10 Musicians You Love For The Wrong Album

1. Bruce Springsteen - Born In The USA

What You SHOULD Love Him For: Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen is The Boss, pure and simple, renowned for his anthemic brand of arena-conquering rock ’n’ roll, all soaked in a stonewashed bombast and his signature blue collar charm. But arguably Springsteen’s best work is his most stripped back.

Nebraska was mostly recorded on January 3rd 1982, on a basic four-track in the songwriter’s bedroom in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Frustrated with continually going into the studio and wasting time on the writing process, Springsteen’s idea was to commit his demos to tape so that he could take them to the E Street Band afterwards and get straight down to business when it came to recording the album proper.

But things didn’t quite go to plan. Later that year, The Boss and his band went into the studio with the intention of fleshing out his rough cuts into something more akin to his trademark sound, but after a period of trial and error, Springsteen eventually just decided to release the demos to minimal fanfare on September 30th.

In doing so, he gave the world one of the most stunningly sincere folk rock albums of all time. There’s a real tenderness underpinning the singer’s usual grit, and the stories he shares are as real and enthralling as any he ever recorded. There’s no unnecessary complications or places to hide as Springsteen rattles through unpretentious masterpiece after unpretentious masterpiece, and the end result is a beautiful, beautiful album.