Nebraska (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nebraska | ||
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| Studio album by Bruce Springsteen | ||
| Released | September 20, 1982 | |
| Recorded | Mostly January 3, 1982 in Bruce Springsteen's Colts Neck, New Jersey bedroom | |
| Genre | Heartland folk | |
| Length | 40:45 | |
| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Producer(s) | Bruce Springsteen | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bruce Springsteen chronology | ||
| The River (1980) |
Nebraska (1982) |
Born in the U.S.A. (1984) |
Nebraska is the sixth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1982. The album was a critical success in spite of a lukewarm public reception.
Contents |
[edit] History
Initially, Springsteen recorded demos for the album at his home with 4-track cassette recorder. The demos were sparse, using only acoustic guitar, electric guitar (on "Open All Night"), harmonica, and Springsteen's voice.
Springsteen then recorded the album in a studio with the E Street Band. However, he and the producers and engineers working with him felt that a raw, haunted folk essence present on the home tapes was lacking in the band treatments, and so they ultimately decided to release the demo version as the final album. Complications with mastering the low-peak tapes ensued but were then overcome.
Springsteen fans have long speculated whether Springsteen's full-band recording of the album, nicknamed Electric Nebraska, will ever surface (in a 2006 interview, manager Jon Landau said it was unlikely and that "the right version of Nebraska came out" [1]). Somewhat different band arrangements of most of these songs were heard on the 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour and have been played in various guises ever since.
[edit] Songs and video
The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative by a serial killer (based loosely on Charles Starkweather) and ends with "Reason to Believe", a complex narration that renders its title phrase into contemptuous sarcasm. The remaining songs are largely of the same gloom-laden tone, including the dark "State Trooper" (influenced by the band Suicide), although "Open All Night", a Chuck Berry-style lone guitar rave-up, does manage a dose of defiant, humming-towards-the-gallows exuberance.
A music video was produced for the song "Atlantic City"; it featured stark, black and white images of the city, which had not yet undergone its later transformation, and was still rather bleak and depressed. "Atlantic City" was released as a single in the UK but not the U.S.
[edit] Critical praise
In 1989, Nebraska was ranked #43 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 224 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
[edit] Homage
The Nebraska Project took place at Winter Garden/World Financial Center, New York City, on January 14, 2006, as the opening night concert of the 2006 New York Guitar Festival (www.newyorkguitarfestival.org). This live celebration and re-creation of the seminal album, produced by Festival creator and artistic director David Spelman and co-produced by A.J. Benson, and hosted by WFUV DJ John Platt, presented a diverse line-up of artists who covered the songs in album sequence. Line-up was as follows: Nebraska: Michelle Shocked / Atlantic City: Jesse Harris / Mansion On The Hill: The National / Johnny 99: Chocolate Genius / Highway Patrolman: Martha Wainwright with Marc Ribot / State Trooper: Dan Zanes with Vernon Reid / Used Cars: Laura Cantrell / Open All Night: Otis Taylor / My Father's House: Mark Eitzel / Reason to Believe: Kevn Kinney with Lenny Kaye / Encore (comprising all artists, plus special guest Bruce Springsteen): Oklahoma Hills / Plus instrumental interludes by Gary Lucas, Harry Manx, Marc Ribot, Kerryn Tolhurst & David Spelman
[edit] Track listing
- "Nebraska" – 4:32
- "Atlantic City" – 4:00
- "Mansion on the Hill" – 4:08
- "Johnny 99" – 3:43
- "Highway Patrolman" – 5:40
- "State Trooper" – 3:17
- "Used Cars" – 3:10
- "Open All Night" – 2:58
- "My Father's House" – 5:07
- "Reason to Believe" – 4:10
All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Production
- Mike Batlin – engineer
- David Michael Kennedy – photography
- Dennis King – mastering
- Andrea Klein – design
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 3 |
[edit] Track listing
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Atlantic City" | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock | 10 |
| 1982 | "Johnny 99" | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock | 50 |
| 1982 | "Open All Night" | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock | 22 |
