•
Rating: In 1992, Springsteen simultaneously released two albums, "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town", which were not particularly well-received by critics or the public. To this day, these works are considered minor; they are said to be the product of a period of disorientation (the E Street Band had been disbanded, and Bruce had moved to California, leaving New Jersey, the cradle of his American dream). In reality, Lucky Town is different from its companion in themes, sounds, and even musicians. Much like the reevaluated Tunnel of Love, it is a largely autobiographical work, with intimate lyrics that contrast with the pompous and populist image Springsteen’s detractors have of him.
Those not passionate about the New Jersey rocker argue that "Nebraska" is his last valuable album. Some say that the million-dollar hunt of "Born in the USA" confined Springsteen to the pen of mainstream rock dinosaurs. Usually, however, dinosaurs in cages sell well, but after 1984, Bruce didn’t earn much, certainly not enough to cover the hefty heating bills of the aforementioned pen. The space granted to a dinosaur isn’t eternal, and if you don’t make good records, eventually you get evicted, even if you are called the Boss. Yet, in the nearly thirty years since "Born in the USA", it seems Springsteen’s reputation hasn’t suffered any severe declines. So, it’s time for even the most uncompromising critics to consider the possibility that there are valuable albums after "Nebraska". One of these is indeed "Lucky Town".
Unlike Human Touch, Lucky Town is a compact album, written in a short time, and above all, unplanned (Springsteen had only planned the first), a fact that attests to its authenticity. In fact, what need was there for another album besides the one already in preparation? Cynics will respond sharply: but two albums, two sets of revenues, two albums equals a double fleecing of the fans! One could respond: are we sure that a mainstream dinosaur releases two albums simultaneously? Wouldn’t it be more convenient, like a good accountant “in charge of artifice”, to perhaps add a couple of songs and keep the rest in reserve for lean times? No, it’s much more plausible that "Lucky Town" was released immediately because it is a heartfelt, unified album with a single central theme. And this theme is family happiness.
In the early '90s, Springsteen was no longer a man on the run; he had married backing vocalist Patti Scialfa and had a son. If Tunnel of Love narrated the couple’s relationship from the perspective of crisis, "Lucky Town" is the album of lived happiness. Better Days, the opening track, is clear from the title, and it sings: It’s a sad man who’s livin’ in his own skin / And can’t stand the company, a sad man is one who lives closed within himself and can’t stand company. Most of the songs describe typically familial situations: intimacy (If I Should Fall Behind, Leap of Faith, Book of Dreams, My Beautiful Reward), fatherhood (Living Proof), and new awareness (Better Days and the title track). The exceptions are Souls of the Departed, a prayer for the victims of war violence and society (although there is also a reference to being a parent, the anxiety for one's child in such a society), The Big Muddy, a disillusioned track about the small trades and maneuvers everyone engages in (There ain't no one leaving this world buddy / Without their shirttail dirty / Or their hands bloody), and the self-ironic Local Hero.
From a musical standpoint, "Lucky Town" is sober, with no piano or brass and understated keyboards. Without the E Street Band, Springsteen does almost everything himself, playing guitars, bass, and keyboards (as he already did in "Tunnel of Love"). There are virtually no arrangements: the result is almost a live studio album. The spotlight is on Bruce’s guitar which, again, to the chagrin of connoisseurs who dismiss him as a crude rocker, proves capable of refined interventions (the acoustic intricacies on If I Should Fall Behind, the slide on The Big Muddy), as well as an unexpected, distorted, and effected sound in the brief finale of Souls of the Departed.
"Lucky Town" is an album that deserves a place of respect in Springsteen’s discography. It contains If I Should Fall Behind, now a classic. It features ballads that effectively portray intimacy with few strokes (Book of Dreams, My Beautiful Reward) and successful Springsteen rock tracks like Lucky Town, Better Days, and Leap of Faith. Even the “swampy” progression of The Big Muddy perfectly matches the sinking in the mud sung about in the chorus. "Lucky Town" has been and is penalized by its coexistence with the mediocre "Human Touch", yet it is a valuable themed album. In my opinion, the cause of its (current) lack of adequate recognition lies precisely here: the theme of family happiness doesn’t have citizenship in rock where, as is well known, only torment and recklessness are predominantly sung about (and exalted by listeners). But in Leap of Faith Springsteen says: Oh heartbreak and despair got nothing but boring.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Local Hero (04:04)
I was driving through my hometown
I was just kinda killin' time
When i seen a face staring out of a black velvet painting
From the window of the five and dime
I couldn't quite recall the name
But the pose looked familiar to me
So I asked the salesgirl "Who was that man
Between the doberman and Bruce Lee?"
She said "Just a local hero"
"Local hero" she said with a smile
"Yeah a local hero he used to live here for awhile"
I met a stranger dressed in black
At the train station
He said "Son your soul can be saved"
There's beautiful women nights of low livin'
And some dangerous money to be made
There's a big town 'cross the whiskey line
And if we turn the right cards up
They make us boss the devil pays off
And them folks that are real hard up
They get their local hero
Somebody woth the right style
They get their local hero
Somebody with just the right smile
Well I learned my job I learned it well
Fit myself with religion and a story to tell
First they made me the king then they made me pope
Then they brought the rope
I woke to a gypsy girl sayin' "Drink this"
Well my hands had lost all sensation
These days I'm feeling all right
'Cept I can't tell my courage from my desperation
From the tainted chalice
Well I drunk some heady wine
Tonight I'm layin' here
But theres somethin' in my ear
Sayin' theres a little town just beneath the floodline
Needs a local hero
Somebody with the right style
Lookin' for a local hero
Someone with the right smile
Local hero local hero she said with a smile
Local hero he used to live here for awhile
04 If I Should Fall Behind (02:57)
We said we'd walk together baby come what may
That come the twilight should we lose our way
If as we're walking a hand should slip free
I'll wait for you
And should I walk behind
Wait for me
We swore we'd travel darlin' side by side
We'd help each other stay in stride
But each lover's steps fall so differently
But I'll wait for you
And if I should behind
Wait for me
Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true
But you and I know what this world can do
So let's make our steps clear that the other may see
And I'll wait for you
if I should fall behind
Wait for me
Now theres a beautiful river in the valley ahead
There 'neath the oaks bough soon we will be wed
Should we lose each other in the shadow of the evening trees
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me
Darlin' I'll wait for you
Should I fall behind
Wait for me
05 Leap of Faith (03:27)
All over the world the rain was pourin'
I was scratchin' where it itched
Oh heartbreak and despair got nothing but boring
So I grabbed you baby like a wild pitch
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust
Now your legs were heaven your breasts were the altar
Your body was the holy land
You shouted "jump" but my heart faltered
You laughed and said "Baby don't you understand?"
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust
Now you were the Red Sea I was Moses
I kissed you and slipped into a bed of roses
The waters parted and love rushed inside
I was Jesus' son sanctified
Tonight the moon's looking young but I'm feelin' younger
'Neath a veil of dreams sweet blessings rain
Honey I can feel the first breeze of summer
And in your love I'm born again
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
07 Living Proof (04:49)
Well now on a summer night in a dusky room
Come a little piece of the Lord's undying light
Crying like he swallowed the fiery moon
In his mother's arms it was all the beauty I could take
Like the missing words to some prayer that I could never make
In a world so hard and dirty so fouled and confused
Searching for a little bit of God's mercy
I found living proof
I put my heart and soul I put 'em high upon a shelf
Right next to the faith the faith that I'd lost in myself
I went down into the desert city
Just tryin' so hard to shed my skin
I crawled deep into some kind of darkness
Lookin' to burn out every trace of who I'd been
You do some sad sad things baby
When it's your you 're tryin' to lose
You do some sad and hurtful things
I've seen living proof
You shot through my anger and rage
To show me my prison was just an open cage
There were no keys no guards
Just one frightened man and some old shadows for bars
Well now all that's sure on the boulevard
Is that life is just a house of cards
As fragile as each and every breath
Of this boy sleepin' in our bed
Tonight let's lie beneath the eaves
Just a close band of happy thieves
And when that train comes we'll get on board
And steal what we can from the treasures of the Lord
It's been along long drought baby
Tonight the rain's pourin' down on our roof
Looking for a little bit of God's mercy
I found living proof
10 My Beautiful Reward (03:55)
Well I sought gold and diamond rings
My own drug to ease the pain that living brings
Walked from the mountain to the valley floor
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
From a house on a hill a sacred light shines
I walk through these rooms but none of them are mine
Down empty hallways I went from door to door
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
Well your hair shone in the sun
I was so high I was the lucky one
Then I came crashing down like a drunk on a barroom floor
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
Tonight I can feel the cold wind at my back
I'm flyin' high over gray fields my feathers long and black
Down along the river's silent edge I soar
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By Night87
Lucky Town is Springsteen’s first true album of human maturity.
The choice to give more space to the electric guitar is also excellent.
By fyguns
Lucky Town immediately reveals itself as genuine, straightforward, without contamination.
After listening it leaves a taste of positivity and redemption.
By Hungry
"The story of this album is simple and quite unique in Springsteen's discography, written, recorded, and released in less than six months."
"If I Should Fall Behind is the masterpiece of the album, a track among the best in Springsteen’s vast discography, with melancholic lyricism and beautiful acoustic guitar phrases."
