Massive Music List

For more than 35 years, Bruce Springsteen has set a standard of consistent excellence that few other rock and roll artists could ever hope to match. He has written so many great songs, as both a solo artist and with the E Street Band, that it would seem almost impossible to try and rank those classics one against another. And yet one fan was daring enough, or maybe foolhardy enough, to try. Following up our Beatles and Stones countdowns, JamsBio presents “No Retreat, No Surrender,” a worst-to-first countdown of every album cut in Springsteen history, plus a few choice outtakes, live classics, and soundtrack songs – that’s 200 tunes ranked and defended. Check out JamsBio.com each day as the countdown is gradually revealed, and prepare to hit the message boards to defend your favorites.

The complete list to date.

The Last Five:

185. “Further On Up (The Road)” (from The Rising)

184. “Streets of Fire” (from Darkness on the Edge of Town)

183. “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” (from The River)

182. “The New Timer” (from The Ghost of Tom Joad)

181. “All I’m Thinkin’ About” (from Devils & Dust)

180. “The Fuse”

From The Rising

LISTEN HERE

On The Rising, there were subtle signs of rust coming from both Bruce and the E Street Band, as they tried to make an album together for the first time in 20 years. New producer Brendan O’Brien was also finding his way as well, trying to figure out how to modernize the band without diluting the essence of what made them so special. Most of these flaws were overlooked at the time as everyone concentrated on the power and timeliness of Springsteen’s 9/11 theme, but, as time has passed, they’re a bit easier to see.

A song like “The Fuse” is an example of this off-kilter feeling. It’s a pretty bold experiment that didn’t quite gel. Sporting a hip-hop style beat and droning instruments, both producer and artist seemed to be striving for a 21st-century blues feel, which isn’t such a bad idea. But Bruce’s lyrics, which describe everything from funeral processions to mid-afternoon booty calls, are done no favors by the refrain, which seems to offer only a tangential connection to all of these incidents. “The fuse is burnin’,” he sings in monotone, as if reporting the day’s news, yet it doesn’t quite tie anything together.

There are a few inspired moments, both in the lyrics and arrangement. On an album that stuck mostly to heartbreak and uplift, “The Fuse” is one of the only instances of indignation to be found, especially when Bruce sings “Tell me Baby who do you trust?” That can be taken at a personal level, or it could be taken as an early indication of Springsteen’s call to keep one eye on our protectors even while we guard vigilantly against the enemy.

The musical highpoint comes in the stark final verse, which removes all of the trappings save the insistent beat and the emotionless voice describing a scene of seduction. Suddenly everything falls away and Bruce, a cappella, drones out ambivalently, “Your bittersweet taste is on my tongue.” It’s a chilling moment that hints at the potential of this ambitious track, potential that is never quite realized.

179. “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)”

From Human Touch

LISTEN HERE

That’s Bruce doing the honors on the bass, setting the moody yet tongue-in-cheek tone on one of the more well-known songs from Human Touch. The man deserves credit for poking fun at his lavish lifestyle and his new West Coast digs. Of course, that was the last thing that most diehard Boss fans wanted to hear.

It’s quaint now to imagine a time when 57 channels represented a massive amount to anyone. For heaven’s sake, I have about 4 times that many available on my satellite service, and I have the basic package. I think the deluxe package allows you to view the inner workings of the human brain of every person on the planet. And you get Showtime too.

Of course, the man had more on his mind than his remote. The song is a jab at the emptiness of materialism, but, in truth, the problems of a man living in a “bourgeois house in the Hollywood Hills” could never impact the majority of his fans who were card-carrying proletariats.

I was at a concert in New Jersey on the Other Band tour and heard the fans boo, yes, boo Bruce Springsteen when he mentioned his home in Cali. There was a feeling of betrayal in the air, even though the predictably great performance had won them over again long before the last encore.

That harsh reaction, unfair or not, reveals the problem with “57 Channels.” The song may have resonated with Bruce Springsteen at the time, but it never had a chance with the faithful.

178. “Maria’s Bed”

From Devils & Dust

LISTEN HERE

Do you want the good news or the bad news? Well, I’m writing this thing, so you don’t really have a choice in the matter and you’re getting the good first. The good news with “Maria’s Bed”: The pretty acoustic guitars that kick off the song and those catchy “na-na-na-ny” backing vocals.

The bad news: Bruce’s curious decision to sing the song with an accent borrowed off a 19th-century prospector. I half-expected a few “dagnabits” or “consarnits” to sneak out in the lyrics.

More good: The sentiment is a sweet one. Bruce plays a humble guy here who lives modestly and has struggled at times, but it matters not at the end of the day once he reaches the titular location and finds salvation in the arms of a good woman. Not a brand new sentiment, I admit, but a sweet one nonetheless.

More bad: The song is never quite as charming once the drums kick in, breaking the acoustic spell.

Overall, it’s a wash. The song, found on Devils & Dust, isn’t in the same ballpark with his best, but it’s OK filler.

177. “Man’s Job”

From Human Touch

LISTEN HERE

Ever willing to share the spotlight, Springsteen unburdens some of the vocal load for this Human Touch track and hands it off to Bobby King and Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave fame). Their vocal interplay really doesn’t bring much to the table, as Moore is pretty much relegated to a few belts in the fade-out, alhtough it gives a little variety to a relatively generic track.

The main groove, built on Bruce’s guitar riff and Jeff Porcaro’s crashing beat, is catchy but doesn’t have a lot of teeth. The Boss seems to be going for a Roy Orbison or Del Shannon drama-rock vibe, but he’s done that sort of thing better. As a matter of fact, he does it much better on the very same album with “I Wish I Were Blind.”

The lyrics fall into the same mediocre category. They’re OK in a sing-along way but have very little meat on their bones. Some critics took aim at what they perceived was an overly macho vibe, but, in reality, the protagonist isn’t exactly in a position of power in the song. He’s actually the guy trying to pry the girl away, but I could see where the confusion was, given the title and a few ill-chosen lines.

The best the song has to offer is some nice guitar interplay in the instrumental break, with Bruce alternating between stinging stabs and moaning cries on his instrument. That section nicely illustrates the tough-and-tender vibe that the rest of the song depicts in a much clumsier fashion.

176. “All That Heaven Will Allow”

From Tunnel of Love

LISTEN HERE

Up to this point in the countdown, my reactions to most of the songs I’ve listed would be “Meh.” I wouldn’t miss any of these too much if I didn’t hear them for a while. Some work well in the context of their respective albums, but don’t quite stand out on their own. And some just don’t work at all for me.

But from here on out, I can genuinely say that I like every one of the songs to come on the list and enjoy hearing them. That says something about the quality of the Springsteen catalog, considering we’re only about 12 percent of the way into it. That’s a pretty good batting average.

“All That Heaven Will Allow,” which borrows its title from a 1950’s romance flick starring Rock Hudson (All That Heaven Allows) takes a far more positive view of romance than most of the songs on Tunnel Of Love. Bruce plays a suitor who may not be the smoothest (witness his botched attempt to get into a bar in verse 2), but has his heart in the right place.

Notice how the guy undercuts the kind of rebellious, James Dean fantasies of rock and roll in the final verse: “Now some may wanna die young man/Young and gloriously/Get it straight now mister/Hey buddy that ain’t me.” No, all this guy wants is the love of his life.

The clicky drums of Max Weinberg and the defanged guitars here veer a little too close to adult contemporary for my taste, although I suppose it fits with this song. “All That Heaven Will Allow” is a testament to the best that romance has to offer; the rest of Tunnel Of Love is more like All That Hell Can Throw At You.

The complete list to date.

Comments (4)