Product Description

After a five year recording hiatus following the emotionally eloquent TUNNEL OF LOVE (and a subsequent world tour), Springsteen returned in 1992 with the tandem release of HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN. Though released separately, both albumssignalled the singer's more mature preoccupation with introspective, complicated themes of desire, despair and regret. The albums were also Springsteen's first without the full E Street Band. HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN marry Springsteen's popular persona of fist-waving, stadium rocker with the morereflective, rootsier sound the singer favoured on NEBRASKA.
LUCKY TOWN's "Better Days" is Springsteen's forthright contemplation of his contradictory status as a multi-millionaire, working class hero. The slight Nashville lilt of "If I Should Fall Behind" is reminiscent of the sentimental balladry on BORN IN THE USA and "Leap of Faith" is a keening, raspy return to the Springsteen of anthemic yore. HUMAN TOUCH and LUCKY TOWN may never be revered in same way as some of hisother releases, but both albums are immensely satisfying asa double shot farewell to the raucous rebelliousness of Springsteen's youthful rock and roll years.

Track Listing

1. Better Days
2. Lucky Town
3. Local Hero
4. If I Should Fall Behind
5. Leap Of Faith
6. Big Muddy
7. Living Proof
8. Book Of Dreams
9. Souls Of The Departed
10. My Beautiful Reward

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7554 in Music
• Released on: 2000-01-10
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Better than ever
Like stock-market traders and political pundits, music critics tend to follow the herd. A couple of them decided in 1992 that this was a mediocre record (probably holding it up to Bruce's legendary early-80s period), so now they all seem to say it. In truth, this, for me, is the last album Bruce wrote himself that is truly great (the Seeger Sessions is top-notch too but it's almost all covers).
Right from the start Bruce seems to know exactly where he is going, with an authority in lyrics and vocals that has been largely missing from his latest self-penned releases. Bruce's voice has never sounded better, whether tackling rocking classics like Better Days, Lucky Town and Living Proof or lovely ballads like Beautiful Reward and If I Should Fall Behind.
Part of the reason for critics wobbling on this record, I suspect, is it addresses unfashionable issues like faherhood and fame. Also, fans had been outraged that he had ditched the E Street Band.
But compare this now with later releases such as, say, Magic, and you see what he has lost as a songwriter. Springsteen's best records sound like no one else in their swagger, emotion and intelligence - and this is one of them.

Why the bad press??
Released on the same day as the awful Human Touch, this album has always been forgotten about. This is a shame, as there are some of Springsteens best ever songs on here.
Starting off with Better days, straight into Lucky town, the album rocks more than Bruce had for many years at this stage of his career. Why he feels the need to shout instead of sing I couldnt say, but this is what we have. Of the rockier tracks, the final Souls Of The Departed is simply brilliant...if only we had the E Streeters playing on it, but hey, we dont.
Living Proof, written about the birth of his son has some amazing lyrics, but the greatest lyrics are saved for the three ballads, If I Should Fall Behind, Book Of Dreams, and My Beautiful Reward. Springsteen is one of the few artists who could write 3 dimensional love songs, along with Costello and Dylan. Listen to the love in the lyrics in those three ballads...truly amazing.
If only we had the greatest band ever playing with him on this album it would be a nailed on 5 star album.
Dont allow the dreadful Human Touch to cloud your views, this is a great album, and deserves to be judges as such.

3.5 actually, and creeping upwards
1992. Bruce finally breaks his streak and produces a pair of clunkers.

Two albums at the same time, nice marketing trick, if not original, but not necessarily twice as good. But in his defence, these genuinely are two different albums.

"Human Touch" he probably sweated over for some considerable time, desperately trying to find his muse. In large part, he failed. Finally, he seemed to have emptied what had seemed to be a bottomless well of great tunes and often greater lyrics, substituting a plodding, uninspired soft-rock sound driven by pro-session men. I've never worked out why he dropped the E Streeters in pursuit of new sounds and musical approaches, only to settle on journeymen studio players. The heart and soul went with the tunes.

"Lucky Town" on the other hand, seems to have been a later burst of genuine inspiration, recorded quickly and largely solo. In a fit of indecision - or perhaps pushed by Landau and the sales guys to finally deliver some turnover after 5 years without a new record - he released both CDs. The Bruce of a few years before would have quickly seem the truth and canned "Human Touch" as not up to scratch.

The net result was that the overly long and strained "HT" drowned out the simpler, more genuine "LT". In retrospect, this has done "Lucky Town" a great disservice, as recent revisits suggest there is some really good material here. "Better Days", "Fall Behind", "Leap of Faith", "Reward" are all decent songs. There are no Bruce classics here, but there are good songs and heartfelt performances.

"Human Touch" unfortunately fails to improve with age.