Falling in 1984 between two very different albums (Nebraska-1982 & Tunnel of Love-1987), this album seems to share the somewhat bleak outlook of Nebraska and some of the up-tempo-ness of Tunnel of Love. If you want to try and find a way to label it as a bridge between them that is. I don’t feel that need, but I thought I would point at it and wave.

Every song on here could have been a single – and indeed 9/12 tracks on here were released as singles – and they ALL broke the Billboard top 10. Not that charts mean anything, but for a rock album to have that many top 10 singles? That’s pretty miraculous. I can’t even think of an album in my conscious memory that had that many singles. Hell, that’s more listenable songs than are on many albums.

I am annoyed that John Jerry used No Surrender as his campaign song, because that’s my favorite song off the album, and John is a douche. Oh well. Can’t win ‘em all. Funnier is Reagan’s rather famous usage of Born in the USA…whose lyrics he most not have even read because, while this may sound like a happy go US song, it’s really a bleak portrait of a Vietnam vet’s life after his return home. Wise choice Ronnie, wise choice.

Overall I’d put this album on par with Energy as near-perfect, well past 95%, 98% even – beyond that I can’t fine tune it. In some ways it’s stronger – as the result of years of refinement in artistry and touring, in other ways Energy is stronger – as a genre-creating/defining sound created by young kids with comparatively little experience.

Here’s the (I think, I don’t actually remember so I couldn’t verify) original Born in the USA video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPudiBR15mk

Go 80s headbands & jeans!!

And here’s how he often plays it now (and evidently how it was intended to be performed, supposedly he was talked into speeding it up for the album version or something.  I like both versions; different aspects shine through in each variation.):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8TwMqpBeL4

Here’s a live version of Downbound Train (a little like a Nebraska track on steroids):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3-dtbnfzKA

Crummy video quality I know, but It seemed to have better sound than some of the others I found. Here’s a random cover I found by the Cardigans (a very underrated band that consistently puts out excellent albums):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwSa8tPVlwc

I have to say though, this is not one of their better covers – it’s good, but not great. Although I’ve never heard them live before, maybe they are better on disc than in person? Who knows, I’d like to see them someday…but I’m aiming to see Bruce first. Hopefully he comes through here on the next tour!! And he’d better bring the damn E-Streeters…I passed on seeing him when he was on his solo acoustic tour because I have a feeling I’ll only get to see him once and I want to make it count.

Shit, that’s a lot of videos. Here’s one more for kicks. Eddy Vedder doing a pretty decent cover of No Surrender:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuZYKZrnaNQ

I love that song, it’s been a sort of mantra for me for years. Simple, and to the point, but still managing to have very evocative imagery.

I’ve been tempted to work it into some kind of tattoo. I still may.

Well, the two are 10 years apart (79-89), so they might as well just represent different generations of punk/ska/fuckers, which is all good. Hmm, that begs the question of what would be the ’99 equivalent? Out Come the Wolves is ’98, but that image isn’t nearly as used. I’m not sure what to say here, thoughts from the peanut gallery? What was the *THE* punk cover image of the late 90s? So there has to be some level of popularity involved here, no uber obscure cd that you swear is the second coming.

Anyway, back to the message at hand. An album with a rating of 95% (or more) – Energy (even the bonus tracks added later keep up to the standard of quality). It’s at least 95, maybe higher – the whole thing is surprisingly consistent. Obviously it’s a given that you have to enjoy this kind of music so if you don’t it will probably just sound like shite. Hey, to each its own.

Op Ivy is probably the most influential punk bank of my generation – even though I didn’t get into them until years after they broke up (I think I first heard them and got the CD in ’95 or ’96. Possibly ’94, but I’m leaning towards later), I’m still proud to have them as part of my generation’s musical chunk. Sure, the Clash was still making music in ’86, and the Ramones were going at least until the early 00s, but I count them as the previous chunk.

It doesn’t hurt that two of the members (Tim Armstrong & Matt Freeman) went on to form Rancid, another of my favorite bands. Or that another (Jesse Michaels) went on to form Big Rig (whose ep I still haven’t tracked down) and Common Rider, which I really like. Anyway, here’s three tracks (The Crowd, Healthy Body & Big City) to check out, if you like ‘em and somehow haven’t got the cd – track it down.

So, I’m going to do a re-ocurring bit about the albums in my collection (and elsewhere that I haven’t bought yet, if they exist) that are at the top of crop for that critera (% of “good” songs). Note that this doesn’t mean that I like a 95% album better than an 85% one. I know, that may sound weird – but an album can be super solid and still be beaten by another that had some really good songs, but couldn’t keep it going all the way through.

Onward towards today!

So I was listening to this (Dookie) in the car today on the way to meet Jen for lunch when I remember what a fucking good CD it is. No skippers. I was actually backing up and replaying tracks mid-album (something I almost never do). Every track could have been a single – meaning they are all as “good” and radio friendly as the 3 that were released. My favorite songs (She, Pulling Teeth) weren’t even singles! Yes, the album title is stupid, but it sort of fits their dorky-pop-punk thing.

So where does it lose 5%? On the stupid hidden track. I mean, it’s a funny little track, but it sounds like shit, so it totally throws off the “whole album” vibe.

Edit:

I’ve added She & Pulling Teeth as streams on my Vox blog. Click on the links to check them out.