Top 25 Springsteen Songs: Honorable Mentions, Part I
"Tear drops on the city, Bad Scooter searching for his groove."
All right, I’m finally doing this…. Following in the tradition of my Top 25 favorite Grateful Dead songs:
I’m going to do a similar list for probably my favorite musician (and favorite artists/creators in any medium): Bruce Springsteen.
I’ll be going through a list of 25 songs, five at a time, grouped together in some form (either thematic or chronological) before culminating with an all-time Top 5.
To get things started, I wanted to do a few songs that just missed being in the top 25.
“Lucky Town”
I’ve written a couple times here about my hesitancy regarding the “Other Band” era of Bruce’s career.
Even though that stretch did not feature the beloved E Street gang, there were still some strong tracks in there. Other than “Human Touch,” this is my favorite song to come out of that period of Springsteen’s career.
Attesting to its strength as a composition, “Lucky Town” fit seamlessly into the E Street Band’s repertoire starting with the Reunion Tour in 1999.
It’s a small part, but the backing vocals that (I think) Nils Lofgren provides on those live versions starting with the Reunion Tour are really great.
“The Ghost of Tom Joad”
I’ll return to this point a few times throughout this whole endeavor, but it should be pretty clear that I think Bruce is at his best when he’s got the E Street Band behind him. I feel like having that sound, the saxophone and organ in particular, is intrinsic to the experience. So much of Springsteen’s work is about the magic that a great band can create. Thus it helps to have that band with him.
This leads to a track like the “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” an acoustic song from that period when the E Street Band wasn’t together, doesn’t generally appeal to me. But over time—and perhaps after hearing it in its electrified, Tom Morello infused version as part of the High Hopes tour—it became something of a standout to me even in its acoustic, album version.
Steinbeck’s work and his Grapes of Wrath protagonist are logical touchstones for Springsteen, and he does that character justice by bringing him into this musical arena.
“Tenth-Avenue Freeze Out”
After talking about how integral I see the E Street Band in the best of Springsteen, the perfect transition emerges with a song that’s quite literally about the E Street Band. It’s easily the greatest “getting the band together” song. It also has one of my favorite verses in all of popular music.
When the change was made uptown
And the Big Man joined the band
From the coastline to the city
All the little pretties raise their hands
I’m gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half
Not surprisingly, there are lots of things I have in mind when someone asks me my why I love the Boss so much. But those lyrics, the fun and joy that Springsteen and co. can bring into all our lives, that’s a big part of it. I also think one of the things that makes Springsteen so great is he even realized he’s not the coolest guy in HIS band (Clarence Clemons was, of course) and this song formally articulates that mythology. The Big Man is the key. They’re going to bust this city in half. As Springsteen will frequently say before those lines in concert, “This is the important part.”
It’s also a Springsteen song that really excels in the live setting (this is another trope I’ll be returning to throughout this endeavor). It was great as the “introduce the band” song during the Reunion Tour, it was great as a tribute to Clarence and Danny Federici in the post-2012 tours (it’s representative of the Springsteen experience that this song can be so fun in the swagger of rock and roll but also having you tear up thinking about those who’ve moved on). But I love the versions from The River tour that allowed Clarence a little space to solo before “the change was made uptown.”
I’d also like to mention Springsteen’s transformation of the song as part of his Springsteen on Broadway performance, which teases out the emotional weight the song possesses, particularly now after so many years have past and people have gone.
“My Hometown”
As a young listener who gravitated towards Springsteen’s lyrical tension of wanting to “get out” of where you’re from but to also feel a deep connection to said place, “My Hometown” stood out. While I appreciated the version on Born in the USA, a synth-heavy calm ending after the power and bombast of the rest of the album, I enjoyed the live versions even more because he highlights those two opposing pulls in the way he would introduce the song. That serenity I mentioned on the album itself is also heightened in an even more raucous live setting.
“My Hometown” is also a standout song for Danny Federici and Roy Bittan. The keyboards and organ gives the song a mystical, foggy quality so apropos for a song that spans decades and covering the passage of time.
“Land of Hopes and Dreams”
As this song has become a bit… dare I say, overplayed, it’s dropped in my estimation because there was a stretch where this would definitely be in the Top 25. But it’s still a great Springsteen song and one that taps into the (lower-case d) democratic nature of his music.
Yes, this train carries saints and sinners
This train carries losers and winners
This train carries whores and gamblers
This train carries lost souls
On this train, everyone is welcome. It carries everyone. That has to be one of Springsteen’s core tenets, which is expressed throughout his songs. It’s the best of the American ideal, distilled and paired to anthemic music.
It also has one of my favorite lyrics about moving on from sadness and despair.
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there'll be sunshine
And all this darkness past
While there’s something special about the album version on 2012’s Wrecking Ball, as it features some of Clarence’s final saxophone work, the version from the 1999-2000 reunion tour has always been the best in my estimation.
Also, the mandolin playing by Steven Van Zandt adds something real special to this song.
Now, as I reach the end of this list of honorable mentions… I’m realizing there are at least five more I have to include. Therefore, next up will be a second batch of honorable mentions and THEN we’ll get into the actual list.
I'm looking forward to seeing how your picks shape up. Also great to see your name pop up in my inbox again!