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Old 11-02-2021, 03:15 PM   #9 (permalink)
Trollheart
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Human Touch (1992)

Ah yes. Described as Bruce’s happy album. The only time he veered away from the gritty, antagonistic single-finger-salute-to-the-flag moralising and tried to write an album of love songs which, according to critics and fans, was very much a failed experiment. I’m not sure I agree that fans have the assumed right to decide what an artist writes about: surely if Morrisey suddenly brought out an album of upbeat pop songs everyone would start buying hammers, nails and enough wood for a cross, or if Robbie Williams decided to write a dark, melancholic album charting the state of the world the same reaction would be engendered, but is that fair? Just because your favourite artist writes about certain things or in a certain way, is it up to you as fans to decide that’s all they should write?

At any rate, Springsteen seems to have realised this didn’t work, and it is certainly what could be described as a more lightweight album, but I don’t have too much of a problem with that. I’m more concerned, if that’s the word, with the idea of his bringing out two albums on the very same day. I mean, I see where it happened - he was working on this but put it aside for two years while he worked on another album, then released the two together - but was this not a little of a kick in the teeth for the hard-pressed fan, having to buy two albums? Would it not have been better to have released both as one double album? I actually never heard before of anyone doing this, but whether or not it’s unique in the history of music I have no idea. Seems to me something of a cynical ploy though to get more money out of the rubes.

But again, those are, I suppose, questions for another time. Personally, I was just glad to be able to have a new Springsteen album after five years, so at the time I had no problem with it. It was, in fact, a bonus for me to have not one, but two albums to listen to. 1987’s Tunnel of Love, despite the title, had continued Springsteen’s tradition of cataloguing smalltown America through the eyes of its people, whether that was men on strike, men on the dole or men just trying to make it through another day. I suppose as an aside, and as it just strikes me now, it must be admitted and accepted that the Boss rarely if ever writes a song from a female point of view, the only one coming to mind being “Candy’s Room” from Darkness on the Edge of Town, and even in that the eponymous heroine is sidetracked by the male narrator. But yeah, a man’s man I guess, and he writes about men, for men and from a male standpoint almost exclusively.

While the songs on Tunnel of Love could be said to be more personal and intimate than those on the flag-waving/burning (take your pick) anthemic indictment of America that was Born in the USA, they still retained Springsteen’s somewhat hard-bitten, man-in-the-street, realistic or fatalistic view of the Land of the Free that had characterised all of his work up to this point, culminating in the lonely dark and bleak roads that wind themselves torturously through the hollow landscape of Nebraska, so yes, this was a change. A good change? Ah...

It starts off well enough I think, with the title track kicking proceedings off as Springsteen laments about “the streets of this town” and things “all slipping away”, but unlike other songs of his, “Human Touch” seems to put behind him all the politics and messages and settles back in the easy chair, waiting for his girl to sit in his lap and kiss away all the bad stuff. Sure, it’s simplistic, but for a man who’s spent his life bleating about the injustice in America and the world, haunting Jungleland, racing in the streets, and running down empty highways without getting anywhere, maybe we can allow him a little world-weariness and a slight attitude towards let the world take care of itself.

The music is as good as ever, and though critics snarled at the departure and break-up of the E Street Band and their replacement with session musicians - including the late Jeff Porcaro, not long for this world at the time of recording - I don’t see it. The E Street Band has of course always been part of Bruce’s music, but they weren’t on Nebraska and it stands as one of his finest works. In the end, it’s Bruce who makes the music, Bruce who sings it, and Bruce who sells it, and I think he sells it well here. The guitar is more to the fore in this opener, despite the almost co-helming of the project by Roy Bittan, the only remaining member of the band, and it has a fresh, punchy feel which was somewhat lacking on the previous effort. It’s less polished, more raw, perhaps more emotional. It’s universal. Don’t we all, when all is said and done, want that human touch?

It doesn’t last sadly, as the next track is a serious dip in quality from my point of view. “Soul Driver” I feel wastes and squanders the powerful feeling we’ve got from the opener, dragging everything down with a pretty formulaic pop song that does nothing for me, rather like “Skin to Skin” on The Rising. It’s something of a comedown after an impressive start. There’s an almost new-wave-like opening on moody synth and then the song takes off on a rocky footing, but there’s something missing for me. I mean it’s not a terrible song by any means, but it’s much weaker than the opener. A sense of gospel running through it with some good backing vocals from Sam Moore (the liner notes call them “harmony vocals”, shrug, backing to me). Much more stripped-down and gritty, and returning a little to his dissatisfaction with America is “57 Channels and Nothing On”, with an almost Nebraska-style melody, sparse and echoing vocal, more spoken than sung against acoustic guitar, kind of rockabilly in its way. There’s dry humour in the song, especially when he mentions his “Japanese car” and when, losing patience, he does a Dirty Harry on his TV, blowing it to pieces and enacting a fantasy I’m sure many of us have entertained from time to time.

Tunnel of Love pokes its nose back in for “Cross my Heart”, which oddly enough co-credits Sonny Boy Williamson. As the blues legend was thirty years dead at this point I wonder if he co-opted some of the lyrics of one of his songs? It doesn’t make it clear, but it’s a half-decent song, with a punchy, steady beat and some nice slide guitar. It does sound like it would have been happier on the previous album though. The vocal gets pretty intense about halfway and some of Springsteen’s emotional fire begins to burn through, and this continues and grow in “Gloria’s Eyes”, which takes the tempo back up with some pretty ferocious energy, rocking along nicely with a slightly angry vocal line. Again, the song rides very much on the guitar riffs, with little if any place for Bittan’s piano or keyboards.

Realistic fatalism comes to the fore in “With Every Wish”, a story of ordinary people and ordinary things that go ordinarily off the rails, as Springsteen sighs “with every wish there comes a curse.” After the exuberance of “Gloria’s Eyes” it’s a much slower, downbeat approach, again very much with its roots in Nebraska’s simple acoustic lines, and also to some extent looks back to his classic The River. Perhaps in deference to “The Big Man” there’s no sax on this album, but trumpet (called “muted trumpet” in the notes) from Mark Isham adds a lonely idea of the ghost of Clemmons silently watching proceedings, whether with approval or not we’ll never know. Soft breathing touches on the keys from Bittan add another phantom layer to the song.

Speaking of Bittan, one of only two songs on which he co-writes is next, the upbeat rocky “Roll of the Dice”, one of the songs previously submitted by the ex-E Street man to Springsteen which, according to Wiki, provided the impetus for this album to be recorded. It’s certainly more in the vein of the less political songs on Born in the USA or even The River, and would not be out of place on later album The Rising or even previous Tunnel of Love. Unsurprisingly, it’s piano and keys-heavy, and this gives the track a very full, solid feeling, whereas some of the previous ones, as mentioned, have come across as a little sparse, a little barebones. Probably one of my favourites on the album, allowing Bruce to really let loose with that famous growl of his. It’s really the bright, punchy piano though that makes this song for me.

His other contribution is next, as “Real World” keeps the tempo up, with bells sounding a triumphant note from the beginning, and somehow a feeling of trains and railways about it. Might be just me, that. This I find very much a Born in the USA song, reminds me a little of “Cover Me” or “Bobby Jean”. I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but on these two songs - the only ones he collaborates on with Bittan - Springsteen comes across to me at his best, looking back to the power and energy of the last few albums. He also seems to enjoy himself more on them. Maybe Bittan knew him better than he knew himself? At any rate, that’s all the impression or influence, songwriting-wise, the “professor” has on this album, and we’re back to solo Bruce compositions, with the rockabilly “All or Nothin' at All”, a very substandard “Open all Night” clone which I feel lets down the overall quality the album has been building up to now. The lyric says nothing new, the guitar line is bland and seems forced, the vocal is, at best, boring, and I’d consider this one of the worst tracks on the album. Otherwise it’s great. As far as this track is concerned, I would have gone for the second part, thanks.

There’s something vaguely misogynistic (probably unintentional) about “Man’s Job”, where Bruce does his best (not so good) Elvis, but at least it’s a (slightly) better track than the previous, though that would not be hard. Good ringing guitar running through it, not sure if there’s anything else positive I can say about it. Perhaps it’s significant that the backing vocals here are provided by another man, Bobby King, and more to the point, that Patty Scialfa is not to be heard on the song at all. Has the album reached a nadir here? I think the answer to that is yes. Does it recover? Well, sort of.

I wouldn’t be so crude or cruel as to say the title of the next song could have had the last word changed to deaf, in terms of the last two tracks, but thankfully “I Wish I Were Blind” grabs the tiller and manages to force the craft away from the rocks it’s been headed for, providing us with a sumptuous and simple Springsteen ballad, one of the things he does so well, though not as often as perhaps he might. Sounding uncannily like a Tunnel of Love song, even reminds me of one in particular, it has a nice yearning sound about it, even if its sentiment is hardly original. Springsteen’s voice is clear and wounded as he sings, and the percussion from Porcaro is just perfect counterpoint to his voice. The Conservative Christians will no doubt be gratified to hear Bruce sing of “the grace and beauty of God’s hand”, but it’s sort of one of the seven deadly sins he’s singing about isn’t it? Jealousy? Good synth lines from Bittan help move the emotion through the song.

Back to hard rockin’ with “The Long Goodbye”, which again for me evokes the ghost of Nebraska and also sounds a little close to “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” from The River, if slowed down a little. Good snarling guitar here, not much room for keyboards or indeed much else other than the rhythm section. Also touches on the melody from the title track if I’m honest. “Real Man” sounds like a Huey Lewis song with its bright parping keyboards and measured drumbeats, also reminds me of “Darlington County”. Certainly gives Bittan a chance to shine for one more time on the album as well as David Sancious, making a welcome return for his first contribution since 1975’s stone cold classic Born to Run - sounds like he was never away!

And there it should have ended and I would have been happy, but for some reason the Boss sees fit to close with a cover version of an old song from the turn of the century, used in the musical Miss Innocence (yeah I know - I haven’t heard of it either; well it was 1909). “Pony Boy” is an acoustic folky number which perhaps points the way towards later albums The Ghost of Tom Joad and Devils and Dust, and the harmonica is a nice nod back to Bruce’s beginnings, but for me it ruins the album, and a record that had started well and, while losing its way slightly along its run, could have finished strongly, bows out with an apologetic grin instead of a triumphant roar. Meh.

TRACK LISTING

Human Touch
Soul Driver
57 Channels (And Nothin’ On
Cross My Heart
Gloria’s Eyes
With Every Wish
Roll of the Dice
Real World
All or Nothin’ at All
Man’s Job
I Wish I Were Blind
The Long Goodbye
Real Man
Pony Boy

I think I’d have to take issue with the label of “happy album” applied to this recording. Sure, it has its share of love songs and upbeat ballads, but then so does Tunnel of Love and even Born in the USA and there are more than enough downbeat tracks here for me to keep bringing up the N-word. If this album can be compared, more than once, to Nebraska, then I don’t see how it can be characterised as a happy album. In fact, the last bunch of tracks are all pretty cynical and morose (look, just forget ****ing “Pony Boy”, will you? It wasn’t even written by him), and really you can trace this kind of disillusionment with love and live right back to the midpoint, from about “With Every Wish” on.

I guess you could say it’s more commercially-oriented (i.e., looking for hits) than other albums he had recorded prior, but after this there seems to have been a shift - conscious or not - away from feel-good songs into more raw, gritty, realistic fare, and in general this direction has, I believe, served to make Springsteen’s music, on the whole, less enjoyable. I certainly hate The Ghost of Tom Joad and I only listened to Devils and Dust twice at best. Some of his more recent albums I have not even heard yet, and I’m a fan. Of course there was the excellent The Rising and Magic was very good, then there’s the odd collection of rarities and re-recordings that goes under the title of The Promise, but overall I would have to say that after Wrecking Ball it wouldn’t be fair to say I lost interest, but I have not been as anxious to listen to his albums as I used to be.

I think this was a good effort. Obviously it was never going to be a Born to Run or even a Tunnel of Love, but I don’t get the hate directed at it and its sister album by the fans. I mean, let the man kick back once in a while, no? You can’t be dour and serious and angry and accusatory all the time. Got to be a point at which you walk out onto the porch, stars and stripes blowing gently in the summer evening wind, sit down with a cold beer and say “**** it, it’s not all bad really.”

And this really isn’t. All bad I mean. Despite what you may hear. From the title, it seems Bruce set out to explore the human condition with, for once, little or no reference to politics or the state of the nation. The human touch, you know? Mostly, though apparently unappreciated for doing so, I think he achieved his objective.

Rating: 7.4/10
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