Nebraska

This album is like sitting around a campfire with just Bruce and his guitar. Which is to say, way to ruin a good campfire.

“Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen (1982) I’m familiar with Bruce Springsteen’s hits, but I’ve never listened to this album. Based on what I know about Springsteen, my expectations are low. In the title track “Nebraska”, Springsteen sets the mood with a forlorn ballad about a man condemned to death for murdering ten people. No redemption, no meaning. Lower middle class nihilism. Poor poetics (sounds like it was written on a single afternoon, with sloppy meter and clunky phrasing). Poor recording quality. I’ve never been impressed with Springsteen’s vocals, and I’m not surprised here. It’s ok to affect a Southern accent if it’s done well, but here it’s not. Has Springsteen ever been to rural Nebraska and Wyoming? You couldn’t tell from this song. He’s from Jersey, for God’s sake. Shake my head. More of the same on “Atlantic City”, which is at least set in more familiar territory. Distracting microphone pops and gimmicky howls in the background. Guitar work perfectly unrefined. I think on this album, Springsteen imagines himself taking the baton from Dylan. Springsteen drops it. A little background might be helpful. At the time this album was released, Columbia Records had both Springsteen and Dylan under contract. Dylan had been recording his “evangelical Christian” music for several years, and one can imagine that Columbia executives were anticipating that Dylan was on the way out. They needed someone to carry the baton, and Springsteen might fit the bill. “Nebraska” has so many marketing parallels to Dylan’s earliest work, one can’t help but see here a chance for Columbia to keep the folk-rock-prophet-poet franchise going. Find a replacement for Dylan that would satisfy the market that had Dylan had made lucrative at the start. Springsteen failed. With numerous irritating flubs on harmonica, primitive three-chord compositions, completely derivative melodies, the only thing ‘creative’ about this album is the lyrics, and while they’re shockingly despondent, they just ain’t that good. In “Johnny 99” we’re treated to a reprise of the underwhelming phrase “I’ve got debts no honest man can pay” (previously used by a different crook in “Atlantic City”). What, Bruce, did you think it was so clever you had to use it twice? Come on, man, if a guy gets drunk and murders a night clerk because he’s unemployed, we can’t muster sympathy for him because he’d rather be executed than serve 99 years. The attempted pathos is simply too implausible. Likewise in “Highway Patrolman”, we’re supposed to feel good about a cop who lets his brother escape to Canada after a murder. Doesn’t make sense. Note to Bruce: On “Highway Patrolman”, “Shortwave” radio is not used for local communications. The music is monotonous, the production is completely amateurish, the lyrics beg pathetically to be taken seriously, and the instrumentals sound like they were all performed by the same person in one or two takes (they were). My low expectations were justified and satisfied. Don’t waste your time, young ones. This boomer says “Nebraska” is a dud. 1/5

Bruce Springsteen has always been an artist of two sides, one representing the joyful exuberance that can be found in life’s simple pleasures, in dancing, in singing, in drinking with friends, in flirting and crushes and love and relationships, and in the beauty of music itself. The other is the dark side of life, the struggles of broken people living broken lives, marred by lost love, economic strife, crime, inadequacy, and misplaced ambition. It is a sign of a great artist to be able to deal with both sides of life with equal weight, and Springsteen is in a unique position of being both a great artist and highly successful and popular Pop artist. This position has unfortunately left him in another, less enviable, position, that of one of the most misrepresented artists in history. Very few people have so succinctly, so beautifully, and so heartbreakingly represented the life of the proletariat, but the overwhelming image of him is that of an unthinking patriot, proclaiming that he was Born In The USA with overwhelming pride in the evident greatness of his motherland. Nobody who has listened to Nebraska could possibly make that mistake again. It is a stark, desperate, downer of an album, the stories those of people pushed to the edge by economic circumstance, who inevitably take desperate action in an attempt to get out. What Springsteen does best is to represent the human behind the action. In very few words he is able to show the thoughts and situations driving his characters. I read a fascinating article in the Guardian magazine yesterday about whether or not song lyrics can be read as literature. One factor the author considered was that of performance: ‘Vocal delivery, melody, rhythm, arrangement and production are all used to enhance, or sometimes subvert, what the words are saying. Consider Nick Cave’s 1988 song The Mercy Seat. To cave, the indignant death-tow convict was clearly guilty but Johnny Cash later covered it on the assumption he was innocent. Same words, different impact.’ Springsteen has no doubt that his characters are guilty of the crimes they commit. What he asks the listener to do is to dive deeper beyond the basic crime and punishment narrative. Consider Highway Patrolman, one of my favourite songs on the album. Joe Roberts is a cop whose brother Frankie ‘ain’t no good.’ When he kills someone in unknown circumstances, Joe pursues Frankie right up to the Canadian Border, but lets him go. All he can think about is the good times that he has had with his brother, and justifies his own crime with the line ‘a man turns his back on his family, well he just ain’t no good.’ There is no redemption, no sense behind the violence, no justice for the dead mans friends or family. But there is an explanation behind Joe’s actions, and it forces the listener to put themselves in that situation. Anyone who tells you that it has an easy solution is lying, anyone who tells you that it doesn’t move them or make them think is an idiot with very limited taste. The music is cause for further commendation, the desperate quiet and haunting harmonica and mandolin evoking the dark, empty highways and plains that make up the majority of the songs settings. It creates an intimacy that further forces you to empathise with the characters, Springsteen making it feel as if they are confiding with you directly. Nebraska is one of the great pieces of American Art, a cry from the very soul of the working class that represents their hopes, dreams and failings. It deserves to be pondered over with the attention that we give Steinbeck and Zola, and will remain relevant while we are all still broken yet still have a reason to believe

I love everything about this album. The tunes are strong, the subject matter is dark, it was recorded on 4-track. Spooky Americana about desperate people. And some cars. If I have a favorite Springsteen album, it's this one.

Holy cats, I didn’t listen to this record for a long time and I love it. The stories of blue collar families being downtrodden is incredibly sad but I really like Bruce’s voice on this album. This is super intimate and I really like it. Favorite song: Atlantic City Least favorite song: Open All Night

Bring back Throbing Gristle.

Springsteen would be a legend just for this album, I swear. Can't-miss songwriting with its soul in the blues.

My favourite springsteen. It's a consistent mood you can wallow in for an hour.

Never been a big Bruce Springsteen fan. I don’t know what it is about him; maybe the flagrant American patriotism, the complete yer’da-ness of it or just the lack of substance to his music. I appreciate what he does and by all accounts he’s a decent & down to earth dude but I don’t even think an album full of his greatest hits would ever inspire me to listen to it more than once let alone this acoustic mess where he just lists American place names for some reason. Maybe if I was sinking my 5th Miller-Lite on the 4th July, flipping a few patties on the ol’ grill whilst I tell my buddies Greg & Dale about the new Chevy truck I’ve just bought to fit the fishing rods & golf clubs in, then I might appreciate this album a bit more. But I’m not and therefore I don’t.

The album Bruce made just for me. Murder ballads, fever dreams, a trail of wreckage... and as it finally winds down he tells us he finds it kinda funny "how at the end of every hard-earned day people find some reason to believe." Is that hopefulness in the face of all that misery, or is it cynicism at rock-bottom? I'm still not sure. Either way I could and will listen to this record 1000 times. Also, it seems silly to mention because it's so obvious, but this album is a goddamn masterclass in songwriting.

So this album is basically Bruce Springsteen sitting around a campfire acoustic style, telling stories that make little sense and sometimes he feels like playing his harmonica, and that's basically the whole album.

I don't know what to say if you can't appreciate how great this is. It's Bruce Springsteen doing dark lofi folk about nihilistic class struggle pulling inspiration from Suicide! That's just an incredible sentence by itself!

I’m never going to Nebraska.

I like Bruce's music, some of it quite a lot, but this one is just boring.

Je n'ai pas pour habitude de faire une analyse d'album piste par piste mais celui-ci s'y prête bien : Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen lâche un pet gras et s'en réjouit. Atlantic City - Il coince sa coupe mulet dans sa guitare et hurle à la mort pendant quelques minutes. Mansion On The Hill - Bruce décapsule une bière. Johnny 99 - Il rend hommage à son ami Johnny Halliday avec qui il a remporté en 1999 le concours du plus grand nombre de hamburgers ingurgités en une heure. Highway Patrolman - Il lâche encore une fois une énorme caisse. State Trooper - Il se poste à la fenêtre de son appartement et siffle chaque demoiselle qui passe dans sa rue. Used Cars - Il discute avec ses amis de la couleur des flammes qu'il compte dessiner sur les portières de sa voiture. Open All Night - Il développe en chanson une comparaison entre le sexe féminin et une soirée porte ouverte. My Father's House - Il raconte la façon dont son père frappait sa mère et tente de justifier son comportement. Reason to Believe - Bruce Springsteen lâche encore un pet détonnant avant d'éclater de rire.

I received this album at 14 through Columbia house subscription way back in the day. I didn't choose it, they sent it as the record of the month. I think I listened to it once. I didn't "get it" and to be honestly I've never listened to it again. I've never really been a Springsteen fan. This should be interesting This didn't make me a fan and I'm still not sure if I get it.

I like some of Bruce Springsteen's music in general, but this was a snoozefest. 1/5 stars.

Brilliant stuff - loved every track - where have you been all my life

Masterpiece

AMAZING

I've loved this album since it came out in 1982. Really what got me into Springsteen. Such a great album. 5 stars.

Masterpiece in narrative storytelling expected to hate it but emded up loving it

Acoustic albums aren't for me, ideally would have listed as listened and not have to submit a star rating. I've given it a one, but I don't think it's a bad album necessarily.

Not the Bruce I am used to listening to...so-so vocals. Didn't appreciate most lyrics

Nah this ones a big old nope.

Just bruce and a guitar. Music hell, cant even give credit to this one. I hope my hate for bruce is misguided but this album proves nothing.

Not a Springsteen fan

That was a really boring album. Like Bruce has some good stuff but this was not engaging at all.

A musically and lyrically stark and desolate portrait of Reagan era small town America

Immediate 5/5 for me, as it's in my personal top 10 albums of all time list. There's definitely an added bonus when you listen to this album when you come from New Jersey as there's so many ties to the state (even though it's titled after a different one altogether lol), and so many depictions that so masterfully describe scenes that people in New Jersey have had. Like in "State Trooper", where you are driving down the NJ Turnpike and begging for the cop behind you to leave you the hell alone. I think many a young person from NJ has been in this exact setting and shouted those animalistic shouts of joy that Bruce bellows at the end of the song. Or like in "Atlantic City" where a big fight is breaking out on the boardwalk, and a young man yearns for optimism while crooning over his financial shortcomings. The harmonica blows me away every time. The reverberating mandolin that comes in at the first post-chorus (around 00:53) floors me. The vocal harmonies and shouts in the outtro fadeout floor me. It's hard to pick which track is my favorite. "Nebraska" is raw yet somehow beautiful- even though the lyrics are a true story about a man who befriends/kidnaps a girl and murders 11 people with her. "State Trooper" captures a scene as truthfully as the art form ever has. I think ultimately it's "Atlantic City" because this was one of the most formative acoustic guitar driven / singer songwriter songs that influenced me to write this style of music. The album art is just beautiful too, and you definitely can judge this book (album) by it's cover- as that's what you are going to get (sonically). (I only would have maybe preferred if it was a picture of the New Jersey Turnpike, as NJ tends to be more often referenced than Nebraska on the album. But I don't know the album is called Nebraska? Hmmm. I'm conflicted.)

There is a darkness to Bruce Springsteen's music that has always been there, from the earliest albums. But there's a period between Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born in the USA where he really leans into it. I would recommend listening to these albums as a group, to get the full impact of what he was doing. Nebraska is the apotheosis of this period. It's stripped down, mean, Steinbeck-level naturalism. Instrumentation is minimal, no Clarence Clemons solos to temper the dark stuff. The mood of course is pretty bleak. It's a hard, uncomfortable listen if you're looking for the Springsteen anthems of old. There are images from these songs that will haunt you long after you hear them. As a songwriter, Springsteen is at his best here. He drops some of the flowery turns of phrase that turn up in the earlier albums in favor of a more plain-spoken style. There are no "ghosts in the eyes of the all boys you sent away" here (I adore that line, btw, but it has no place here). These stories stare hard into the eyes of the struggling, the desperate, the broken, not necessarily with sympathy, but with honesty and pathos. Springsteen covers a lot of thematic territory with a purposefully limited lyrical and musical palette, and yet somehow spins complete narratives populated with some pretty memorable characters. The few mood breakers he offers are brief but impactful. The way he ratchets up the tension in "State Trooper" and then busts it open with a holler is nothing short of brilliant. Try listening to that riding in your car at night and see if you don't feel your hands tighten on the wheel. I also enjoyed the whistling in the dark exuberance of "Open All Night." Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Atlantic City, Johnny 99, Open All Night, State Trooper, Highway Patrolman, Nebraska, Reason to Believe, Used Cars, My Father's House, Mansion on the Hill

What a haunting album. Kudos Mr. Springsteen, kudos. Incredible lyrics and his stripped down (mostly) acoustic approach adds a perfect sombre tone. I was totally blown away by how good a story-teller he is. After listening to the album a couple times I decided to read up on it and was glad he decided to keep it in demo version, rather than rocked-up with the E-street band. I might not have minded if Open All Night got moved to another album - I like it, but it's a bit too rockabilly for the rest of the album's tone. It sounded a lot like Pink Cadillac to me, and apparently that was another track he recorded along with these ones but kept for a later album. The other songs he recorded with these ones but kept for Born in the USA are also some of his best - I'm on Fire would easily fit right in on this album and I'd love to hear the stripped down version of Glory Days. I patted myself on the back for thinking that State Trooper sounded a bit like that weird Suicide album with his shrieks near the end - yep, one of the songs influenced the Boss on this one. I don't know if I knew too many of these songs, but I instantly loved Highway Patrolman and My Father's House. Something about the emotion-tugging lyrics and his raw sound - just beautiful. The title track was close behind these two; a great opener. I also really liked how he layered in self-harmonies and backing vocals to Atlantic City.

Tolles Album! Vllt mein liebster Boss

Really liked this one. Funny enough the songs weren't my favorites but the general atmosphere of slow, melancholic story telling really strikes a chord for me.

Vraiment bon. J’adore bruce springsteen et cette a,bum ne fait pas exception. 5*

My favourite Boss. Direct, to the point, powerful. Johnny 99 forever.

Sad dad rock.

Gamblers, recidivists, mass murderers, troublemakers, brand new used cars, and state troopers who took the job after rising wheat prices killed off their farm deferment. Taking his cue from Badlands, Bonnie and Clyde, and a bunch more movies that don't match his warmth and empathy, Springsteen carries these sketches as far as he can. Eventually, the melancholy and sparsity pulls them up. But what's there is sad, bountiful, and some kind of gift. He creates a hell of an atmosphere with the harmonica, too. Is he a good player? I've no idea. But I hardly think this is the place to go for technical perfection.

C'est avec un enthousiasme certain que je lançais cet album du beauf le plus célèbre des Etats-Unis, monsieur Bruce Springsteen. Malheureusement, cela ne s'est pas déroulé comme prévu. Dès les premières notes de l'album, c'est le drame. Bruce coince les cheveux de sa coupe mulet dans sa guitare. S'en suivent des hurlements de douleurs, qui ne seront interrompus que par la fin de l'album. Un véritable coup du sort.

Might revisit, if I can slow down a bit

Nebraska is a slow and depressing album that I don't put on too often. Every time I do hear it I'm a bit older, and as I grow older the little details hit harder. I got the CD years ago because I liked 'Open All Night'. Listening to it a couple times through today, there wasn't a track I wanted to skip, and 'Reason To Believe' brought the whole thing together at the end.

Somebody recommend this album to Gene Clark. This is how it's done, Gene. I imagine Springsteen sitting on the edge of his bed in a T-shirt and jeans, with his acoustic guitar, harmonica, and four track, the only light in the room coming in through the window on a late afternoon in the fall. Except it's Nebraska outside instead of Jersey. There's not much more you really need to know about great American rock-'n'-roll. 5

When I'm feeling bad I listen to Nebraska so that I can feel even worse. I love it.

Bruce gets depressed from earning unimaginable amounts of money and fame and records a bunch of demos on a four-track in his garage. It's more depressing than usual and it's ace. The production just makes these stories even more harrowing. Quite possibly his best album if you're able to stomach these bleak stories from people in the middle of Nowhere, Shitsville U.S.A. Best Tracks: Nebraska; Atlantic City; Highway Patrolman

It's hard to say which is the more impressive feat – the conception of such a record or its unsparingly bleak and often gorgeous/heartbreaking execution. What a statement, especially at this point in his career. The Boss gained enduring – nay, eternal – credibility for doing this and standing by it and perhaps was freed to go similarly all in on other types of albums (and what range he would show next, with Born in the USA). One's never quite undestood why “Atlantic City” wasn't the single, though “Open All Night” is terrific, too. "Johnny 99" woulda made a great single, if not for the grim content. (One's always found it odd that the lyric "debts no honest main can pay" are featured on two songs). “Mansion on the Hill” and “Highway Patrolman” are sublime and "Nebraska" and "State Trooper" near-shocking -- these are Reagan-era murder ballads, serious Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O'Connor territory. This made a major impact on one's early teenage musical development and in quite late middle age one finds it's only got better, retaining its full power. Perhaps the most profound statement by an unsurpassed artist.

This all starts with Jungleland of course: "and the poets down here/don't write nothing at all/they just stand by and let it all be". From there we get to the small town dystopia of Darkness, through the oddness of The River, to here. The bleakness of a four track recording. Where's that screen door slamming? Or the pretty little place down San Diego way? Where's the hope? The escape? Man, Nebraska is bleakness. Ordinariness. And I love that. This isn't my favourite Springsteen album from the 70s/80s cannon. But it's special still. So, is it a 4 or a 5? Is it a really great album that I want to keep going back to? It's somewhere in between, but it's getting a 5 because it's different and it's ordinary. And bleak. The Magic Rat got gunned down in Jungleland. On Nebraska it seems everyone dies in some way, physically or emotionally. I'll take some of that.

Desolation, and beauty. Great!

bruce springsteen, corn belt goth

Stuff like this typically isn’t my vibe, but this is the kind of greatness that’s undeniable. I’d be crazy to call this bad or just say I dislike it completely. Songs like Johnny 99 particularly I really like. Same with Highway Patrolman. The album gets increasingly enjoyable the longer it goes.

Dang, dude was down when he wrote this. No more ride to the promised land, just a meet up in Atlantic City. Not as a good an album as I'd hoped--the music and tone are a little tired--but when he's good, he's great, see Atlantic City & Reason to Believe.

This was a good time. Felt like I was at a campfire with the dude just listening to the man’s stories. He knows whats up

Very, very good.

I really rate Bruce Springsteen but for me this isn't an album I would choose to listen to. I prefer the more energetic upbeat material he produces but saying that I gave this album a good listen and I can definitely appreciate the writing and production and the general theme of this work of art and I fully understand why this album is highly rated

This is my favorite Springsteen album by a significant margin, and the only one I ever choose to put on the turntable. Generally, I find his anthemic approach just far too bombastic. Maybe I find his overconfidence off-putting and I don't relate to his characters or stories, at least in the way they are presented. But here, the stripped down (demo) production creates a spooky space that lets his narratives be complex and unsettling. These are like short stories, vividly and evocatively told with a clear specificity. I acknowledge that these are facets of his songwriting generally, the volume and density of his arrangements distill everything down to an anthem that swamps any subtlety. Like the way that many people think 'Born in the USA' is a work of simple and unproblematic patriotism (despite the lyrics). While I don't enjoy the majority of his musical output, I like Springsteen himself, especially as he presents himself in his one-man Broadway show. It's funny, self-reflective, acknowledging the complexity of life. And, with the volume turned down here, this album is a rare early sign that Bruce could do that. I like the minimal playing. You can really hear the influence of Suicide (a band I love, but who would have thought Bruce did too?), especially on State Trooper. Writing this review, I think the aspect of Springsteen's output that I generally object to is the E Street Band. They are a confident and competent bar band who accidentally ended up playing stadiums. They have the confidence to make it work, and Springsteen's sizable fan base clearly enjoy what they do, but it's not to my taste. Nebraska was a brave choice by Bruce to release a record that is unlike anything else he ever did. I'm really glad he did, because it speaks to me. This is the only Springsteen album I really like.

What begins dark and mournful, ends dark and... not as mournful? Without knowing the artist, if you would have told me this was by the same guy that sang Born in the USA, I would have called you a dang dirty liar (you rascal, you). But this is raw, hardly-accompanied BOSS, and even if it ain't about his life, who's to say its not? And even though I'm not from a blue-collar mining town like the subject of most of the songs, I may as well be now. Shit's a real deep bummer, man.

Very bleak listen, no redemption is found to the characters in the album, there's no rainbow at the end of the road, just the everyday life of middle America. Not something I'd listen regularly, but it's a nice change of pace in the boss discography 7/10

The story of this album is pretty crazy - it was recorded as demos with the intention of recording again with the full band, but he released it as it was. The lyrical content here is pretty grim but undeniably Bruce Springsteen. The best track here is Atlantic City. Overall it's interesting and I would listen again, despite probably preferring some of his other material.

I am not a fan of Bruce Springsteen at all; he just seems to lack the kind of insight into human nature, the ability to make a song embody a situation rather than just describe it. I'm sympathetic to the blue collar concerns in his lyrics- he just seems like a second-tier songwriter who somehow hit it big. That said, this album is as close as I've heard to him getting it right. If his career had devloped from this point, instead of this point being a deviation, then I might be a fan. it's still a bit too slow, and the lyrics a bit too literal, but I can feel the pain and anger in them. and the two songs about cops were amazing. so all in all a decent record from Bruce. I know it stands tall in his discography, and the critics will give it 5 outta 5. but this is just my opinion.

The thought of Bruce sitting in his bedroom with a glockenspiel on his lap is very funny to me for some reason. The explosive rock backing tracks of prior albums are gone, but the tales of blue collar struggle are turned up to 11. Very clearly inspired by the folk rock of Bob Dylan and the like. I understand what he was doing here and I respect it. I just think that Bruce works better with a band behind him. Favorite songs were Atlantic City, Johnny 99, Open All Night, and Reason To Believe.

Solo acoustic, country-adjacent, like Johnny Cash light.

Corn. Highway. Main Street. Factory workers. Taillights. Beer. Town. It's like Americana mad libs.

Springsteen tries his hand at country with mixed results. Still pretty great in places but far from his strongest work

I like Bruce Springsteen, but this doesn't feel like his best work.

I'm getting a little tired of The Boss constantly showing up. I don't mean Bruce, just my work boss keeps bugging me. Nebraska might be Bruce's most "Bruce" album of all time. A full, acoustic rendering of blue collar, middle America ballads? What more could you want? I guess maybe some sax solos would be cool. Meh, lifelong fans probably love this one, but it's a middlegrounder for me.

Springsteen’s first artistic departure admirably shifts toward sparse arrangements, gritty acoustic folk storytelling, and austere, character-driven lyricism.

Good music to be depressed to. Would cry to it again.

I was hoping this was going to be the soundtrack to the Alexander Payne movie Nebraska. Then coupled with Philadelphia, Bruce would be the guy who does soundtracks for movies names after American places. Then he'd be asked to do soundtracks for films like Chicago, Nashville, Fargo, Truth and Consequences, New Mexico

So I grew up a big Springsteen fan, mainly because he was so popular in Cleveland prior to blowing up with “Born To Run” (1975), as WMMS – the popular FM station in town played him all of the time… Heavy rotation of songs from “Greetings From Asbury Park” (1973), and “The Wild, The Innocent, & The E-Street Shuffle” (1974) is the Bruce that I came to know and love – with a great balance between power and delicateness… Obviously, that got kicked into another gear with “Born To Run” (1975), and the “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” (1978)… “The River” (1980) was exceptional – so that was the Bruce canon that was the backdrop to my middle and high-school years, and I loved all of it! Then “Nebraska” (1982) came out, and I was like WTF is this??? It’s not that the songs weren’t well-done – for they were, it’s just that NONE of them could hold a candle to what came before it… I listened to about 3 or 4 tracks, and I was like done with it… Maybe Bruce felt the need to do a Bob Dylan-esque album, or maybe he was cleansing his palate in anticipation of working on the more “popish” material that would be forthcoming on “Born In The USA” (1984) – but whatever it was, it was a HUGE disappointment to be sure… What could go wrong with an album of 10 totally acoustic, and incredibly depressing stories about “simple folk”, which offers no variation or diversity in sound… Glad I DIDN'T listen to the album all the way through back in the day, and wish I WOULDN'T have this morning on the drive into work… If you want good acoustic Bruce, there is plenty to be found throughout his discography…

One or two good songs but not my style. Bruce doing Dylan.

Elitist douche bag from Jersey writes a bunch of bad depressing songs and decides it describes the fly over part of the country. Elitist critics in NY and LA praise the album. Meanwhile the people in Nebraska don’t give a fuck what you think. Maybe life in the mid-west is hard, but for damn sure some Elitist douche from Jersey has no idea what it’s like and should keep his ideas to himself. This album is a turd, written by a clueless Jersey boy and praised by equally clueless coastal critics. Boo.

Just really boring

Kaikki springsteenin temput näyttää niin läpinäkyviltä tässä. Näkyy liian selvästi millaiseen kuulijaryhmään vedotaan. Instrumentaalit on albumissa huonoja koska oli "demoja" jotka sitten vaan jätettiin tälläiseksi eikä bändin kanssa soitettukkaan. Joo Joo ihan varmana. TDSOTM on myös ihan ihan vahingossa pojjaat huomas että biisit menee kivasti peräkkäin "ei ollut mitään aavistustakaan että ne biisit muodostais niin kattavan kokonaisuuden" -lying lip-synching liar dave NE TRANSITIONIT JA KAIKKI ON HIOTTU SIIHEN PÄÄLLE, kun ollaan, KUN OLLAAN TAJUTTU ETTÄ NYT NE SOPII TÄSSÄ JÄRJESTYKSESSÄ NÄIN YHTEEN, JA TÄLLÄISILLÄ PITKILLÄ (usein 30 sec transitioneilla biisien välissä) ne tietenkin kuullostaa hyvältä.. heh.. Ei ihme jos biisin loppua ja alkua muutetaan huomattavasti niin että biisit soljuu yhteen. SE ON PAKOTTAMALLA TEHTY! sama tässä.. Nämä on tekemällä tehty kuullostamaan tältä ei vittu vahingossa vaan "Springsteen recorded the songs as demos on a 4-track recorder, intending to rerecord them with the E Street Band, but decided to release them as they were.[3] Nebraska remains one of the most highly regarded albums in his catalogue.[4]" vauh vauh 4 track recorder??? Vauh Vauh ompa alkeellinen laitteisto vain 4 raitaa vauh niin raaka ääni raaka kuin bob dylani EI OLE BOB DYLAN ARVOISTA EI OLE NÄHNYKKÄÄN!!!

I was never a fan of Springsteen to begin with, but this obviously did not move the needle. Not sure if I have ever called an album terrible. This is one of the worst I have had to listen to on this list. No idea why this would be an album I MUST listen to before i die.

Don't listen to this if you are depressed, it will lead you to kill yourself. While I'm sure further listening would demonstrate some sort of beauty, I can't bring myself to do it. This really deserves 0/5 stars but I'm forced to give it one star, which it definitely does not deserve.

This is not great.... the second song in... Johnny 99 is not bad; I imagine it would be better if there were backup drums and an electric guitar. Very forgettable, I did not even remember this was playing in the background, and Pandora moved on to the next album.

Super boring

1 Not for me

Can't stand Bruce Springsteen

What a fucking slog. Third Springsteen album that I ‘Had to hear’ smh.

Really shit.

The good people of the state of Nebraska have to have the strongest case ever for malicious misrepresentation. No state can possibly be anything like as boring as this collection of dirges. This is also one of the few records by a singer songwriter that challenges Bob Dylan's capacity for irritating vocals (there has to be a special mention, as always, in this category to Neil Young). Normally I quite like Springsteen but this is just dire. Was the inclusion of all of his albums really necessary.

good

That was hard to listen to. He was either mumbling or too loud most of the time and the harmonica was screeching in my ears.

Big miss

God this shit was SO boring. I really don’t understand why he’s a thing .

Too slow for me. Open all night was my favorite song. Not sure how this was enjoyable unless you are high, in your feels or just old

Listen, I totally get that this album has poetic value, and that he was trying a new style. But WOW, this was one of the dullest albums I’ve had in months, musically speaking. The songs are SO simplistic, the majority of them use the three most basic chords (1,4,5) and are just plain indistinguishable. There is no talent displayed here, his voice is a bit annoying, and the harmonica pierces my ears. Compared to the rest of the 1001 list, this one is surely a 1/5

They blew a chicken man in Philly last night, and they blew a piss house too? Yeah, I'm not digging this even slightly. Dirge followed by dirge. Until "state trooper" which starts out nice and shows promise, but is ultimately a bit shit without actually going anywhere. It almost imperceptibly gathers pace in a way that, if it actually went anywhere, could be considered threatening... But then it just literally fades the fuck out, achieving absolutely nothing. And is instantly followed by another dirge. Open All Night is almost a straight up beat for beat cover of Dire Straits Walk of Life, but without the upbeat pleasure of it. A couple more dirges for good luck and yeah, I've heard all I need to. This is a rock solid one-star bag o'shite.

Never liked him. Don't like monotone acoustic miserablists. This is the perfect storm of stuff I don't like

I just can't

Is the singular for tedium tedia?

I just couldn’t finish one track on this album. There were a few songs that I thought were gonna be ok but then he started with the dissonant harmonica and ruined it. At one point I thought the harmonica was off and it.was.his.voice (Johnny 99). This entire album sounds like someone took ambien and is trying to quickly record it before they fall asleep. I don’t get this one, not for me.

An uninteresting slog of an acoustic album, the songs all blend together and nothing really stands out. I'll admit I only really know the hits when it comes to Springsteen, but this really fell short of any expectations I may have had.

Ugh, fuck off. I just had "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" three days ago and this is literally the same thing. Boring mumbly folk rock until the harmonica starts and your entire auditory system shuts down, leaving you with lifelong tinnitus. Thanks for the headache. Harmonicas are more annoying than kazoos. Bruce Springsteen at least has a bearable voice when compared to Bob Dylan, but that doesn't make this album anything higher than a 1/5 for me.

I tend not to listen to lyrics and found this album a massive snore.

De este álbum solo puedo salvar una canción, “State Trooper”, que con literalmente dos acordes tiene mucha más música que todas las demás juntas que, por culpa de esa languidez y una omnipresente armónica, parecen compuestas en la cárcel para ser tocadas en la iglesia… de la cárcel. Compraría este disco para poder prenderle fuego físicamente.

No es para un publico, que no esta acostumbrado a esto. Intente, sin exito, escucharlo.

Not the best

I HATED THIS SO MUCH OFY9ER7UOWHUIBH SHITTEST ALBUM IVE EVER LISTENED TO

Dislike the Boss