Nebraska

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
iNebraska/i is a cruel landscape of serial killers, shady deals, jobless workers pushed to the edge, brothers who finally just look the other way. Accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and little else, Bruce Springsteen mixes together his own Jersey mythology with bits of Woody Guthrie, the Delmore Brothers and country blues to produce among the most emotionally crippling roots rock ever caught on tape. "What does it mean", Springsteen moans plaintively, "(that) at the end of every hard-earned day people find some reason to believe?" He has no answer but if there's any hope at all here, it's that his characters are still asking the question. i--David Cantwell /i

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Customer reviews

review by: kingrizla2000 date: 2009-06-28 rating:
Not just Bruce's best album...
but one of the best albums of all time by any artist. I have always had mixed views of Springsteen. I love his voice, I love some of his song writing, I love his energy. But I have always had an issue with the working class hero posturing, the tinkling keyboards and the radio friendly side of his music. br / br /This album displays all the qualities I love in his work to the maximum and none of the aspects that have irritated me over the years. It is touching, passionate, intelligence, original, timeless. br / br /It really is as good as anything you will ever hear in rock, folk, blues, country - any of the great American genres. It is as good as anything by Dylan, the Stones, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Van Morrison. It really is THAT good. br / br /My only regret is that I came to this album so late when it was recommended to me by a friend more than 20 years after its release.

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review by: jornfin date: 2009-04-28 rating:
Bruce's comment on life in America under Reagan
This might well be the most significant album in Bruce's career. There had always been a social aspect to his lyric writing, growing stronger on Darkness on the Edge of Town (Factory, Darkness, Racing), but fading into the background (for purely musical reasons) on The River. The River, of course, sold incredibly well, introducing the Boss to pop audiences. br / br /I will always hold the man in the highest regard for following up that commercial success with his most understated, most critical and most obviously lyric centered album, yet. This is, in fact, a collection of short stories, commenting on the falling apart of the American Dream during Ronald Reagan's presidency. br / br /Atlantic City is the only song on the album which might pass for rock music. Everything else is pure folk. There is some irony to this: When Bruce started out, he tried his best - or rather worst - to sound like his idol, Bob Dylan. This all but renders unlistenable his first three albums. Nothing but mumbling and stoned out stories. Then he became the savior of Rock with Born in the USA. What does he do next? He questions his newly created born-to-run mythology on Darkness on The Edge of Town, which was essentially about all the men who had, at some point, felt they were born to run - and had run into nothing but unemployment and disillusionment. Then the Boss comes back with the unique mixture of pop tunes and hidden criticism of The River, hitting the charts all over the globe. And the next thing you know, he turns out this folk album - which blows everything Dylan had made in decades out of the water - establishing himself as the New Dylan. br / br /At the end of the title track, Nebraska, a man sentenced to death after a killing spree (which would later inspire the movie Natural Born Killers) sums it all up: br /"They wanted to know why I did what I did. Well, Sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world." br /Lyrics don't come any more intense than this. br /The sound is dated, but the music isn't nor will it ever be. br /

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review by: date: 2008-09-04 rating:
Simpley Great
THE best Springsteen record. For starters its' got Atlantic City my favourite song by the boss. This is quite a dark album and the stripped down man with guitar, harmonica and great voice really fits. The album is mostly quite slow but does pick up pace at times (like the brilliant Johnny 99). Flows perfectly track to track and the songs on this album are great. Add to your collection. You won't regret it.

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review by: davethorn13 date: 2008-06-02 rating:
Lyrically great, musically narrow
Bruce Springsteen's previous album, 'The River', finished with a slow, poignant tale, 'The Wreck On The Highway'. It might easily be the musical template for most of the songs on 'Nebraska', which are, yes, slow and poignant. The notion that stripping away the rock band format equates to more powerful songs, however, is just that, a notion. The most effective tracks here tend to be the more uptempo ones, partly because they break the monotony of slower ones. The title track has a brooding atmosphere, as have 'Mansion On The Hill', 'Highway Patrolman', 'Used Cars', 'My Father's House' and 'Reason To Believe'. With each track, the power of this atmosphere diminishes. Springsteen's portrayals of killers, wronged and otherwise, and tales of loss are as beautifully drawn as ever, but after a while it comes across as one long rime of an ancient mariner. br / br /'Johnny 99' is the best track, its raw rock treatment giving the sketch of a jobless man a macabre feel. The quick pulse of 'State Trooper' is another highlight. The title track is also effective until the final line, which seems a vague way to end a loaded song. br / br /It's often refreshing to hear an artist take a more stripped down approach, but here it ultimately confines the feel to the music. For a genuinely compelling 'raw' album, try John Lennon's 'Plastic Ono Band'.


review by: Toypom date: 2008-05-02 rating:
Badlands of the soul
br /This brooding gem of an album offers an atmospheric blend of voice, guitar and harmonica plus the most evocative imagery and poetic lyrics. The title track is about a homicidal couple portrayed in the 1973 film Badlands. Stark and authentic, Nebraska must the blueprint of what later became known as "Americana" and even "Alt Folk." Place names occur throughout, like Lincoln, Philly, Atlantic City, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Johnstown, Perrinneville, Mahwah, Wyoming and Linden Town. br / br /The tuneful Atlantic City has a lilting beat whilst the title track and Mansion on the Hill are slow and mournful, whilst the uptempo and edgy Johnny 99 has nervous guitar riffs that are also present on State Trooper which in its turn connects thematically with Highway Patrolman, a moving tale of family troubles with a poignant chorus. The famous Springsteenian car and road imagery is evident on the nostalgic Used Cars and the fast-paced rock song Open All Night. The line "radios jammed up with gospel stations, lost souls callin' lost distance salvation" reminded me of the tongue-in-cheek country song Far Away Eyes by the Rolling Stones on Some Girls. br / br /The haunting masterpiece My Father's House explores guilt, remorse and a yearning for love and redemption through oneiric imagery. Reason to Believe concludes this bleak vision of the heartland on an optimistic, even spiritual note with the observation that people ultimately do find meaning. It echoes a similar sentiment on Atlantic City, the idea that perhaps everything that dies someday comes back. The simplicity, profundity and power of Nebraska are the reasons why I experienced We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions as such a dismal and frivolous exercise. br /

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