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Rating:
An album for Valentine's Day. When "The Rising" hit the market in 2002, a label stuck on the front of the album read "The first album with the E-Street Band since 'Born In The U.S.A.'", testament to the fact that there are many, even Springsteen's own advertising agents, who don't give much consideration to this "Tunnel Of Love" from 1987. Here, in fact, even though its members are objectively relegated to sporadic session men, the E-Street Band is still there to accompany the Boss in his entrance into the adult world, more responsible, more fragile; from the cover, you can already see a more mature man, in a suit and no longer in jeans and a t-shirt, without a bandana but in a leather tie, with a divorce behind him and a strong desire to sing about it.
In 1987, Bruce Springsteen had already decided that his career couldn't continue by always delivering Esquire/Telecaster chops like in "Born In The U.S.A." or in the Francisean poverty of the compositions in "Nebraska", thus releasing an album that might have seemed anomalous but was proof that time passes and experiences help to grow. Even for him. The music contained here has a significantly lower impact compared to everything Bruce Springsteen had accustomed his listeners to, from those who had in mind the fiery aspect of the Boss and his desire to scream emotions to those who more pleasantly remember the folk and strongly intimate soul; these have always been the two sides of the artist, two extreme sides that here, for the first time, merge. Exceptions are "Spare Parts" and "Cautious Man", still tied to the dual soul just described, but the rest of the album takes it upon itself not to shout anymore or even whisper, but to speak as a grown person. On a textual level, Springsteen temporarily abandons the voices of his people, his society, his America and writes his most personal and autobiographical album that appeared up to that point, while musically, he turns towards softer arrangements almost always supported by synthesizers and drum machines.
After the a-cappella intro of "Ain't Got You" which talks about his own success, "Tougher Than The Rest" outlines what will be the predominant style of the album: slow compositions revolving around the female figure, here still described as a symbol of salvation, somewhat like in the immortal "Thunder Road" twelve years earlier. However, it will remain the only case: in "Brilliant Disguise", chosen as a shocking lead single in a 1987 that still had "No Surrender" in its ears, there are all the confessions of a man who sees his couple's life falling apart without knowing whom to blame, in the heartbreaking "One Step Up" those of someone sitting alone at a bar counter brooding over memories, in "When You're Alone" the photographs of what was and a banal yet burning truth ("when you're alone, you ain't nothing but alone") while in "Walk Like A Man" the faded images of a child retracing his dad's footsteps on the beach, spreading his arms not to lose balance. The shadow of your father descending on you, is there perhaps something more reassuring? In these, as in other slightly more sustained compositions such as "Tunnel Of Love" or "All That Heaven Will Allow", you can see how Springsteen has learned over the years to touch more finely the strings of melancholy, a sentiment that reaches its maximum expression and beauty in the concluding "Valentine's Day", the only reference to Valentine's that I appreciate, to listen to when remembering a figure that has given us so much and you see it disappear into the mist. A final farewell with a lump in your throat and teary eyes but trying to smile, and let those revel in their damn ignorance who always confuse what is sad with what is ugly.
The album turned out to be confusing for those who at the time still had the image of the Boss as one of the ultimate artistic and commercial expressions of American Rock and instead came out with an intimate and autobiographical work, steeped in the sound inherited from the fading 80s. Bruce Springsteen is like this, he goes in fits and starts, in 1982 he amazed with his stripped and solitary release "Nebraska" after the galloping and choral Rock'n'Roll of "The River", now after "Born In The U.S.A." he decides it's time to lay down the hatchet and look in the mirror. Such high peaks, apart from "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" (1995), will not be reached again.
Goodbye Boss, I always hope it isn't a farewell.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Tougher Than the Rest (04:35)
Well it's Saturday night,
you're all dressed up in blue
I've been watching you a while,
maybe you been watching me too
So somebody ran out,
left somebody's heart in a mess
Well if your lookin' for love,
honey I'm tougher than the rest
Some girls they want a handsome Dan
or some good lookin' Joe
There are some girls
who like a sweet talking Romeo
Well around here baby,
I learned you get what you can get
So if you're rough enough for love,
Honey I'm tougher than than rest
Your road is dark,
It's a thin, thin line
But I want you to know,
I'll walk it for you any time
Maybe your other boyfriends,
they couldn't pass the test
Well if your rough and ready for love,
Honey I'm tougher than the rest
Well it ain't no secret,
I've been around a time or two
Well I don't know baby,
maybe you been around too.
Well there is another kinda dance honey,
all you got to do is say yes
And if you rough and ready for love,
then I'm tougher than the rest
If you're rough enough for love
then I'm tougher than the rest.
03 All That Heaven Will Allow (02:39)
I got a dollar in my pocket
there ain't a cloud up above
I got a picture in a locket
that says baby I love you
Well if you didn't look then boys
then fellas don't go lookin' now
Well here she comes a-walkin'
all that heaven will allow
Say hey there mister bouncer
now all I wanna do is dance
But I swear I left my wallet
back home in my workin' pants
C'mon Slim slip me in man
I'll make it up to you somehow
I can't be late I got a date
with all that heaven will allow
Rain and storm and dark skies
well now they don't mean a thing
If you got a girl that loves you
and who wants to wear your ring
So c'mon mister trouble
we'll make it through you somehow
We'll fill this house with all the love
all that heaven will allow
Now some may wanna die young man
young and gloriously
Get it straight now mister
hey buddy that ain't me
'Cause I got something on my mind
that sets me straight and walkin' proud
And I want all the time
all that heaven will allow
07 Tunnel of Love (05:12)
Fat man sitting on a little stool
Takes the money from my hand while his eyes take a walk all over you
Hands me the ticket smiles and whispers good luck
Cuddle up angel cuddle up my little dove
We'll ride down baby into this tunnel of love
I can feel the soft silk of your blouse
And them soft thrills in our little fun house
Then the lights go out and it's just the three of us
You me and all that stuff we're so scared of
Gotta ride down baby into this tunnel of love
There's a crazy mirror showing us both in 5-D
I'm laughing at you you're laughing at me
There's a room of shadows that gets so dark brother
It's easy for two people to lose each other in this tunnel of love
it ought to be easy ought to be simple enough
Man meets woman and they fall in love
But the house is haunted and the ride gets rough
And you've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above
if you want to ride on down in through this tunnel of love
09 Brilliant Disguise (04:17)
I hold you in my arms
As the band plays
What are those words whispered, baby
Just as you turn away
I saw you last night
Out on the edge of town
I want to read your mind to know
Just what I've got in this new thing I've found
So tell me what I see
When I look in your eyes
Is that you, baby
Or just a brilliant disguise
I heard somebody call your name
From underneath our willow
I saw something tucked in shame
Underneath your pillow
Well, I've tried so hard baby
But I just can't see
What a woman like you
Is doing with me
So tell me who I see
When I look in your eyes
Is that you, baby
Or just a brilliant disguise
Now look at me, baby
Struggling to do everything right
And then it all falls apart
Oh, when out go the lights
I'm just a lonely pilgrim
I walk this world in wealth
I want to know if it's you I don’t trust
'Cause I damn sure don't trust myself
Now, you play the loving woman
I'll play the faithful man
But just don't look too close
Into the palm of my hand
Oh, we stood at the altar
The gypsy swore our future was bright
But come the wee wee hours
Well maybe, baby, the gypsy lied
So when you look at me
You better look hard and look twice
Is that me, baby
Or just a brilliant disguise
Tonight our bed is cold
I'm lost in the darkness of our love
God have mercy on the man
Who doubts what he's sure of
11 When You're Alone (03:24)
Times were tough
And love was not enough
So you said, "sorry Johnny, I'm gone gone gone"
You said my act was funny
But we both knew what was missing, honey
So you let out on your own
Now that pretty form that you've got, baby
Will make sure you get along
But you're gonna find out some day, honey
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
Now, I was young and pretty
On the mean streets of the city
And I fought to make 'em my home
With just the shirt on my back
I left and swore I'd never look back
And, man, I was gone gone gone
But there's things that'll knock you down you don't even see coming
And send you crawling like a baby back home
You're gonna find out that day, sugar
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
Well, I knew some day your running would be through
And you'd think back on me and you
And your love would be strong
You'd forget all the bad
And think only of all the laughs that we had
And you'd want to come home
Now it ain't hard feelings or nothing, sugar
That ain't what's got me singing this song
It's just nobody knows, honey, where love goes
But when it goes it's gone gone
And when you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
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Other reviews
By Night87
Tunnel of Love serves as an instrument to create a division between those drawn by fashion and those who understand Springsteen's poetics.
Bruce’s voice is chilling and creates a true masterpiece in 'One Step Up'.
