Bruce Springsteen is not without his hits, but fans believe he’s struck a three-album run that is better than any other moment in his discography.
While The Boss has offered early-career hits, late-stage revivals, and more than a few hidden gems, fans were nearly unanimous when deciding on Springsteen’s strongest run. Hindsight is everything for assessing the quality of albums but for Springsteen‘s faithful, it starts with Born to Run and ends with The River. A post to the r/BruceSpringsteen subreddit saw fans confirm this stretch, which also includes Darkness on the Edge of Town. Some believe the run of albums can be extended further to bring in both Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A. for this stretch.
Some extended the parameters further, with one fan writing: “I think Bruce has the best run of albums in music history. Starting with Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., and finishing with The River.” Another added: “I’d go all the way up to Tunnel of Love.”
Not everyone was convinced by the inclusion of The River, with some suggesting an earlier album is far more important. The fan wrote: “I would argue that The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, Born to Run, and Darkness on the Edge of Town is actually a better three-album run, but it’s subjective.”
Another gave up their thoughts on an eight-album run, writing: “I’d say from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. through Tunnel of Love, that’s an unbelievable eight-album run.” A third added: “Don’t forget all the non-album stuff from this era (Tracks, The Promise, and The Ties That Bind). You could have given someone else that back catalogue, and they would have had a star trajectory.”
Some have since suggested that The River is not worthy of inclusion in the three-album run. One wrote: “The River is not a great album. It could have been his masterpiece if better song selections had been made.”
The original poster added: “Maybe instead he put some of the outtakes on the album and replaced some worse songs?” A third added: “Totally agree. The River has some truly awful songs on it, as well as some of his finest.”
In a separate thread, fans praised Springsteen’s little-known album that deserved far more praise than it received at the time of its release. Fans took to the Bruce Springsteen subreddit to share their thoughts on which of his works had been overlooked by members of the public. They settled on High Hopes, an album that has grown on fans over the last 12 years and is having more of an impact on Springsteen’s dedicated listeners now than it did on its release.
One fan took to the forum and asked: “Why isn’t this album talked about more? This album seems to get ‘lost in the mix… I know for myself, I remember feeling very underwhelmed when it was first released. I do enjoy the songs Harry’s Place and Down In The Hole, but I can’t say the rest of the album has grown on me at all these last 12 years. What’s everyone’s take on this album? Is it also one that gets lost/overlooked in your collection?”
Some fans have since issued a blunt reason as to why the album isn’t talked about all that much. One person wrote: “I think it’s generally just disliked, and that’s why no one talks about it. That’s sort of where I’m at with it.
“It feels like a minor work, none of the new songs really stuck with me, and I don’t really like the production he used on the remade older songs and prefer their older versions. It’s also just sort of hard to know what to make of it. With the mix of covers and older songs, it doesn’t even really feel like a proper album, more just like a weird thing he wanted to make during a period of productive touring.”
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