I used the word “dud” yesterday to describe Bruce Springsteen’s Lucky Town and that was probably unfair. It is generally lumped together with Human Touch — understandably, as they were released simultaneously — but it is widely considered the stronger record.
Springsteen had nearly completed Human Touch and he set out to write one more song. Instead he came up with ten, and decided to release them as a separate album. I haven’t heard either of the albums but everything I’ve read suggests that this one is the keeper.
Most fans and critics seem to agree that Springsteen would have been better off culling the best dozen tracks from both albums (most of which would have come from this one) and releasing a single record that stood a chance of being held up alongside his previous efforts.
It has also been suggested that a solo release of Lucky Town — minus the distraction of its uglier fraternal twin — might have left a better impression. I suppose this was a case where more was less.
To the hours and minutes tickin’ away
Yeah, just sittin’ around waitin’ for my life to begin
While it was all just slippin’ away.
I’m tired of waitin’ for tomorrow to come
Or that train to come roarin’ ’round the bend
I got a new suit of clothes a pretty red rose
And a woman I can call my friend
These are better days baby
Yeah there’s better days shining through
These are better days baby
Better days with a girl like you
Well I took a piss at fortune’s sweet kiss
It’s like eatin’ caviar and dirt
It’s a sad funny ending to find yourself pretending
A rich man in a poor man’s shirt
Now my ass was draggin’ when from a passin’ gypsy wagon
Your heart like a diamond shone
Tonight I’m layin’ in your arms carvin’ lucky charms
Out of these heard luck bones
These are better days baby
These are better days it’s true
These are better days
There’s better days shining through
Now a life of leisure and a pirate’s treasure
Don’t make much for tragedy
But it’s a sad man my friend who’s livin’ in his own skin
And can’t stand the company
Every fool’s got a reason to feelin’ sorry for himself
And turn his heart to stone
Tonight this fool’s halfway to heaven and just a mile outta hell
And I feel like I’m comin’ home
These are better days baby
There’s better days shining through
These are better days
Better days with a girl like you
These are better days baby
These are better days it’s true
These are better days
Better days are shining through
Meet Me In Montauk 
Yeah, I agree. He would have been better off cutting the weaker material and releasing one great single record. As I said yesterday, by releasing these 2 albums at the same time, it felt like you needed to try to tackle a double album and, at least for me, double albums rarely hold up. Take the Beatles’ White Album for example. How much better would that have been if you had cut out the weaker stuff, and left only the best stuff. I rarely reach for the White Album simply because I need to skip through stuff that I don’t care for.
So this leads me to my next question. Can anyone name a double album that really worked in that every song is a keeper and nothing should have been cut to make it a single record?
Blonde on blonde?
I think he did what he had to do at that stage from his own point of view. Artistically and personally. Which is what he has always done and will hopefully keep doing. Although they are completely different from the rest of his work, I find much merit in these albums. Better days specifically is a song which works for me a kind of celebration of the good times en defying of the bad ones.
I suggest you guys get to know both albums – you just might be surprised. Would love to hear what you think!
I definitely plan to!
Good one, Andie. When they released it on CD it was a single disc but the original release was a double album.
I’ll add Dylan’s The Basement Tapes to the list… I wouldn’t take a thing off either disc of that album.
Also Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
Okay, I may have to listen to Blonde on Blonde from start to finish, as I don’t think I have ever really done so.
Does The Basement Tapes count? That was sort of a hodgepodge of works brought together by the studio from earlier recordings of Dylan and the Band, no? Again, I would have to hear the whole album to see if it holds up as a double album.
As for The Wall, at least for me, a little of that goes a long way. I have heard the whole album through maybe once or twice, but far more often cherry pick the few tracks I really like (and, truthfully, I haven’t really been in the mood to hear much of Pink Floyd, let alone a whole double album, for about 20 years)
The Basement Tapes was pulled together from a series of recordings by Dylan and The Band as well as some solo Dylan recordings, but it was an official studio album. I think one of the reasons it does hold up is that it captures the loose vibe of those recordings, so it’s certainly not as tight as a single album, but that’s part of its charm.
The Wall definitely has its highlights, but I think it’s an example of a double album that can’t be trimmed down because every song is a piece of a larger concept/story. As individual songs, some of those tracks might not be greatest hits material, but they work as a bridge between different parts of the story. It’s more like a sound movie than a traditional album.
As for Blonde On Blonde, that’s a stone-cold classic. Every song is essential. Get thee to a stereo!