The songs of Bruce Springsteen: My 101 favourites. 96 - 92

96) Heaven's Wall

Album: High Hopes (2014)

"Heaven's Wall" was a song that took many listens for me to finally come around to not disliking it, and even.then I wasn't completely sold on it. I thought it was alright and it sounded like album filler to me, nothing special and if it were left off High Hopes, I probably wouldn't have cared.

However, after giving it more and more of a shot, I came around and was proven wrong about it.

It begins with to me what sounds like a part semi-gospel sound thanks to the choir, and part semi-African due to the bongos. The "raise your hand" line may well have you waiving your arms around like a maniac - even if you are sitting at home with people watching you. Admittedly though, it's a catchy hook Bruce has created and bodes well with the song.

I found it kind of falls short though on the studio recording, with a sense of wanting more. It's like it's made its way three quarters of the way up the mountain but couldn't quite reach the summit. I found that to be a bit of a disappointment.

Live however, I thought the song took on a whole new dimension, with guitars blazing as Tom, Nils and Steve all are given the spotlight to have a solo. Max steadying the ship, with Soozie providing a nice touch and the violin and intermittent work by the E-Street Horns. The latter worked very well during the chorus.

"Heaven's Wall" is a good song that is probably given an injustice in the studio, and shines much brighter on a stage with a pit full of crazies waving their arms around like lunatics.

95) My Hometown

Album: Born In The U.S.A. (1984)

When you look at the "Born In The U.S.A." and link it with 1984, you would think big 80s pop songs (See: Dancing In The Dark). "My Hometown" however takes us away from that cliché and delivers a very strong vocal performance for the last track on the album.

A lovely ballad with a beautiful vocal melody to close out the biggest album of Springsteen's career, we are met with strong imagery and a story of role reversal of sorts come songs end. The first verse describes to us that the character in the song is riding on his fathers lap in the car, looking at his hometown. Verse by verse, it seems the character grows older, the second verse telling us of racial fights and gun violence. The third verse is also similar to the second, in the sense that the town is in a downward spiral. From gun violence and racial problems, to loss of employment, it paints the picture that things are just getting worse. In the last verse, our character is now a grown man with a son of his own, and mirrors the first verse, except now they're getting out.

There is nothing grandiose about "My Hometown." There are no big notes that are belted out, there are no solos that set the song on fire, there isn't a piano outro to blow your mind. "My Hometown" however is a great example of less is more. It doesn't need any of the aforementioned bells and whistles to be a great song. Its ballad like nature establishes it strongly enough to stand well on its own accord.

94) Brothers Under The Bridge

Album: Tracks (1998)

I think to casual fans, Bruce Springsteen is just "that guy who sang Born In The U.S.A" and a few other catchy 80s pop songs. But, beyond that mainstream layer that many only see, there is a truly remarkable songwriter under the hits that made him a commercial success. Strip away his music and you can see that, but people don't have time, nor probably care for that, after all, music is for listening to. Music is about depth and substance, so if you have a great piece of music with sub-standard lyrics, or brilliant lyrics with a crappy composition, something is definitely lacking. "Brothers Under The Bridge" though, delivers strongly on both fronts despite its simplicity.

"Brothers Under The Bridge" is an extraordinary piece of song writing. It tells the story of one man, a Vietnam veteran, who moved from LA to the mountains in San Diego. He had a daughter he'd never met, whom comes out looking to meet him, the song is about what he tells her.

There are a few different arrangements out there. The Joad Tour is all acoustic, which adds to its mystery and darkness, the original recording has drums, bass, keys and guitars, which I think works quite well. For me, though, the most recent performance of this song with the full band on the last tour is where is hit its summit. There was a lovely trumpet outro to close the song, which was a great touch and gave it a military style feel the song deserves (similar to "The Wall").

You have to feel, Bruce could write a whole album about 'Nam and it would kick a whole heap of ass.

93) Dream Baby Dream

Album: High Hopes (2014)

For all of its simplicity and repetitiveness, Dream Baby Dream does what many songs can't, and that is keep an audience in absolute silence, and completely and utterly captivated witnessing a fine piece of music. Of course, I refer to the song when done live.

Bruce and a pump organ is all that is needed to deliver an inspiring and passionate performance. There are no bells and whistles, no antics, no sliding, no dancing. Just pure emotion and two instruments, the pump organ - and his voice.

The studio recording may have you thinking it goes on a little too long (it clocks in at just over five minutes), and perhaps could have reached its climax a little sooner. The end of it kind of just falls flat and closes with what sounds like an opera singer to end things. It's not one of his recordings, and it's a song which definitely works better live due to the emotion it can stir up, sadly, it isn't quite replicated on the record.

Was fortunate enough to be only metres away from this in Sydney:

"The E-Street Band loves ya."

92) The Ghost of Tom Joad

Album: The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995)/High Hopes (2014)

I'm not quite sure what to say about this. I find the original recording to be incredibly dark and haunting, Bruce's vocals seem restrained - but in a good way. When backed with a band, the song is a whole new creature. Intense, haunting, brutal, loud, commanding, they are all words that I think of when I see Tom and Bruce take lead on this.

The vocal performance from both definitely can't be criticised for lack of conviction. They definitely give it their all, and their guitar work is hard and heavy. Morello's final solo is something that is incendiary, and is something that needs to be seen to be believed. It's almost ethereal how good and unbelievably insane it is.   

Joad is good whatever way you listen to it - acoustic, or with a band.

The songs of Bruce Springsteen: My 101 favourites. Songs 101-97

101) You’re Missing

Album: The Rising (2002)

Well, we had to start somewhere. "You're Missing" comes from the 2002 album "The Rising".  

We all know the story of "The Rising" and why it was written. "You’re Missing" is probably the most touching track to appear on the album. The song contains many poignant moments, and this is due to Bruce’s way with words, which force commanding imagery upon you. The delicate piano introduction, followed by the violin, which remains throughout, really allows you to empathise with what is happening and feel the heartbreaking tone the song demands. The organ to close the song out is a superb touch while adding more to the song, it remains true to the poignancy the song deserves.

It’s sad to think that so many wives would have been feeling this way, knowing that their husbands would never be coming home, and would have been waiting in vain.

Underrated tune which sadly hasn’t been played since the Devils and Dust tour, when it made a sole appearance in New York. Was played at 97 Rising shows. Will be a huge surprise to see it again. But with Bruce, we know too well to never say never.

So sad.

100) Countin On A Miracle

Album: The Rising (2002)

By sheer coincidence we have yet another song to come from "The Rising."

Another forgotten track of The Rising. It's like that entire record has faded into obscurity bar the title track, "Lonesome Day", and let's not forget everyone's favourite sing-along, "Waitin' On A Sunny Day". While "Countin’ On A Miracle" may seem just like a simple rock song, we know Bruce does simple well.

While there is nothing about "Countin' On A Miracle" to blow you  away or makes it rise above other songs that make it great, it garnishes solid marks across the board. An intro with an acoustic guitar completely leads you astray before Bruce's vocals and the band come crashing in.

From there, it grabs your attention and manages to hold on long enough for you to stay hooked. The breakdown during the bridge where Bruce's vocal is backed by a violin is a masterstroke.

The lyrics, while nowhere near profound, do a solid enough job for my mind, and the violin, though not prominent enough in my opinion, adds a great a mix to it. Clarence's sax (although it kind of gets lost in the music) is great if  your ears are trained well enough to hear it. Garry's bass slides through the song with relative ease and is one of the highlights. 

99) Glory Days

Album: Born In The USA (1984)

Look, I’m not going to lie. For a long time I really didn’t like "Glory Days". It's one of the songs, that I'm sure as many of you know, is on rotation with about five other Springsteen songs on the radio. I grew sick of it quickly and it kind of just sat there for a while.

However, I saw some sort of light and realized it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I’m not going to bore you with what the song is about. It is fun though, you can understand why it’s in the encores. It gets everyone up and singing and BUMS out of seats! It really takes off live and raises the roof and atmosphere ten fold. Suddenly, it's like everyone has been injected with a needle of fun and the smile cannot be wiped from nobody's face while "Glory Days" is in session.

I remember at Hanging Rock 1 when he played it (I was unfortunately not in the pit for that show), there was a guy who was a row behind me who absolutely went nuts when this came on. It was great to see and it’s reassuring to know what one person may not enjoy entirely, it is gold to another person. It was definitely fun to see him screaming at the top of his lungs and dancing around like nobody cared. Let's be honest, it is a song that is so much better live. The energy it creates in the crowd is electrifying and it really gets people moving.

For me, it’s alright. Good song when you’re drunk. Music is nothing spectacular, lyrics are middle of the range. But I can forgive Bruce for that. It was the 80s, and let’s be honest, this song is from an album is what propelled him to superstardom, and for that, I can be grateful.

98) The Wall

Album: High Hopes (2014)

Coming in at 98 has absolutely no reflection on the quality of this song, absolutely none. Quite possibly the best song to come off "High Hopes."

I'm finding it difficult to put into words how good "The Wall" actually is. It's an incredibly profound and moving song, which tells the story of a soldier going MIA in Vietnam.

While only a short song, the lyrics are deep and stand up well enough on their own without the support of the music. But, the simple arrangement should not be neglected. The strumming of the guitar paired with the vocal  (and some minimal piano work) for the majority of the song set the scene of sadness. Organs and drums later follow to add to the final verse, along with the use of an accordion, and provide a perfect backing under Springsteen's soft vocal. The trumpet which immediately follows when the vocals come to an end and has a real military sound to it, which is then followed by a somewhat military beat to coincide with the lyrics.

97) When You’re Alone

Alum: Tunnel of Love (1986)

“But there's things that'll knock you down you don't even see coming”

“When you’re alone, you ain’t nothing but alone”

Those two lines say a lot. While so straightforward and obvious, it’s something that doesn’t actually become known to us until we sit down and think about it. Then it has the impact to really hit home. Maybe that's how Bruce felt at the time, if the song is auto-biographical.

Coming from "Tunnel of Love", we saw a whole different side of Springsteen on this album. He was vulnerable, hurt, confused, he was in a failing marriage and I guess his way of dealing with all of that was the "Tunnel Of Love" album.

It's a beautiful song, especially when stripped back and it's just him on the piano. It becomes much more raw and the lyrics are there for you to really pay attention to. It's kind of like "The Promise" in that aspect, you realise just how said it is when it is raw and it becomes much more confrontational. Done with the band it is still by no means a joyous song. You can hear the melancholic feel the song carries on its back that it never shakes off. 

An introduction

I thought I would start off by saying I am a huge Springsteen fan., With much umming and ahhing I compiled a top 100 of my favourite tracks, and over the coming days (weeks?), I will be previewing those. There will no doubt be plenty of debate! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

It has been no easy task. It probably still isn't how I would like it, and I'm sure as you all know, it changes on a daily basis. Sometimes though, you have to put your foot down and accept things might just sit well for that moment, even if it is only temporary. Then you look back, smile and be proud of your work.

I hope you enjoy the ride.

This train....