Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 2000)
• Original Release Date: November 7, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sub Pop
• ASIN: B00004Z0M0
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,585 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #53 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > Traditional Folk

Track Listings

1. Nebraska - Chrissie Hynde And Adam Seymour

2. Atlantic City - Hank III

3. Mansion On The Hill - Crooked Fingers (Eric Bachman, ex Archers of Loaf)

4. Johnny 99 - Los Lobos

5. Highway Patrolman - Dar Williams

6. State Trooper - Deanna Carter

7. Used Cars - Ani DiFranco

8. Open All Night - Son Volt

9. My Father's House - Ben Harper

10. Reason To Believe - Aimee Mann And Michael Penn

11. I'm On Fire - Johnny Cash (Bonus Track)

12. Downbound Train - Raul Malo of the Mavericks (Bonus Track)

13. Wages Of Sin - Damien Jurado And Rose Thomas (Bonus Track)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There was a time when nobody besides Manfred Mann really bothered to cover Bruce Springsteen songs. All that changed once Born to Run turned the New Jersey singer-songwriter into a pop icon. Still, it was in the bleak character studies of 1982's Nebraska that he reaffirmed himself as a literate everyman steeped in the tradition of John Steinbeck and Flannery O'Connor, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. And that's the side of Springsteen that clearly appeals to Johnny Cash, Los Lobos, Hank Williams III, and the dozen other artists who participate in this remake of Nebraska. Chrissie Hynde, Ani DiFranco, and Deana Carter all deliver haunting performances, but as far as the men folk go, the album's most striking covers are "bonus" tracks that were recorded for but not released on Nebraska: "I'm on Fire" sounds even creepier with Cash's craggy vocal; Raul Malo brings out the pop sheen of "Downbound Train"; and "Wages of Sin," in the hands of Damien Jurado and Rose Thomas, shows Springsteen can be just as depressing as your favorite emo idol. All of which makes this a fine companion to the original recording. --Bill Forman

Product Description

Interesting and eclectic collection of artists on this tribute to Springsteen's 6th album, Nebraska. Like the original the tracks are recorded on four track at Bruce's request. Artists include, Chrissie Hynde & Adam Seymour, Hank Williams the third, Los L

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tribute album which updates an complements the original, December 3, 2000

By 

Alain Rozan (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (Audio CD)

In the musical wasteland of the eighties which (for the most part) was filled with overblown synthesized arrangements, Bruce Springsteen committed the unthinkable when he released "Nebraska", a stark collection of songs recorded in his living room on a 4 track cassette recorder. Accompanying himself with an accoustic guitar and a harmonica, Springsteen produced a brilliant chronicle of the American working class. Like a modern day Woody Guthrie, he captured our broken dreams, our dark side and our quest for a better life with deceptively simple words and melodies. This apparent simplicity imbued "Nebraska" with an eerieness reminiscent of Robert Johnson's recordings or Presley's Sun recordings. The magic of "Badlands" is that, in part because the producer insisted that all the artists had to record their song on no more than 4 tracks, the eerieness of the original was updated but preserved. Synthezisers and drums were used this time around, but only to add a touch to the music, not to take it over. Stand out tracks include Hank Williams III's hillbilly revamp of "Atlantic City", Crooked Fingers' haunting version of "Mansion on the Hill" (the lead singer's voice is strikingly similar to Springsteen's), Los Lobos' cajun treatment of "Johnny 99" and Aimee Mann & Michael Penn's magnificent cover of "Reason to believe", one of Springsteen's finest songs. "Badlands" also offers three bonus tracks which Springsteen wrote during the "Nebraska" sessions but did not release until later on, including a stunning reading of "I'm on fire" by Johnny Cash. How fitting that one of Springsteen's own heroes should look back and pay tribute to his "student". When he delivers the line "I can take you higher, I'm on fire", it takes a somehow different meaning than that intended by Springsteen which shows how perfectly crafted Springsteen's songs were. Not so simple after all.This is music for the long run and a perfect companion to the original album. Sheer beauty...

41 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money!, December 7, 2000

By 

P. B. Fey (Phoenixville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (Audio CD)

What a disappointment. The "Nebraska" album is a Springsteen watershed: haunting (downright scary at times), provocative, and a complete aural u-turn from its fine predecessor, "The River." Perhaps I expected too much from this "tribute" lineup; sure, the songs are solid but they uniformly lack the charisma that Bruce Springsteen so naturally brings to them. Only Johnny Cash is in that league here. Raul Malo, Ani DiFranco, and Chrissie Hynde do what they do best: run good songs through the de-flavorizer for an entirely unfulfilling experience. Aimee Mann and Michael Penn make a good go of it, as does Deanna Carter, surprisingly. Sad to say this is the first time I've ever heard Los Lobos phone one in. Hank III's voice eerily recalls that of his brilliant grandfather, but his reading of "Atlantic City" is awkward until it switches to a minor key. Too little, too late. Too bad. Save your money and and put it toward the Japanese import of the original "Nebraska." The sound quality on that is light years ahead of the disc Columbia offers. Get it, put it in your car, and drive the Jersey Turnpike in the middle of the night. That's the way the album is meant to be heard! (And if you want to hear the best cover of "Atlantic City," check out "The Band's Greatest Hits, Vol. II.")

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars To Buy Or Not To Buy?, January 17, 2001

By 

Bryan (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (Audio CD)

Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska is brilliant and is one of the most important singer/sonwriter albums to come out of the 80's. Badlands is a tribute to that album. There are reasons to buy it and there are reasons to save your money.

Reasons not to buy it: 1. Hank Williams III doing Atlanic City. He does it his way but it just doesn't work for me. 2. Raul Malo doing Downbound Train. Raul sounds like he is playing this song in a bar in the background of a scene from the TV show LA Law. I don't know if that makes sense, but it causes me to shudder.

Reasons to buy: 1. Ben Harper doing My Father's House. His bluesy/soulful voice is absolutely beautiful. 2. Son Volt doing Open All Night. When I first bought the CD I told a friend it was one of my least favorite tracks. It's an example of listening or reading something and not getting it, and then feeling a little stupid later for missing it. Son Volt took an acoustic Springsteen rocker and made it into this slow, pedal steel in the background, sweeping song that makes you ache at it's simplicity and beauty. One of the best, I'm driving by myself in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, songs ever. 3. Johnny Cash 4. Deana Carter doing State Trooper. I just like the way she does it.

If you only buy albums because the whole album is great don't buy Badlands. If you sometimes buy albums because they have at least three great songs, then buy this album.