Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1987…

#8 – Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen

Three years after the smash Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen set aside his everyman rocker persona and released his most personal album yet. Even the cover photo, of Bruce in a dark suit and bolo tie, pointed toward a more contemplative and internal collection (contrasted with the dirt and sweat of Born in the U.S.A.‘s jeans-clad heartland anthems).

Tunnel of Love is a breakup album about a marriage that wasn’t over yet. Springsteen and actress Julianne Phillips divorced a year later, and he was living with Patti Scialfa (to whom he is still married) even before the papers were signed. The pain and regret of that period is present in almost every note of this record.

This is a great listen start to finish, but a handful of standout tracks make it special. Best of all is ‘Brilliant Disguise,’ a genuine classic, and one of the catchiest songs about heartbreak ever written.

Almost as good is the gorgeous ‘One Step Up,’ which boasts a line that sums up the album’s central theme: “When I look at myself I don’t see the man I wanted to be.”

The title track uses the carnival ride as a metaphor for marriage, culminating in a lyric that could serve as Springsteen’s central credo: “You’ve got to learn to live with what you can’t rise above.”

Along with the lovely ‘Two Faces’ and ‘When You’re Alone,’ plus the elegant closer ‘Valentine’s Day,’ those songs make up the stellar second side of Tunnel of Love. The first side is less distinctive, more in keeping with Springsteen’s earlier work. It’s as if he had to get comfortable before baring his soul.

Tunnel of Love didn’t live up to the Diamond-selling status of Born in the U.S.A. (neither did anything else) but it went 3X Platinum and received lavish critical praise. It remains a highlight of one of rock’s greatest catalogs.