Weekly Music Review: Nebraska
 

Automatically generated comment thread for Weekly Music Review: Nebraska.

According to your review, I believe that this is something I might enjoy. I will try to look for it and give it a try.

Funny you should mention the driving-in-the-night...my first experience of this album was on a lonely road, and man, it made for some beautiful bleakness. I still have the title track, "State Trooper" and "My Father's House" loaded up on the ipod. Whenever anyone disses the Boss, I give them a copy of this.

I am not a huge fan of the Boss, so I have never listened to most of his work. Many of the tracks that I have heard are the mainstream hits such as “Thunder Road” and “Born in the U.S.A.”. For “Nebraska”, I have heard that Springsteen was in a low point when he made the album, and a lot of the tracks were personal depictions and observations on life. While “Born in the U.S.A” and “Glory Days” shortly followed, Springsteen’s “Nebraska” has been considered to be an influential and important album within his legacy. While I do not always care for his semi-incoherent rumblings, I can have great respect for the man that put such emotion and influence into his work.

I think Nebraska is Springsteen's *best* album even without the E-Street band. The elements are still there though clearly it's not a "rock" album. But so what? It's every bit as honest and heartfelt as anything constructed with the E-Street Band. It goes deeper, there is self-examination and a handful of sad stories that sting, and I think it's conveyed musically as well, even if some of that music seems minimalist in comparison to the Springsteen rock albums. The lyrics are gorgeous and as you point out, it's really good solo driving music. I do tend to associate Springsteen and driving anyway, though.

Did you know that JC did "Johnny 99" also...? See the Cash album Johnny 99. Both "Highway Patrolman" and "Johnny 99" are on there. (I have a copy of it but it is on vinyl and I am without my turntable or I'd offer to let you listen sometime soon.)