This song is definitely from the '90's and it doesn't sound quite complete. It seems to be missing one of his patented "bridges." I could be wrong though. Also, not to be a downer or anything, but the song is pretty pedestrian.
The only thing we need less than a Springsteen hip-hop album is a Springsteen hip-hop album recorded in the '90's. But I hope you're right and we get Tracks 2 sooner than we think.
Agree that his vocals on the Lucky Town album are very strong. He seems to change styles completely from song to song, especially on side one! I love the juxtaposition of going from Better Days to Lucky Town.
Never thought about that ... but now I hear it. I never followed Chris Whitley after that one album, but it was a doozy.
Thanks posting that. It supports the theory that Landau played a part in shelving the album and orchestrating Greatest Hits. Once the Joad material was coming together, there was no turning back.
I like "Missing" and "Streets Of Philadelphia", so if that is what is meant by his "hip-hop" album from the mid-90s, then I'd be interested in hearing more.
"My Beautiful Reward" is one of the best things he ever did, it's very under--rated and relatively unknown. but it chugs along nice and easy. The lyrics are on a piece of what he was writing about at that time, when he was questioning the worth--and the price ==of fame.
I love "My Beautiful Reward" -- definitely one of my favorites of Bruce's of the past 25 years. Anyone who likes the moody qualities of "Wreck On The Highway" should give "MBF" another listen.
Assuming Tracks 2 is actually happening - it’s a bit odd how he’s so guarded and selective about his recordings for years, then we get a busload of material in one big dump.
True, but if he wasn't so selective about his recordings, there wouldn't be a busload of material to dump. Most if it would have come out already.
It would make perfect sense. He is holding it all back until it is ready. The albums may not have contained the messaging content he wanted to convey at a particular moment in time. He also finished a "Western Swing" album in 2018 that is likely to be included.
Could not agree more...even though it's not him rapping (thank god), "Rocky Ground" is still a candidate for most embarrassing, cringe-inducing latter-day Springsteen song (and there's plenty of competition, from "Queen Of The Supermarket" to "Real Man" to "Mary's Place" to "Reno" to "Sleepy Joe's Cafe"...)
It is highly unlikely he recorded an actual hip-hop album. Most likely, some of the material had certain hip-hop related rhythm backing arrangements, such as Missing and Streets of Philadelphia. That is probably as far as it went.
It would make sense that people who definitely didn't listen to hip-hop in the 90's would describe something built on some drum loops as his "hip-hop album" no matter what the rest of the musical content entailed. It's probably no different than how he did Tunnel Of Love, except the technology used to get drum sounds/loops became more sophisticated, and reflected some musical trends that had occurred since 1987. But I bet it doesn't sound all that different to other Bruce stuff, if/when we finally hear it.
I know, but the theory bandied about here was that there was confusion between the album title Western Stars and the idea that Bruce recorded a "western swing" album--an idea I find more unbelievable than a hip- hop album. Unless by "western swing" they mean an album's worth of "Sleepy Joe's Cafes"
I know you meant this to comfort people who thought that this would be an album of Bruce rapping, but there are elements of ‘90s production that utilized loops and samples that have aged terribly (especially those used by adult contemporary and legacy artists), so I’m still concerned that this could still be one of the weaker albums on a theoretical Tracks 2 set.
