Allen White: Springsteen messar som en ”boss”

Nebraska is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on September 30, 1982, by Columbia Records. 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. The songs on Nebraska deal with ordinary, down-on-their-luck blue-collar characters who face a challenge or a turning point in their lives. The songs also address the subject of outsiders, criminals and mass murderers with little or no hope for the future. Unlike previous albums, which often exuded energy, youth, optimism and joy, the vocal tones of Nebraska are solemn and thoughtful, with fleeting moments of grace and redemption woven through the lyrics. The album's reverb-laden vocals and mood combined with dark lyrical content have been described by music critic William Ruhlmann as "one of the most challenging albums ever released by a major star on a major record label". Nebraska met with commercial success, reaching number three in both the United States and Britain, but its stark departure from Springsteen's earlier albums resulted in slower sales and fainter praise from critics initially. Springsteen chose not to tour in support of the album, making it his first major release that was not supported by a tour, and his only such release until 2019's Western Stars. In later decades, Nebraska has attracted widespread acclaim and remains one of the most highly regarded albums in his catalogue, and was ranked number 150 in Rolling Stone's 2020 edition of its "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. A feature film based on the making of Nebraska titled Deliver Me from Nowhere is currently in the works.