Influences And Recollections of a Musical Mind

Written By Braddon S. Williams

Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska

On 1982’s Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen produced a bleak song cycle populated by characters on the fringes of society; killers, outcasts, and police officers with criminal relatives.

Springsteen turned what was originally intended as demos for the next E Street Band collaboration into a stand alone masterpiece.

Nebraska works so well because it has atmosphere and ambience to spare, a huge contrast from the Boss’s usual wall of sound trademark style with the E Streeters. Featuring primarily just his voice and acoustic guitars, Nebraska is Springsteen at his confessional best.

I really love the title song, along with State Trooper, Atlantic City, My Father’s House, Highway Patrolman, Johnny 99, Reason To Believe, and Mansion On The Hill.

This is raw, haunting, nighttime music, or maybe a roadtrip through the desert. Whatever it is, it is brilliant work from a rock icon.