Springsteen

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

251. Bruce muses on the conundrum of having two selves-- Bruce and BRUCE -- in the jolly "Local Hero" ranked #127

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

252. Bruce goes Old Testament gospel on "Heaven's Wall" from High Hopes. What a shitty album cover! In the old days this song would be called "Raise Your Hand." Ranked #187

[Edgy MD]

That one has a classic no-language-known-to-humankind Springsteen count-in.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Is that Ben Stiller?

253. Real treat today, "The Big Payback." This was recorded in the same Colts Neck bedroom of Nebraska. It was first released as the flip side of "Open All Night" single then cleaned up for inclusion on a compilation. Sounds an awful lot like a Nick Lowe style rockabilly tune then there's a murder. Ranked #220

[Edgy MD]

A great companion piece to "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)."

Bruce wasn't the first to merge the rockabilly raveup with the murder ballad, but he sure found his own vein in there.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Well I run that hard road outta Heartbreak City
Built a roadside carnival out of hurt and self-pity

254. "Real World," which is credited to Bruce (lyrics) and Roy Bittan (music), is an underdog tune from the iffy Human Touch record. It's got an artificial sheen but good-man-fightin-personal-and-societal-demons lyrics and a hot guitar solo. Our reviewer has high regard, ranking it #67 on the Bruce 340.



Live version without fake drums

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

255. "Loose Change" was written in the same period as "57 Channels" and several others we've heard or will hear ("Over the Rise" and "My Lover Man") that Bruce called "psychological portraits of people wrestling with relationships and their own isolation." Bruce scores in Loose Change but it doesn't give him any satisfaction. ranked #320



Also a few posts ago we got a request for the Manfred Mann "For You."

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

That opening keyboard section in MMEB's version is just killer!

It's a testament to Bruce's songwriting that someone can take one of songs, make dramatic changes in style and still be a darn good song!

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

256. We've picked a "Rendezvous" for the night. This was a leftover from the all-conquering Darkness period, 60s girl-group sound with a power pop edge. Lots of Bruce versions rattling around out there if you're interested but here's the official release from The Promise. Ranked #171



Greg Kihn was a Bruce fan from the early days and also did a "For You" cover that Bruce admired so much he gave Kihn "Rendezvous" which he also did a good job with.



Here's Kihn doing a jangly "For You" with a few strategic extractions



And here's Gary "U.S." Bonds with "Rendezvous."

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

257. "Livin the Future" is a jaunty tune with a patented Bruce magic trick: The ugly future foretold in the lyrics is already here! Ranked #122



Not for nothing but the verse smells like "Out of Work" by Gary "US" Bonds--also written by Springsteen.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

258. It may lack the big muscles but "My Hometown" is still an RBI man in the Bruce lineup. Great last verse. RIP Freehold. Ranked #44

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Great song! One of my all-time Bruce faves. Hits hard every time.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

259. "Fire" was so obviously a hit single-to-be Bruce left it off Darkness for fear of it overshadowing the rest of his work and gave it instead to Robert Gordon, after first trying to give to Elvis. Then the Pointer Sisters turned it into a #2 hit. Ranked #120

[Frayed Knot]

Both RENDEZVOUS and FIRE appeared on bootlegs prior to official releases.

I liked some of Greg Kihn's power-pop stuff, including some of his covers such as RENDEZVOUS and SHEILA
But I think that's the first time I ever heard his take on FOR YOU and, as in the Manfred Mann* version, let's just say it's not For Me.




* Manfred Mann, born Manfred Sepse Lubowitz in Johannesburg S.A., still up and kicking at age 84

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

260. "Maria's Bed" starts slow but gets to rockin' a little, and by the end its a dead ringer for "Ooh La La" by the the Faces. Ranked #258

[Edgy MD]

* Manfred Mann, born Manfred Sepse Lubowitz in Johannesburg S.A., still up and kicking at age 84

Part of the inaugural class of the South African Expatriate Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, along with Hugh Masekela, Blondie Chaplin, Ricky Fataar, Anton Fig, and Solomon Linda (whose inclusion is a no-brainer simply for writing and first recording "The Lion Sleeps Tonight").

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

261. I knew Bruce had a relationship with John Sayles, with songs in his movies and videos directed by him, like "Glory Days." What I didn't know, or forgotten, was there is a John Sayles movie called "Limbo" featuring a Bruce song written for it, "Lift Me Up."

And it's uh, distinctive. Ranked #328

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

262. As great as everyone agrees Nebraska is, I don't think it would work at all had there not been "Atlantic City," which fits the acoustic echo-y vibe and downtrodden lyrics about impoverished Jersey wastelands and criminals, but you could sing along with it too. It had a bleak video but wasn't a single. I guess they thought "Working on a Dream" would do better. Ranked #10

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

263. Come and get another sizzling Darkness leftover, complete with overwrought vocals and a power-pop kick, "Don't Look Back." Ranked 108



This of course was covered by the Knack.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

264. Darkness leftover "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" has the same melody as "Factory" and lyrics to "Johnny Bye Bye" and "Out in the Street." Evidently recorded only days after Elvis' passing in '77. David Lindley ("El Rayo X") plays the fiddle.

This one is ranked #294; Factory #217; Johnny Bye Bye #144

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

265. Listen as Bruce performs an Otis Redding style soul ballad "Back in Your Arms." Dates from the mid-90s. Ranked #91

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

266. Bolo-tie Bruce performs "I Wish I was Blind." Country song with synths sound straight outta "Tunnel of Love" and a pretty hot guitar solo. No. 1 smash to be for the country artist who discovers it first.

Ranked #247

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

We drove on, fueled not by the future but by a past we could never touch
Forced to run head-on collisions till we vanished in the dust

267. "The Time That Never Was" is a soulful organ-and-vocal driven ballad recorded for The River but left off. Bruce nerds will point out this song has never been performed live. Ranked #272

[Edgy MD]

The man clearly strove to be The Poet Laureate of Head-On Collisions.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

268. One of the best songs about ... tire rotation you'll hear in a while, "Red Headed Woman" opened the Springsteen Unplugged MTV show before it became Plugged. It was the lowest-ranked remaining song on our countdown at #334,: " Although I absolutely applaud the sentiment from a feminist standpoint, I can’t applaud the actual song because it’s cheap, cloying, and simply not good," our reviewer says. I dunno, it made the audience stand up and take notice including me watching at home, and musically the yi-yi-yiis are fun.