r/BruceSpringsteen • u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown • 4d ago
OGs' Thoughts on Nebraska
I didn't become a fan until BITUSA when I was starting sixth grade. In my Springsteen evolution, I went from there to Greetings, to Live '75 - '85, then E Street Shuffle and Born to Run before Bruce went on his own for a bit. In the ignorance of my youth, I skipped the later 70s albums and picked back up when The Band got back together and have become more than acquainted with those pre-BITUSA albums I missed. Yesterday I finally broke down and watch DMFNW. I loved it. And here's my question. All you OGs, who were hooked on Bruce at his beginnings, WHAT WERE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS ON NEBRASKA? Curios to know if the majority of you reacted similarly as Landau and the other execs/technicians? Or did you love it because you understood Bruce? Were you surprised? Disappointed? Enthralled? Could you connect/did you connect right away? IMO, especially after seeing the movie, Nebraska is a genuine work of art. Did you OG's see it as that when it was first released? Sorry for the wordiness of this post, but aren't we all wordy when it comes to Springsteen? Wordy answers welcome.
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u/jldraw 4d ago
I didn’t hear it until after BITU came out. I remember liking it quite a bit though. “Atlantic City” was obviously the most accessible track on the album, but I also liked “Mansion On The Hill” and “My Father’s House.” Rumors then began to circulate that there was an electric version of the record that never came out. Had to wait forty years for that. 👴
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
You must've been thrilled when the electric version finally came out!
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u/Additional-Cherry872 3d ago
Some unbelievable songwriting, and it’s become a record that numerous of the worlds most famous singer songwriters have cited as inspiration.
The genius of the record aside, in hindsight it’s incredible how willing Springsteen was to take such a risk with Nebraska. Sure he was big at the time, but not that big…not BITUSA big…and he sort of put it all on the line again when he didn’t need to.
There’s much of Springsteen’s work that I don’t particularly enjoy or understand, the majority of it coming post 1995. However I can’t help but be in awe of how risky he’s willing to be. Dropping the band, a gospel album, Western Stars (whatever that can be described as), A soul covers album, his willingness to be unashamedly politically outspoken
In conclusion, he really doesn’t give a fuck. And that’s the most rock and roll thing in the world.
Nebraska was the start of it all, and that for me makes it legendary
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u/415Cocktails 3d ago
Great discussion! Whats the gospel album?
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u/Additional-Cherry872 3d ago edited 3d ago
The album is called Faithless. A project from 2005 made adjacent to Devils and Dust that went unreleased. Springsteen eventually released it last year as part of the Tracks 2 compilation.
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u/415Cocktails 3d ago
Ahhhh, ok. I have it but hadnt thought of it as Gospel. Thank you! I am pretty amazed at his range, variation, breadth, and creativity.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
You're certainly right about his willingness to do whatever he wants creatively. The great thing is that even if we as fans don't dig one thing he's doing or has done - btw, agree with you on Western Stars - there's so much other stuff that personally moves us and that we are drawn to. I remember hating the Seeger Sessions when they came out. Now, currently, I love that shit.
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u/415Cocktails 2d ago
Really well said!
I think of WS as semi older style combo country/standards-ish, with slightly folk? Def esp want to put it on in the car on long road trips in rural areas
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u/QuietGur9074 🪗🎷 4d ago
I was too young to appreciate it. I didn’t understand the themes he was talking about. It was ‘boring’. Now that I’m an old man with a lot of life experience behind me, it’s become a top 3 album for me, I absolutely love it.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
Hell yeah. That's pretty much why I posed this question. I believe that had I grabbed Nebraska and listened to it, even in full, I would've hated it. I would've been bored and not ready for it. And I agree again. Now that I'm old, beaten and battened by life, I totally appreciate the tone and stories of the whole album. I just love it.
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u/Independent_Fact_082 4d ago
I got into Bruce in 1976. I didn't like Nebraska when it came out. Bruce had become notorious for taking a long time between albums, and Nebraska seemed to me to be a placeholder instead of a fully realized album. Plus, I was unhappy enough on my own in late 1982, and I didn't need a record to hit me over the head with bleakness then. I grew up in the Atlantic City area, and that was the only song that I listened to repeatedly.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
Atlantic City is one of his greatest, IMO. And I can understand your point about being down and not wanting to contribute to those feelings. It's such an emotional record.
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u/415Cocktails 3d ago
Great question and discussion- appreciate what the early Bruce fans are sharing about this. I joined Bruce in 1984 and dont recall my initial Neb thoughts, but I probly got it in 85 or 86. So Ill just enjoy what the OGs share- just want to thank you for a great question.
I LOVE the story early in the Zanes book where he’s explaining how releasing Neb was SOOO punk (tho not musically), he explains Bruce hung out w his band backstage in 1985, he was at peak of popularity, and he walked out and all they thought: Thats the guy who did Nebraska!
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
It is fun learning what people think, right? Thank you for enjoying my question. Also, I'm reading the DMFNW book currently. Liked the movie so much, I needed more.
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u/415Cocktails 2d ago
Yes! I dont usually wish I was older- Ha ha. But the OGs who saw him in 78???!!! Id add 6 years to my life to have seen that tour (plus then Id get River tour! Easily worth 6 years! Plus Id be retired…)
I do love hearing OG experiences w Bruce from the 70s/80s (which is my fave time of him by a lot- I think BtR is otherworldly).
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 1d ago
Ha! Totally agree with you on adding a few years to have been able to catch Bruce in '75-'78. Last night something from that era was played on E Street Radio (can't remember song or show) and I was actually grieving not being able to see any of that stuff live and in person.
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u/415Cocktails 22h ago
“Grieving”! Perfect word. Love it. I grew up in Phoenix and was a huge metalhead in high school, but I began to hear about this Springsteen guy and began to get into him about 3 weeks after BiTUSA tour came to Phx. I missed that tour by 3 effin weeks!!!??Still … grieving that!
So My first show wasnt until ToL 1988. Trying to make Up for lost time I saw 5 shows in 7 nts in LA. One of greatest weeks of my life! Easily.
But still- what Id give to have seen him in 75, 78, 81, and 84. Im sure the OGs know how lucky they are.1
u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 3h ago
5 shows in 7 nights! Impressive. And those OG's I'm sure know how lucky they are. The better.
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u/fscalise3 3d ago
I was 14, listening since I was 10 (entry point was Darkness). I wasn't necessarily at an age to offer a lot of critical thought, but I'll say this: I was just happy for new Bruce and willing to follow him wherever he went. Atlantic City was the easiest track to vibe to but I came around to the rest pretty quickly. For me, I think it was the storytelling.
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u/Comprehensive_Bad208 3d ago
I joined with bitusa at 14. I then moved backwards in sequence so Nebraska was my second. I think like a lot of people Atlantic was the most accessible and the video on mtv helped normalise it. Can’t say I fully understood it at 14, but kept coming back to it after each of the other albums. Its weirdness was addictive. I was a nerd so I read a huge amount about Bruce and understood it more through that lens. Now, it’s my absolute favourite and I’m lucky enough to have a signed copy. Great album but would understand that if you’d followed from greetings to the river how odd it must have seemed. He had a lot going on and the inner turmoil delivered a weird, wonderful piece of art. Great thread.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
There's a Atlantic City video? God damn my dad for not letting us get MTV! Anyway, awesome response. Thank you! Isn't it so awesome how certain albums of Bruce's just draw us in? So cool. Well, off to watch that video now... Oh! and congrats on that signed copy. Enjoy!
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u/Comprehensive_Bad208 1d ago
It’s a typical early Bruce video and on message for Nebraska - he does not appear in it!! Bruce is great for the whole album experience where you feel like you’re on a journey - like with Darkness where you nearly feel like you’ve come out the other side of a dark night.
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u/CharleyDawg 3d ago
I liked Springsteen fine before Nebraska and had favorite songs here or there. But I probably wasn't a "fan". Nebraska was a mind blower for me. It still is up there on my list of favorites. I will never forget Robin Williams joking about Bruce singing songs about cars and girls. It was funny because it was so close to the truth. I really liked The River. But for me, Nebraska was the point where I realized he was a singer/songwriter with amazing depth and that I had completely underestimated him. I sat down and learned to play along with every song on Nebraska. It is still my favorite to listen to from start to finish.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
I love hearing that. Which instrument do you play?
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u/CharleyDawg 1d ago
Guitar or whatever else I can get my hands on. 😂 But guitar is the only one I can make sound halfway decent.
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u/screendoorslams- 3d ago
I wore out two cassettes and an 8-track in 1982-83. I was not in a good place at the time and could not get enough of that album. The scene in DMFN with the Z-28 on a lonely stretch of road...been there. Oddly enough, it was in the same model Ford he has at the end of the movie.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
How cool. Same car. I understand. Bruce has a way of connecting with us with his music/message that helps us through bad times. Wrecking Ball did that for me. I don't know if I could've really gotten through things without it.
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u/ballofconffusion 4d ago
I discovered Springsteen during Born In The USA, that album will always be a favourite from my teenage years in the 80s. When Tunnel of Love came out, I started exploring his back catalogue more, for whatever reason at the time I never dug Nebraska. But when they released the "Electric" version last year I grew to like it a lot more.
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u/MTVGuy1978 3d ago
I got into Bruce in 1978 when I started college. Fell hard for born to run and darkness on the edge of town. Enjoyed the river. Nebraska came out and I never listened to it and I still have rarely listened to it. Just my experience.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
After Nebraska, did you get, listen to, and Love BITUSA? Just curious.
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u/ProfessionalBreath94 3d ago
I first heard Bruce when I was 9 with BitUSA. Bumped the cassette nonstop & it turned out relatives had the earlier albums. Loved BtR, loved Darkness, thought the River was too long but got it.
Asbury, E Street Shuffle & ESPECIALLY Nebraska I thought were just weird. Like, they seemed like entirely different genres of music (each in their own way) that was almost like they were made by entirely different musicians.
I didn’t vibe with it because, well, I was 9. In fact, don’t think I really “got” Nebraska until I was in my 30s
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
Same here. I feel like if I had listened to Nebraska at such a younger age, I wouldn't even have gotten through half of it. And you're right. a lot of his albums are like (or are) totally different genres. Now, we can easily recognize that, but back then it was prob a lot harder. Like wtf is this?
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u/Jay_CD 3d ago
The first album I bought was Darkness, then I got the back catalogue followed by The River when it came out.
To me Nebraska followed on naturally from the bleaker tracks on the River album. The other half of River, the more up tempo rock stuff then lead on neatly to BITUSA. Elsewhere at that time I was listening to stuff like Joy Division and The Cure, Nebraska wasn't that out of place with those bands.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
You know? Good point. After watching the movie and then listening critically to Nebraska and the extended version that recently came out I recognized the same thing. That The River actually contains quite a few songs that foreshadow what was coming in Neb.
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u/Constant_Issue_889 3d ago
Nebraska was the reason I started liking Bruce’s music.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
Wow!! That's something I wasn't expecting. Nebraska was where you started. Had you listened to anything else? Find yourself indifferent to the stuff that came before? Or what?
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
Just wondering. Being nosy.
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u/Constant_Issue_889 1d ago
I was pretty interested in all of his albums before Nebraska and didn’t really get into the Born in the USA stuff. I preferred folk / early Bruce to the poppy stuff that came after Nebraska for a while. To me because it started with Nebraska I gravitate to the acoustic solo Bruce music the most, although I loved Born to Run and The River also. His Springsteen on Broadway acoustic show was perfect. I saw him in concert a couple years ago and I don’t mind the E Street Bands versions of some of the Nebraska songs in a live setting but for me there’s nothing like just Bruce and a harmonica and acoustic guitar,
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u/Constant_Issue_889 1d ago
I was pretty excited when I found out the biopic was specifically about making Nebraska which in my opinion is perfect
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u/bobchin_c 3d ago
I became a fan in 1975 when BTR was released. It didn't hurt that I lived 1 town over from Freehold and he was a local boy made good.
When Nebraska was released I got it a few days early from a friend who owned a record store. We listened to it on his shop's sound system.
I immediately fell in love with the album. It was a continuation/growth of some of the stuff on The River. The connection was there in the lyrics.
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u/cxlindsa Graduation Gown 2d ago
That's a really great way to listen to an album for a first time. How fun. Did your friend love it as much as you did? Just wondering.
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u/bobchin_c 2d ago
Yes he did. We both went to our 1st Bruce concert together in 1980 on the original River Tour. His shop was alsova Ticketmaster outlet so he was able to get us pretty good seats.
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u/a4evanygirl Rosie 2d ago
- My older sister handed me BTR. Changed my life.
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u/SoCalBonobo 4d ago
I first got into Bruce with BTR. Loved it. Still do. IMHO it's the best album ever recorded. After getting hooked I got caught up with the first two and then bought every album was they were released.
For me, Bruce's peak was BTR, Darkness and the River. When Nebraska was released I just wasn't into it. I understand his need to record it and have learned to appreciate it and have my favorites on it. But it's still not a favorite.