in the catalog.
This is bound to change by season. 1. The Promise (I'm cheating, but he finished it in 2010, so piss off) 2. Wrecking Ball 3. The majority of High Hopes are bangers. 4. Long Walk Home 5. The Wrestler Honorable mention: The American Beauty EP is fire too. I know it may be a minority opinion, but I dig his vocals on the title track.
If Wrecking Ball makes your top 5, which two of these gets nosed out?? Born To Run Darkness The River Born in the USA Tunnel of Love The Rising That's a pretty clear top 6 for me with The River being #6, and I know Nebraska makes top 5 for many too.
“Long Walk Home” and “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” are definitely my favorite post-Rising songs on record, but nothing beats the live performance of “Gypsy Biker” that I saw on the 2008 tour. It was my first Springsteen show, and that song sticks out in my memory of that night even more than most of the classics.
Mine is exactly this (actually in this order), except for swap Wrecking Ball in for The Rising (I think it's the better record top to bottom). I go back and forth on Tunnel and Wrecking Ball. I don't hold Nebraska to the same esteem that many do. It's great, but probably the album from his 70s and 80s run that I listen to the least.
I've got The Rising clearly in the top 5 personally, I think Wrecking Ball and Magic are pretty close to tied as the next tier for me. I'm not a big Nebraska fan either.....