Bruce Springsteen tried in vain for months to improve upon demo recordings he had made. Eventually, he came to the realization that the demos were special as they were, and he turned them into the classic 1982 album Nebraska.
Most Springsteen fans will tell you there’s not a clunker in the bunch when considering the songs on Nebraska, and we tend to agree. Still, some tracks stand apart from the rest, including these five songs we feel are the album’s best.
5. “State Trooper”
The concentrated intensity of Springsteen’s performance throughout Nebraska is one of its defining characteristics, which is amazing when you consider he didn’t initially think these recordings were ever going to be heard by a wider audience. “State Trooper” epitomizes this aspect of Nebraska better than any other song. Springsteen gets inside the head of a desperate character who finds himself out on the road in the wee hours for lack of a better place to go, praying he won’t stumble into a confrontation that he just won’t be able to resist once it’s upon him.
4. “My Father’s House”
Springsteen’s up-and-down relationship with his father in his formative years and beyond provided the fuel for many a memorable track. In the case of “My Father’s House,” the family home is sort of the Rosebud in the story, as the sight of it sends the narrator rocketing back into the past for a period of contemplation and coming to terms. The song ends on a particularly haunting note, as the guy is visited by biting vivid dreams of the place, only to come to the realization there’s no going back there to mend any broken relationships.
3. “Johnny 99”
Again, it’s hard to credit Springsteen for having foresight to shape the album when writing and performing, because he really didn’t know what form this all would take. But Nebraska benefits greatly as a whole from his ability to change up the approach from song to song. In the case of “Johnny 99,” the story itself is no less harrowing than many of the others on the album, as a down-on-his-luck dude gets nailed for armed robbery and ends up with life in prison. But the rockabilly rhythm and Springsteen’s breathless delivery supercharge it into something invigorating.
2. “Atlantic City”
Springsteen added some subtle touches to this one that set it apart as a recording. The mandolin adds a little bit of Old World flavor, which subtly suggests the halcyon days of Atlantic City that are fast receding into memory. Adding multiple vocal tracks also keeps this one a bit more surprising than your average acoustic song. The titular location is fitting, because the protagonist has no choice but to gamble, since the economic downturn for those living in the area makes it impossible for him to play it straight.
1. “Highway Patrolman”
Nowhere else on Nebraska does Springsteen combine a well-told story of everyday people with the social commentary that burbles subtly in the background of every song on the album. The title character is forced into his thankless job when his preferred vocation as a farmer is denied him due to economic stress. His wayward brother can’t latch onto a fallback job in the same way, and his restlessness leads him constantly to trouble. The devastating ending of this song speaks to how loyalty to family can be its own kind of dead end.
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