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Nebraska album cover

Album · 1982

Nebraska

by Bruce Springsteen

Nebraska is a 1982 rock album by Bruce Springsteen. It runs 10 tracks across 41 minutes on Columbia. Riffiter listeners rate it 4.5/5 from 5 ratings.

Rock · Classic Rock · Singer-Songwriter

Best albums of 1982

#3 in Best albums of 1982 · #23 in Best rock albums

Your rating

4.5 /5
5 ratings
85 /100
4 critics
10
Tracks
41 min
Runtime
127 bpm
Tempo
C# major
Key

Ratings

5 ratings · avg 4.5

0.5★5★

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Critics

4 publications

Scores collected from the English Wikipedia ratings box (CC BY-SA). Ratings belong to the publications; follow a link to read the review.

Cover art

2 credits

Nebraska cover art
Design
Andrea Klein
Photography
David Michael Kennedy

Tracklist

10 tracks · 41 min

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About

Nebraska is the sixth studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1982 on Columbia Records. Sparsely-recorded on a cassette-tape Portastudio, the tracks on Nebraska were originally intended as demos of songs to be recorded with the E Street Band. However, Springsteen ultimately decided to release the demos themselves. Nebraska remains one of the most highly-regarded albums in his catalogue. The songs on Nebraska deal with ordinary, blue collar characters who face a challenge or a turning point in their lives. Unlike his previous albums, very little salvation and grace is present within the songs. Initially, Springsteen recorded demos for the album at his home with a 4-track cassette recorder. The demos were sparse, using only acoustic guitar, electric guitar (on "Open All Night"), harmonica, mandolin, glockenspiel, tambourine, organ and Springsteen's voice.

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Springsteen then recorded the album in a studio with the E Street Band. However, he and the producers and engineers working with him felt that a raw, haunted folk essence present on the home tapes was lacking in the band treatments, and so they ultimately decided to release the demo version as the final album. Complications with mastering of the tapes ensued because of low recording volume, but the problem was overcome with sophisticated noise reduction techniques. Springsteen fans have long speculated whether Springsteen's full-band recording of the album, nicknamed Electric Nebraska, will ever surface. In a 2006 interview, manager Jon Landau said it was unlikely and that "the right version of Nebraska came out". But in a 2010 interview with Rolling Stone, E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg praised the full band recording of the album as "killing." Somewhat different band arrangements of most of these songs were heard on the 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour and have been played in various guises ever since. Other songs demoed during the Nebraska sessions include "Born in the U.S.A.," "Downbound Train," "Child Bride" (later retitled "Working on the Highway"), "Pink Cadillac" and more. Some have leaked on bootlegs.

In brief

Is Nebraska good?
Riffiter listeners rate Nebraska 4.5/5 from 5 ratings.
When was Nebraska released?
Nebraska was released in 1982 on Columbia.
How many tracks are on Nebraska?
Nebraska has 10 tracks, with a runtime of 41 minutes.
What genre is Nebraska?
Nebraska is catalogued under Rock, Classic Rock, Singer-Songwriter.
What BPM is Nebraska?
Nebraska runs at a median tempo of 127 BPM across its tracks, most often in C# major, measured from audio analysis.
What albums are similar to Nebraska?
Listeners of Nebraska also rate Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, Greatest Hits by Queen.

Nebraska at a glance

Label
Columbia Records
Produced by
Bruce Springsteen

Facts from Wikidata (CC0).

Credits

Engineered by
Mike Batlan

Credits and connections from Genius

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