In 1992, after an eight-album winning streak the likes of which American rock music had never encountered, Bruce Springsteen put out his first dud. His first two duds, actually, as his follow-up to Tunnel of Love took the form of two distinct albums released on the same day.
The more popular of the two was Human Touch, though most reviews suggest it is also the weaker effort. The record finds Springsteen in a much lighter mood than on the somber Tunnel of Love. Five years after the divorce album he had settled down with Patti Scialfa and set out to prove the theory that misery makes for much better music.
Human Touch suffers for not having the sort of thematic consistency that had become a hallmark of Springsteen’s albums — rather, it’s an unfocused collection of odds and ends.
I have to confess that I can’t confirm or deny the popular opinion of this album because I’ve never heard it. The title song, today’s SOTD, is the only track I’m familiar with and I like it a lot. Musically, if not lyrically, it would have fit right in on Tunnel of Love.
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don’t surrender
Well the world just strips away
Girl, ain’t no kindness in the face of strangers
Ain’t gonna find no miracles here
Well you can wait on your blesses my darlin’
But I got a deal for you right here
I ain’t lookin’ for praise or pity
I ain’t comin’ ’round searchin’ for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch
Ain’t no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain’t no bread from heavenly skies
Ain’t nobody drawin’ wine from this blood
It’s just you and me tonight
Tell me, in a world without pity
Do you think what I’m askin’s too much
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch
Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize
Well it comes at a hard hard price
You can’t shut off the risk and the pain
Without losin’ the love that remains
We’re all riders on this train
So you’ve been broken and you’ve been hurt
Show me somebody who ain’t
Yeah, I know I ain’t nobody’s bargain
But, hell, a little touchup
and a little paint…
You might need somethin’ to hold on to
When all the answers, they don’t amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch
Baby, in a world without pity
Do you think what I’m askin’s too much
I just want to feel you in my arms
Share a little of that Human Touch
Feel a little of that Human Touch
Give me a little of that Human Touch
Meet Me In Montauk 
I seem to recall buying one or both of these albums when they came out, though they seem to have vanished from my collection. Perhaps I sold them back?
I don’t recall anything on these albums being so bad, but it was a bit overwhelming to try to absorb two records at once, just as it can be difficult to tackle a double album. So this may have been the point where I moved away from dedicated and repeated listening of Bruce’s albums.
Today’s song is fine, but it’s no “Brilliant Mistake” or “Tunnel of Love.”
Like the song and the video, I really think he rivals your Beyonce videos in the sexy department 🙂