Bruce Springsteen released two albums on the very same day in 1992. The first, Human Touch, received more of the press, in large part because it featured him using musicians other than the E Street Band to back him up.
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The second, Lucky Town, contains songs where Springsteen played the bulk of the instruments himself, and it’s a far better record than Human Touch. Here are the five best songs from that underrated disc.
5. “Better Days”
Human Touch and Lucky Town represented Springsteen’s first releases in five years, and he had gone through a lot in the interim, including divorce, remarriage, fatherhood, and therapy. As a result, these albums are the most nakedly confessional of his career, which made them perhaps not as relatable as his previous music. “Better Days” takes a sweeping, anthemic approach to recapping the recent events in his life, which helps it to overcome any of those concerns. You can get caught up in the catchy chorus and imagine it applying to your own life very easily.
4. “My Beautiful Reward”
The closing track on the album gets an unexpected assist from Ian McLagan, who famously played keyboards for both the Small Faces and Faces. His soothing organ work is just the right touch for a song about seeking that one element in life that brings peace. Even though much of these two albums paints a tale of a guy who’s found his redemption in the love of wife and family, “My Beautiful Reward” slyly suggests the search continues still. At least, at the end of the song, he’s flying high in the search, instead of, as the earlier verses suggest, crawling around in the dirt.
3. “Local Hero”
Springsteen realized early in his career that if he built up a kind of myth around himself, it would help him forge a connection to his fans. But what do you do years later when you’re trying to make sense of yourself and are confronted with this other version of you that you’ve created? That’s the rub in the harmonica-drenched “Local Hero,” which Springsteen wisely writes from a humorous perspective. When he sees a version of himself staring down at him in a novelty shop, it sends him back to the sacrifices and compromises he made to get to that point, wondering if it was all worth it.
2. “Lucky Town”
As mentioned above, Springsteen took care of the Lucky Town album pretty much on his own, using just Gary Mallaber on drums on most of the tracks and playing all the other instruments himself. On the title track, he rocks far more convincingly than on any of the tracks from Human Touch, even though he had a full band at his disposal for that other album’s songs. This is a tough track that benefits from the unrelenting attack of the grinding guitars and snarling vocals. It’s also less connected to the details of Springsteen’s life and times, at least on the surface, which makes the grittiness hit home for everybody.
1. ”If I Should Fall Behind”
As mentioned, Springsteen had undergone a divorce in between album cycles, but he had also found love again with Patti Scialfa, with whom he’s built a long-lasting marriage. “If I Should Fall Behind” oozes with the wisdom of a guy who didn’t get it right the first time around, but has learned a few important lessons in time for the next go. Even though the song is utterly romantic (and makes for a wonderful concert showcase), it maintains its realism about the potential pitfalls of love. The lyrics suggest communication can help prevent the temporary fissures within a relationship that can fester into more permanent problems.
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Photo by Graham Wiltshire/Redferns
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