Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000025T6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (171 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,694 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Alternative Folk
  • #45 in Music > Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Hot on the heels of The River, his commercial breakthrough, Springsteen's decision to release the stark, demo-quality Nebraska seems downright perverse. But the genius of the album is unmistakable--with just an acoustic guitar and his howling harmonica to back him, Springsteen tells the stories of characters walking on both sides of the law, some of them directly on the line in between. The effect is that of a powerful series of black-and-white photographs--the details are bleak in and of themselves, but they ignite the imagination in ways that are more satisfying than full-color shots would be. "Mansion on the Hill," "Highway Patrolman," "Atlantic City," and the frightening "Nebraska" are among the most sharply rendered and memorable works of Springsteen's career. --Daniel Durchholz

Product Description

1982 release, the first proper solo album from the singer, songwriter and leader of The E-Street Band. Sparsely-recorded on a cassette-tape Portastudio, the tracks on Nebraska were originally intended as demos of songs to be recorded with the E Street Band. However, Springsteen ultimately decided to release the demos themselves.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

159 of 162 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Me And Her Went For A Ride, Sir May 25, 2001

By David Bradley

Format:Audio CD

One of the truly great pieces of Art in American recording history, NEBRASKA explores the dark stories of the characters who chose to take to the road in THE RIVER.

They hit middle America and go crazy. Simple as that.

These are stories of killers and cops, truck drivers and, frankly, people who have been driven to such a degree that they can no longer find their way through the comprimises and grey areas that they find themselves swimming in.

I've always been fascinated by Springsteen's phrasing on NEBRASKA. "Me and her went for a ride, sir." There's always that "sir," or "mister," and the wording is sparse. To me, these songs sound like death row confessions.

To me, "Atlantic City" ranks as one of Springsteen's finest moment, a tough-as-nails story of a man comprimising his own morals/ethics in order to get himself and his wife out of a dying town--and considering the unimaginable in order to finance their escape. But he still needs to console himself, rationalize his decision, before he can live with it:

"I've been looking for a job but it's hard to find. Down here it's just winners and losers, and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line. Well, I'm tired of coming out on this losing end. So honey last night I met this guy and I'm gonna do a little favor for him...but I guess everything dies baby, that's a fact, but maybe everything that dies one day comes back..."

NEBRASKA is not a fun-time party album. It's dangerous to listen to it in your car at 3 a.m.. But it is a piece of perfection, a story of the cultural decay Springsteen and his characters found in the USA in 1982, stories of desperate people in bad situations. It is a record that will be just as vital and important in 100 years as it was upon it's release.

NEBRASKA is true Art of the highest order.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dark Side of Bruce September 6, 2000

By Thomas Magnum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

After The River became Bruce's first number one album, "Hungry Heart" became his first top ten song and a hugely successful world tour, one would expect his next album to be in a similar vein to keep up the momentum. Instead of a River clone, Bruce did a complete 180 and released the dark, brooding Nebraska. Bruce at the time was listening to Woody Guthrie and other depression era folk & blues artists and this album reflects those sounds. The album consists basically of just an acoustic guitar and harmonica and explores subjects such as murder, crime, loss and loneliness. The songs are all sung in the first person and that gives them an intimacy that is rarely felt from an album. Bruce would explore dark subjects on later albums ("Born In The USA" was original recorded for this album), but he never recorded them in such a bare and stark nature. On this album, Bruce asks alot of questions and dares you to search for answers. The search is well worth the time and effort.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the album that made me a Springsteen fan. May 15, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

My confession: I listened to this album for the first time around 1990 based on a friend's recommendation, and I was instantly converted. I had previously taken part in the backlash against Bruce Springsteen, the backlash that followed the stunning commercial success of "Born in the USA." "Nebraska" set me straight and gave me insight into what a masterful storyteller Springsteen is.

This album is Bruce all alone, without the E Street band. The songs are quiet and honest with a rough quality, and each one tells a story about people who somehow got left out of the American dream. "Used Cars" is the most touching to me, telling a child's perspective on his father's purchase of a used car, which is a powerful symbol of the family's lack of status or hope. "My Father's House" is equally powerful.

"Nebraska" is the clear predecessor to "Tunnel of Love." "Born in the USA" really seems like an aberration in Springsteen's musical development when you consider that it was released in the time between these two albums. Don't get me wrong. "Born in the USA" is a great album. But "Nebraska" is softer and far more haunting.