Round of 64: (28) Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream vs. (37) Bruce Springsteen - Born2Run Bracket • Page 4

This was closer than I wanted it to be, but I'll rejoice in the victory.

 

with 56% of the vote Born to Run moves onto the round of 32

 

I was obsessed with Siamese Dream in high school. (I thought of it as my absolute favorite album of all time back then). But in the years since, I've grown to appreciate Bruce and Born to Run more. Siamese Dream still absolutely kicks ass though

 

I don't agree with this take but I sure love it haha

 

1. Born in the USA ( any album that has both I'm on Fire and Dancing in the Dark is a surefire best in a catalog, not even getting to Downbound Train, My Hometown, No Surrender, or the title track being career defining songs for any other artist)
2. Darkness on the Edge of Town
3. Nebraska
4. Take your pick here. Could make a case for Tunnel, The Rising, or even Greetings with so many classics like Blinded by the Light, Growing Up, Spirit in the Night and Lost in the Flood

So yeah, 4th is generous for Born to Run

 

Look, I like The Rising, but no way in fucking hell is that album better than Born to Run. Criminally insane take.

 

I’d put BTR 2 after Nebraska. Maybe 3 after The River

 

Also, Greetings?! I love those top four songs as much as the next fan, but that album simply does not have the depth chart. I guess there's also an argument that the four best songs on BTR tower over the others, but 1) those four songs are fucking "Thunder Road," "Backstreets," "Born to Run," and "Jungleland"; and 2) the other four are still fucking great. Even the people who underrate "Meeting Across the River" have gotta acknowledge it's way better than "The Angel" or "Mary Queen of Arkansas."

Like, I get that it's a fun thought exercise to do the "Well actually, this classic artist's most beloved album ISN'T their best" thing, but let's not get carried away. There are albums you can make the argument for and albums you can't.

 

Totally back not having BTR as one’s favorite or even critical #1 best if you consider those two different things, but yea the “BTR isn’t close to 1” thing is just classic-fatigue. I feel comfortable saying that objectively speaking its bookends alone should have it in contention unless you’re like a Bruce-is-bad-except-Nebraska person which thankfully I’m not sure exist.

 

Those people are definitely out there -- or, at least, I encountered a bunch of them in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

 

born in the usa is half great and half actively bad, which bruce usually isn't, so no - it's not his best album lol

 

There are at most 3 bad songs on born in the USA pat please try again

 

There are zero bad songs on it. Even the fluff like “Working on the Highway” is fun

 

The Rising is totally an album that you had to live through its release. Its Bruce's long awaited album, It's the band getting back together, it's the city and the country reeling from 9/11. The album brought a lot of healing and emotional depth that gets overlooked 20 years later. I'll take 15 amazing songs over 8 on BTR and those 8 not even being his best.

Like I get it, Born to Run is a classic, but the short tracklisting of it mixed with some songs not hitting on all cylinders works against it when you got a catalog as deep as Bruce's. No doubt it was his best at the time, but he's continually topped it since then. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Oh I enjoy that one and Darlington lol but I'm not gonna go to bat for them either

 

The rising rules, and although I was 10 when it came out I was raised in the church of Bruce lol so I think I get to say I lived through the release (saw him on the initial e street reunion tour with my dad). I agree with everything you said about the record's impact but c'mon at least a third of it is meh. The highs are high but--even tho it is not my favorite or maybe even second favorite of Bruce's--BtR doesn't miss for even a second, full stop

 

i count five but it's ok

 

If one of them is downbound train please delete your account

 

it isn't in fact

 

I’ll play:

glory days
Working on the highway
Darlington county
Cover me

all are good except glory days which is iconic even if it’s bad

 

it’s iconic but it’s the worst on the album, save it for the dugout my guy

 

lol never change pat

 

best on the album is more interesting to me, it's pretty clearly no surrender

 

Dancing
I’m goin down
Bobby Jean
No surrender

the rest

 

Hard agree!