JerseyGirl
Senior Member
30. “American Skin (41 Shots)”
Springsteen’s heartbreaking elegy examines race and justice in America through the tragic killing of 23-year-old Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo, at whom NYPD officers fired 41 times, mistaking him for a wanted rapist. Premiered during the 2000 Reunion Tour, the only version released is a live recording from Madison Square Garden featuring The Boss asking for, and mostly receiving, quiet from the entire venue. Despite boycott calls over the song, the 10 MSG shows concluding the aforementioned tour sold out, magnifying the track’s power. -Ben Kaye
29. “Kitty’s Back”
For decades, the E Street Band has prided themselves on being the world’s greatest bar band. To their credit, they’ve never indicated otherwise; improvisation comes naturally to them. On “Kitty’s Back”, the jazzy seven-minute suite that conditions The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle acts as a thesis statement to back their claim, turning the spotlight on the album’s seediest characters with a humble ode replete with solo after solo. At the time, David Sancious’s organ work probably irked The Doors’ Ray Manzarek and pleased countless prospective musicians dwelling behind the black and white keys. Onstage, this dusty track always surprises, with each E Street member shining bright throughout. All in all, it’s a jammer’s delight. -Michael Roffman
28. “Lonesome Day”
After a less-than-stellar 90s, The Boss came back to life once he got back together with his E-Street Band. The second single from The Rising finds Springsteen trying to move on from a tough time, prop himself up, and just soldier on. One of many anthems adapted for the post-9/11 era, the song and the album it sprung from still resonate today in different trying times. -Justin Gerber
27. “She’s the One”
Another live regular, the song’s staccato beats and furious keys are really just lead-ins to a blaring Clemons solo. Lyrics focus on one of those age-ol’ tropes: the seductive, beautiful but frosty woman you wish would “just leave me alone.” And, honestly, who hasn’t encountered that woman at least once… or twice? -Ben Kaye
26. “Something in the Night”
The repetition sells this ballad and bookmarks it. In between is roughneck poetry, the sort you’d swear could make great tattoos (e.g. “You’re born with nothing, and better off that way.”), and altogether it sums up Darkness on the Edge of Town. Also, right at 4:23, Springsteen croons his loudest, literally tearing the hearts out of our chests. If you don’t believe him there, then you never will. -Michael Roffma
25. “Blinded by the Light”
Featuring some of The Boss’s most playful and tongue-twisting lyrics, this was actually his first ever single, but failed to chart until Manfred Mann’s Earth Band covered it three years later. Springsteen’s version is sans “Chopsticks” and far more swingy than trippy. And let’s clarify a lyrical dispute: The original line is “cut loose like a deuce,” referencing a two-seater hot rod. -Ben Kaye
24. “I’m Goin’ Down”
For all his layered instrumentation and dramatic street poetry, The Boss also knows how to keep it simple. “I’m Goin’ Down” is the most straightforward track on Born in the U.S.A., devoid of politics, bitter nostalgia, or small town lamentations. Boy meets girl, girl grows tired, boy knows it’s ending. The song was most likely written before Springsteen was involved with Julianne Phillips, but the subject matter would fit in easily on Tunnel of Love, an entire record dedicated to the rise and demise of their relationship. On Born in the U.S.A., it stands apart for its directness. -Dan Caffrey
23. “For You”
Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez hardly gets mentioned in Springsteen’s mythos, which is unfortunate. Take a stab at “For You”, and it’s his percussion that distracts you from the sprawling story of a suicidal woman. That in itself is the methodology to Springsteen and would later explain why most of America threw their fists up during “Born in the U.S.A.” in patriotic fervor. That juxtaposition of severity and lightheartedness, The Boss’s true hallmark, arguably started here. -Michael Roffman
22. “Prove It All Night”
If Darkness on the Edge of Town tackles broken dreams of working-class heroes so viscerally that any working-class hero whose dreams have been broken can find an air of solace within, then “Prove It All Night” is where the album’s characters are the most resilient. The “It” in the song’s title might be a little vague, but it’s something important and hopeful. Just listen to how vigorously Springsteen voices the matter throughout the cut. -Mike Madden
21. “The River”
The title track of Springsteen’s fifth album, “The River” works itself hauntingly into Springsteen’s depressed suburban world, swiveling back and forth from hard-luck urban strife and the beauty of being able to escape into nature. The biblical purity of diving into the river whenever the realities of getting a “union card and a wedding coat” for his 19th birthday is striking, a brief moment of clarity away from the “curse” of unfortunate memories. -Adam Kivel
Springsteen’s heartbreaking elegy examines race and justice in America through the tragic killing of 23-year-old Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo, at whom NYPD officers fired 41 times, mistaking him for a wanted rapist. Premiered during the 2000 Reunion Tour, the only version released is a live recording from Madison Square Garden featuring The Boss asking for, and mostly receiving, quiet from the entire venue. Despite boycott calls over the song, the 10 MSG shows concluding the aforementioned tour sold out, magnifying the track’s power. -Ben Kaye
29. “Kitty’s Back”
For decades, the E Street Band has prided themselves on being the world’s greatest bar band. To their credit, they’ve never indicated otherwise; improvisation comes naturally to them. On “Kitty’s Back”, the jazzy seven-minute suite that conditions The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle acts as a thesis statement to back their claim, turning the spotlight on the album’s seediest characters with a humble ode replete with solo after solo. At the time, David Sancious’s organ work probably irked The Doors’ Ray Manzarek and pleased countless prospective musicians dwelling behind the black and white keys. Onstage, this dusty track always surprises, with each E Street member shining bright throughout. All in all, it’s a jammer’s delight. -Michael Roffman
28. “Lonesome Day”
After a less-than-stellar 90s, The Boss came back to life once he got back together with his E-Street Band. The second single from The Rising finds Springsteen trying to move on from a tough time, prop himself up, and just soldier on. One of many anthems adapted for the post-9/11 era, the song and the album it sprung from still resonate today in different trying times. -Justin Gerber
27. “She’s the One”
Another live regular, the song’s staccato beats and furious keys are really just lead-ins to a blaring Clemons solo. Lyrics focus on one of those age-ol’ tropes: the seductive, beautiful but frosty woman you wish would “just leave me alone.” And, honestly, who hasn’t encountered that woman at least once… or twice? -Ben Kaye
26. “Something in the Night”
The repetition sells this ballad and bookmarks it. In between is roughneck poetry, the sort you’d swear could make great tattoos (e.g. “You’re born with nothing, and better off that way.”), and altogether it sums up Darkness on the Edge of Town. Also, right at 4:23, Springsteen croons his loudest, literally tearing the hearts out of our chests. If you don’t believe him there, then you never will. -Michael Roffma
25. “Blinded by the Light”
Featuring some of The Boss’s most playful and tongue-twisting lyrics, this was actually his first ever single, but failed to chart until Manfred Mann’s Earth Band covered it three years later. Springsteen’s version is sans “Chopsticks” and far more swingy than trippy. And let’s clarify a lyrical dispute: The original line is “cut loose like a deuce,” referencing a two-seater hot rod. -Ben Kaye
24. “I’m Goin’ Down”
For all his layered instrumentation and dramatic street poetry, The Boss also knows how to keep it simple. “I’m Goin’ Down” is the most straightforward track on Born in the U.S.A., devoid of politics, bitter nostalgia, or small town lamentations. Boy meets girl, girl grows tired, boy knows it’s ending. The song was most likely written before Springsteen was involved with Julianne Phillips, but the subject matter would fit in easily on Tunnel of Love, an entire record dedicated to the rise and demise of their relationship. On Born in the U.S.A., it stands apart for its directness. -Dan Caffrey
23. “For You”
Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez hardly gets mentioned in Springsteen’s mythos, which is unfortunate. Take a stab at “For You”, and it’s his percussion that distracts you from the sprawling story of a suicidal woman. That in itself is the methodology to Springsteen and would later explain why most of America threw their fists up during “Born in the U.S.A.” in patriotic fervor. That juxtaposition of severity and lightheartedness, The Boss’s true hallmark, arguably started here. -Michael Roffman
22. “Prove It All Night”
If Darkness on the Edge of Town tackles broken dreams of working-class heroes so viscerally that any working-class hero whose dreams have been broken can find an air of solace within, then “Prove It All Night” is where the album’s characters are the most resilient. The “It” in the song’s title might be a little vague, but it’s something important and hopeful. Just listen to how vigorously Springsteen voices the matter throughout the cut. -Mike Madden
21. “The River”
The title track of Springsteen’s fifth album, “The River” works itself hauntingly into Springsteen’s depressed suburban world, swiveling back and forth from hard-luck urban strife and the beauty of being able to escape into nature. The biblical purity of diving into the river whenever the realities of getting a “union card and a wedding coat” for his 19th birthday is striking, a brief moment of clarity away from the “curse” of unfortunate memories. -Adam Kivel
Continued...