10 Best Bruce Springsteen Albums
3. Tunnel Of Love (1987)
Following the global success of
1984’s Born In The U.S.A., Springsteen crossed the rubicon into the realm of global
megastar, whether he liked it or not. The question now was how do you follow up
a record which threatened to pigeonhole an artist’s entire career into
something he wasn’t? Springsteen’s reaction was to avoid doubling down on the
anthem oriented aesthetic of Born In The U.S.A. and instead explore the
hollowness of fame itself. As a result, Tunnel Of Love became his most
introspective album to date. Forget the character portrayals littered
throughout his previous records. As good as they were, the songs on Tunnel Of
Love came from the perspective of Springsteen himself.
Opening track Ain’t Got You is the absurdist confession of a man with more money than he could ever comprehend. It’s doubtful Springsteen himself possessed a “house full or Rembrandt” or a “pound of caviar sitting home on ice”, but the line about being paid a “king’s random for doing what comes naturally” does ring true.
However, much of the record concerns Springsteen’s rushed marriage to American model Julianne Phillips in 1985. Typified by the single Brilliant Disguise, complete with one of the all-time best ‘plot twists’ of any love song, Springsteen confesses his crippling anxiety to the world, in a two-fold manner: "I want to know if it's you I don't trust / Because I damn sure don't trust myself."
How do you follow up an era-defining album? Like this.